Management
Jaak E. Rannik
Chief Executive Officer
Jaak Rannik has been a business executive, entrepreneur and public policy advocate in the Caribbean basin for more than 30 years. He has operated companies with global focus in both the United States and the Dominican Republic; been involved in major port infrastructure development; and served as president of one of the Americas’ leading business associations.
Recognizing the potential for FutureSentry to improve radically the safety and profitability of institutions worldwide, he has assembled and is guiding an experienced team to manufacture and distribute the first practical robotic security guard. As outgoing CEO in an orderly transition process at Grupo B&R, S.A., Jaak Rannik is turning his attention to launching FutureSentry and building it into an essential component of integrated security systems. Since 1986, he has served as either president or CEO of Grupo B&R, a diversified ocean and airfreight transportation, logistics, intermodal services and marine services group.
A lifelong student of development economics, he has helped attract nearly $500 million in new direct foreign investment in the Dominican Republic. As part of his development of the B&R group and its subsidiaries, he successfully managed B&R’s transition from one of many local stand-alone stevedores and terminal operators into part of a large terminal company with a regional presence and global reach. Staking his company’s future on what at the time looked like a long shot, in 1996 he became one of three ground-floor partners who promoted, developed and attracted $300 million in financing for the successful Caucedo container port, which was inaugurated in early 2004. Currently he is president of Caucedo Development Corporation and a director of Caucedo Investments, Inc. In 1973 he founded, and was managing director until 2008, of Remolcadores Dominicanos, S.A., and its affiliates, the largest harbor and offshore towing and marine salvage group in the northern Caribbean.
In addition to his business activities, he is a past president of the Washington-based Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) and past president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic. Rannik is a former member of the board of directors and executive committee of the Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (CONEP), the national business council and umbrella organization for the DR’s major business organizations. In those roles, he has worked to improve the climate for trade and investment throughout the Hemisphere.
From 1992 – 2008, Rannik served successively as Vice Consul, Consul and Consul-General of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Dominican Republic. He is a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, one of Denmark’s highest meritorious decorations for foreign citizens.
An avid salt-water angler, Rannik has been a pioneer in advocating catch and release policies for the conservation of billfish stocks, and in 1990-1992 served as Commodore of the prestigious Club Nautico de Santo Domingo.
Jaak Rannik divides his time between the Dominican Republic and the United States. He earned a BBA degree at the University of Miami in 1968, and he is a retired officer in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.
Stephen Whitten
Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Steve Whitten has been a law enforcement officer and an engineer for police, defense and intelligence systems for more than 30 years. In the 1980s, Steve Whitten invented the first fully interactive audio/video transmission security network. In 1991 he invented ESP (electromagnetic search & profile) a latent human scanning system that can detect criminal intent before crimes are committed.
In 1984 he invented the first fully interactive audio/video transmission network and technology that functioned over dial-up telephone lines. His systems virtually eliminated crime in more than 2,000 convenience stores nationwide and provided the knowledge about criminal responses that was instrumental to the development of FutureSentry, the world’s first security technology proven to prevent crime. He invented the FutureSentry robotic guard in 2007, patented the technology, and has proved its capability in around 200 beta locations over three years.
In his early career, Steve Whitten — like all law enforcement professionals — focused on identifying and arresting criminals after crimes had been committed. He soon realized that stopping criminals before they act is more desirable and efficient than searching for and apprehending them afterward. Because of his law enforcement and technology backgrounds, he was in a unique position to develop breakthrough solutions. He has run multiple engineering departments specializing in Electronic Defense Countermeasures and Advanced Electronic Defense systems. He has also designed the electronic systems protecting several foreign diplomatic facilities in the Washington, DC area.
Steve Whitten has two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree. He is an alumnus of North Georgia Military College and State University (Dahlonega, GA), Southeast Florida Institute for Criminal Justice (Miami, FL) and the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL). He served in the United States Army and in law enforcement at local, state and federal levels, handing assignments from street level narcotics enforcement and criminal investigations to Federal Foreign Counterintelligence and Counter-terrorism.
Carlos A. Rivera
Managing Director, Business Development
Carlos Rivera is responsible for, sales, business development and marketing. He focuses on enabling systems integrators and other security professionals to increase their clients’ profitability by installing FutureSentry to prevent crime and reduce security cost. Mr. Rivera manages all contracting and customer support functions.
During the last 20 years, he has managed international sales, marketing and distribution for companies such as Tyco, Owens Corning and Pepsico, as well as high technology start ups. He has been responsible for sales forces comprised of more than 1,800 people and recognized as a leader in building successful culturally diverse teams.
Prior to his business career, Mr. Rivera served in the U.S. Army as a platoon leader, detachment commander, and director of engineering and housing. He holds MA and M.Ed. degrees from Boston University and a BA from the University of Puerto Rico.
Stephen H. Moriarty
General Counsel
The general counsel for Communicated Enforcement, LLC, Steve Moriarty, has nearly 30 years of experience as a corporate attorney and prosecutor in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is responsible for managing the company’s legal matters including contracts, intellectual property, import-export regulations, corporate governance and social responsibility.
Mr. Moriarty is a principal in the law firm of Chadwick, Washington, Moriarty & Bunn, PC, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Fairfax, Va. He has specialized in the representation of community associations throughout Virginia, distinguishing himself in the area of dispute avoidance and resolution of cases, and as a successful trial lawyer. He has coauthored a book and written several articles for legal publications.
From 1981 – 84, Mr. Moriarty was a prosecutor in the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. He has taught at Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy in Ashburn, Va. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond.
Steve Moriarty currently serves as president of ICON, an Alexandria, Va.-based non-profit community services organization providing employment and housing opportunities for mentally handicapped individuals. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar, Fairfax County Bar Association, and the Community Associations Institute – Washington Metropolitan Chapter.
