John Spade

John Spade, who, graduated with a BA in Economics in 1995, is Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Florida Panthers.  Chico State President Manuel Esteban surprised John Spade with a classroom visit to recognize him for his Outstanding Contribution to the University in 1995; John helped develop and maintain a computer server for the Economics Department and designed a class on the Internet for economics students.

“Rocko was the first department email server at Chico State and the first server in an academic department outside the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management. It allowed all economics students and faculty Internet access,” stated Frederica Shockley, who was chair from 1987 - 1997. “When we first started using the World Wide Web that John introduced us to, the background was always grey. I asked John if we could use another color and a few weeks later he proudly displayed a web page with a blue background. Many students and some professors put up their own personal web pages. Classes used it for computer simulations and statistical analysis.”

After graduation John took a position as director of new technology for CS International, a management consulting firm, where he “pioneered the development of the click-to-call (Internet-triggered callback) technology years before market introduction,” according to his LinkedIn page.  In 1998 John left CS to open his own consulting business, Quantum Telecom where he developed and sold advanced telecommunication technologies.

In 2002 John co-founded Webvoip, “serving VoIP businesses in more than 20 countries through fulfillment of a market gap in the provision of accurate billing information for emerging VoIP calling control systems,” according to his LinkedIn page. In 2006 John moved on to VoEX Inc as “lead technical solutions guru for the Company in the United states, responsible for the design and implementation of cost effective technical solutions across the footprint of the Company's engineering infrastructure and services.”

In 2008 John founded Diamante Property Services, where he continues to provide property and asset management services in Colorado and Arizona.  John joined the Florida Panthers in 2014 as their Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer. 

 “My economics degree helped me get my current position with the Florida Panthers. They wanted someone with an academic and business background like mine,” John said in an email.  (Last Updated 6/5/19)