Leadership
SMA Technologies exists to help companies unlock the potential of their people by automating the repetitive tasks that keep them from more critical work. Since our founding, SMA Technologies has been guided by the passion and drive of our senior leaders.
Their strategic, long-range view and dedication to solving clients' biggest challenges remain the cornerstones that have enabled our company’s longevity and growth.
Michael W. Taylor
Chief Executive Officer
Michael W. Taylor is the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Board of Directors at SMA Technologies. He sets the vision, direction, and company strategy globally for SMA. Under Taylor’s leadership, SMA has grown from a start-up into a global business that has established itself as a market leader in workload automation software.
Taylor’s family founded SMA in 1980 and he joined in 1981. SMA is now a company with hundreds of employees and thousands of clients throughout the US, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, guided by three core values — do the right thing, passion, and tenacity.
Building an enigma in the software industry, Taylor grew SMA to not only develop best-in-class automation products but also to have a positive impact on clients' everyday lives through automation that focuses on simplicity. Since day one, Taylor has insisted that “doing the right thing” must drive every decision made by the leadership team. Under Taylor’s leadership, SMA has focused on unlocking each client's potential by streamlining their IT processes and helping employees be more productive by leveraging our automation platform, OpCon.
Before joining SMA, Taylor spent his early career in various technical roles at the Port of Houston, Kesttran, Inc., and Computer Sciences Corporation. His love of technology started at an early age with repairing engines and trying to understand how things worked. He has always been a problem solver and is always looking for ways to improve things.
Taylor’s love of traditions carried him to Texas A&M
University. He is a member of the class of 1980, where he earned a
Bachelor of Biology degree. Taylor and his wife Laura currently focus on their philanthropic endeavors, their family, and helping people realize their true potential. He believes life is about creating memories and making a difference one person and one customer at a time.
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Todd Dauchy
President
Todd Dauchy is the President of SMA Technologies. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision, strategy and operations of the company. He started his career with SMA as Chief Technology Officer in 2012 and was promoted to President in 2018.
Prior to joining the company, Dauchy was a client of SMA working for a large credit union. He has also led a large data center for a Fortune 500 manufacturing company and guided the IT teams of two large consumer goods manufacturing companies through the acquisition and merger process.
Dauchy’s greatest strengths are change management, a passion for progression, and leadership. In every challenge he has faced, he was a leader in the company’s transformation to the next level of performance. He is known within the company for having his finger on the pulse of all of SMA’s major business initiatives, with an ability to provide guidance and make decisions with a deft touch.
Dauchy holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Phoenix in Business Administration. He has long been a fan of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, attending multiple events every year. He lives in Houston with his wife of nearly 30 years, with two grown children and two grandchildren. They have a shared passion for traveling and creating memories with their family.
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David Gafford
Chief Operating Officer
David Gafford is Chief Operating Officer at SMA Technologies. He joined the SMA team in 2012 and is responsible for operational oversight of SMA globally, including legal and contractual matters, ISO and SOC2 certifications, and human resources.
Prior to joining SMA, he worked at DAPA Family Recovery Programs for 25 years as Chief Financial Officer, responsible for fiscal and operational management of the company’s state-wide facilities as well as federally regulated programs. He was also employed by First City Bank corporation for 12 years in operations and lending at various affiliated banks in Houston, TX.
Gafford is an avid saltwater fisherman, preferring shoreline wading to charter boats. Gafford has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston and is a native Texan making his home in Pearland, TX with his wife and two children. He has a passion for the outdoors and conservation of natural places.
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Maarten-Jan Waasdorp
Chief Financial Officer
Maarten-Jan Waasdorp is Chief Financial Officer at SMA Technologies and is responsible for the overall financial strategy and direction. He manages the controller, treasury, accounting, tax, and internal and external audit functions to guide the company in its growth strategy and meet the expectations of clients and shareholders.
Waasdorp brings three decades of global financial management experience in both the private as well as the public sector from organizations such as Ernst & Young, Oracle, Canon and Heineken.
His strong analytical mind and his collaborative and decisive leadership skills are his best assets, together with an out-of-the-box view of finance and accounting. Being Dutch adds an added value of directness to his strengths. He strongly believes that as a leader you should set the example and lead from within the team.
Waasdorp holds a Bachelor of Finance, Management and Law from the Netherlands and an MBA from the Henley Business School in the UK. Dutch born and raised, he has been a Houstonian for 12 years now and in his spare time you can find him with his camera or in the kitchen, enjoying life with his wife and three rescue dogs.
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Cynthia LaRue
Chief Marketing Officer
Cynthia LaRue is Chief Marketing Officer at SMA Technologies. She is responsible for growth strategies that link the innovations of the company’s product engineering team to the client-focused operations of the business units to build the SMA global brand, create client awareness and advocacy, and drive client preference for the brand through marketing channels.
Prior to joining SMA, she worked at several Fortune 500 organizations including The Home Depot, Mars Wrigley Confectionary M&M’s and Centrica, all in strategic growth-focused roles with P&L responsibility.
LaRue’s greatest strengths are her creativity, drive and leadership. She thrives on challenges, particularly those that expand the company’s reach. Her life philosophy is that she believes as a leader, she must be a revolutionary pioneer that believes in the 3 Ps: People (believe in people), Passion (creates energy), and Possibilities (imagine a future that does not yet exist).
She holds both a Bachelor of Science in Management and an MBA from Belhaven University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She lives in the greater Houston area with her husband of over 20 years and both of their children are currently college students at the University of Texas. In her free time, she enjoys designing jewelry, hiking, swimming and writing.
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Joel Faul
Chief Technology Officer
Joel Faul is the Chief Technology Officer at SMA Technologies. He is responsible for formulating product strategy and the technology roadmap as well as ongoing software development, solution services, managed services and client support.
Faul has experience building teams and bringing products to market that clients truly love. His technology and leadership experience is diverse, including applying machine learning to handwriting and voice recognition, satellite communication and tracking, and workload automation. He began doing software development at an early age, making it the focus of his education and ultimately falling in love with writing code and the entire software creation process. By investing in leadership development alongside his technology focus, he has become the kind of leader that brings a passion and understanding of technology along with a passion and understanding of people and the many dynamics required to bring teams together to deliver real value with technology.
Faul places a high value on listening to clients to influence product design and roadmap as well as fostering an environment within SMA that inspires his team to go the extra mile to help those clients succeed.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from North Dakota State University and further studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Faul is a member of a local running club and enjoys spending time with his wife, three grown children, and granddaughter.
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Dianne Murtha-Fitzpatrick
Vice President of Sales, US
Dianne Murtha-Fitzpatrick is the Vice President of Sales, US at SMA Technologies. She is responsible for driving revenue growth, developing new business opportunities and overseeing sales strategy and execution. Fitzpatrick leads the sales teams to meet client demand with a special focus on maintaining SMA’s high client satisfaction ratings.
She is a passionate leader who brings a broad range of skills to her position at SMA, having held various leadership roles during her 20-year tenure at CA Technologies (Broadcom). Her background includes sales leadership, partner sales, and business development. Fitzpatrick has consistently driven success by listening to the voice of clients and designing solutions that address their needs. She believes win-win solutions for clients and partners alike are paramount.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Marywood University in Scranton, PA, as well as a master’s degree from LIU Post in Brookeville, New York. Fitzpatrick and her husband are most proud of their two grown children who have recently graduated college. She enjoys running, hiking, and has devoted much of her free time over the years to coaching youth sports.
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Working for something greater
At SMA Technologies, our core values are deeply embedded in our company culture. They unite us across geographies and cultures by defining what’s important to our business and govern how we conduct it. We put our values into action every day through our work and relationships with our clients, employees, partners, and vendors. These are more than slogans — they’re the words we live by, every day.
Do the right thing
Do the right thing is our guiding core value. At SMA, we follow through, which means we always fulfill our commitments. All employees are expected to conduct themselves with honesty at all times. This means doing what is best for our clients and partners for the long term. We measure our success not only in financial results but by how consistently we act according to do the right thing.
Tenacious
Our tenacity comes from our strength of character. We are scrappy, determined, resourceful, and relentless in our approach to serve our clients and partners. We are willing to fight for what is right and are proactive in seeking solutions. We are tenacious and will not quit.
Passion
Our passion comes from a deep caring for the success of our employees, clients, and partners, both personally and professionally. Every employee is expected to “own it” by taking the lead and seeing initiatives through from start to finish.