Steven Sherman Email and Phone Number

Steven Sherman is the Chairman & CEO of Ekso Bionics, a pioneer in wearable bionic exoskeleton suits used for rehabilitation, military and heavy industry applications. In 2014, he assisted the company in its public listing. Sherman is a serial entrepreneur and innovator who began in the technology sector in the mid-1970s. He first left Big Telecom to help start up the new “interconnect” industry that would connect privately owned telecommunications equipment with the public switch network. In 1976, he joined Intertel, a customer-premise equipment provider, leading it through revenue growth to an initial public offering in 1981. In 1983, he launched his first start-up, Vodavi Technology, a visionary company that aimed to connect voice calls with data and video capabilities. Through a partnership with South Korea’s telecom giant LG, the company IPO’d the same year of its founding. Under Sherman’s leadership, Vodavi gained two patents and achieved exponential growth in sales. By 1988, Sherman had consolidated Vodavi with two other competitive companies, emerging as Executone Information Systems, with revenue exceeding $400 million. Due to a non-compete, Sherman started his own merchant banking organization, Sherman Capital Group, which oversees a portfolio of private and public investments to this day. He also switched sectors in 1990 and founded Main Street & Main, the world’s largest franchisee of T.G.I. Friday’s Restaurants. Main Street attained its public listing in 1991. In the following years, Sherman returned to the telecom industry, founding Novatel Wireless in 1996. The wireless data innovator was the first company to develop personal devices that could create hotspots for portable internet use. The technology was ultimately incorporated into endless data devices through partnerships with Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and others. In 2000, Sherman became the Chairman of the wireless data solutions start-up, AirLink Communications, Inc., based in San Jose, California. The IoT solutions provider connected oil wells, streetlights, and other critical infrastructure. AirLink experienced rapid growth during Sherman’s tenure and was acquired by Sierra Wireless in 2007. Across the years, Sherman has participated in various technology ventures, including as Board Director of Telit Communications, based in the United Kingdom and Italy; and Board Director of Purple Wave, a first-to-market, heavy-equipment online auction house based in Manhattan, Kansas.