EcoMap Technologies, a category-defining ecosystem intelligence AI software company, today announced the appointment of Eric Sauter as Vice President of Product and Ron Nelson as Vice President of Sales, cementing their commitment to managing their accelerated growth strategically and thoughtfully.
Both new hires not only have significant experience in identifying pain points for startups and building effective strategies to overcome them quickly, they also bring a broad range of expertise in customer support, ensuring value delivery.
Sauter was serving as a product consultant for EcoMap in September 2023 when, in the wake of former CEO and co-founder Pava LaPere’s death, was asked to lead the Product and Engineering teams on an interim basis.
“Through that experience, I grew close with the team, their mission, and the problems they were solving,” Sauter said. “When asked to lead full-time as VP of Product, it felt like the right decision. EcoMap has proven their concept, people buy in and find value in it. My job now is to take it to the next level, improve upon what’s possible with our tech.”
As EcoMap’s Vice President of Product, Sauter will help to reimagine and mature its product offerings, prioritizing what to build versus how to build it. His career lends itself to this type of growth and foresight.
Sauter was the first hire for Fixt, a device protection startup. Notably, throughout his five years there, he held several leadership positions to establish the platform architecture and crafted plans for three unique products to scale. With a forward-thinking mindset, he oversaw the M&A process with Assurant, leading technical and product discussions and diligence, and led post-acquisition product integration efforts.
As EcoMap’s Vice President of Sales, Nelson will oversee the global go-to-market strategy and scaling sales efforts. He has extensive experience in this area, leading multiple startup companies to pivotal moments and high multiples of growth.
As an early employee at iContact, he built the small business team from scratch leading to its eventual $169M acquisition by Vocus. He went on to be the founding sales leader at Adzerk, now Kevel, and helped grow the company through a Series B round and establish a robust global sales team. He also had stints as the VP Sales for ServerBid, which he grew the company from 0 to exit in just under two years, and Localize, where he established a new enterprise sales playbook that led to 60% growth in less than a year. But the moment he is most proud of is Kevel being named a Top 10 Workplaces for Sales Professionals in the U.S. by RepVue.
“I’m all about building solid teams,” Nelson said. “I have been consulting with EcoMap and was attracted to Pava’s passion to help all entrepreneurs get the information that they need as they’re beginning their journeys. It is clear the team wants the same thing. I am looking forward to building off this level of success and driving 10X growth over the next couple of years.”
“Eric and Ron have already shown an incredible commitment to our vision,” Sherrod Davis, co-founder and CEO, said. “They both saw this transition as inspiration and have fully bought into getting us where we need to go. They both have extensive resumes and I have everyone’s confidence in their abilities to lead their respective teams and take them to the next level.”
About EcoMap Technologies
EcoMap Technologies’ leading ecosystem intelligence AI software transforms the way hyperlocal information is accessed. By centralizing key resources, EcoMap unites and strengthens networks and communities by connecting them. Using configurable, data-driven platforms, their mission is to develop infrastructure that powers ecosystems to create a future where knowledge and networks have no limits, and everyone has access to sustainable and equitable growth. To learn more, visit https://www.ecomap.tech/.
