Karp, Lee to lead Allerio, The Public Safety Network after Kennedy named Qumu CEO

Allerio and The Public Safety Network both named new leadership today in the aftermath of TJ Kennedy—previously the highest-profile officer for both entities—being announced as CEO of Qumu, a publicly traded company that provides video technology for enterprises.

Jason Karp is the new CEO of Allerio, a telehealth platform-as-a-service company with a lightweight Mobile Hub that supports as many as three broadband providers in an effort to ensure that users maintain reliable connectivity in a secure manner. The solution is designed to address the needs of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel but can support the connectivity needs of other types of users, according to company officials.

“I’m very excited to take the helm here,” Karp said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “I think Allerio has tremendous opportunity ahead of it and am really excited about the product. I think the product is fantastic and the market is ripe for this solution.

“We got a great team, and it’s really now just a matter of solidifying our next round of financing that’s going to fund the expansion and growth that we really need to take off.”

Karp said Allerio officials hope to complete the “pre-A” financing round during the next 90 days and have the company pursue a full “A” funding round in the future.

Karp is succeeding Kennedy as Allerio CEO. Prior to being named CEO, Karp served as the company’s general counsel and as a board member. Karp was the general counsel for the FirstNet Authority as the organization conducted the procurement process that resulted in AT&T being awarded the contract to build the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).

Upon leaving the FirstNet Authority in late 2017, Karp and Kennedy co-founded The Public Safety Network, serving as the principals for the company focused on the communications needs of first responders. Both Kennedy and Karp will remain as board members for The Public Safety Network.

Victoria Lee is the new general director for The Public Safety Network. Previously a vice president for The Public Safety Network, Lee is a veteran of the public-safety community, having served as a volunteer firefighter and worked for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. She is a longtime associate of Karp and Kennedy, working with them for several years at the FirstNet Authority before joining The Public Safety Network in early 2018. Lee also will continue to work at Allerio, where she serves as the director of customer experience.

“I’m looking forward to all of our new adventures,” Lee said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “It’s been pretty exciting these last couple of weeks.

“Our passion is still public safety, so we want to make sure that whatever we end up doing will still have the biggest impact there. We’re still planning to continue our advisory work and the work that we’ve done accelerating the startups in our portfolio to date.”

Karp said he believes Lee is ready to lead The Public Safety Network (PSN).

“It’s a shift, like anything else,” Karp said about the personnel changes. “The good news is that we’ve got great people with tremendous experience in this area. I could not have more confidence in Vicki, and I know TJ feels the same way about her ability to take PSN into its next evolution.”

Kennedy has relinquished his day-to-day posts at Allerio and The Public Safety Network, although he will remain on the board for each of the companies.

As Qumu’s new president and CEO, Kennedy succeeds Vern Hanzlik, who stepped down from those posts to “pursue other interests,” according to a company press release.

Kennedy expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity at Qumu, which has seen its enterprise video offerings gain traction as customers increasingly adhere to social-distancing guidelines via remote-working approaches.

“I am excited to join the Qumu team at such an inflection point in the enterprise video space,” Kennedy said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to helping organizations across the globe address the new normal for their employees as well as facilitating the paradigm shift happening with video communication in companies worldwide.”

Qumu Chairman Neil Cox, who also is chairman of the FirstNet Authority board’s technology committee, thanked Hanzlik for his “service and invaluable contributions to the company and expressed enthusiasm about Kennedy’s arrival as CEO.

“I am also eager to welcome TJ as our new President and CEO,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “His significant experience in overseeing highly innovative projects and managing complex deployments at scale makes him the right leader at the right time for Qumu. From his extensive work within various critical technology markets, TJ understands that perfect execution is absolutely essential.

“As Qumu faces increased demands in a COVID-19 world, we have become an even more essential part of our customers’ businesses. Additionally, with the larger digital transformation continuing in virtually every industry, we are confident TJ will lead our Company to even greater heights. We are looking forward to benefitting from his uniquely qualified skill set and capitalizing on our near- and long-term pipeline of opportunities, which we believe will drive shareholder value over the long run.”