SUNY Potsdam Alumni Present 2015 Minerva Award to Jonathan P. Ring '80

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From left, SUNY Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg, Minerva Award recipient Jonathan Ring ’80 and Alumni Association President Amy Kellogg ’99.

POTSDAM, NY (07/23/2015)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association recently presented Jonathan P. Ring '80 with the 2015 Minerva Award during the College's annual Reunion Weekend.

The Minerva Award is presented annually to an alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in his or her field. It is the highest honor that a SUNY Potsdam graduate can receive from the association.

Ring was recognized for his outstanding contributions to technology and innovation.

With extensive expertise managing both small and large organizations, Jonathan Ring, a serial entrepreneur, has helped to shape how we see and experience the world. With more than 36 years of experience, Ring has a broad technology background that includes sophisticated software development, such as operating system development, database applications, multi-media, communication protocol technology and hardware/software interfaces.

Ring began his career as a senior software engineer at Chase Econometrics/Interactive Data Corporation, in research and development with microcomputers, including the first PC, and working on network protocols, client servers, graphics emulation and display interfaces.

After five years as an advisory engineer at IBM, Ring joined TechGnosis, a Belgian-based client server connectivity software company, as vice president of research and development. He managed the organization in multiple sites across North America and Europe, and led the company from a consulting organization with one-platform technology to a world-class commercial software company.

Ring then transitioned to a new role at Gain Technology, developing his customer-facing skills and running the pre- and post-technical sales force for the Eastern half of North America. He worked on leading edge interactive TV technology with Bell Atlantic, and helped create concepts such as online shopping and the ideas behind BroadVision.

Ring continued his career at Siebel Systems, as vice president of engineering. During his tenure, revenue skyrocketed from $4 million to $2 billion. As a member of the Founders Circle, he was an integral part of Siebel Systems becoming the leader in the client relationship management sector.

In 2005, Ring co-founded Caringo, where he currently serves as CEO, pioneering the object and software defined storage market, which has created a whole new paradigm in the storage marketplace. Caringo has customer relationships with Global 5000 companies and government agencies, such as British Telecom, Telefonica, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Defense, Dell, Johns Hopkins University, match.com, ask.com, Verizon, and many more. The same year he founded Caringo, he helped create Sentient Ventures, a private equity firm that invests in seed, early and expansion stage companies. He continues to serve as a venture partner at Sentient.

To find out more about how SUNY Potsdam connects with its devoted alumni, visit www.potsdam.edu/alumni.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $32 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

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