Bio

Steve Smith joined Dunn Rush & Co. in 2010, and serves as Managing Director in the area of Technology, Software & Data Services. Steve's specific areas of expertise include internet, enterprise IT, telecommunications, social media and networking. Steve is also currently Chairman and CEO of Fonative, a developer of VoIP software for enterprise call centers. He has previously served in a variety of technical and executive positions with internet, software, and information technology companies both in New England and globally. Steve most recently was CTO and Chief Scientist for Lavalife, a North American leader in the area of internet, voice, and mobile dating products. In this role he was instrumental in the firm’s sale to a public company, and performed the technology assessments for smaller scale acquisitions in the areas of social networking, mobile gaming, interactive television, and virtual worlds that the firm made or investigated post-acquisition. Prior to Lavalife, Mr. Smith founded and was Chairman and CEO of Ampersand, Inc., a software development and IT services firm that served the Department of Defense and national intelligence communities. Ampersand worked for a variety of prime contractors, including PRC, Sterling Software, Lockheed Martin, BTG, SAIC, Sanders, Sun Federal, TRW, and Titan Aerospace. Steve is on the board of several nonprofit and industry association groups, and is Chair of Technology for the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter. He graduated with Distinction from Cornell University’s College of Engineering with a B.S. in Computer Science, and is a Registered Investment Banking Representative (Series 62, 63, 79). Mr. Smith currently holds three patents in areas related to voice call processing (U.S. Patent Numbers 9,053,711; 9,679,584; and 10,014,006).