Who we are
The team
You will know a few of them by name within a month. The rest are behind them.
Ingram Leedy
Founder and CEO · here since 2004
"You should never have to explain yourself twice."
Ingram Leedy started Protected Trust in 2004 so when you reach out, someone who knows you takes care of it. His rule: "You should never have to explain yourself twice." His father was the architect Gene Leedy, whose concrete-and-glass buildings still stand across Florida and hid nothing and wasted nothing. Ingram runs the company the same way. He is a pilot, and flies the way he works: checklist, preparation, instruments, then the freedom to go anywhere, with his family and the real Florida below.
From the team: "Smartest person I've ever met." (Todd Frankel)
Chris Bridges
CTO · here since 2005
"I almost always know a guy, or gal."
Chris Bridges keeps a handful of businesses running so their owners never have to think about technology. Since 2005 that has meant everything from a move or an audit to a quick sign-in reset. "I almost always know a guy, or gal." One client knows Chris well enough to invite Chris and the boys tarpon fishing in Boca Grande every summer. Off the clock: surf fishing on a Florida beach. Ask about that, or about getting the side-by-side stuck in the mud.
From the team: "He will always answer the phone and treat you like a long lost friend." (Leah Long-Hawxwell)
Todd Frankel
CFO · here since 2017
"I count the beans and keep the company's numbers from falling off the table."
Todd Frankel keeps the company's numbers right and helps the sales team structure a deal that works. Raised in Cleveland, Todd spent twenty years in equipment finance before joining in 2017, and has walked long-time clients through a hard financial stretch and out the other side. "I count the beans and keep the company's numbers from falling off the table." Todd would drive an hour for a very rare steak or the perfect veal parmesan. Ask about the pole vault, and show jumping, once upon a time.
From the team: "Todd is the most positive person on our team. He is always about what is possible." (Ingram Leedy)
Stephen Cornell
Service Director
"They are never a pain, and that's what they pay us for. We're always here for them."
Stephen Cornell leads the engineers who look after you, brings new clients on board, and makes sure you always know what is new. Stephen started young: the first thing Stephen ever fixed was a 1997 desktop pulled from the school's recycling pile, and the first job was a helpdesk internship at 17. Clients sometimes apologize for being a pain. "They are never a pain, and that's what they pay us for. We're always here for them." Weekends are St. Augustine, where the family relaxes completely. Ask Stephen about 3D printing.
From the team: "One of those people who makes the whole team better." (Jon Webster)
Javier Pereira
Director, IT Client Consulting · here since 2016
"Home is where the soul can rest."
Javier Pereira takes on the projects and the stubborn problems, and makes complicated things seem simple. Javier sang opera before corporate IT, then made a home in small business. Clients get a straight answer on cost, and Javier will teach anyone anything. What makes the day is the look of understanding, and once the goal is in sight, there is no going back. "Home is where the soul can rest": a quiet canal in the Lower Keys, or on stage. Ask about running with the bulls in Pamplona.
From the team: "Really good at making complicated things seem simple." (Jon Webster)
Jon Webster
Chief Cloud Solutions Architect · here since 2005
"Do it right the first time, and you won't have to do it twice."
Jon Webster takes the problems nobody else could crack. Jon is the one the team learns from, and usually right even when you would rather not hear it. The best part of Jon's day is teaching someone a shortcut they will use forever. "Everything breaks eventually. What matters is having the right people and systems in place to fix it quickly." Off the clock, Jon is on a pickleball court, or happily lost in a good fictional world: books, movies, games. Ask about the latest one.
From the team: "Jon has taught me more in the last 14 years than anyone has in my whole life." (Stephen Cornell)
Leah Long-Hawxwell
Director of Client Experience · here since 2013
"Tech is confusing. I am a non-technical person working in a technical career."
Leah Long-Hawxwell makes sure every client is heard, not just reacted to. Since 2013 that has meant checking in, finding the right person when something is stuck, and sending the handwritten notes that clients write back to thank her for. "Tech is confusing. I am a non-technical person working in a technical career," she says, so nobody is made to feel stupid for asking a question. Saturdays find her cheering on her daughter at volleyball games. Ask about conch chowder in Islamorada, or dancing on a cruise ship in Alaska.
From the team: "When something needs to get done, she'll do whatever it takes to get it across the finish line, and she'll keep everyone smiling along the way." (Bill Sands)
Bill Sands
Director of Client Relationships
"I would rather help them identify what they do need and sell them that."
Bill Sands helps business owners work out what they actually need, and what they do not, and stays with them as they grow. Most new clients arrive as referrals from current ones. "I would rather help them identify what they do need and sell them that. It's the Trust part of Protected Trust." Raised in Winter Haven, Bill water-skied with the Cypress Gardens jump team, spent a summer on a horse farm in Hokkaido, Japan, and would have been a ski instructor. Ask about snow skiing, and settle in.
From the team: "Bill is one of the kindest, most personable people I know. He would do anything for you, and he is easygoing about whatever comes. Perfect travel partner." (Ingram Leedy)
Pedro Balata
Senior Client Advisor · here since 2012
"I hate saying no to a client. There's almost always a way to get it done."
Pedro Balata is usually the first person you meet at Protected Trust, and the one who stays in your corner. "I hate saying no to a client," Pedro says. "There's almost always a way to get it done." One recent Saturday that meant helping install a client's home network, now better than the office's. Other Saturdays belong to the soccer fields. After college, Pedro spent a summer as a white-water river guide in Colorado. Still trying to keep a houseplant alive.
From the team: "He's down to earth, sees the big picture, and is in it for the long haul." (Bill Sands)
Jonathan Jones
Concierge Specialist · here since 2011
"Technology can be complex. Explaining it should not be."
Jonathan Jones handles the big moves: mergers, migrations, new devices, and everything Microsoft 365. Jonathan remembers the small things clients mention; one detail, kept from an unrelated conversation, once solved a problem Microsoft had been working on for weeks. The best advice Jonathan ever got: understand the problem before you jump to the fix. Saturdays are for 8-ball or 9-ball with classic rock in the background. Ask Jonathan where to find the best fajitas or Philly cheesesteak, a thirty-year obsession. Still trying to properly roll a burrito.
From the team: "Jonathan is quiet, but don't let that fool you: one of the brightest minds on our team. He makes it look easy, and you never see how hard it was." (Ingram Leedy)
Joe Gallagher
Concierge Specialist · here since 2024
"If I don't know something, that just makes me want to figure it out."
Joe Gallagher brings new clients on board and looks after the cloud, the servers, and the backups. Joe spent sixteen years running IT for a self-storage company that was a Protected Trust client, so Joe knows the other side of the call, and nobody is more patient when things look bad. "If I don't know something, that just makes me want to figure it out." Joe came to Florida from Worcester, Massachusetts, as a bellhop at the Tower of Terror. Ask about that, or about Boston sports.
From the team: "Joe is one of those people you can always count on. He's intelligent, humble, and genuinely enjoyable to work with." (Chris Munoz)
Sean Jacobs
Senior Service Engineer · here since 1999
"Fix the things that need fixed."
Sean Jacobs fixes the things other people have trouble fixing, and notices what others miss. Here since 1999, Sean also manages a bunch of robots: the systems that tell us when something breaks, so it is often fixed before anyone asks. "Fix the things that need fixed." The last thank-you Sean got was for doing something other vendors probably would not have. Saturdays are Disney, LEGOLAND, or Bok Tower; Saturday night is game night. Ask Sean about toads. There is a Toad Facts account, and it was an accident.
From the team: "Sean brings a calm, steady presence to every situation. He's incredibly wise, rarely gets rattled, and has a knack for keeping things in perspective when challenges arise." (Chris Munoz)
Chris Munoz
Service Engineer · here since 2022
"I take every challenge personal and I don't like to stop until I fix it."
Chris Munoz sets up new machines, sorts out the network, and comes on site when a problem needs a person there. Eighteen years as a utility mechanic for Polk County Public Schools came first. "I love troubleshooting, this goes for everything in life whether it be a puzzle, a motor that isn't running, a toilet that is leaking." Chris grew up next to Lake Winterset, jumping off docks and climbing cypress trees, used to tattoo professionally, and is a pretty decent barber. Ask about fishing, or the Lightning.
From the team: "This man has the best work ethic of anyone I have ever met, which is saying something since Chris, and I have been friends since the 11th grade." (Stephen Cornell)
CJ
Service Engineer
"Fixing things that probably would have been easier to just replace."
CJ gets you back up and running when something stops your day, a hacked email account or a spoofing problem, and stays on it until it is truly fixed. He walks you through each step, patiently, so you can handle it yourself next time. Off the clock: DIY projects, the science behind what we eat, and "fixing things that probably would have been easier to just replace." He has "a difficult time accepting 'because that's just how it works' as an answer." Ask CJ about the last rabbit hole.
From the team: "CJ gets more thank-you notes from clients than anyone on the team, and they say the same two things every time: fast, and patient. Nobody feels silly for asking." (Ingram Leedy)
Justin Nieves
Service Engineer · here since 2026
"Asking for help is no bother at all."
Justin Nieves is often the first person you talk to when something stops working: email, a locked account, a suspicious message, a printer. Before Protected Trust he was the only IT support in a 1,500-student middle school. People apologize for asking. "Asking for help is no bother at all." On a long call, people tell him about their day, and he likes that. Home is Crash Boat beach in Puerto Rico. Saturdays are gaming or riding his motorcycle with friends. Ask Justin about the DSi he fixed at seven.
From the team: "Justin will teach you the shortcut while he fixes the problem. You get off the phone with one less thing to call about." (Stephen Cornell)
Michelle B
Development Lead · here since 1997
"My favorite line to start a conversation is: what is the problem, the real problem."
Michelle B builds the tools and code that fix your problems, ideally before you know you have them. Here since 1997, she makes security and compliance easy, and always starts by asking what the real problem is. "I once fixed a long-hidden bug nobody had reported. Less than an hour later, a longtime client called about that exact issue. When I told him it was already fixed, he let out a belly laugh." Off the clock, she's camping in the not-so-fancy Florida Keys, snorkeling with fish and the occasional shark.
From the team: "Michelle also has the biggest heart. She genuinely cares about everyone and is always willing to help whenever she can." (Lori Chalker)
Kim Gossett
Finance · here since 2017
"Sometimes people just need someone to listen and help without judgment."
Kim Gossett keeps the invoices and the numbers right, and balanced the books for attorneys, utilities, farms, and mortgage companies before joining in 2017. "Sometimes people just need someone to listen and help without judgment." When a client called to close an account after a death in the family, Kim made it the one easy call that day. Saturdays start at dawn, paddling a dragon boat with twenty other die-hards, then yoga. If not this, Kim would be rescuing and rehabilitating critters. Hilariously bad at backing up a trailer.
From the team: "She is patient, kind, and always willing to help." (Lori Chalker)
Lori Chalker
Finance Manager · here since 1994
"I do not want the clients worrying each month if their invoice is correct."
Lori Chalker makes sure your invoice is right, so you never have to wonder. Here since 1994, after running the accounting office for a construction company and coordinating the Florida Citrus Festival. "I do not want the clients worrying each month if their invoice is correct." Call with a question and you will hang up feeling heard and sure it is handled. What makes Lori's day: "A smile, a thank you or a simple great job." Weekends are the airboat, or the beach. Ask about saltwater fishing.
From the team: "Lori doesn't just solve the issue, she makes sure you feel heard, supported and confident the problem has been resolved." (Kim Gossett)
Let's talk
Come meet the people.
Tell us what's going on with your technology, what's working and what isn't. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and tell you honestly whether we're the right fit. No slides, no pitch. If we can help, we'll say how. If we can't, we'll point you to someone who can.
Reach out, any way you like. A real person will answer.
Based in downtown Winter Haven since 1996, with offices in Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Miami, serving businesses across Florida.