After a year at UCI, John enlisted in the United States Navy, where he spent the next ten years as an Electronics Technician First Class (ET1) and cryptographic technician—diagnosing, repairing, and, above all, protecting the communications and equipment a mission depended on. Long before “cybersecurity” became a boardroom conversation, John was already living it, and that discipline still drives how he works today.

After leaving the service, John earned a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, pairing his technical foundation with a sharp understanding of how businesses actually run. He went on to serve as a Systems Analyst at a public utility consulting firm; as a Systems Administrator at an engineering firm specializing in electromagnetic interference—work closely tied to signal integrity and information assurance; and as a Project Manager at an IT consulting firm focused on relational database development and deployment. Through each role, one thread held: build and maintain systems that businesses can trust.

In 1987, John brought that experience home to the Upstate and founded King’s Computers in Spartanburg, one of the area’s earliest dedicated technology firms. Two decades later, in 2007, he partnered with Sean Warren to launch Beowulf Technologies. Today, as cyber threats grow more sophisticated and relentless, the same discipline he first learned safeguarding Navy communications is what he brings to every client—helping organizations across the Carolinas get more from the technology they rely on, and keep it secure in an era when the stakes have never been higher.