Help Lightning Team

Gary is a serial entrepreneur with four successful software and services exits: three private sales and one IPO. He has spent his career at the boundary of what is possible and what is practical. He has held technical and executive positions with leading technology companies in Boston, Silicon Valley, and Alabama. Not only is Gary a winner of the Smithsonian Innovation Award and the EDPA Lifetime Achievement Award for Innovation, he also serves on the Boards of TechBirmingham, the McWane Science Center and Urban Avenues. He holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon and was a visiting fellow at UC Berkeley. Gary and his wife Cathy have two children. He is an avid runner.

As Help Lightning’s Chief Operating Officer Marc boasts more than 25 years of hands-on leadership in a variety of fields -- from healthcare to retail, financial services to manufacturing and distribution. He has extensive experience designing and building Enterprise-class Software Products and Solutions, and was the Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and President of ComFrame Software Corporation. Marc also served as Vice President of ComFrame and Chief Technology Officer for Influence Health.

Before becoming Chief Financial Operator of Help Lightning, Drew Deaton held operations, finance and executive roles with MedMined and CareFusion. Since beginning his career at Ernst and Young, Drew has worked with several venture-based startups as well as large public and private corporations. He has worked in information technology, biotechnology, software, medical devises, medical services and healthcare technology. Drew holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and a graduate degree from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

As Chief Technology Officer of Help Lightning, Neal Evans provides insight into a range of technical issues from artificial intelligence to computational physics and evolutionary algorithms. His contributions range from the theoretical to practical application of health informatics including advances in machine learning, physics and theoretical optics. He is a member of the American Physical Society (APS), the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). In addition to being published in a number of scientific journals and books, Neal is a member of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club and a volunteer for Carpenter’s Hands in Birmingham, Alabama.

As Senior VP of Sales, Scott Sobera relies on 25 years of selling experience to understand, communicate and deliver software technology solutions. His work with early stage growth-oriented companies led to vital roles with Accelarad, Optimal Readings, Awarix, ComFrame, the Trizetto Group and Nichols TXEN. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University. Away from work, he enjoys spending time with his family, coaching youth sports, golf and hunting.