Management Team

Ned Lilly
President and CEO

In October 2001, Ned co-founded xTuple, originally called OpenMFG, with the aim of bringing the worlds of open platform software and enterprise resource planning (ERP) together to solve the unmet needs of small- to mid-sized manufacturers. In 1999, he was a co-founder of Great Bridge, an early business built around the PostgreSQL database which is also the core technology for xTuple today. Great Bridge was incubated inside Landmark Communications, a mid-sized media company where Ned directed corporate venture investments, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and startup activity. Prior to Landmark, Ned worked for a regional technology group in Washington D.C. and had a brief first career in political media — television, radio and a non-partisan news wire. He holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from George Washington University.

Missy Schmidt
Vice President Marketing

Since early 2012, Missy has directed marketing for xTuple business management software, including the global user conference, inbound and outbound content marketing, lead generation, sales campaigns, website design and digital strategies. She has ties to the business and economic development, startup and entrepreneurial communities in Virginia and nationally. Prior to joining xTuple, Missy was VP of strategic communication and marketing for Hampton Roads Partnership, a public-private corporation that worked to improve the region's economy within the international marketplace. Before that, Missy spent 25+ in sales, including product development, within the industries of telecommunications, retail, industrial food service, government contracting, contract packaging and manufacturing. Missy holds a B.S. from James Madison University. She and her husband, Bert, who is president and CEO of WHRO Public Media, reside in the "innovation corridor" of downtown Norfolk.

Wally Tonra
Vice President Sales

Wally has been with xTuple since 2004 and in ERP sales since the mid-1990s. After all that time selling vendor-centric, proprietary enterprise software, moving to an open source, Mac-friendly ERP package was a natural evolution. Prior to xTuple, Wally spent 10 years at JD Edwards, which was eventually acquired by Peoplesoft, in various sales and sales management positions. He made the move to xTuple before Oracle took over both Peoplesoft and the former JDE. Prior to JD Edwards, Wally held sales positions at ERP software company Daly.commerce (formerly Daly and Wolcott), hardware supplier XL/Datacomp and storage vendor EMC. Wally holds a B.S. from Boston College, where the Mac fanaticism all began.

Mike Atherton
Director Product Evangelism

Mike has delivered project management, implementation, technical and training services to xTuple clients since the earliest days of the company. These clients span a wide range of industries around the world. Prior to xTuple, Mike was a Senior ERP Consultant for Computer Associates International, an expert on multiple CA products, notably the Baan Triton/MK product acquired first by SSA, then Infor. He served as adjunct faculty for The George Washington University and Marymount University where he taught courses on Operations Management and Global Operations Strategy, and currently guest lectures on project management and systems-thinking in The Graduate School USA's Center for Leadership and Management. He holds a B.B.A. from the College of William and Mary and a M.B.A. from The George Washington University. An author of numerous articles, Mike has written on a variety of topics including "Becoming a Closed-Loop Organization," which appeared in Darwin magazine and CIO.com, and "Strategy Implementation: Closing The Management Gap," which appeared in Industrial Management magazine. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Solve ME/CFS Initiative, the leading charitable organization dedicated to curing myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Perry Clark
Director Operations
I'm on GitHub

Promoted to Director of Operations in 2018, Perry served for many years as xTuple's senior database engineer, including administration of global, onsite, and internal systems. He specializes in the design, implement and maintenance of database backup infrastructure and methodologies, including backup test and validation, as well as troubleshooting and tuning database performance. Perry is knowledgeable in most aspects of computer networking, security, operating systems, SQL databases and applications and has imagined and implemented methods for metrics reporting relating to all deployed databases. Manufacturing Specialties: Practical knowledge of various manufacturing processes: including CNC, CAD/CAM, metal forming/shaping, machining, welding, deburring, shaping, polishing, and various plastics processing techniques.

Gil Moskowitz
Director Software Development
I'm on GitHub

Gil joined xTuple in 2005 to develop the first version of multi-currency support in our products. He helped xTuple transition from its original closed source OpenMFG product to the commercial open source company we are today. Before coming to xTuple, Gil worked for several large and small software companies in a variety of roles, including Informix Software, where he managed the database backup/restore utility group. He always advocates for, and delivers, high-quality products through improvements to the software development process. Ask about his other jobs next time you see him — ! He has a B.A. in Biology from Reed College and an M.S. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University.

Rick Murchake
Director Special Projects

Rick joined xTuple in April of 2013 after many years of innovation at Dominion Enterprises, an international marketing services company connecting buyers and sellers in numerous industries, including real estate, apartments, specialty vehicles, employment, automotive and travel. There he focused on new initiatives to help customers better leverage marketing and operating efficiencies through the effective use of Internet technology. He currently manages the groups within xTuple focusing on wholesale distribution and Web-based commerce. He has a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Ciara Rogers
Vice President of Product Management

With a passion for quality software that's efficient for all users, Ciara joined xTuple in 2014 as Community Manager for xTuple's ERP-integrated customer sales and service Web Portal. To ensure continuous improvement of all xTuple products, Ciara was promoted to Product Manager in 2018, then VP Product in 2019. She meets with customers to gather requirements relating to feature requests or bugs and writes comprehensive specification documentation for the development team. Ciara also works closely with the Sales and Marketing team to identify ERP trends for future development. Ciara monitors the constantly evolving needs of customers today and tomorrow. Her goal is to work closely with customers to prevent headaches and reduce pain-points in manufacturing and/or distribution workflow. Previously Ciara worked as xTuple's Knowledge Manager, promoted in 2016, where her responsibilities ranged from documentation and training to quality assurance and support. If you have a Support Contract, chances are you've worked with Ciara to resolve issues or get answers to questions. Ciara graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice and earned her M.A. in Applied Sociology from University of Maryland Baltimore County.