About
Management Team
Alistair Allan, President and Chief Executive Officer
Alistair is responsible for all aspects of Engineering, Finance and Operations at RuleSpace. He joined the company in 2000 to lead the development and deployment of the Online Lookup System, now serving millions of end–users worldwide. He serves on the board of FOSI (formally ICRA), and advises and testifies for industry and law enforcement worldwide.
Alistair has more than 25 years of experience in software development. Prior to joining RuleSpace, he spent 11 years at Sequent Computer Systems, an Oregon computer manufacturer that was acquired by IBM. Alistair also has held software development positions at First Interstate Bank of Oregon (now Wells Fargo), Philips Electronics in The Netherlands and Polaroid (UK) Ltd in Scotland. His background primarily lies in computer networking technologies. Alistair holds an HND in Computer Studies from
Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland. He also spent five years as a whitewater rafting guide, and still runs private tours on rivers in the Pacific Northwest. He lives in Oregon with his wife.
James Dirksen, Vice President of Business Development and Managing Director
James is responsible for all business and product strategy at RuleSpace. He joined the company in 1999 and worked in Engineering and Production Operations to design and deploy the first generation of distributed RuleSpace solutions. He currently manages RuleSpace product strategy, sales and partnerships.
James also serves as an advisor to industry, legislative and law enforcement, regulatory bodies and child protection advocates worldwide. To inquire about advisory services from RuleSpace, please contact us.
James has 13 years of experience in Internet solutions and business development. Prior to joining RuleSpace, he worked at Coopers and Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and Northrop Grumman. Mr. Dirksen holds Bachelors Degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Point Loma University, San Diego, California. He lives in Washington State with his wife and six children.
Gary Thomassen, Vice President of Enterprise Products
Gary is responsible for RuleSpace’s product strategy and OEM business development activities for the web security market. Gary has over 18 years of IT security industry experience and has been responsible for managing a wide variety of endpoint, messaging and web security products and technology partner relationships.
Prior to RuleSpace, Gary has held several senior management positions at market-leading technology companies including Symantec, Sophos, MessageLabs, Clearswift and Citrix. Gary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and double minors in General Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Oregon State University.
Katharina Maraglia, Editorial Services Manager
Katia is responsible for creating formal ontologies for digital content as well as the quality of the categorization at RuleSpace. She joined RuleSpace in 2000 to facilitate the creation of the European ontologies and to bring about cultural equivalence and content consistency with their English-speaking counterparts.
Katia has seven years of experience in ontologies and content categorization and an additional seven years of experience in sales in international markets. Prior to joining RuleSpace, Katia worked at IXOS Software AG, building up distribution channels for IXOS throughout Europe. She has managed large, multinational projects in the US and European Union, including Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, European Patent Office, Siemens, BMW, SAP and Dutch Broadcasting. Katia’s studies have included English Linguistics and Literature at Ludwig–Maximilian–University in Munich, Germany. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and son.
Shane Gibson, Senior Operations Manager
Shane is responsible for all customer-facing systems and services at RuleSpace. He joined RuleSpace in 2007 and brings a history of excellence in customer support and world-class operation design and delivery.
Shane has 16 years of experience in Network Architecture and Security. Prior to joining RuleSpace, he held key roles at Acxiom Digital (formerly Digital Impact), the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Santa Cruz Operation and the Marine Corps. For the Marine Corps, Shane served as Sr. Network Architect and Security Engineer, developing highly available and secure application delivery solutions and networks. Shane lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and competes in adventure racing.
Jack Schifferdecker, Chief Counsel
Jack is responsible for RuleSpace’s general corporate and licensing needs. He has over 22 years of experience in private practice representing high-growth technology companies, and was a long-time partner and head of the High-Growth Company practice at Ater Wynne LLP in Portland, Oregon.
During his practice, Jack also served as President of a child tutoring franchisor, doubling its size nationwide during his tenure, and successfully selling that business to return to private practice and to start his own firm. Jack lives with his wife and two children in Oregon.
