Company Profile

Network Ninja is a software development firm based in Chicago that works in a variety of sectors, but primarily focuses on:

Organizations that provide services which positively impact society, from legal assistance to medical care
...and event marketing firms.

While these two primary target client types may seem like strange bedfellows, they do share some important characteristics: their revenue depends on their ability to prove their effectiveness. They each serve two constituencies: their customers, and their clients or funders. Their users, typically not very computer savvy, need to safely share data with multiple sites. We feel that this is excellent proof of both our applications' flexibility and our ability to achieve expert-level knowledge in our clients' fields, be it inventory management for a marketing company or document management for immigration law.

Wrapping it up: During the last 9 years we've developed a proven, flexible, scalable, and cost effective framework that allows us to quickly assemble and customize applications for clients of all sizes and shapes.

Select Ninjas

Matt Bochneak
Matt founded Network Ninja in 1998 with one simple plan - to change the world through innovative custom software development. He also wanted Network Ninja to be an exotic wildlife sanctuary. One of two isn't bad, though. Prior to NNI, Matt worked for Fortune 100 companies like AON, Lockheed Martin and ComEd on high-profile projects ranging from Y2K (remember that?) preparedness of nuclear facilities to information security overhauls.

Current book: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
Last show: Blockhead / Sixtoo / KidKoala / Bonobo / Amon Tobin
Andy Plax
Andy hails from St. Louis, but after graduating from St. Lawrence University in way upstate New York, he fled to the Windy City and has been here ever since. Over the past six years Andy's main responsibility has been to head up business development efforts for Network Ninja. In addition to his other duties, Andy also makes everyone happy just by 'being there.' When out of the office Andy enjoys hanging out with his dog and wife (not in that order) and running a marathon or two (Editor's note - showoff).

Favorite book: Count of Monte Christo
Worst Movie: Caddyshack II

Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl. - Bill Peterson, football coach.
Jonathan Snell
Call him a maverick, call him a pioneer, call him a madman, but don't call him John (it's jay, oh, en). As NNI's first true programmer, Mr. Snell is the elder statesman of the development team and has been a huge asset to NNI since day one on the job. When not working on a proposal for using 'linear electric motors or stacks of piezoelectric materials in internal combustion engines' (we're serious), Jon is the technical lead for a variety of projects for marketing firms and social service agencies.
Russen Guggemos
Born in an abandoned tobacco warehouse in Durham, NC, Russen left the tropical wastelands of the South for snowier New England oases to study computer science. Sadly, Boston's supplies of both computers and snow were inadequate, so he drove due west until his car was blown from the road along the Eisenhower. Pulled from the wreckage by the Ninjas, he agreed to test their software in exchange for his life.

Favorite Sandwhich: Steak Reuben
Arch Nemesis: Microsoft Samurai
Strengths: eye lasers, rubber skeleton, smoker's lungs
Weaknesses: cloves, Guinness, and Boston-area goth girls
Ryan Mangers
Originally from the Aurora, IL, Ryan has found his way back. Sort of. The powers that be at Network Ninja have graciously allowed him to contribute to the betterment of their cause from a remote location unknown to most. Similar to a military experiment gone horribly wrong, and powered by a continuous flow of caffeine, he is constantly referred to as .the one who never sleeps..

Favorite Movies: Hackers, The Net, Wargames.
Favorite Book: Jennifer Government
Favorite Quote: Ultimately, it is not what we know, or think, or feel, that matters. All that matters is what we do..
Maciej Babinski
Though he does not realize it, Maciej is on a life-long search for the perfect grilled-cheese and tomato sandwich which has taken him far from his birthplace in Warsaw, Poland. In his free time, Maciej plays the guitar (badly), tries not to get terribly injured while skiing (with moderate success), and dreams of one day catching the rabbit that keeps trying to steal his breakfast cereal.

Likes: Cats, Cyclopean Masonry
Dislikes: Punctuation abuse
Joe VanDeventer
Drawn towards Chicago from the mysterious, faraway land of Michigan, Joe has a deep love for movies about ninjas, or zombies, or zombies fighting ninjas and maybe also bears. When he isn't delving into PHP code for NNI, Joe enjoys riding his bike, cooking, and the comic stylings of the Detroit Lions organization.

HEROES: Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred E. Neuman, Al Czervik
ENEMIES: Continental drift and Skeletor
JD Maturen
Having completed his preliminary study of western civilization in the foothills of northern New Mexico, JD returns to the midwest for yet another crack at saving humanity. While not at the keyboard, he can be found either tinkering with his bike or trying to find a barista who can make a good cappuccino.

Likes: Ancient philosophy and dead languages.
Dislikes: TV
Nick Berveiler
After deciding that he might not be able to make it as a jazz musician, Nick obtained a degree in computer science from Illinois State University. He began his software development career by helping non-profit organizations enter the twenty-first century, leaving behind the ancient technology of paper based data organization. In the future, Nick has high hopes that his commitments will be rewarded with a Nobel Prize, when they add a category for software development.

In his free time, Nick enjoys going to baseball games and spending time at home (watching baseball games on TV).
Likes: coffee, satire, software development books, classic literature, and long distance running.
Heroes: Jerry Seinfeld, Dr. Science.
Dislikes: Reality TV
Ken Haynes
Born in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Ken grew up religiously watching the Cubs at Wrigley Field and Seinfeld on TV. Hes managed to break each one of his fingers, never watched a single episode of Survivor, and thinks the world would be a better place without eggplant. A graduate of Purdue University, he now spends his free time still watching the Cubs, playing softball, and trying to shoot in the 80s on the many fine golf courses in the area.

Wingspan: 67 inches
Allergies: None
Robert Shell
Robert made his way to NNI from the icy plains of the Mitten State. He has a designer's eye for everything- from graphics and interaction to songwriting and guerrilla marketing. When Robert's not tinkering with colors and boxes or pretending he's every possible kind of software user, he is probably wandering around with a camera or checking out a show somewhere.

Likes: Bacon, Wandering, Synaesthesia, Bacon
Dislikes: Slow Walkers and Close Talkers
Joshua Mullin
Josh grew up in rural Michigan where there was nothing for a kid to do except fill 5 1/4 inch floppies with BASIC code. He's been programming since he was in fifth grade. Josh did professional Java work for two years before being saved by NNI to work on various projects that thankfully don't have a thing to do with Java.

Likes: Long walks in the rain, IRC OP abuse, and Puppies - In that order
Dislikes: Blogging, Vegemite, and Internet tough-guys
Marci Trick
Both Marci Trick and Ribfest come to Network Ninja from Naperville, IL. Coincidence? Marci's a PMI certified project manager, expert organizer, and general delegator of deeds. Her super hero stats are as follows:

Dislikes: Licorice
Favorite Movies: Anchorman, Clue
TV: Love it. History channel, golf channel, nature channel, premium channels... Everything in HD.
Frederic Zapata-Alma
Dominican born and Motown expatriate, Frederic makes up for lack of baseball talent with a ravenous appetite for solving problems. From protecting auto-workers from their robots to protecting your identity, Frederic's been developing digital solutions for mankind since the Commodore 64 (don't get him started). An avid tool smith, he spends 'off'-time dabbling in electronic music and honing a myriad of data retrieval and analysis tools.

Dislikes: Mackerel, Vanilla
Special Move: back, back, forward + low kick (rubber-neck attack)