Team
Vikram Mehta,
Co-Founder
Vikram has over three decades of experience in the technology industry (Servers, Storage, Networking, Audio/Video, and Software). He has lived and worked in India, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, The People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the USA for several large public technology companies including HP, Nortel, IBM, and NETGEAR.
Prior to NeXTnet, Vikram and Bill worked at three successful venture backed companies – Alteon WebSystems (acquired by Nortel in 2000); Data Center Technologies (acquired by IBM in 2010); and Blade Network Technologies (acquired by IBM in 2010). Vikram was co-founder and CEO of Data Center Technologies and Blade Network Technologies.
Vikram also serves as Bill’s junior lab assistant and always challenges the status quo. He enjoys golf, swimming, and water polo.
William (Bill) Nelson,
Co-Founder
Bill has over 30 years of computing and networking experience. He co-founded Blade Network Technologies and Data Center Technologies with Vikram and was a key member of two additional networking startups in Silicon Valley - Centillion Networks and Alteon WebSystems.
He has managed Sales Engineering, Software Engineering, Customer Support (Product Engineering) and Customer Services Groups and has extensive experience in networking hardware and firmware development and other Layer 1/2/3 protocols. During the emergence of the Internet, while at IBM, Bill managed TCP/IP for Windows Development and was part of the Windows Sockets standards development committee.
Bill is a private pilot, enjoys hiking, golf, and travel, and is a master when it comes to reasoning with Vikram.
Douglas Cheung
Fantastic Five (#1)
Doug has over 25 years of experience in product management and business development roles in the networking industry, ranging from semiconductors, systems, and cloud based management.
Prior to NeXTnet, Doug worked at NETGEAR, Broadcom, and StorLink Semiconductors.
When not in the office, Doug enjoys travel, photography, and learning about history and cultures.
Rich Prokop
Fantastic Five (#2)
Matt Slavin,
Fantastic Five (#3)
With over 30 years in computer networking, Rich has had the privilege of working with leading companies in their Advanced Technology and New Product Development teams. His journey began in 2000 at Alteon Web Systems, where he connected with Bill and Vikram, and has since led to successful roles at Nortel, Blade Network Technologies, IBM, and Lenovo.
Rich has designed and implemented various software utilities and products focused on hardware/software integration, diagnostics, user interfaces, and data visualization, particularly in embedded systems, Kubernetes, container-based architectures, Sonic Network OS, and Android/iOS applications. He is a customer advocate who excels in product development and troubleshooting.
Outside of work, Rich enjoys hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing, and skiing. When he’s not outdoors, you’ll likely find him in his basement restoring rescued pieces of analog test equipment or musical instruments.
Matt Slavin has been a leader in deploying mission critical systems and networks for over 30 years, working for industry leading vendors such as Cisco, Blade Network Technologies, Data Center Technologies, IBM and Lenovo.
He has helped customers globally to successfully deploy a wide range of systems and network solutions. Matt is a real-world expert in network protocols and standards and his expertise has resulted in thousands of successful deployments. Seeing the need to decouple networking software from underlying hardware, he has also been involved with implementing more open networking solutions under various Linux implementations. In his current role, he ensures that what gets deployed is deployed correctly and accomplishes what Managed Service Providers and end-customers expect from their technology infrastructure.
In his spare time, Matt is a chicken wrangler and gentleman farmer at his home in Oklahoma.
Stacy Nelson
Fantastic Five (#4)
Stacy’s superpower is adapting to change.
With degrees in computer science and technology management, she began her career developing F-16 radar simulations and later worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and NASA.
At IBM, she became known as the go-to person for rescuing troubled projects. Embracing the role of program manager, she found her true niche and eventually led a global program office overseeing 30+ products and two major acquisitions.
She was among the first 100 selected for IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, consulting in developing countries, including eco-tourism efforts in Bohol, Philippines.
Outside of work, Stacy volunteers teaching ESL and she enjoys travel, food, and cooking.
Kristin Cheung
Fantastic Five (#5)
Beaker
Kristin is a recent graduate with a degree in Computational Linguistics, bringing a unique blend of language science and computer technology to NeXTnet.
Her academic background emphasizes how machines process and understand human language — skills that directly support the development of agentic AI models capable of more natural and intelligent interactions. Kristin's deep interest in the intersection of linguistics and AI drives her work across multiple areas of NeXTnet.
Known for her quick learning and problem-solving skills, she thrives in fast-moving, collaborative environments. Her ability to connect technical ideas with real-world applications makes her a valuable part of our team as we shape the future of intelligent networking.
In her spare time, Kristin enjoys music, travel, and food history.
Beaker was a cockatiel with over 20 years of “over-the-shoulder management experience” mediating technology and business discussions between Bill and Vikram.
Beaker successfully performed this role at Alteon WebSystems, Data Center Technologies, Blade Network Technologies, and at NeXTnet since its inception on April 2nd, 2024.
While Beaker lived with Bill & Stacy in Raleigh, North Carolina, he often sided with Vikram on major issues. Beaker passed away peacefully on May 13, 2025.