Rick Hymanson - President and Founder
As an entrepreneur with a keen insight into the needs of small businesses, Rick founded Shugo with one simple goal: To give all businesses, regardless of size, a simple and cost-effective way to satisfy the ever-increasing consumer concerns and government regulations surrounding the secure transmission of sensitive, personally identifiable data over the internet. Recognizing the financial and technical constraints that most businesses, particularly small businesses, face in addressing these concerns, Rick has positioned Shugo to be the leading provider of secure, cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions for storing and exchanging sensitive information.

Rick's own experience as a small business owner is the driving force behind the goals of Shugo. Most recently, as the founder and President of Bradrick Group, Inc., a software development and technology consulting firm specializing in the payroll and financial industries, Rick placed specific emphasis on the security requirements that his clients and the industry now require. At Bradrick Group, Rick was instrumental in the growth of the company from a fledgling start-up to an esteemed provider of Information Technology and Software Development consulting services, with a primary focus on the designing and architecting of enterprise level web based applications. Being the founder of two start ups himself, Rick is particularly sensitive to the challenges facing small business owners in today's technologically driven marketplace.

Robert Bacher - Vice President
Rob’s extensive and diversified software development background gives Shugo a decisive edge in the software security arena. With ten years of experience as a software architect of secure, scalable enterprise systems, and a background in the payroll and financial services industries, Rob is particularly sensitive to the potential risks and liabilities that companies face in today’s technologically driven climate.

As Vice President, Rob utilizes his innate knowledge of hardware and networking technology, combined with strong and proven leadership abilities, to ensure that the focus at Shugo rests on securely developed software designed to best meet the needs of our clients. Also a small business owner himself, Rob owns both a successful software consulting firm and an iPhone application development firm, which has recently launched a number of popular applications. Rob’s strong work ethic and commitment to excellence are a driving force behind Shugo’s commitment to bringing quality and value to our clients.

Jim Costello
With over 30 years in the payroll and human resource outsourcing industries, Jim’s senior leadership experience in all facets of business – from sales, to operations, to client relations - makes him an invaluable resource to Shugo. His years spent with some of the nation’s largest and most well known outsourcing companies, including Bank of America, ADP and Genesys Software Systems, combined with his venture as a founder of EmployeeMatters.com, now owned by Intuit, have given him a uniquely well-rounded insight into the challenges faced by businesses both large and small.

Jim has earned the reputation as a technology leader, as he oversaw the development and rollout of the nation’s first Microsoft .Net, SQL 2005 payroll application in his role as President of PayChoice, a payroll software licensing company with the largest base of payroll software licensees in the country. In addition to being one of the driving forces behind this developing technology, Jim also led PayChoice’s Alliance Partnership initiatives, and was a key factor in building the now robust suite of ancillary service offerings, which now includes worker’s compensation, 401k and identity theft safeguards. As a seasoned professional with an acute insight into the security challenges faced by businesses in today’s technology-driven arena, Jim has proven himself a savvy and astute leader with an eye toward the future.

Charles (Chuck) Culver
As a seasoned payroll professional and small business owner, Chuck brings to Shugo a wealth of industry knowledge and business experience garnered during his 30+ years in the payroll industry. Well-known and highly respected by his peers in the payroll industry, Chuck has built a reputation for keen business insight and dedication to serving the needs of his customers.

As founder, owner and Vice-President of Payroll Associates, a payroll software development and licensing company introduced 20 years ago, his focus on the growing technological advances of the time was the driving force that led Payroll Associates to become a leader in the industry and positioned the company, now PayChoice, to become the powerhouse in the payroll industry that it is today.

David Gallagher
David is the Founder and CEO of Dominion Payroll Services (DPS). After passing the CPA exam, David began his career at Coopers & Lybrand and worked in the audit department. Before starting DPS, he was an executive with Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and ultimately managed the West Coast and Asia Pacific teams as an expatriate in Sydney, Australia. Feeling the need for a local payroll processing firm, David moved his family back to Richmond and founded DPS in 2002 which now serves over 1,500 clients from 4 offices.

DPS has been named to the INC5000 for outstanding growth for two consecutive years and has won the payroll industry’s Platinum award for growth and customer service excellence for 5 consecutive years. David sits as a trustee on Richmond Center Stage, Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, The Children’s Museum, The Virginia Council of CEO’s, Longwood Business School, Benedictine Education Foundation, and the Venture Forum. David and his wife Grace have 5 children: Andrew, Cameron, Reilly, Sydney and Mitchell.

Richard Hymanson Sr.
With over 30 years of experience in the area of retail banking, Richard has demonstrated a strong track record in driving the achievement of ambitious banking sales and service goals. Some of his past positions include Chief Retail Project Manager for Harleysville National Bank, Chief Retail Officer of Willow Financial Bank and Director of Sales in the Mid-Atlantic Region for Citizens Bank. He has proven skills in creating and implementing initiatives that substantially improved customer satisfaction and developing prototypes to maximize sales in the retail branch system. By analyzing performance and strategizing sales campaigns he has been successful in capitalizing on opportunities to improve overall business success.

Richard’s successful approach in the banking world in increasing sales and maximizing staff performance by focusing on customer satisfaction as a way to expand and develop new and improved business relations and products is going to be a tremendous asset to the growth of Shugo.