Technology
Dr. George McKevitt
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. George McKevitt joined the team in October of 2018 and is responsible for oversight of all company technology, including product development. He joins Acupay with more than 25 years of technology and management experience, including more than 12 years building and manufacturing SaaS companies and 7 years as a CTO. He has worked in multiple industries including financial services, engineering, travel and hospitality, and insurance.
George holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science as well as degrees in Physics and Business. He is an avid college sports fan, primarily of Rutgers and the Big 10. Other interests include a small obsession with golf as well as enjoying science fiction and technology.
Christopher Smith
Head of Software Engineering
Chris joined Acupay in December 2015 and is currently our Head of Software Engineering. Chris is responsible for collaboration and planning with our product and infrastructure teams while managing and mentoring our team of software engineers.
Individually, Chris focuses on software architecture, data modeling, calculations, algorithms, and planning improvements to our existing products.
Chris graduated from SUNY Rockland with an AAS degree in Liberal Arts. In 2015, he pivoted into software engineering after attending General Assembly.
In his spare time, Chris enjoys traveling, cooking, working out, and following his favorite sports teams.
Matthew Smalling
Head of Infrastructure Engineering
Matt recently joined Acupay in August of 2019. He currently holds the title of Senior Manager of Technical Operations and has holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology / Business from Hofstra University.
Matt brings with him a variety of experience in Public / Private Virtualization technologies, along with Enterprise experience with Storage, Networking and Windows administration, which will greatly help the Operations Team with its transitional phase into Public Cloud Technologies.
Venkat Akella
Quality Assurance Manager
Venkat joined Acupay in August 2019. He has over 10 years’ experience in testing and is responsible for implementing and developing Quality Assurance processes, practices ensuring our software is well-tested and delivered with high quality. He holds a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York, USA and Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University, India.
Venkat borrows his QA principle from the MTA: “If you see something, say something." He loves to travel and read books and keep up on latest software trends and technologies when not QA-ing.
He is fluent in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Thomas Schutte
Head of Database Engineering
Thomas joined Acupay in March 2020. He has over 13 years experience working with databases and started his career with a 3 year apprenticeship as a Specialized Computer Scientist for System Integration in Germany.
Thomas is responsible for database administration and will support the development team with his extensive knowledge of query performance tuning. When he doesn’t look at execution plans he enjoys playing boardgames while listening to metal music.
He is fluent in German and English and currently learning Spanish.
Benjamin Franke
Associate Developer
Benjamin joined Acupay as a Data Management Analyst in November 2019, bringing with him experience in both private equity and insurance. In January 2022, he transitioned to working with our Technology Team, starting as a Junior Developer and working his way up to Associate Developer in March 2023.
Benjamin is mostly focused on new product development but is also responsible for existing system maintenance and support.
He graduated from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, with an MA in Economics in 2018 and thereafter successfully completed an MSc in Economic Policy at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands.
Benjamin speaks fluent English and German.
Pawel Nawoj
Associate Developer
Pawel joined the technology team in Acupay in April 2021 after graduating from University of Birmingham coding bootcamp where he earned a Full Stack Web Developer certificate. His previous background also includes electronics and metal machining.
In his spare time Pawel likes to further read and listen about electronics and technology in general, maintain high physical activity through exercise and running, play the guitar, cook and play PC games.
Emily Richard
Associate Developer
Emily joined Acupay in May 2021. She graduated from Lambda School, a remote coding bootcamp, with a Full Stack Web Development certificate in 2020. Before transitioning into development, she worked in the education and disaster restoration industries.
When she’s not in front of her computer, Emily enjoys reading, attempting to cook, music, and spending time outdoors.
Pete Rodriguez
Systems Administrator
Pete joined Acupay in 2020. As a member of the Technical Operations team Pete helps to maintain and improve operational efficiency and stability. He has over 20 years experience in IT Windows Administration, Technical Operations, Infrastructure, and virtualization – mostly in the financial services industry.
Pete holds an AAS degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from Queensborough Community College. Interests and hobbies include poker, hearts, and jigsaw puzzles.
Thorpe Thompson
System Administrator
Thorpe has been with Acupay since the beginning, initially joining Acupay’s sister company, BondCom, in July 2004. He currently holds the title of System Administrator for both Acupay and BondCom.
He has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Roberts Walsh, and he studied Music at Wagner College prior to that. His previous work includes long-term consulting positions at Citibank and May Company, as well as boutique computer sales.
Thorpe is responsible for monitoring, maintaining, and augmenting our enterprise computer systems, network infrastructure, and public internet presence.