Our Team
Leadership Team
Chip Homme
President
Chip is the President and founder of ByteSpeed. He has more than 34 years of experience in the computer industry.
Scott Bleth
Vice President
Scott has more than 34 years of experience in the computer industry, starting with selling IBM parts in Pennsylvania. Scott is one of the founders of ByteSpeed. Along with being involved with major company decisions; he is the top sales person at ByteSpeed, where he manages accounts in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Nebraska.
John Tupa
Vice President
John started in the computer industry nearly 34 years ago, beginning in the accounting department of a company which focused on selling computer parts. Then he moved to sales. Tupa now manages the accounts of ByteSpeed’s largest customers, who are located in Georgia. He also manages accounts in Wisconsin.
Jason Redfield
General Manager
Jason is the General Manager at ByteSpeed. He has more than 27 years of accounting experience, including 18 years in the computer industry.
Lucas Hulne
Chief Technology Officer
Lucas is ByteSpeed’s Chief Technology Officer. He has nearly 22 years of experience in the computer industry, and is responsible for the ByteSpeed helpdesk, production, R&D, and product testing.
Anna Hanson
Sales Director
Anna calls the ByteSpeed home office her home away from home. She has been the Director of Sales for the last four years after having been one of ByteSpeed’s leading salespeople for the previous 11 years. Anna works diligently to create lasting relationships and forge partnerships that will continue to expand the offerings to better serve ByteSpeed’s customers.
Kyle Beckius
Purchasing Manager
Kyle has more than 11 years of experience with ByteSpeed. He worked his way up to Purchasing Manager and was previously the Sales Manager and Production Manager. As the Purchasing Manager, he is responsible for the purchasing team and acquisition processes throughout ByteSpeed.
Territory Management Team
John Tupa
(218) 227-0449
GA, WI
John started working in the computer industry nearly 34 years ago, beginning in the accounting department of a company which focused on selling computer parts. From there, he moved into a sales role. John now manages two of ByteSpeed’s largest territories: Georgia and Wisconsin.
Scott Bleth
(218) 227-0450
AR, MO, MS, NE, TX
Scott has more than 34 years of experience in the computer industry, starting with selling IBM parts in PA. Scott is one of the founders of ByteSpeed as well as the top salesperson. Scott manages AR, MO, MS, NE, and TX.
Brian Hoots
(218) 227-0479
IL, OK, TN
Brian joined ByteSpeed in 2010. When he’s not working, he’s spending time hunting, fishing, or writing music.
Kevin Hoots
(218) 227-0477
IN, NM, NV, PA, UT
Kevin joined ByteSpeed in 2016. When he’s not at the office, he’s fishing, hunting, or golfing.
Gavin Doppler
(218) 227-0496
AK, MN, ND, WY
Gavin joined ByteSpeed 2016. When he’s not at work, he can be found hunting, snowboarding, or traveling to new places.
Dixon Schwan
(218) 512-1052
CA, MI, NJ, NY, VA, WV
Dixon joined ByteSpeed in 2018. If he’s not in the office, he’s learning to code, watching or playing hockey or football, or spending time outdoors.
Steve Haman
(218) 227-0493
MT, OH, OR
Steve joined ByteSpeed in 2017. Steve is married with 4 great kids from 7 to 24. When he is not busy with family, he enjoys cooking, sports, going to the gym and riding his Peloton bike.
Nic Goettle
(218) 227-0458
AL, AZ, FL, LA, WA
Nic joined ByteSpeed in 2019. If he’s not working, he’s snowboarding, bowling, or playing pool.
Tanner Duncan
(218) 227-0446
CT, IA, KY, MA, NH, RI, VT
Tanner joined ByteSpeed in 2017. If he’s not at work, he’s spending time with his wife and daughter, watching or playing sports, or traveling.
Mitchell Brackett
(218) 227-078
CO, ID, KS, NC, SC
Mitchell joined ByteSpeed in 2019. When he’s not at work, he’s traveling, playing strategy games, or enjoying the outdoors.
Gravity Gaming Management
Josh Knutson
Esports & VR Solutions Director
Josh started working at ByteSpeed in May of 2019 and serves as a product specialist for the esports and virtual reality product lines. When he is not working, Josh enjoys playing video games, hunting or fishing, and cooking all types of recipes.
Sales Administration Team
Jodi Pritchett
Sales Administrator
Jodi joined ByteSpeed in 2010. When she’s not at the office, she’s four-wheeling, hunting, or knitting.
Tyler Bussmann
Sales Administrator
Tyler joined ByteSpeed in 2018. When he’s not working, he’s restoring old cars, researching the stock market, or spending time with his dogs.
Jack Herzog
Sales Administrator
Jack joined ByteSpeed in 2015 as a builder, transitioning to sales administration in 2019. When he’s not at work, he’s playing video games, working on his cars, or traveling to car meets.
Alex Tupa
Sales Administrator
Alex joined ByteSpeed as part of the warehouse team, transitioning to sales administration in 2019.
Emily Lauinger
Sales Administrator & Marketing Specialist
Emily joined ByteSpeed in 2020. When she’s not at work, she enjoys playing the Sims, doing puzzles, and hiking.
Gavin Longthorne
Sales Administrator
Gavin joined ByteSpeed in 2021. When he’s not in the office, he’s cycling, traveling, and spending time on the lake.
Network Engineering Team
Robert Ogan
Infrastructure Manager
Robert has been working in the IT field since 1994. He started his career in the U.S. Navy, moved on to John Deere Information Systems, and then Bettendorf Community School District. In 2014, Robert joined the server team at ByteSpeed and has led the team through more than 1,000 successful infrastructure deployments.
Chris Polley
Infrastructure Pre-Sales Engineer
Chris has been working in the IT industry since the ‘90s. He began as a tech assistant in high school working for Independent School District #318 in MN, later graduating with an Associate’s degree in Computer Network Administration. From there, he gained experience at multiple technology companies before joining the ByteSpeed team in 2006. Since joining ByteSpeed, he has designed and deployed dozens of servers, SANs, and web caching solutions.
Andy Benson
Network Administrator
Andy joined the ByteSpeed team in 2009 where he began as a PC builder. He quickly moved up to the networking team and became the Network Administrator. Andy vets all new products before they are added to ByteSpeed’s portfolio as well as running ByteSpeed’s wireless network, network switches, UPSs, backups, SAN solution, servers, and internal databases.
Paul Schumaier
Server Production & Support Manager
Paul began his IT career with an Associate’s degree in Computer Support Specialist. He’s been gaining server and networking experience since 2004. In 2014 he joined the ByteSpeed team. Paul provides server, Ruckus, and CacheBox support to ByteSpeed customers, while also leading server assembly and quality control internally.
Bill Hartog
Infrastructure Pre-Sales Engineer
Bill rejoined the ByteSpeed team in 2018 after gaining additional server administrator experience at American Farm Bureau Insurance Services, Inc. (AFBIS). He brings his experience from AFBIS and GoMoorhead where he ran cable, installed switches and servers, administered VMware, Microsoft Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016, WSUS, Office 365 and additional enterprise-level solutions.
Jason Verbout
Senior Network Engineer
Jason’s background consists of an Associate’s degree in Network Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in IT Management. He started his IT career in 2003 working for Tech Team, providing network and custom application support. From there, he became Network Administrator at Bettendorf School District and St. Ambrose University. In 2015, he joined the ByteSpeed server team where he excels at remote deployment of switches, routers, SANs, and more.
Jesse Hoffart
Cloud Solutions Specialist
Jesse joined ByteSpeed in 2012 where since then has been in or assisted most every technical role at ByteSpeed. When he is not working you can find him wrenching on a car, playing a video/board game, or brewing his own beer.
Marketing Team
Brenda Clifton
Marketing Manager
Brenda joined ByteSpeed in 2011. She enjoys traveling, live music, shopping, and hanging out with her family and two amazing cats.
Deb Pavek
Marketing Coordinator
Deb joined ByteSpeed in 2002. She spends her spare time at her lake home, visiting her grandchildren, and snowmobiling.
Bonnie Steen
Tradeshow Coordinator
Bonnie joined ByteSpeed in 2006. She enjoys reading, volunteering, and traveling internationally in her spare time.
Emily Lauinger
Sales Administrator & Marketing Specialist
Emily joined ByteSpeed in 2020. When she’s not at work, she enjoys playing the Sims, doing puzzles, and hiking.
