StratusLIVE’s Executive Team

Jim Funari, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Jim has over 25 years of experience in finance and technology management in industries such as the nonprofit sector, transportation, financial services, and technical services. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Compass Technology, a leading provider of integrated CRM solutions to the nonprofit market. During his eight-year tenure, Compass delivered solutions for large scale nonprofits focused on integrated multi-channel marketing, transaction processing, and business analytics.

Mr. Funari was formerly vice president of Information Technology at CBN. Under his guidance, CBN's IT division was ranked 29^th out of the top 500 technology divisions in North America by PC Week magazine, and was recognized in numerous periodicals such as Forbes, ComputerWorld, Communications Week, and PC World for pioneering work in client-server computing.

He serves on a number of boards and technology initiatives, including the Governors' Main Street to E-Street Task Force, which enables Virginia’s businesses to pervasively use Internet technology. He also has been a featured speaker at industry conferences sponsored by DCI and Microsoft. Other experience includes management positions with DynCorp in McLean, Virginia, overseeing technology initiatives across four operating groups, and finance and technology positions with CMX, a ground transportation firm. Jim received a BS in Business Administration from Bluefield State College and an MA from Regent University.

Michael Trainor, Founder and President

Mike has over 28 years of experience as a senior executive in corporations ranging from Fortune 200 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups in a variety of industries, including nonprofits, CRM software, financial services, real estate, and publishing. Most recently he was executive vice president of Compass Technology, a leading provider of integrated CRM solutions to the nonprofit market. During his time at Compass, Mike was responsible for all sales, marketing and business developmental activities. He was also the senior executive responsible for developing Compass's relationship with Microsoft® executives. During his tenure, Compass earned recognition as a top Microsoft CRM partner and one of the largest in terms of sales of CRM worldwide.

Previously, Mike was the chief operating officer of Liberty Tax Service, an income tax software franchise and served as the chief operating officer of Home-Link Services, Inc., a Web-enabled home services CRM provider. He has also held several executive positions with Cendant Corporation, as executive vice president at Century 21 Real Estate, and president and CEO of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

Earlier in his career, Mike held a series of management positions in advertising, media, and publishing, including associate publisher of the New Yorker magazine, advertising director of Esquire magazine, and vice president of marketing and advertising for USF&G Financial Services. Mike received a BBA degree in from the University of Notre Dame with a concentration in Marketing.

John Funari, Chief Software Architect

John has a host of experience in the mid-market by delivering strategic solutions to a wide range of organizations in industries such as the nonprofit sector, manufacturing, construction management, and financial services. Most recently, John served as the Software Development Lead at Compass Technology, and was responsible for designing the Compass CRM™ for Fundraisers product. During his tenure at Compass, John and his team delivered the largest Microsoft CRM implementation in the nonprofit industry with their Compass CRM for Fundraisers solution.

Previously, he worked as an independent consultant that delivered many CRM and ERP solutions to a variety of clients. During this time, John was exposed to a number of competitive mid-market products that helped shape his vision for a more unified product suite built on Microsoft technologies that businesses are already comfortable with. John received a BS in Business Administration from Longwood University with a concentration in Management Information Systems.