June 30, 2020 -- HighByte, an industrial software company, announced the appointment of both Betsy Peters and Corson Ellis to the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. The appointments follow the recent close of the company's pre-seed funding round and mark the company's transition from an initial founder-only board to one with external representation. The board will provide perspective and guidance on the company's ongoing strategic direction, including go-to-market planning and future fundraising. Both board appointments bring executive management experience to their new roles. The inaugural appointments joining HighByte co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Paine on the Board of Directors include:
- Betsy Peters, Independent Board Chair. Peters has worked as intrapreneur and entrepreneur for the past twenty-five years—building products, leading teams, raising funds, and managing growth.
- Corson Ellis, Investor Director. Ellis was previously Founder and Chairman of Kepware, an industrial software communications company that sold to PTC, a Boston-based enterprise software company, in January 2016.
During her career, she has answered directly to various boards, constructed her own startup board, served as a publicly elected board official, and helped lead the strategic direction of Maine-based software startup CourseStorm as Board Chair for the past four years.
Peters is currently the CEO of Cambium Enterprises, an innovation strategy firm, and an adjunct instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Ellis has served as Board Chair of Maine Venture Fund (MVF) and Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and is currently a board member of Coastal Ventures, a Maine-based venture capital firm.
Ellis also invests in and advises software startups, serves on several technical investment boards, and supports the Lewiston, Maine public school system in their effort to institute a K-12 software coding curriculum.
Ellis was an investor in the HighByte pre-seed funding round and will now represent investors on the company's Board of Directors.
Board observers include Joe Powers of MVF and Matthew Hoffner of Maine Technology Institute (MTI) whose institutions participated in the pre-seed funding round. John Harrington and Torey Penrod-Cambra, both HighByte co-founders, will also serve as board observers. Prior to founding HighByte in August 2018, Paine, Harrington, and Penrod-Cambra have worked together since 2012 and have more than 50 years of experience delivering software to the industrial automation market.
