Meet ATS' Senior Management Team

Bret J. Dunlap - Director
Bret J. Dunlap is Director of Advanced Telecom Services, Inc. and co-founder of the company. Prior to holding the current position of Director, Bret served the company in a varied number of roles: Chief Financial Officer from 1989 to 1996; Managing Director of Advanced Telecom Services, Limited (UK based) from 1997 to 1999; and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2003. He has played a significant role in the success of ATS with responsibilities for strategic planning, sales management, mobile and internet project management and corporate international expansion. He helped successfully launch the UK office whilst serving as Managing Director of the London based office for two years. Prior to ATS, he worked as a stockbroker with Legg Mason from 1987 to 1989 and with Johnston, Lemon in Washington D.C. from 1983 to 1987. Dunlap received a BS degree in Economics from James Madison University in 1981, and an MBA in Finance and Investments from George Washington University in 1983.

Robert J. Bentz - President
Robert Jay Bentz is President and Director of Marketing and Sales for ATS with key responsibilities in product development, domestic and international marketing strategies, and sales and media relations. In his role as head of marketing and sales, he guided the growth of the company from a start-up to over $62 million in annual sales with offices in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic. He is the author of the best selling book on the 900 industry: "Opportunity is Calling: How to Start Your Own Successful 900 Number". The Pennsylvania native and former West Virginia and Connecticut resident is a frequent speaker at industry trade shows and has been interviewed on television and published in numerous publications, including Money magazine. Prior to joining ATS in 1989, Bentz worked in television advertising sales and management positions with Post-Newsweek and Capital Cities/ABC television stations. He received a BS in Journalism from West Virginia University in 1981 and an MBA in Marketing from Marshall University in 1983.

Paul Hehn – CFO
Paul C. Hehn is Chief Financial Officer of ATS and a minority shareholder. He has been with the company for more than ten years and is responsible for all aspects of the company's worldwide financial planning and operations. Hehn has played a significant role in strategic planning and growth of the company, helping establish international operations and implementing the acquisition of Spark Network Services from Infinity Broadcasting. He is a CPA and formerly a senior tax manager in the Philadelphia office of KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston with a BS in Accounting.

David Sawyer – Vice President of Sales & Business Development
David Sawyer is Vice President of Sales and Business Development with Advanced Telecom Services (ATS) located in Philadelphia, PA.

Sawyer joined ATS in 1993 to launch the newspaper voice personals channel for the company. Growing the new offering from virtually nothing, voice personals became a major business channel for ATS. At its peak, ATS provided its personal solution to more than 200 daily and weekly publications including 32 of the largest daily newspapers in the U.S.

In November 2005, Sawyer began working with key members of the ATS team to develop a Mobile Content Solution and market this cutting edge offering to newspapers and other media partners. Sawyer has also breathed new life into ATS’ web, phone and mobile dating products through his knowledge and creativity regarding personals.

Sawyer is a 1983 graduate of Houghton College (NY) with a double major in Writing and Speech Communications. Additionally, Sawyer honorably served as an award winning journalist and public affairs supervisor in the US Army’s Intelligence Center from 1984 to 1989. His military career culminated with awards for the ICS non-commissioned Officer of the Year, Journalist of the Year for the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command and runner up for Journalist of the Year for the entire Army.

Eric Deininger – Product Manager
Eric C. Deininger is Product Manager at ATS and manages the mobile and e-commerce product lines. Deininger was involved with the development of the company’s first successful Internet venture- Webfriends.com. He has managed and sold software and Internet products for over 15 years and has helped grow several technical-oriented startup companies. Deininger has a B.A. in Economics from St. Joseph’s University, and his MBA in Finance and Management from West Chester University.

Frank Butler - Vice President of Engineering
Frank Butler is Vice President of Engineering for Advanced Telecom Services. Frank joined ATS in 1995 and oversaw all technical activities in support of ATS automated telephony, web and mobile services for almost 10 years. Frank has recently returned to ATS to re-assume his lead technologist role and help guide ATS in pursuing new opportunities.

Before coming to ATS, Frank spent 15 years with AT&T Bell Laboratories as a systems engineer, software developer, and technology and business manager. Prior to re-joining ATS in 2009, Frank held several positions including Director of Network Operations for Met-Net Communications and Manager of Application Development for the Project Management Institute.

Frank holds a Masters Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, and dual bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration from Rutgers University. He is also an accomplished drummer and percussionist, and often unwinds on the weekends playing gigs with several area bands.

Contact an ATS representative today by email.