Virtual Reality Technology Company Management Team
At VirTra, our executive leadership members come from an array of different backgrounds, but they each share the same mission: to upgrade training, increase confidence and help save lives.
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.
Boudreau has over 20 years of experience in managerial, financial and operating functions, most recently serving as group controller for The 600 Group PLC (AIM: SIXH), a publicly listed U.K.-based global industrial laser company. At The 600 Group, she oversaw all accounting activities for a business with over $30 million of revenues that included two manufacturing plants and offices in Orlando, Florida and United Kingdom. Prior to The 600 Group, Boudreau was an Accounting Manager at AdventHealth, a leading U.S.-based nonprofit health care company, where she oversaw accounting functions for 12 locations. Boudreau graduated Summa Cum Laude from the New York Institute of Technology, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She received an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Rebecca Valdez joined VirTra in 2016 as Director of Human Resources, and then promoted to Vice President, Human Resources in 2019 and to Sr. Vice President, Human Resources 2023.
Valdez has over 25 years in Human Resources including multi-state and Global HR, including Germany and The Netherlands. Previous experience includes senior staff positions such as Vice President US Operations – Human Resources, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Human Resources. Valdez has 10+ years working at a public company manufacturing audio processors and her previous position at PHD Hospitality was Directing Human Resources for 19 Branded and Boutique hotels with over 2,000 employees in 14 states with 18 off-site locations. One significant accomplishment was onboarding 6 new hotel properties, hiring 250 new team members in 3 states in 4 days’ time.
Valdez studied Business Management at the College of Southern Nevada.
Brandon Cox became the Chief Technology Officer of VirTra, Inc. on August 12, 2024. With over 20 years of experience in immersive 3D virtual training environments, cloud products, and data analytics, he leads VirTra’s efforts to enhance systems integration and develop new products.
Previously, Cox served as a technical leader at Amazon and AWS for seven years, focusing on large-scale consumer products and cloud technology adoption. He was also the Senior Director of Software Development and DevOps at Bohemia Interactive Simulations, where he played a key role in developing advanced simulation technologies.
Cox holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida. Passionate about innovation and technology, he aims to make VirTra’s solutions more user-friendly and effective for law enforcement and military clients, ensuring they meet evolving needs.
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.
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).
Lieutenant General Maria Gervais (ret.) is an accomplished senior executive whose leadership, training, and workforce development skills were refined during 36+ years of Army service. Before retiring, Gervais served as the #2 Executive at the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, where she directed the recruitment, onboarding, and training of 100K employees and the workforce development of over 800K employees each year.
Gervais is a transformational thought leader in the virtual & gaming field. As the Army’s Deputy Commanding General for Combined Arms Training and the first Director of the Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Team, Gervais was responsible for overseeing the Army’s collective level training efforts in Live, Virtual, and Constructive environments. She spearheaded a $2 billion modernization initiative that reduced Army training time by three years while enhancing readiness. Her leadership of the US Army’s Synthetic Training Environment project established the vision to revolutionize Army training using emerging virtual and gaming technologies. She pioneered new virtual, AR, live, and 3D terrain technologies which immediately improved training readiness within the Army.
Serving at all echelons and in diverse positions within the Army has provided her strong backgrounds in problem solving, training, leader development, education, finance, and budget, along with Army requirements and acquisition processes.
Mike Ayers, the Executive Director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), has received multiple awards for outstanding leadership. His achievements include a comprehensive overhaul of Georgia’s police credentialing program, increasing required training from 408 hours to over 800 hours using innovative psychological and physical training. The statewide initiative improves the performance and preparedness of over 59,000 Georgia officers.
Along with his leadership at Georgia State POST, Ayers serves on the councils of the United States Army National Guard Regional Counterdrug Training Academy (RCTA), The Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), and the Peace Officers Association of Georgia (POAG). He contributed his expertise internationally as an International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) board member and as president of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) from 2023-2024.
