Joseph J. Ernest, Chief Executive Officer
Joseph Ernest has over 20 years of wide-ranging experience in the Telecommunications industry. Mr. Ernest is co-founder and CEO of Ernest Communications, Inc. Since its inception in 1997, Ernest has become widely regarded as the leader in providing telecommunications services to large multi-location businesses. He received his degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS in 1968. After serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army, he launched multiple successful companies over the next 15 years, including Ernest Group, a leader in telecom-related products and services. Mr. Ernest is a stockholder and member of the Board of Directors for Oldtown Bank, North Carolina and a stockholder and Chairman of Integrity Bank, Florida. Mr. Ernest and his wife, Pam, have been married for over 40 years, and are very involved in several charitable and church-related organizations. In addition, they enjoy spending quality time with their two daughters, two sons-in-law, and six grandchildren.
J. Paul Masters, President
Paul Masters is the co-founder and President of Ernest Communications, Inc. Paul has been involved in the telecommunications industry since 1992, holding various sales and management positions for Ernest Group, a leader in telecom-related products and services. In his 11 years at Ernest, Paul has been the driving force behind the company, providing “hands on” direction and leadership as Ernest has grown from a simple start-up to one of the most successful telecommunications companies in America. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Shorter College, and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University. In addition, Paul is a very active in several philanthropic and charitable organizations, and is heavily involved in Boy Scouts of America. Paul and his wife, Jennifer, live in Norcross with their three sons, Hank (13), Ben (11), and Seth (8).
Bryan Cornett, Vice President of Business Planning
Bryan Cornett has over 15 years of experience in the Telecommunications industry. He began his career in 1993 as Operations Manager for SL Systems, a nationwide operator services company that provided services to the payphone and hospitality industries. In 1999, Mr. Cornett joined Ernest Communications as Director of Business Planning. In this role, he helped develop and implement all the startup operations of Ernest Communications. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Cornett served as Vice President of Operations for Ernest Communications. As such, he was responsible for all customer care and provisioning functions within the company. Mr. Cornett currently serves as the Vice President of Business Planning, focusing on developing, and implementing new market segments for Ernest Communications as they seek expand their services offerings. Mr. Cornett graduated with high honors from the University of Tennessee in 1989 with a B.S. in Business Administration. In 1994, he received his Masters of Business Administration from Georgia State University with a major in finance. He and his wife, Amy, live in Duluth with their son Joshua (2) and infant daughter Kaylee.
Stephanie Kingery, Vice President of Finance
Stephanie Kingery has 15 years of finance and accounting experience working primarily in the technology industry. Prior to joining Ernest, Stephanie was Controller for Easylink Services International Corporation, an EDI services company where she lead the operations of the accounting department, the integration of acquisition related accounting systems, served as interim HR Director, and was responsible for SEC compliance and filings. From 1996 to 2006, Stephanie was Corporate Controller for Intelligent Systems Corporation, a public company focused on developing early stage technology companies where she was involved at all levels of the business, day to day accounting functions, investment due diligence, assisting in the setup of offshore software development subsidiaries, and SEC and SOX compliance. In 1998, she obtained her B.A. in Accounting from Georgia State University where she attended on a Division I volleyball scholarship. She currently holds her CPA certification in Georgia. Stephanie and her husband, Jeff, live in Suwanee, GA with their sons, Raury (5) and infant son Finnigan.
Tim Pasonski, Vice President of Operations
Tim has eighteen year of telecommunications experience, focused in CLEC operations. Tim began his career within the governmental communications field working on programs with the FAA, then took a position helping to start a CLEC after the telecommunications deregulations act in 1996, focusing on systems automation . He added additional responsibilities for systems and billing analysis, mergers and acquisitions and supporting new and diverse product rollouts. Since then, he has had ever-increasing responsibility for IT and Billing operations for regional and national CLECs, He has consulted for several large telecommunications providers, has been an expert witness, given presentations to the FCC, and served on industry advisory committees and boards. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Central Florida. He and his wife, Kim, reside in Duluth, GA with their three children: Reagan (9), Matthew (7), and Nicholas (4).
Jeff Leshin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Jeff Leshin has over 22 years of telecommunications background in both the direct and indirect sales channels. The last fifteen years, Jeff has been focused primarily on growing channel programs. At Acceris Communications, Jeff was the VP of Sales for the indirect channel and took the company from a residential based model, to a channel focused on the SMB space, and worked with some of the nation’s largest channel partners to create a successful channel program. Jeff also has a unique perspective on the channel having working with CMS, one of the most respected and tenured master agencies, as their VP of Sales. In his current role Jeff is responsible for the management and strategic planning of our national agent channel, as well as developing the marketing tools to support the sales efforts. Jeff graduated from the University of Arizona, 1987 with a degree in Business Administration. He currently resides in Waleska, Georgia with his wife Danielle, and has three children, Mara(18), Cole (7), Connor (6).