Management Team

Fred Yentz, President & CEO
Fred Yentz joined ILS Technology as senior vice president and chief operating officer in January 2007, bringing with him more than 20 years industry experience in the technology solution market. 
Prior to ILS Technology, Fred Yentz served as Vice President and General Manager of RadiSys Corporation, a leading provider of embedded solutions for the telecommunications, enterprise data, medical equipment and the industrial automation marketplaces. While at RadiSys Corporation, Fred served in many capacities including the oversight of World Wide Sales, Marketing, Professional Service, Business Development in addition to General Manager of Enterprise, Communication and Commercial operating divisions.   
Fred also worked for IBM where he held various positions with responsibility for Engineering, New Business Development and Management. Mr. Fred is named as an inventor on two U.S. patents and has received IBM’s First Level Plateau Invention Achievement Award. 
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA), National Science and Technology Education Program (NSTEP), and is chairman of the Industry Advisory Board for Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering.
Mr. Yentz holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University (1988), a Master of Business Administration (1996) from the University of Miami, and a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems (1997) from the University of Miami.

John Keever, Executive Vice President & CTO
John Keever founded ILS Technology and began serving as executive vice president and chief technology officer in October 2000, bringing with him more than 24 years of experience in automation software engineering and design. Keever came to ILS Technology from IBM Corporation where he was IBM global services principle responsible for e-Production solutions architectures and deployment. Keever enjoyed over 18 years of plant floor automation experience with IBM, and is the former world-wide development and support manager for Automation Connection, Distributed Applications Environment, PlantWorks and Data Collection hardware and software products. His prior experience within IBM includes lead marketing and solutions architecture responsibilities for General Motors, BMW, Chrysler, Tokyo Electron, Glaxo-Wellcome, and numerous other global manufacturing companies. Keever has been awarded both hardware patents and software copyrights.
Mr. Keever holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University, a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering with minors in both Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from North Carolina State University and has completed postgraduate work in Computer Engineering and Operating Systems design at Duke University.

William Ramus, Senior Vice President of Commercial Management
William Ramus joined ILS Technology as senior vice president of commercial management in October, 2001, after holding several executive management positions during a 33-year career with IBM Corporation. Having served primarily in IBM’s Microelectronics and Consulting Divisions, Ramus has extensive experience overseeing production, finance, planning, IT, industrial engineering, and procurement. Some of Ramus’ accomplishments at IBM include but are not limited to: manufacturing cycle time reductions of 20+%, expense reductions of 15% per annum, and the implementation of innovative business processes in procurement, manufacturing methods, strategic planning, production control, inventory management, and import/export compliance. In addition to his professional achievements, Ramus has also been involved with industry standards throughout his career, working with both SEMI and International Sematech.
Mr. Ramus holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
 

Advisory Board

Joe Cestari, Advisor
Joe Cestari joined ILS Technology as president and chief executive officer in January 2004, bringing with him more than 20 years of semiconductor industry experience, including device design, process and equipment engineering, advanced technology development, and supply chain management. Prior to joining ILS Technology, Cestari was senior vice president and general manager of Kinetic Systems, a provider of capital equipment and critical process infrastructure solutions for semiconductor and other regulated industries. Prior to this role, Cestari was president of a joint venture between Kinetics Electronics and Air Products and Chemicals and has also held senior management positions with Applied Materials, Tylan General, and Advanced Micro Devices.
Mr. Cestari earned a Bachelor’s of science degree in computer engineering from Baylor University and also holds graduate degrees in international business and technology management.