management
Ed Lantz, President and CEO: 
Email
Ed Lantz is a media and entertainment engineer, scientist, executive manager and entrepreneur. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer and leading authority in large-format digital cinema and immersive experiences for mass audiences. Other areas of interest include virtual reality, interactive place-based entertainment, real-time video/music performance, independent films with socially conscious themes, fine art visual music, neuroaesthetics, and wellness applications exploiting the psychophysical effects of interactive digital media.
Mr. Lantz has a background in hardware and software engineering, quantum physics and electromagnetics. He spent seven years leading photonic signal processing R&D at Harris Corp. in Melbourne, Florida, five years at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory in Cocoa, Florida leading the development of advanced laser, video and astronomical projectors, and eight years with Spitz, Inc. where he built a team that transformed old-style planetariums into immersive visualization environments and assisted in developing an immersive cinema production team and workflow. Mr. Lantz is founder and Chair of Harmony Channel, a broadband television network delivering mood-elevating digital media that has been described as “MTV for the Soul.” He also operates Visual Bandwidth, Inc., an immersive cinema and fulldome video advisory network.
Mr. Lantz has published and presented numerous papers on VR and entertainment technologies, and is a regular contributor to ACM SIGGRAPH papers, panels and courses. He founded the International Planetarium Society’s Fulldome Video Committee and the first Fulldome Standards Summit held in Valencia, Spain in 2004, and co-organized the first Immersive Cinema Workshop in Espinho, Portugal in 2005. He received an MS in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University (1984), serves on the boards of the Center for Visual Music and the Center for Conscious Creativity, and holds two US Patents on immersive video-based theater technology.
Matthew Fannon, Vice President of Sales & Marketing: Email
Mr. Fannon has extensive business know-how, having managed and operated several different ventures. Mr. Fannon’s business background has provided him with valuable skills in business finance, real estate acquisition and disposition, strategic targeting, deal structuring, contract negotiation, marketing and sales. He has served on multiple boards and served in executive level positions throughout his career.
Mr. Fannon began his career in business working with an industry leader in an international industrial and commercial real estate firm named Binswanger. There he initially worked as an apprentice under the company’s most successful industrial broker, as a Marketing and Data Specialist, then went on to become the youngest licensed broker in the company. He was an integral team member in the acquisition / disposition of industrial real estate manufacturing and distribution properties for Fortune 500 corporations such as 3M, Gerber, Motorola, Lucent, and Wal-Mart.
Over the past ten years Mr. Fannon has been utilizing marketing expertise gained within major corporations in building small and midsize businesses both as a principal and/or employee and as a consultant. He has a track record of increasing company sales, branding, customer base, and web site traffic and a history of producing strong on and offline strategic partnerships through marketing campaigns and streamlining marketing processes to meet budgetary requirements.
Mr. Fannon founded Trancend, LLC in the late 1990s and was executive producer of a host of special events, indoor concerts, nightclub events, and large outdoor music festivals through the early 2000s. Most notably, Trancend produced and co-produced three outdoor “multi-cultural” art and music festivals in the South Eastern United States where he worked with multiple Grammy award winning musical performers, cirque performance artists, and internationally acclaimed traditional artists. Mr. Fannon oversaw all promotional and marketing of the events with successful combined attendance of over 100,000 patrons.
Bill Palmer, Business Development and Project Manager: Email
Bill Palmer is a results driven business development executive combining accelerated experience in both supporting roles at Fortune 500 companies such as GE and Deloitte & Touche, as well as leadership roles at complex entrepreneurial ventures such as Synchrony, Progressive Brands, and Activate Media Group.
Mr. Palmer has a track record of successful entrepreneurial ventures in the highly competitive industries of premium wine and spirits, online marketing, and enterprise software. In addition, producer and visual designer, Palmer created the highly acclaimed live show "Mystic" in 2008 and has developed custom visuals and show concepts for some of the top musicians in the dance music industry.
Bill has a keen ability to synthesize world-class creative abilities with disciplined analytical skills to generate outstanding results for clients and partners. He is a proactive and collaborative team leader with outstanding vision and resourcefulness. Highly adaptive and comfortable in fast paced, challenging, multi-faceted environments. Detail-oriented and methodical value creation expert with emphasis on market orientation and closing strategic sales, he consistently fosters outstanding relationships throughout the market segmenets for Vortex. Palmer graduated from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University with a degree in Finance and Accounting.
Laura Vattilana, Vice President of Finance:
Laura Vattilana has over 20 years experience in the combined fields of corporate administration and accounting, including Systems Administrator for Weingartner Enterprises, Accounting Manager at Madison Construction Company, and Controller for Bridgeview, Inc. She holds a degree in Accounting from Immaculata University. In addition to her accounting talents, Laura is an active environmentalist.
