Bob Ferris founded Ferris Production, Inc. in 1993—which later became VirTra—before becoming the CEO and Chairman in 2008. Since the day he started the company, Mr. Ferris has been pushing the state-of-the-art envelope to achieve the most effective training simulators possible to benefit millions of people throughout 32 countries.
Mr. Ferris has been awarded multiple patents, spoken at numerous trade shows and has written and assisted with ground-breaking articles and studies. In August 2018, Bob Ferris was honored to be the first CEO of a virtual reality/simulation training company to ring the opening bell for NASDAQ.
Mr. Ferris attended the U.S. Air Force Academy followed by the University of Arizona, where he received a degree in Systems Engineering. Outside of work, he is a volunteer mentor for young men at a foster care group home, serves at Redemption Gateway Church and enjoys time with his family.
John Givens has over 20 years of experience as a board member, entrepreneur, and corporate executive. In 2010, Mr. Givens founded Bohemia Interactive Simulations Inc, and as president, took military simulation products from inception to production. During his tenure he established the first game-based military Program of Record, “Games for Training”.
Prior to BISim, Mr. Givens created a gaming group in the Army Solutions Division of General Dynamics where he introduced the first game-based training in the US Army and DOD using the Un-Real game engine. Mr. Givens has achieved numerous awards and honors, including appointment to the board of directors of the National Center for Simulation (NCS), an association of defense companies, and the “Pioneer Award” for outstanding contributions and innovations to the training and effectiveness of U.S. and overseas soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
Mr. Givens graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Florida Institute of Technology and proudly served in the United States Army.
Jeffrey Brown has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1993 and a financial planning service provider since 2004, in which he performed financial services for a wide range of companies. Mr. Brown was the CFO and Controller for Gold Canyon Candles, helping increase the annual gross revenue during a period of growth from $8 million to $55 million.
Mr. Brown joined VirTra’s Board of Directors as an independent director in 2011. Previously, he worked for Ernst & Young, performing audits for multiple organizations. Mr. Brown received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from California State University, San Bernardino, and his CPA designation in 1993.
Jim McDonnell has served for over forty years in the public safety profession and is one of the most respected police thought leaders in the country. He is the first person to serve in senior executive leadership positions in the three largest policing agencies in Los Angeles County: the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD). During his tenure, all three agencies saw a reduction in crime and improved police-community relations.
McDonnell formed McDonnell Strategies Group in early 2019 to advise clients across the nation on a diverse range of issues involving public safety and leadership development. His diverse client base includes entities from both the public and private sectors and from a variety of disciplines, including aerospace, health care, telecommunications, information technology, public safety, counter-terrorism, education and risk management.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, McDonnell obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Executive Institute and has completed executive education programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Gregg C.E. Johnson, KM, LL.B., J.D. has served as Chief executive Officer and was Director of Serenus Therapeutics, Inc. from its formation in May 2021. In July 2016, Gregg was one of the founding officers and directors of Vivos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVOS), and was a director and Secretary of Vivos from July 2016 until March 2018, and later as a director from December 2019 through May 2020.
Gregg has also served as the CEO of Upeva, Inc. since January 2017. Upeva provides strategic business consulting services to growing businesses. Among other transactions while at Upeva, Gregg was seconded to the management team of Harvest Health & Recreation, Inc. where he oversaw the restructuring, finance and go-public transaction that resulted in its listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE).
