Meet our team of experts.
We set out to solve one of the biggest challenges in the wireless industry — frustratingly slow and costly SIM vendors — by developing a solution we wish we’d had when we were in your shoes.
The RiPSIM™ team is comprised of talented industry veterans, each with decades of wireless experience, who share the common vision that if there is a better, faster and less expensive way to do things, it should be done.
We’ve worked at wireless service providers, device OEMs, and global SIM manufacturers. We have developed custom software solutions, designed new technologies, and commercially launched them all.
We are passionate about changing the status quo and introducing independence and autonomy in a domain that is dominated by rigid companies that try to lock you into their outdated business models.
Management Team
Chris Jahr
CEO, Co-founder
Chris brings more than 30 years of telecom and SIM sales, marketing, and business development experience to his leadership role at RiPSIM. His “customer first” mindset has led him to create and develop strong and lasting relationships—and has established him as a trusted voice—in the wireless industry.
Prior to joining RiPSIM, he spent 20+ years as a senior executive with global SIM vendor Giesecke+Devrient, where he was responsible for new business development throughout the Americas. Over his career, Chris has provided product management and business development expertise to companies such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Charter Communications, Tracfone, TELUS, DISH Network, Nextel International, Cable & Wireless, and Digicel Group, as well as many other small carriers and MVNOs.
He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from George Mason University, and he holds a number of patents in the wireless, SIM, and data management arenas.
Bill Peters
CFO
A seasoned finance and accounting leader, Bill is responsible for managing RiPSIM’s financial operations.
Before joining RiPSIM, Bill held CFO, VP Finance, and other financial management roles at companies including Mobile 365 (through its acquisition of InphoMatch, which he co-founded), Kaleyra (through its acquisition of Hook Mobile), Sybase, GE Energy, and NHC Systems. He co-founded and served as CFO of The Campaign Registry, a central hub for telecom companies using text messaging services, and he has provided outsourced CFO services for private companies throughout much of his career.
Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical/electrical engineering from MIT, a master’s degree in aviation operations from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and an MBA in finance from Colorado State University. Early in his career, he was a Major and C141B instructor aircraft commander with the U.S. Air Force.
Larry Cynkin
CTO
Larry is applying his 35 years of experience in software development, including leadership roles in companies ranging from startups to AOL and Comcast, to charting the technology direction for RiPSIM. A five-time startup CTO/VP Engineering, he has successfully launched award-winning software products on web, mobile, desktop, and cloud platforms.
Prior to RiPSIM, Larry has served as operating or advising CTO overseeing software development for companies in businesses as diverse as ecommerce, telehealth, edtech, identity verification, and international development.
Larry received a bachelor’s degree in computer science, magna cum laude, from Brown University. He holds patents for personalized TV navigation on Xfinity and a security protocol for an online personal “trust seal” to verify identity, and he managed the development of video navigation software for Comcast that was awarded a Technical Emmy.
Juan Carlos “JC” Lazcano
VP of Sales
JC, who leads customer acquisition and customer relations for RiPSIM, is a seasoned professional with a remarkable track record spanning over two decades in the technology and communications industry. Throughout his career, JC has been instrumental in cultivating enduring and trusted relationships with clients and partners, including more than 30 Fortune 500 or Global 1000 companies, demonstrating a commitment to providing innovative and effective solutions that drive tangible value and impact.
He joined RiPSIM after working much of his career for global SIM vendor Thales/Gemalto—most recently as Strategic Accounts Manager and earlier in numerous sales and solutions marketing leadership roles—and for Gemplus (acquired by Thales), the inventor of smartcards. JC also served as Strategic Account Director for Utimaco, a global platform provider of trusted cybersecurity and compliance solutions and services. He has enabled some of the most prolific global brands—including Verizon, T-Mobile, SWIFT, Apple, Cisco, and Freddie Mac—to successfully implement significant technology initiatives.
JC earned a bachelor’s degree in electronic systems engineering and a master’s degree in management of information systems, both from Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico).
Yongjia Li
VP of Product Management
Considered one of the top SIM experts in all of North America, Yongjia oversees the features and capabilities of the RiPSIM eSIM platform. During his quarter-century career he has built, managed, and led SIM engineering organizations in Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Yongjia’s team in the U.S. served virtually all carriers in the U.S. and Canada with profile creation and SIM/eSIM generation over a 16-year period and was instrumental in the eSIM launch with major U.S. carriers and OEMs.
Yongjia received a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Nanyang Technological University Singapore and a master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from National University of Singapore. He holds patents for smartcards, mobile device communications, and a convertible data carrier cradle for electronic mobile devices.
Board of Directors
Chris Jahr
CEO, Board Member
Chris brings more than 30 years of telecom and SIM sales, marketing, and business development experience to his leadership role at RiPSIM. His “customer first” mindset has led him to create and develop strong and lasting relationships—and has established him as a trusted voice—in the wireless industry.
Prior to joining RiPSIM, he spent 20+ years as a senior executive with global SIM vendor Giesecke+Devrient, where he was responsible for new business development throughout the Americas. Over his career, Chris has provided product management and business development expertise to companies such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Charter Communications, Tracfone, TELUS, DISH Network, Nextel International, Cable & Wireless, and Digicel Group, as well as many other small carriers and MVNOs.
He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from George Mason University, and he holds a number of patents in the wireless, SIM, and data management arenas.
Scott Marquardt
Executive Chairman
Scott is a retired senior executive who brings to RiPSIM expertise spanning governance and multiple areas of functional management for American and European companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Previously, he spent 10 years as President of G+D America, expanding the company’s business in the U.S. and Canada and successfully promoting eSIM technology into the first commercial deployments with leading U.S. carriers and OEMs. He got his start in the mobile phone industry with Philips Consumer Communications in 1996, where he oversaw GSM phone production and distribution.
He has also served as VP Asia Pacific for Philips Semiconductors/NXP Semiconductors and SVP Global Sales for Philips Components. Earlier in his career he held various positions over 13 years in operations/supply chain at Apple in the U.S. and Europe and was a Principal in the Operations Practice at AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm.
Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Columbia University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He advises or has served on the boards of directors for Pacific General Holdings, Able Device, and FitPay, and he holds four patents for SIM programming, computer-readable media, and a plug-in portable data carrier.
Ric Fleisher
Board Member
Ric is a serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in business development, sales, and technology. He has been involved with 10 start-ups, including ventures in automotive, real estate, two-sided marketplaces, mobile, location-based services, ID verification, networking hardware, speech, streaming video, collaboration, intelligent agents, and RFID.
He has helped build early-stage technology companies in software, hardware, and service areas. He was the co-founder of Urgent.ly, a global digital roadside assistance platform originally created as a platform for all urgent needs, including those for homes, and now traded as ULY on the Nasdaq. Ric also has two prior exits via acquisition: Reliacast (thePlatform) by Comcast and ISDN Systems by U.S.Robotics.
In addition to RiPSIM, Ric serves on the boards of Akular, a digital twin platform; Flexnode, revolutionizing the built environment for data centers with a modular and edge platform; and Fend Inc., a smart infrastructure cyber firm.