Rusty Gordon
Chairman
Launch Technologies
Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Alumnus of the Year 2002
Rusty Gordon is one of the select members of a new group of senior managers in the systems and
software business who have repeated successful business turnarounds, startups and acquisitions.
During the past twenty plus years in the information services industry, Mr. Gordon has had the
leadership and decision-making role in each of the following business opportunities:
General Manager for Retail Sciences and President of Peachtree Software
As General Manager for Retail Sciences, Mr. Gordon halted microcomputer systems distribution
and helped launch a new company, Peachtree Software, to provide packaged accounting
applications on microcomputers. Peachtree Software was later acquired by MSA, and remains
today, the leader in PC-based accounting software.
Founder and CEO, Choice Retail Systems
Choice was founded in 1980 by Mr. Gordon to provide a range of business application and
communications software solutions based on the UNIX operating system. As one of the first
UNIX software development companies, Choice built a reputation for Choice-Net the leading
communication platform for Unix based servers.
In 1982 Choice acquired Software Sciences, Ltd, a subsidiary of British Oxygen Corporation.
Utilizing Software Sciences base capabilities, Choice developed communications software that
enabled retail POS data to drive applications in a hardware independent environment. In 1989,
GTE purchased Choice as the cornerstone of their new Retail Information Services group. Mr.
Gordon joined as Vice-President of Retail Information Services.
President of The Retail Alliance
Having acquired Choice, GTE formed the Retail Alliance, a joint venture with A.C. Nielsen.
Mr. Gordon led the development and launch of The Retail Exchange, which was the first
integrated information based trade exchange between packaged goods suppliers and their
retailers. The Retail Exchange system included a rules-based system for merchandising, supply,
promotion, card-based services and store management and served as the foundation of just-intime inventory supply for the packaged goods industry.
Chief Executive Officer of Automated Design Systems, Inc. (ADS)
In 1993, Mr. Gordon became CEO of Automated Design Systems, Inc. (ADS), an Atlanta based
company that specialized in the development and implementation of client-server applications.
Additionally, the company created NetTOOLS, the leading Windows-based network
administration tool for large scale networks. In May 1994, Mr. Gordon successfully engineered
a turnaround of the company and establishing NetTOOLS as the standard network administration
tool for over 40% of the Fortune 500 with equal representation of European companies. Mr.
Gordon then orchestrated the successful sale of the NetTOOLS products line to McAfee Inc. and
the professional services division to Launch Technologies.
Chairman of IFLEET Inc
Since 1994 Mr. Gordon has led the growth of IFLEET, a Launch Technologies company from a
15 man professional services firm to the current 400+ person IT services firm that manages over
1.5 million mobile service events a year and has been recognized the last two years by JD
Powers as #1 in class for independent service providers.
President and CEO of Knowlagent Inc.
Mr. Gordon has recently assumed leadership responsibility for one of Georgia’s fastest growing
software companies, providing on line training and learning systems for America’s on line
workforce.
Personal
Mr. Gordon is very active in the Atlanta high technology community and has assisted in
organizing and board leadership of the Technology Executive Roundtable, Teacherlaptop
association, High Tech Ministries, and Southeastern Software Association among other nonprofit
organizations. Mr. Gordon is a frequent speaker at area colleges and universities and numerous
high technology conferences and serves on the boards of local high technology startups.
Born in 1953, Mr. Gordon received a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Auburn
University in 1975. He and his wife, Ann, of 25 years have three college age children. He is a lay
leader at Roswell United Methodist Church and for the last 12 years has focused his service on
senior high and young adults in the metro Atlanta area. His hobbies include hunting, fishing,
tennis, baseball and Auburn University.