CEO, Ricardo Lasa founded Web Piston in 1998 as a custom web design and e-commerce firm. Shortly after its inception, Web Piston, Inc. became a premier web solution firm in Southwest Florida, working on a vast array of projects. Mr. Lasa not only raised venture capital and secured other avenues of financing for Web Piston, but he also developed state-of-the art site building platforms that are currently commercialized in North America - platforms such as Web Piston Site Builder.

Mr. Lasa decided to take Web Piston, Inc. to the next level and began working on the Web Piston site builder. In 2002, Web Piston was released and since then, its progress has continued to grow forward. A true believer of innovation, Mr. Lasa created a patent pending assistant, setting Web Piston apart from the other site builders in the industry. Web Piston has been overwhelmingly successful, with thousands of users and high ranking positions on the major search engines such as, Google, Yahoo and MSN. Mr. Lasa has become a prominent figure in the Tampa Bay area and numerous media outlets have been itching to cover the success story of the Web Piston company.

With his expert knowledge of Search Engine Optimization, Mr. Lasa developed a formula that has been well received by the Search Engines. Web Piston currently maintains number one organic positions on the MSN search engine for highly competitive keywords such as web site builder and site builder. Mr. Lasa is now leading his 13 talented employees into new ventures and future successes.

In addition to his responsibilities at Web Piston, Mr. Lasa has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida teaching business application development at both introductory and advanced levels. Mr. Lasa was also an information systems analyst for GTE Data Services. Recently, Mr. Lasa joined the International Academy of Design Web Development program advisory board.

Mr. Lasa holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Management Information Systems, a Masters of Science degree in Management Information Systems and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida. He is also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society for collegiate schools of business. With his international background, Mr. Lasa is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Mr. Lasa is proficient in financial analysis, strategic planning, project management, software architecting, product development and business process reengineering. He is also skilled in programming, including SQL, database design, C, and ASP.

Jesse Baynard joined Web Piston, Inc. in 1999 in order to undertake the Interface Design of the Messenger Healthcare System. In 2000, Mr. Baynard was promoted to Application Developer for the Mavilo Jewelry System with responsibilities such as, gathering client and user requirements, programming presentation and the business logic layers of the system. During this time Mr. Baynard also developed systems for managing electronic images between Internet and Intranet applications. When Web Piston had a business relationship with Monster Commerce, Mr. Baynard was the Senior E-Commerce Developer and was responsible for adding customizations to shopping cart software for numerous clients. Mr. Baynard created programs that simplified complex concepts and implementations of new functionality, often on systems conducting a vast amount of business Online. Currently Mr. Baynard serves as the Chief Technical Officer, making implementation decisions and recommendations but remains highly active in the customization and development of Web Piston systems.

Mr. Baynard received his AA degree from St. Petersburg Junior College before transferring to the University of South Florida where he obtained a Bachelors of Science in Information Systems degree. Shortly after his undergraduate career, Mr. Baynard went on to achieve a Masters of Science in Management of Information Systems degree from USF. In an effort to increase his knowledge and opportunities, Mr. Baynard went onto acquire a Microsoft Certification.

Mr. Baynard is proficient in numerous computer languages and database platforms.

Computer Languages:
Active Server Pages, Visual Basic, JavaScript, HTML, PERL, PHP and C

Database Platforms:
Access and SQL Server

Chris Lord joined Web Piston, Inc. in 2001 and currently serves as the Network Administrator & E-Commerce Developer. In the role of Network Administrator, Mr. Lord is responsible for maintaining, each employees work station, the development servers and the production environment. Mr. Lord plays a critical role within Web Piston, securing not only the servers and development destinations but managing Web Piston’s firewalls and infrastructure. With thousands of people using Web Piston, Mr. Lord protects and oversees the functionality of Web Piston’s hosting implementations and domain security.

In the E-Commerce Development position, Mr. Lord was lead developer on the Monster Commerce shopping cart system, re-coding and securing their previously inefficient cart. In regards to Web Piston’s E-Commerce solution, Mr. Lord morphed a basic shopping cart into a Turnkey solution that encompasses all aspects of the order fulfillment process. Currently, Mr. Lord is developing a WP shopping cart solution for Web Piston clients that will combine reliable functions and user friendly interactions.

Mr. Lord attended Clearwater Christian College for two years before transferring over to St. Petersburg College, where he dedicated another two years. During this period MR. Lord obtained a Web Master Certification and took numerous programming and networking courses that are required for his role as Network Administrator. Mr. Lord also obtained other vital certifications such as the Microsoft Certification with expertise in Windows XP Professional, ASP.NET application development and a CIW certification with expertise in Server Administration.

Mr. Lord is proficient in numerous computer languages, Operating Systems and Database Platforms.

Computer Languages:
HTML, XHTML, XML, Basic, VB6, VB.NET, JAVA, JavaScript, ASP, C#, Perl, C. C++ and CSS.

Operating Systems:
Symantec Gateway Security OS (Linux based), Linux, Windows NT Server 4, Windows Server 2000 (Server, Advanced Server, Storage Edition), Windows Server 2003 (Web Server, Standard Server, Enterprise Sever, Storage Server), Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Pro, Mac OSX, Mac OS 9, Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows 3.1 Workgroups and DOS

Database Platforms:
Access, MSDE, SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 and My-SQL

Matt Munday joined Web Piston, Inc. in 2002 filling the role of a Web Developer for the Monster Commerce project. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Munday was promoted to Lead Developer and Web Piston Architect. Mr. Munday’s responsibilities include, developing and maintaining the Web Piston platform, implementing new application and installing new user interfaces. The Web Piston solution functions on Mr. Munday’s development and code structure.

Mr. Munday came to Web Piston highly recommended from his professors and other industry peers. Prior to joining the Web Piston team, Mr. Munday was independently working on projects such as, web development, open source software research & development and program analysis. Mr. Munday also has experience with PC troubleshooting and repairs as well as embedded systems development.

Mr. Munday is still in the process of receiving his formal college degree which he started at St. Petersburg College. With substantial knowledge and industry experience, Mr. Munday is proficient in numerous computer languages, operating systems and database platforms.

Programming languages/scripting:
C, C++, VB, VB.net, Java, C#, ASP, PHP, x86 assembly, XML, XSLT, HTML, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Sh (linux shell script), GTK+, and Basic

Operating Systems:
Linux , MS DOS, Windows (95,98,Me,2000 server,XP pro/home/tablet), BSD, Mac OSX, and PalmOS

Database Platforms:
MS Access, SQL server 2000, MySQL, and PostgreSQL

Michelle Thames joined Web Piston, Inc. in 2000 as an Intern in the Graphical Design department. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Thames was promoted to a full-time Graphic Designer, working on hundreds of custom website applications and interacting directly with the clients determining their precise needs. Quickly excelling in this role, Mrs. Thames was suited with the Lead Graphic Designer and Project Manager titles. Currently Mrs. Thames is responsible for, managing all custom projects, communicating with clients, collecting and organizing all data (Content, Images, Functionality, Keywords, Requirements), art direction for open projects, delegating basic Search Engine Optimization needs and technical set-up for custom solutions (email, domain, e-commerce). Mrs. Thames has successfully managed over 70 projects since stepping into the Project Manager role.

In 2005, Mrs. Thames was voted Employee of the year by her colleagues.

Although Mrs. Thames was hired by Web Piston right after graduating from college, she had numerous Internships under her belt. During these internships, Mrs. Thames worked as a graphic designer, re-designed the Art Department website for the University of South Florida and taught art classes to middle school children.