Management Team

Nathan C. Thompson is the chief executive officer of Spectra Logic Corporation. He founded Western Automation, a memory board manufacturer, in 1979, while enrolled at the University of Colorado. Thompson continued the business while in school, graduating with a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering, from the University of Colorado at Boulder's College of Engineering, in 1983. Under Thompson's direction, Western Automation acquired and became Spectra Logic Corporation, a data storage company, in 1988. Today, Spectra Logic continues to offer tape and disk-based data backup and archive solutions designed specifically for secondary storage. Thompson is a recognized leader in the storage industry, having authored numerous articles on the art and science of data backup. Thompson has served as a member of the Colorado 30 Group since 2004, and of Colorado's Young President's Organization (YPO) since 1994; and currently serves on two University of Colorado boards: the CU Business School Demming Center board and the University of Colorado Engineering advisory board. In 1996, Ernst & Young and USA Today named him Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2003, Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (DEAA) from the University of Colorado.

Matt Starr's tenure with Spectra Logic spans 19 years and includes experience in service, hardware design, software development, marketing and management. Starr graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He has extensive experience with software, hardware, operating systems and electronic design and is currently responsible for library engineering. As the first person named to the CTO position at Spectra Logic, he brings to the company a well rounded view of architecture, operations and emerging technology.

Molly Rector originally joined Spectra Logic in 2004 as director of technical marketing, and brings eight years of storage industry experience. As vice president of marketing, Rector leads creative and marketing communications; channel and market development; and product management. She is key in defining Spectra Logic’s future product vision and overall corporate direction. Rector possesses a diverse technology background drawn from years in the storage service provider market, where she has overseen and managed storage implementation and support. Some certifications Rector has secured include: CommVault Certified System Administrator; Veritas Certified Data Protection Administrator; and Oracle Certified Enterprise DBA: Backup and Recovery. She earned a bachelor’s of science degree in biology and chemistry.

Brian Grainger has spent more than 17 years experience in the storage industry and currently serves as the Vice President of Sales for the Americas. Grainger joined Spectra Logic in 2001 and has served in many roles in the sales division over the years, most recently as vice president of the federal and south sales regions. In 2003, he founded the Federal sales division of the company, which now comprises more than one-quarter of Spectra's overall corporate revenue. Before Spectra Logic, Grainger held sales, sales management and product management positions with OnStream, Gates/Arrow, Seagate and Connor Peripherals.