Connect Login

Executive Management Team


CallTower’s Executive Management Team is a dedicated, action-oriented and inquisitive collection of professionals who enable people to connect by delivering the world’s most advanced unified communications solutions and collaboration solutions.

Bret L. England
CEO & President
Bret L. England

CEO & President

As President and Chief Executive Officer, Bret leads the CallTower team in delivering integrated best-of-breed communication solutions.

Bret has more than 25 years of experience as a senior financial and operational manager and investor. Prior to CallTower, Bret worked in senior, domestic and international, financial and operational roles at Symantec, Informix, Alta Vista, Portal Software, NetManage and JDA Software. Bret has also assisted several technology companies in various CXO and board positions and as an investor through England Consulting and Capital Group. He started his career as a Certified Public Accountant working for KPMG and Deloitte & Touche. Bret has significant experience with all aspects of mergers and acquisitions and has been involved in over 50 transactions in excess of two billion dollars.

Bret has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting Weber State University, has a Master of Science from Golden Gate University and has completed Stanford Business School’s Executive Education program.

William Rubio
William Rubio
Chief Revenue Officer
William Rubio
William Rubio

Chief Revenue Officer

As the Chief Revenue Officer at CallTower, William Rubio exemplifies proficiency in strategic planning, executive leadership, and technological innovation. His career spans over 25 years in the global telecommunications, IT, Cloud industry and M&A space, showcasing his vast experience. His forward-thinking leadership and novel approach to the UCaaS, CCaaS, and Collaboration sectors have been instrumental in advancing CallTower’s standing among the industry’s foremost solution providers.

William’s career is marked by exceptional revenue growth achievements in both emerging and mature markets. His unique ability to forecast industry trends and business development has enabled him to capture opportunities, foster alliances, and propel start-up ventures into competitive positions. His technical proficiency extends to VoIP, Cloud solutions, wholesale, IT, and operations, which he leverages alongside his passion for strong partnerships and quality solutions.

Before joining CallTower, William held pivotal roles in leading EarthLink’s Nationwide Hosted Voice rollout in the indirect partner community, serving as Vice President of Sales at STS Telecom, and working with renowned companies such as AT&T and XO Communications.

Email: wrubio@calltower.com

Shawn Hansen
Chief Financial Officer
Shawn Hansen

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources and Training, Shawn is responsible for all financial activities at CallTower. This includes managing the accounting and billing teams at CallTower. Shawn is also responsible for FP&A activities, financial reporting, equity administration, tax and regulatory compliance and managing our external audit. Shawn also oversees all HR and Training functions within CallTower. This includes overseeing payroll, employee benefits administration, employee onboarding and recruiting as well as internal and external training efforts. Shawn supports employees’ desire to continually improve, learn and grow, so the company can be known for its expertise.

Shawn has over 10 years of accounting and finance experience to CallTower. He is an active Certified Public Accountant with extensive experience in accounting and finance. Shawn joined CallTower from public accounting in the audit practice of Ernst & Young. His time in public accounting focused on auditing the financial statements and internal controls of large public technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Shawn has extensive experience with accounting and finance processes, procedures and controls as well as financial statement preparation and presentation.

He holds both a Bachelors and Masters of Accountancy from Brigham Young University.

Email: shansen@calltower.com

Brandon Watts
Chief Technology Officer
Brandon Watts

Chief Technology Officer

Brandon connects people through technology as CallTower’s Senior Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer. He develops and delivers technology solutions with competitive advantages.

Brandon has been at the forefront of technological innovation in the telecommunication and IT industries for 27 years. During his tenure, he has been a leader in developing and providing Cloud Hosted IVR and Call Routing systems, which have successfully processed over a billion customer calls. His products have allowed clients to meet customer needs quickly and with few errors.  His systems achieved an up-time greater than 99.999%. Brandon also designed and developed a multinational network and cloud solution, linking retail locations with corporate headquarters and allowing for secure real-time data collection and storage. Brandon has not only surpassed client needs in the private sector, he has led efforts for Government agencies. In providing them with an integrated solution, he reduced processing times on millions of government documents.

Email: bwatts@calltower.com

Doug Larsen
Sr. VP of Software & Product
Doug Larsen

Sr. VP of Software & Product

Doug graduated from Brigham Young University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Business and Information Systems. He worked for the Utah Department of Economic Development, becoming their first webmaster. Upon graduation, Doug transitioned to a twelve-year career at IBM, becoming a Junior Architect and Manager for the tech giant. In 2011, Doug joined the CallTower Team as a Senior Developer and was promoted to Director of Software Development in 2015. Doug was one of the chief architects for Connect, a revolutionary tool which enables users to easily personalize and control their CallTower Solutions. When away from CallTower, Doug enjoys golfing, mountain biking and hiking on the dusty trails of the greater Salt Lake area. 

Email: dlarsen@calltower.com

Jeff Schroeder
Sr. VP of Technology
Jeff Schroeder

Sr. VP of Technology

As Vice President of Technology, Jeff oversees the platforms and vendors that comprise CallTower’s industry-leading, cloud-based, Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions.

Jeff brings more than twenty years of IT experience to CallTower. Before joining Appia Communications as a Provisioning Engineer in 2005, Jeff was a VoIP and networking consultant and a corporate trainer for Microsoft’s Windows 2000 MCSE track.  Jeff has played multiple roles at Appia, including Contact Center Engineer and Engineering and Operations Manager.

In 2011, Jeff moved into the role of VP of Engineering of Appia, leading the company through its evolution into a geographically redundant national service provider.   When CallTower acquired Appia Communications in early 2018, Jeff was a critical component of the transition.

Email: jschroeder@calltower.com

Jim Manetta
VP of Client Support
Jim Manetta

VP of Client Support

As Vice President of Client Support, Jim Manetta has the overall responsibility for the technical support of CallTower’s global customer base. Jim brings over 25 years of experience in customer support in the Telecommunications field.  Jim began his career in communications at ACC Telecom, where he worked as a customer service representative, Networks Operations Center Engineer, and a Switch Technician. In 1998, Jim joined PAETEC, as the first technician in the Network Operations Center. His experience came full circle when he was promoted to the position of Vice President of Operations, overseeing Customer Service, Network Operations Center, and Network Engineering.  Throughout his tenure, Jim has created processes that focused on creating an outstanding customer experience while enabling employee growth. His passion to provide unmatched customer support has driven his success and continues to be a value that he instills in his organization.

Email:  jmanetta@calltower.com

Brett Reese
VP of Service Delivery
Brett Reese

VP of Service Delivery

Brett Reese began his work in the telecom field as a Project Manager with ABS Telecom. After making the move to an Implementation Project Manager role at CallTower in 2014, he moved on to become the Manager of Microsoft Implementations in 2015. By 2016, Bret was promoted to CallTower’s Manager of Implementation Services. He thrived in this role, where he oversaw all of CallTower’s implementation projects for the next four years. Finally, in September 2021, Brett became the Senior Director of Client Services – a role that encompasses both the Implementation and Support Departments.

Email: breese@calltower.com

Senior Management

Seanna Baumgartner
VP of Marketing
Seanna Baumgartner

VP of Marketing

Seanna has been with CallTower for over 10 years. Since joining CallTower through an acquisition in 2016, she has played a critical role in CallTower’s global brand awareness to grow indirect and direct sales activity through strategic initiatives that are result-driven.

In March 2023, Seanna was promoted to VP of Marketing. Seanna is responsible for the marketing team, our branding, social media, and sales campaigns that produce revenue and reputation building in pursuit of excellence while playing a critical role in our international expansion.

Prior to joining CallTower, Seanna had a robust career in marketing, public relations, and entrepreneurship, where she built brand awareness and advertising campaigns for several companies ranging from wholesale fashion to construction to investment equity. Seanna earned her Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Journalism from New Mexico State University and holds multiple certifications in HubSpot Marketing Automation, strategic management, and change leadership.

Email: seanna@calltower.com

Sean Bailey
Corporate Controller
Sean Bailey

Corporate Controller

Sean graduated from Utah State University in 2013 with a master’s degree in Accounting and has an active CPA license. He started his career in public accounting at Eide Bailly, a top-tier, national accounting firm. In 2014, he created a mobile app which enabled CPA candidates to challenge other candidates to sets of retired CPA exam questions. He made the jump from public accounting in 2015 when he joined CallTower as an Assistant Controller. In 2018, he was promoted to Corporate Controller and manages CallTower’s accounting and many finance functions.

Email: sbailey@calltower.com

James Dastrup
VP of Engineering
James Dastrup

VP of Engineering

James is a life-long veteran of the IT field who brings over thirty years of high-level IT experience to the CallTower Team. His past experience includes working with American Express as well as owning and operating his own independent consulting company. James is certified with both Microsoft and Cisco. He joined CallTower in 2013 as a Senior Systems Administrator and is currently positioned as CallTower’s VP of Engineering.

Email: jdastrup@calltower.com

John Lodden
Director of Telecom
John Lodden

Director of Telecom

As Director of Telecommunication, John Lodden manages telecommunication carrier relations for CallTower.

John has been active in the telecommunications and computer industries for over 30 years. He has worked on both management and technical operations sides of the business. John started as an computer software/computer re-seller working with the automation and telecommunication clients.  Seeing the fast consolidation of the computer and telecommunication industries  he moved into the converged networking of voice and data networks.

He joined Coast to Coast Telecommunication in 1992 as Director of Operations. Coast to Coast was sold to XO/Verizon in 2002, which led John to co-found MichTel, a facilitates based CLEC in Michigan. Just prior to joining Appia, he was founder and president of Michigan Network Services, a CLEC he sold in 2014. When CallTower acquired Appia in 2018, John was made Director of Telecommunication and was instrumental during the transition.

Email: jlodden@calltower.com

Melinda Hicks
Senior Manager, Client Success
Melinda Hicks

Senior Manager, Client Success

Melinda brings extensive experience in Business Communication Technologies Account Management and Client Success to a diverse client base. Upon receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Utah, Melinda started her career as an educator.  In 2007, Melinda’s passion as an educator led her into a B2B role at Comcast, where she advised and cultivated relationships with IT decision makers who required advanced communication systems. In 2014, Melinda joined the CallTower team as an Inside Sales Manager, where her strong desire to ensure customers received an exceptional client experience shined.  Melinda, quickly advanced at CallTower working with Enterprise Customers as a Senior Client Success Manager.  In November, 2021, Melinda was promoted to Senior Manager, Client Success, where she spearheads and manages CallTower’s team of client success champions.

Email: mhicks@calltower.com