About Our People

Chris is an experienced business leader with more than 30 years of experience in the software industry and has a proven track record of accelerating innovation and driving sales at high-growth software companies. He has had the privilege of working at established public companies such as iManage (HP), Interwoven and Autonomy, as well as start-ups, with a focus in SaaS, Legal Content Solutions, Artificial Intelligence, IoT and Big Data. In addition to his most recent position as CEO at Gauge Telematics, an IoT asset management platform company, Chris served as the CEO at, Complia Health, Microsystems Inc. (now Litera), SpringCM (now DocuSign), Fios, Inc. (now DTI). Chris holds a BS in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University and lives in Long Grove, Illinois with his wife and golden retriever Nelly.

Mark has spent the last 20 years in the Financial Services Industry. Prior to joining Ascent, Mark was the Founder & CEO of Waymark Tech, a UK-based regulatory horizon scanning and change management company. Mark was inspired to start Waymark through his exposure to the problems and manual work of understanding and staying on top of regulatory obligations. Mark is a former regulatory & product programme manager for Traiana and held various roles with HSBC, Nomura, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley. Outside of work, Mark is a keen sportsman - playing rugby, participating in open water swimming events and more recently Hyrox. As a Type 1 diabetic - Mark uses his achievements in sports to spread awareness of the condition and how it does not have to limit what you can achieve. He is a Speaker Volunteer for Diabetes UK.

Chris has spent more than 15 years in software development and management in both startups and large companies. His work at Ascent is a natural extension of his experience creating workflow tools, gracefully combining human and machine operations, and building beautiful, intuitive, user-oriented experiences. He earned a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Olin College.

Ellen is dedicated to creating a client-centric culture and an enjoyable customer journey. Her entire career has been driven by the pursuit of ensuring client satisfaction and exceeding expectations. Over the last seven years, she has become a customer experience leader within the SaaS industry. At Ascent, Ellen and her team focus on helping regulated firms leverage the full power of the company’s Regulatory Knowledge Automation, so they can comply with regulation more easily. Ellen has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Kris is an experienced product leader, technologist, and legal professional with over 15 years combined experience in the technology and legal industries. He has worked in the Chicago tech industry for the last six years in product and technical roles across the SaaS, FinTech, and artificial intelligence spaces. Prior to working in B2B SaaS, he worked as a technologist and field researcher of classified technologies for the USAF, and spent time as a state public defender in Colorado. He has a J.D. from the University of Denver, a BIS in Finance from Angelo State University, and is a USAF veteran. When not at work, Kris enjoys outdoor hobbies, geek culture with his teenage son, and is a sucker for a good Chicago patio or food fest.

Alexandra specializes in finding new ways to streamline the complex world of regulatory research and compliance. At Ascent, she leads a team of legal analysts and helps them apply their expertise to advanced technologies. Together, Alexandra’s team collaborates with Ascent’s data science and engineering experts to blend legal analysis, machine learning, and natural language processing in support of the company’s Regulatory Knowledge Automation solution. Alexandra earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.