Bio
Bio
Education
Education
Association Membership
Association Membership
Work
Work

Karl Reardon P.Eng. grew up in North Vancouver BC and attended Electrical Engineering at UBC from 1981-1986. He has over thirty years experience covering many aspects of radio engineering including software development for wireless data applications. He has worked in various capacities for Motorola and as the President and Chief Technology Officer for Soft Tracks, a wireless point-of-sale start-up before hanging his shingle out as a radio and wireless data consultant in 2006.

Karl is the lead software developer for Radiowize.

He is an avid hiker and boater and married to Susanna with two lovely daughters.

Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering
The University of British Columbia, 1986.

Registered as a Professional Engineer in the following Associations:

• » Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC)
• » Association of Professional Engineers of Saskatchewan
• » Association of Professional Engineers of the Northwest Territories
• » Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (Pending)

Planetworks Consulting Corp. and Radiowize Consulting LTD.
2004 – Present

Consulting and Software Development. Work is wide ranging. Many complex and diverse projects with an emphasis on wireless data communication. Sample project list includes:

• » Government of Yukon - Implementation of Yukon-wide P25 Land Mobile Radio system from inception to design, vendor negotiation and implementation. Also includes assessments/ negotiations of various backhaul proposals - 2005 and on-going
• » Government of Saskatchewan -Implementation of Saskatchewan-wide P25 Land Mobile Radio system for provincial public safety agencies from inception to design, vendor negotiation and implementation, negotiation with backhaul providers - 2004 and on-going
• » Ottawa Police Service - Services to define Mobile Data requirements, creation of an RFP, selection of vendor - 2006 to 2007
• » TransLink - services to review, trouble-shoot and accept a proprietary land mobile radio system - 2008 and on-going
• » TransLink - services to conduct an drive-test throughout the Lower Mainland for a proof-of-performance of a land mobile radio system including the development of analytical software - Jan 2009
• » Alcatel-Lucent - design, site selection, licensing and implementation of an 8 hop microwave system in the Lower Mainland
• » E-Comm911 - drive testing using "AutoDAQ" 2010 and 2011

Soft Tracks President and Chief Technology Officer
2001 - June 2004

Responsible for the strategic direction of Soft Tracks banking and financial processing technology, engineering and operations resources, and their alignment and support of the business direction of the company. Specific accomplishments and responsibilities included:

• » Developing and deploying the wireless Point of Sale gateway product for SaskTel / Bell Mobility
• » Developing and deploying a real-time prepaid airtime purchase solutions for Bell Mobility and Western Union
• » Developing and deploying certified wireless Point of Sale solutions for Moneris (Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal), Global Payments (CIBC), Paymentech (BNS), and Fifth Third Bank in the US
• » Development of Point of Sale payment solutions on Ingenico and Hypercom terminal platforms
• » Restructuring the company and product approach to align with market
• » Supporting the Board to identify and close new investment prospects
• » Planning, direction and review of the company's technology and engineering resources
• » Providing overall direction for engineering, product management and operations staff including IT, implementation, service and support
• » Formulating and directing research and development strategies of new or improved products or processes
• » Preparation and presentation of technology roadmaps, intellectual property plans, patent applications and performance optimization programs.

Motorola Canada Limited General Manager and GPRS Product Director
1997 – 2001

Responsible for establishing and growing Motorola's research and development facility focused on GSM/GPRS and 3G wireless data solutions. Specific accomplishments and responsibilities included:

• » Successfully launching the GPRS products six months earlier than that of the earliest competitor, allowing Motorola to gain significant market share
• » Developing strategic partnerships industry alliances with Cisco and Sun Microsystems to create first-to-market solutions
• » Developing a strong and independent management team which allowed the R&D center to grow from 15 engineers to over 250 development, test and standards engineers during this period
• » Establishing and staffing a remote R&D facility of 20 engineers in Berlin, Germany
• » Developing solid and trusted customer relationships with Deutsche Telecom, British Telecom, and RadioMobil (Czech Republic)
• » Managing European standards activities and representatives to maintain Motorola's intellectual property position
• » Developing and presenting strategic plans and technology roadmaps to Motorola CEO and Board;
• » Providing hands-on technical support and guidance to all staff
• » Developing processes and ensuring compliance with ISO9000/TL9000 and SEI CMM standards
• » Managing overall center operations and logistics with a $20M annual budget.

Motorola Canada Limited Member of Technical Staff
1995 – 1997

Led a group of 10 network architects and standards engineers, responsible for the wireless data advanced development group. Specific accomplishments and responsibilities included:

• » Identifying the GSM data opportunity (to become GPRS) and working within the European standards organization (ETSI) to develop and define the GPRS specification and Motorola's offering
• » Appointment to Motorola's Science Advisory Board Associates, a select group of technical staff responsible for leading technical innovation throughout the Company
• » Identifying areas of technical innovation and preparing and presenting strategic to senior executive, CEO and the Board
• » Managing team members in Richmond and two European locations
• » Supporting key account technical negotiations and problem resolution

Motorola Canada Limited Principal Engineer
1993 – 1995

Technical lead for key accounts. Specific accomplishments and responsibilities included:

• » Standardizing Motorola's wireless data product in Japan. This involved participating in Japanese standards committees over a two year period to have Motorola technology selected over its competitors (who also participated in the committee)
• » Defining, developing and successfully deploying a wide-area public wireless data network in Japan
• » Specifying, developing, and deploying new encryption algorithms suitable for export to, and use in, Japan
• » Specifying, developing and deploying a power saving protocol for subscriber devices on public data networks
• » Developing a systems solution to permit multi-protocol operation on the ARDIS (now Motient) public data network
• » Supporting sales and contract negotiation on key accounts
• » Coordinating customer requirements with product development, marketing, sales, and test groups
• » Providing resolution to complicated technical, coverage and system capacity issues
• » Training of new systems engineers

Motorola Canada Limited Senior Systems Engineer
1989 – 1993

Responsible for the technical sales support, system engineering, and commissioning. Specific accomplishments and responsibilities included:

• » Lead system engineer responsible for deploying and commissioning a public wireless data network for Deutsche Telecom that provided service throughout Germany. This network was one of the first public, wireless data networks and continues to remains in operation
• » Deploying and commissioning over 20 private data networks for public safety and utility customers throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. Customers included Florida State Police, San Bernardino Sheriff, South Australia State Police, Eindhoven Police (Holland), LA Fire, Kent Fire, Brooklyn Union Gas, Consumers Gas, and Entex Gas
• » Developing system engineering approach to analyze and optimize network throughput and capacity issues
• » Developing RF coverage standards and verification procedures

Teleconsult Telecommunications Engineer
1989 – 1993

Responsible for the design, implementation and commissioning of a large number of land mobile public safety systems, SCADA systems, rural telephony systems, microwave & satellite links, and AM/FM/TV broadcast installations throughout North America, Asia and Africa