Bill Pautler, CEO
Bill grew up in southern Illinois in the small town of Chester (the home of Popeye). His father told him it was easier to live in the South, so Bill pursued an education at Spring Hill College in Mobile, where he graduated with a BS in Sociology. Early in his career, Bill, as VP of Operations, helped automate and grow Diamond Head, Inc. until it was sold to a Fortune 500 company. Ever the entrepreneurial spirit, he then started, grew, and sold Voicecom, Inc. Bill then teamed up with partner Steve Guthrie to start Blue Ocean Technologies in 2006. After almost 20 years of award-winning sales experience in the telecommunication field, Bill's current business goal as CEO of Blue Ocean is to help businesses adopt the new emerging voice technologies so they can take their businesses to the next level.
Bill is on the Board of Trustees of the Birmingham Business Alliance and serves on the Boards of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School and Catholic Family Services. While his primary source of enjoyment is his wife Betsy and their 6 children, Bill placed 4th in the 1997 U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship and also scuba dives, rides motorcycles, camps, canoes, and enjoys sailing.
Email Bill at bill@blueotech.net or call him directly at 205.776.6903.
Steve Guthrie, Vice President of Operations
Steve Guthrie has over 26 years in the information technology field, with a wide range of experience in hardware, software, management and engineering. Steve's background in Unix, Linux, Microsoft, Cisco and other leading manufacturer's solutions has been invaluable in providing solutions and needed expertise to his customers.
Building on this dynamic history of managing and facilitating quick and massive growth, Steve Guthrie and Bill Pautler founded Blue Ocean Technologies to bring fast-growing companies the latest in innovative and world-class technologies. Through Blue Ocean Technologies, customers benefit from Steve's knowledge and understanding of industry growth, his mastery of the intricate relationships among sales and operations personnel, and his ability to generate solid and long-lasting growth for companies.
Email Steve at sguthrie@blueotech.net or call him directly at 205.776.6901.
Charlie Griffin, Director of Business Development
Charlie Griffin is not only a native son of Auburn, AL but is also a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in Marketing and an MBA in Finance. He brings to Blue Ocean over 20 years of sales and marketing experience from a wide range of industries from small business ventures to Fortune 100 companies. After beginning his telecom career in in Charlotte, NC, with Nextel at the very dawn of "push to talk," Charlie returned to Birmingham to begin a career with Southern LINC. From there he joined the emerging Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) world enabling businesses to leverage new technology and costs to improve their phone service using alternative carriers, and, after several years of private consulting and entrepreneurial activities, he's back!
A proud father of two boys, Charlie is extremely active in youth baseball, traveling this summer to Cooperstown, NY with their team. When he is not on the baseball field, Charlie works with several mission projects to combat homelessness and poverty in Central Alabama.
Email Charlie at cgriffin@blueotech.net or call him directly at 205.776.6907.
Jerry Robertson, Systems Engineer
Growing up, Jerry Robertson spent countless hours hunting and fishing with his father, learning as much about values and integrity as he did about the outdoors. After high school, Jerry worked as a sporting goods manager and animal control officer while attending Virginia College and earning an Associates Degree in Network Engineering. Since then, Jerry has obtained certifications in A+, MCP, and CCNA and CTP, Samsung Phone System, and Vonexus EIC Master Certifications.
In his free time, Jerry, an avid fisherman, passes along the lessons learned from his father to his own four beautiful daughters.
Email Jerry at jrobertson@blueotech.net or call him directly at 205.776.6902.
Audrey McDonald Atkins, Director of Marketing
Born in the Oil Capital of Alabama, Citronelle, Audrey Atkins, made her way to the Steel City by way of the University of Montevallo, where she earned a B.A. in English. Her career began at RUST Engineering where she served as Sales Presentation Coordinator until a buyout encouraged a career change. For more than a decade, Audrey worked as a paralegal specializing in professional liability defense and commercial lending. During this time, Audrey also wrote a monthly article for Birmingham Magazine and had several feature articles published in Lipstick. Audrey is glad to be back in the sales and marketing world where creativity and business collide.
Outside of the office, Audrey enjoys watching sports with her husband and son, as well as painting and traveling.
Email Audrey at audrey@blueotech.net or call her directly at 205.776.6906.
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