Today Clear Ballot signaled that the company is poised for further growth by naming Jordan Esten as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and Edwin Smith as Vice President, Products.
“I am very pleased to announce Jordan as our COO and Ed as Vice President, Products,” said Larry Moore, CEO of Clear Ballot. “Both of these individuals have contributed significantly to Clear Ballot’s expansion and the creation and launch of our innovative election technology into the marketplace.”
Jordan Esten developed his expertise in guiding technology companies through important stages of growth as an investment banker at Robert W. Baird where he held positions in both Europe and the US. In that role, he advised management and boards of directors of technology companies on corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and equity offerings. Esten earned a BS, from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. At Clear Ballot, where Esten previously served as Director of Business Development since 2012, he applied his critical operational and project finance experience to expand Clear Ballot’s team of employees and investors.
“Jordan has been diligently working side-by-side with me in Boston and has played a major role in each milestone reached at Clear Ballot,” said Moore. “His expertise and drive in dealing with high-intensity finance, business development and investor relations programs and the complexities of operating a growing technology operation in a niche market segment is invaluable to me, Clear Ballot, and most importantly our customers, investors and business partners. I am thrilled that he is taking on this critical role of COO for our company as we position ourselves for further growth,” said Moore.
Edwin Smith is a skilled and experienced leader in the hardware development, supply chain management / manufacturing, quality assurance and product management fields. He has served as a member of the senior leadership team of multiple providers of election technology prior to joining Clear Ballot in 2014 and has extensive experience in voting system certification. Smith is a former member of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) / National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Smith’s work has been frequently published and he has participated as a panelist and subject matter expert on the topics of election equipment, voting system certification, security and process improvement. Smith earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
“It is a tremendous asset to have someone of Ed’s caliber serving as a member of Clear Ballot’s senior leadership team,” said Moore. “Ed’s experience is unparalleled in the election technology sector and he has already directed several successful manufacturing design, supply chain management, testing campaign and certification efforts for the company in such a short time. His knowledge of this industry and expertise in all aspects of bringing election technology to the marketplace are extremely significant to Clear Ballot as we move forward,” said Moore.
Clear Ballot currently has over 30 team members with a mix of world class technology and elections experience. Clear Ballot has built a strong team at its Boston headquarters and across the country who have experience in leading technology and operations roles. In addition, Clear Ballot’s innovative vision has attracted some of the leaders in the elections industry to join the company.
Clear Ballot election technology is currently used in Oregon and Florida and just recently received New York State certification. The company has also conducted successful pilots in New York, Colorado, Vermont and California.