Management Team

Dr. Kelly Blanton - Chairman
After 40 years of dedicated service in the education community, Dr. Blanton co-founded Epylon Corporation in 1999. Prior to Epylon, Dr. Blanton was county superintendent of schools where he oversaw an operational budget that grew to have an annual revenue stream in excess of $360 million. He built a reputation as a visionary in the use of technology in education and his accomplishments have received national recognition. Dr. Blanton also served for nearly five years as chair of a statewide steering committee charged with bringing voice, video and data telecommunications to California's schools. His fierce promotion of computerization and electronic communication made Kern County among the most computerized in the state. Dr. Blanton received his doctorate degree from the University of Southern California, his master's degree from California State University and his BA from San Francisco State University.

Tim Blanton - Chief Executive Officer
As co-founder of Epylon Corporation, Tim led Epylon from a startup in 1999 with only seed capital to an Accenture-enterprise representing one of the world's leading providers of eProcurement software and services to public-sector agencies. Prior to founding Epylon, Tim was associate general counsel of Lycos, Inc., where he structured and negotiated strategic alliances and joint ventures that contributed to the development of the Lycos Network. Prior to Lycos, Tim joined the executive team of WhoWhere, Inc., as corporate counsel to help lead the development and implementation of new business initiatives and strategic alliances, and to grow WhoWhere's consumer reach through mergers and acquisitions. Before WhoWhere, Tim was an attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, practicing corporate and securities law. Tim received his JD with honors from Santa Clara University and his BA from California Polytechnic State University.

Ted Witt - Vice President, Strategic Sourcing
Ted leads the company's efforts in developing money-saving purchasing contracts for school districts, cooperatives and other government agencies using proven strategic sourcing techniques. A national leader in school business, he frequently speaks and publishes articles on issues of leadership, change management and purchasing. He was the executive director of the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO) for nearly eight years. He set new standards for the profession of school business and more than doubled CASBO's size and influence as a power in state legislation, professional development and professional publishing. His unique public-sector perspective also stems from his work, both at the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento where he lobbied on finance and business issues, and at the 15,000-member Association of California School Administrators, where he served as communications manager. Ted received his BS from California Polytechnic State University.

Andy Stroud - Vice President, General Counsel
Andy joins Epylon after almost thirty years as a litigator, specializing in intellectual property litigation and in the representation of public agencies and officials throughout California. He was formerly the chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California, and he represented the Governor of the State of California in numerous high-profile cases. In 2019, the Sacramento County Bar Association recognized Andy as its Attorney of the Year. He began his career at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe and joined Epylon after working for ten years as a partner at the Hanson Bridgett law firm. His background representing public entities and practicing intellectual property law makes him uniquely qualified to serve as Epylon's General Counsel, advising clients on purchasing contracts, purchasing strategies, and vendor relations.