STRATUSIQ - Key Persons
Ben has led the strategy and operations of StratusIQ as President and General Manager since 2007. Utilizing his project management background, Ben was responsible for guiding StratusIQ through core network re-designs, platform changes, and numerous Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments. Ben is passionate about expanding broadband access and led StratusIQ to win state and federal grants for FTTH expansions in unserved rural areas. He has scaled StratusIQ's business with financial discipline to meet increased demands and launch new products in a competitive environment. Ben has positioned StratusIQ as a provider on the Underline Open Access Network (OAN) being deployed in urban areas Colorado Springs. He leveraged his experience from the enterprise IT industry to establish quality, value, and reliability as key pillars of StratusIQ's mission. Under Ben's leadership, StratusIQ received "Best in Business" accolades from the Colorado Springs Business Journal multiple years, was recognized as a Colorado "Top 50 Companies to Watch", and won the "Excellence in Customer Service" award in 2023 from the Better Business Bureau.
Originally from Franconia, Virginia, Ben obtained his bachelor's degree from the College of Business at East Carolina University with a concentration in Management Information Systems. He is a Certified Project Management Professional and holds ITIL Foundations Certification. Ben, his wife Stacy, and their three children have lived in Colorado Springs since 2007 where they enjoy the beautiful Colorado outdoors, playing golf, fishing, and mountain biking. Ben is involved in numerous activities including coaching youth sports, supporting local charities, and advising Career Technical Education programs in local schools.
Job Titles:
- Sales Engineer & Commercial Project Manager
Brent Roy has worked in the operations side of telecommunications companies for over 20 years. He joined StratusIQ in 2018 as a Field Technician. Prior to that he worked for a fast-growing CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) designing and implementing order flow and escalation procedures. Brent's #1 focus is providing exceptional customer service by always going above and beyond expectations.
Job Titles:
- in 2008 As an Engineer
- Senior OSP Engineer
Chris Otrin joined StratusIQ in 2008 as an engineer to build the company's mapping system from scratch. He has 22 years' experience in the Cable TV industry with 17 years of it as an Engineer. During his time with StratusIQ, he has also held positions as an installer, technician, and fiber splicer. Prior to joining StratusIQ, Chris worked for Adelphia and was a contracted engineer for Time Warner. While at Adelphia he started as a new installer and worked his way up to Western Regional Design Manager in less than 5 years. Before entering the cable, TV business Chris spent 12 years in the US Army on tanks and watercraft. His hobbies include modifying and collecting NERF guns, Scottish Reenactment, and attending Renaissance Festivals.
Curt Ambroso has been with StratusIQ since 2018 where he is a member of the Senior Management Team and oversees all the company's finances and accounting. Along with his MBA, he has over 20 years' experience in his field. Before joining StratusIQ, Curt worked in the technical and hospitality industries where he helped in launching a billion-dollar franchise's new accounting system and managed the accounting of a national gift card program. As a longtime resident of Colorado, Curt is an enthusiastic outdoorsman and a family man. He is an advocate for people with special needs in Colorado Springs and volunteers with the local Challenger Baseball program to help special needs athletes play baseball.
Job Titles:
- in 2017 As an Install Technician
- OSP Engineer
Justin Landis joined StratusIQ in 2017 as an Install Technician and has worked his way up the ladder to his current position of Outside Plant Engineer. Prior to StratusIQ, he spent 10 years working at Comcast where he focused primarily on commercial installations. He has played an important role in securing funding for the continued expansion of the StratusIQ network in under-served rural areas. Justin spends his free time playing video games where he appreciates a fast and stable connection with low latency.
Job Titles:
- Network Engineer & Systems Admin
Justin joined StratusIQ in 2022 as a Network Engineer and System Administrator on the Systems Team. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Justin has years of experience with Fiber, LTE, and other wireless technologies. He holds multiple industry certificates in Networking, Security, and other ISP related areas. Justin has lived in several different states throughout the western US and now permanently resides in Colorado Springs.
Kelly joined StratusIQ in 2021. Kelly has worked in project management for 20 years. She has held her PMP certification since 2008. Prior to joining StratusIQ, Kelly was a key member of the Southern Delivery System (SDS) team that was formed to bring a second water source to Colorado Springs and install an Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) electrical upgrade. Kelly volunteers with Colorado Beagle Rescue, where she has fostered 12 dogs and helped them find their fur-ever homes. Kelly is classically trained flute player and has been in many choirs and bands over the years. Kelly pend her time away from StratusIQ enjoying painting, photography, and hiking.
Kim joined StratusIQ in 2022. Hired to lead our Operations Department she will oversee Service Delivery, Systems Management and Outside Plant. She has more than 20 years' experience in telecom, business solutions and business operations for non-profit and for-profit organizations. Kim has been in Colorado Springs since 2000 where she has raised her family with her husband Dave. Kim is a volunteer for various non-profits here in town including the global organization, Preemptive Love.
Mark joined StratusIQ to oversee and manage construction of its fiber infrastructure. He has passion for sharing his extensive knowledge and experience with his team and helping them develop their careers. He has placed special emphasis on building a safety culture with the StratusIQ team. A few of Mark's notable accomplishments include engineering fiber and coax construction to the US Olympic Committee facilities in Colorado Springs and building a coax splicing team of 30 for a system wide upgrade for an incumbent telecommunications operator in Colorado Springs. When Mark is not leading construction of Colorado Springs' best fiber network he spends his time in the mountains off-roading or going for leisure cruises on his Harley Davidson.
Rick Mount joined StratusIQ in 2005 when his former company was acquired by Falcon Broadband. He has more than 25 years' experience in Networking and Wide Area Network Management. Prior to joining StratusIQ, Rick served in the Military for 18 years in the Communications Field. Rick is from Wisconsin but has spent over 40 years in Colorado Springs. He enjoys fishing the lakes in Colorado and spending time with his grandchildren.
Rose joined StratusIQ in 2019 with 23 years of technical experience and 27 years of customer service experience. Rose is prior service Army Signal Corps and has deployed to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. She is from Los Angeles, California but has been living in Colorado for 21 years. Rose has a degree in Information Systems Management.
Scott Wolford became a member of the StratusIQ team in 2019 and manages the technical staff. He has a great deal of experience in large system integration, commissioning, and configuration. Before coming to StratusIQ, Scott worked in many high-profile Broadcast facility builds such as the ESPN multi-floor buildings where he obtained contracts for the builds and developed engineering/integration. He also assisted in the building and rebuilding of facility systems for clients like DIRECTV and EchoStar. Scott has been a resident of Colorado Springs since 1975 and, although has traveled extensively for this work, he now resides there permanently.
Job Titles:
- Director of Sales & Marketing
Sebastian Nutter joined the Senior Management Team at StratusIQ in 2020 to oversee and lead all things sales and marketing related. He has more than 16 years of experience managing sales teams and working in the B2B arena. Prior to joining StratusIQ, Sebastian worked in the intellectual property and hospitality industries. Some notable career accomplishments of Sebastian's are helping launch a local restaurant and assisting his Fortune 50 clients win high profile patent infringement lawsuits. Sebastian is a lifelong resident of Colorado and an avid outdoorsman. He volunteers as a committee member for the Colorado Springs Ducks Unlimited Chapter and is deeply involved in the Colorado Springs small business community.
Seth is a Colorado native who was raised in Falcon and graduated from Widefield. He joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and spent 5 years in the Infantry with multiple combat deployments to Helmand, Afghanistan. After his active-duty time, he joined the reserves and started his telecommunications career as a field technician. Seth quickly progressed in his career to become the only quad tech in Arapahoe County and one of two quad techs in El Paso County. He joined StratusIQ in December of 2021 to apply his knowledge and leadership skills to continue building and growing its talented field technician team.