Dasher Leadership

Connecting with Dasher can be as personal as a call, as fast as an email, or as friendly as a chat. We’re ready when you are to discuss your next IT project.

Chris Saso, Chief Technology Officer

Chris Saso joined Dasher Technologies in 2003 as employee number four and is instrumental in defining the Dasher go to market strategy that will help our clients meet their goals, plans and objectives now and into the future. Chris was an account executive for 11 years at Dasher before taking on the role of EVP in 2014.  He joined Dasher from NetApp where he managed business development relationships with Microsoft, Real Networks and Apple Computers. Chris earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from The University of California, Riverside and was a software engineer for 10 years before moving into business development and sales.

As a passionate photographer, Chris captures incredible moments of landscapes, wildlife and sports… which are displayed on his office walls. Chris is a dedicated Giants fan and loves getting out on the disc golf course.

Michael Cook, Chief Financial Officer

Michael Cook joined the Dasher Technologies’ executive team in February 2016. With 30 years of experience in the IT industry, Michael has participated in every major facet of the channel. He has served at several companies including resellers, regional distributors, and manufacturers (Intel).

Prior to Dasher, Michael spent 22 years with SYNNEX Corporation, 2016 ranked Fortune 212, serving as Vice President Product Management managing the entire Hewlett-Packard Enterprise product portfolio, associated P&L, and marketing. He attended West Valley College in Saratoga, CA, as well as San Jose State University with an emphasis on Business Law and Computer Science.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys traveling across Europe with family, gardening and deep sea fishing in Key West.

Josh Close, Vice President, Engineering

Josh Close joined Dasher Technologies in 2018. Josh is responsible for all pre-sales deployment, integration and support engineering resources across all US locations. Josh is focused on the company’s cybersecurity and enterprise networking solution offerings, aligning client solutions with business requirements and earning customer loyalty. Prior to joining Dasher Technologies, Josh was managing multiple teams of engineers to provide the highest possible level of quality assurance and support around the world at a network solutions integrator. Josh also spent a few years at Aruba Networks where he was an integral part of the solutions engineering team.

Josh loves spending time with his wife and two sons on road trips, visiting family internationally and at local parks. When he is not on the road, he enjoys drone racing, watching boxing or going for a bike ride.

John Galatea, Vice President, Sales

John Galatea joined Dasher Technologies in 2018 as the Vice President, Sales. Throughout John’s career, he has held leadership roles in sales, marketing and business development allowing him to fully understand the reseller ecosystem. John joins the Dasher team from a five-year tenure at Juniper Networks and previously worked at a distributor and reseller. John’s sales and technical expertise in the networking and security space makes him a true visionary and key addition to the Dasher executive team. John’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to Inktomi (acquired by Yahoo), where he grew a business from inception to a 200M runrate.

Outside of the office, you can find John mountain biking the various trails in Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, or spending time with his wife, twin girls, son and Greater Swiss Mountain puppy.

Lucas Melcon, Vice President, Sales Operations

Lucas joined Dasher in 2011 as an Inside Sales Support Specialist. Lucas quickly distinguished himself and moved from inside to outside sales where he managed some of Dasher’s largest accounts for 10 years.  In December of 2020 Lucas moved from the role of Account Executive to become Dasher’s VP of Sales Operations.  Lucas is based in the Dasher Portland, OR office and has the role of executive sponsor for clients in the pacific northwest.  Additionally, Lucas provides executive guidance to a team of three account executives and 3 engineers located in the Portland office.

As VP of Sales Operations Lucas has many responsibilities such as interfacing with vendor partners to ensure Dasher is best aligned with incentive, accreditation and other vendor programs to ensure Dasher maximizes our profits.  Lucas leverages his extensive knowledge and experience as a top Account Executive to work closely with the COO to be the bridge between the Sales and Operations teams.

Rob Poole, Account Executive

Rob joined the Dasher Sales Team in 2008 and has been a key contributor ever since. Currently, Rob is responsible for managing many of Dasher’s most strategic clients.  Rob joined the leadership team in 2019 focusing on next-generation initiatives. He has always been a leader and a mentor to all Dasher staff.  Rob embodies our core values of Integrity, Respect, Hard Work and Client First and demonstrates them every day.

Outside of the office, Rob volunteers in youth sports and enjoys spending time with his wife and two children.

Angela Armstrong, Account Executive

Angela joined Dasher in 2009 as our first full time Marketing Manager, defining our marketing strategy and rising from marketing manager, to Director and eventually to VP of Marketing and Business Development.  While leading marketing, Angela quickly exhibited her ability to lead our marketing efforts and added the leadership of our BDR team to her list of job responsibilities.

In 2018, Angela took on the role of Account Executive.  Angela has exceeded all expectations in her transition from Marketing to Sales and has moved to becoming the number three AE at Dasher in just over 2 years. Angela has exceeded at bringing in clients and was the #1 and #2 AE in new logo acquisition in both 2019 and 2020.

Angela works with both private and public sector entities helping them build and deliver a strategy for their IT infrastructure. Angela is a people person, a perfectionist and a woman of her word. With an experienced background in marketing and business development, she brings a softness to the sales process and is a creative mentor to her sales peers.

Ashlyn Estes, Controller

Ashlyn joined Dasher in 2010 immediately after graduating summa cum laude from The University of Alabama. She earned a BS in Finance with a specialization in consumer marketing and a minor in computer science. She brings an incredible attention to detail that is critical for someone in her role.  Ashlyn’s attention to detail, focus and unending energy continually delivers accurate information to the business so that decisions are based on real data.  Ashlyn is constantly providing insight into Dasher’s performance and makes recommendations to the leadership team on how to be efficient, save money and maximize Dasher profit.

Ashlyn developed an annual budget spreadsheet, which has allowed Dasher to track performance throughout the year. In addition to managing budgets, she is responsible for ensuring timely financial reporting and contributing to the effectiveness of daily operations.

Outside of Dasher, Ashlyn loves spending time with her husband and two kids.