AffinitiQuest was founded by forward-thinking executives with decades of combined experience in developing companies that provide world-class Identity and Security products and services.
Ron J. Mac Donell
President and CEO
As Co-founder, President and CEO, Ron provides leadership to the Management Team in establishing the company’s strategic direction.
Following an earlier career in Sales and Sales Executive positions with IBM, SDL and DataCrown, Ron embarked on a career founding IT Services and Software companies. The first of these companies, The Exocom Group, a national IT Services company, was acquired in 2001 by MTS, a Canadian telecom services company, as the foundation of its entry into the IT Services marketplace. His second company, Alacris, a software company, developed a leading digital certificate and smart card management system and was acquired by Microsoft in 2006.
He was the Founder and CEO of Acaveo, Inc, an award-winning File Analysis software company and Avaleris Inc, an IT Services company specializing in Identity and Cybersecurity, which was acquired by PwC in 2021. Ron is now the President and CEO of AffinitiQuest, a SAAS company specializing in the area of Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials.
Ron’s strength is his ability to attract highly capable individuals and build effective multidisciplinary teams, working in a highly collaborative manner, to fulfill a well-articulated vision in a planned and controlled manner.
Favourite Pastimes: Cycling, Hiking, Travel and Family
Ben Piercey
Chief Technology Officer
As Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ben is responsible for all product visioning and development activities, intellectual property and patents, and for managing the company’s technology resources.
Ben brings extensive experience and background in delivering high-quality, visionary software products. Before AffinitiQuest, Ben held the CTO position at Acaveo where he developed software to enable Enterprise Information Governance and was awarded a Gartner Cool Vendor in Information Governance 2014 award. Before Acaveo, he was Vice President of Development at Interset, a software company providing an End User Behavioral Analysis platform to enterprise security teams, recently acquired by Microfocus.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Acadia University and has over 25 years of experience in software development with numerous technology domains ranging from High-Performance Computing to Online File Sharing and Enterprise Security and Identity.
Favourite Pastimes: Volleyball, Running and Playing Guitar
Anita M. Burwash
Vice President of Customer Success
As Co-founder and Vice President of Customer Success, Anita brings a wealth of business experience in Sales and Customer Success. She is responsible for driving the growth of AffinitiQuest.
Before AffinitiQuest, Anita was the Vice President of Business Development and Client Success for Avaleris responsible for all sales activities and the ongoing management of the Microsoft Partnership. As a co-founder and member of the management team at Alacris Inc., Anita was responsible for all global sales and account management activities. Earlier in her career, Anita held several executive positions within Exocom in the areas of Finance and Human Resources.
Anita holds a Human Resource Management Certificate and Master of Business Administration degree.
Favourite Pastimes: Camping, Traveling and Gardening
Jason R. Mac Donell
Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
As Co-founder and Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Jason is responsible for all marketing activities, partnerships and assisting to establish product-market fit.
Previously, Jason was the Director of Business Development at Avaleris Inc., a professional services provider of Identity and Cybersecurity solutions. Before Avaleris, Jason was the Vice-President of Business Development at iGet.it Inc., a venture-funded start-up selling luxury products online to affluent individuals in coordination with global loyalty programs. Before iGet.it, Jason held the Global Partner Account Manager role for the Microsoft Commerce Server product through Microsoft’s joint venture with Cactus Commerce.
Jason holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University.
Favourite Pastimes: Running, Traveling and Cooking