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White Knight Testing X-37
mknewman writes "The innovative carrier plane used to air-launch SpaceShipOne has a new mission. At its inland spaceport in Mojave, Calif., the White Knight mothership has been involved in fit and high-speed taxi checks with a new passenger: the X-37, an unpiloted, reusable space plane. "
George Pavlyak recognized he needed the right combination of technological strengths, business expertise, and ample funding to turn this vision into reality. This brought him to Jeffrey Fine, President of Zender Electronic Communications, Inc. (ZEC), well-established and widely known for their expertise in providing strategic, results-oriented communication solutions through e-commerce systems and web development. Since 1978, Jeff has developed strategic marketing and technology solutions for a wide range of industries and clients. A very early visionary of the Internet, Jeff co-authored Designer's Guide to the Internet, published by Macmillan and Hayden Books in 1994. Consumed with the opportunity the Internet presented, he founded ZEC to concentrate on New Media. Additional technology solutions and strategic businesses continue to be a meaningful part of Jeff's vision and the future of ZEC.
Jeff has guided the course of Zender Electronic Communications, Inc. since its inception, and brought high level e-commerce capabilities to bear through the acquisition of sophisticated software, hardware, and a highly qualified development staff. He has been involved in many web-based consulting and development projects, and has worked for many prestigious clients, including American United Life, Artistsnetwork.com, Bertelsmann, Cincinnati Bell, Cincinnati Financial, Cintas, Convergys, DuPont, Family Tree Magazine, Fuse.net, General Electric, Kroger, How Design, Popular Woodworking, I.D. Magazine, Thomson Learning Tools, General Polymers, Gibson Greetings, Ohio National, Prentice Hall Computer Publishing, Sprint, Standard Publishing, NTR.net, National Geographic, Union Central, Writers' Online University, Writersdigest.com, United Dealers, Inc., Video Lottery Technologies, and Zaring National.
In addition to its work for corporate clients, over the last 8 years ZEC has designed, developed, and enhanced technologies specifically addressing the e-commerce needs of Independent Dealer Networks in various markets, leading up to the formation of their BuySuite Division in the summer of 1999, which focused on this vision as it applied to the Office Products industry in the U.S. and U.K. BuySuite enjoyed a rapid success and was acquired by ECI2 in August 2000. It was this background and experience that has served as the foundation on which Supplyline USA is based, a similar web application that facilitates e-commerce in the automotive paint industry. Jeff is also a founding partner of The DealerChannel satellite TV network, designed to provide industry-specific training and product information, industry news, and competitive analysis to independent dealers in a wide range of vertical markets. In terms of online job tracking, scheduling, record-keeping, management reporting and billing tools for service businesses, ZEC has designed and developed JobTracking.com, a comprehensive management system for service firms with a need for tracking billable time. JobTracking.com is complete with various levels of profit analysis, client analysis, vacation and sick time records, employee productivity reports, and more.
Jeff also owns additional businesses (InkCartridge.com , Storagefinder.com, Birder.com), has shared ownership positions in others (CityDash, Church Street Advisors) and has served as director on several boards. Prior to partnering with George, much of Mr. Fine's time was already devoted to the development of innovative marketing plans and business models that strategically leveraged electronic media. The idea of ServiceTrak was right up Jeff's alley and they began the development of a revolutionary new service providing a break-through "precision scheduling, workflow and reporting" application for automotive service centers.