John S. Shegerian

Chairman and CEO, ERI
Author

John Shegerian creates profitable impact companies that make the world a better place.

Goldman Sachs recently named Shegerian one of the “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2021” at its annual Builders + Innovators Summit. He was also recently named one of the planet’s “Top 100 Recycling Stars” by Recycling International Magazine.

A serial entrepreneur responsible for co-founding Homeboy Industries, FinancialAid.com, Engage and many other impactful organizations – Shegerian currently serves as co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ERI, the largest cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction and electronic waste recycling company in the United States.

Shegerian is also a sought-after speaker, panelist and electronic recycling, cybersecurity and ITAD industry authority. Annually he speaks across the world in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. He has also authored or been featured in articles on the industry for Recycling Today, Resource Recycling, Waste360 and various business journals and regularly provides his expert knowledge to news media, including CNBC, BBC News, TIME, Fortune, Forbes, Washington Post, Newsweek (multiple times), The International Business Times (multiple times), Security Ledger, GreenBiz, LifeWire, City & State New York, Los Angeles Business Journal, IEEE Spectrum, Alternative Energy Magazine, Business Insider Africa and VerdeXChange News among many others.

He is co-author of The Insecurity of Everything (a #1 best-seller on Amazon) and 101 Tips from the Marketing Masters: Ways to Supercharge Your Marketing & Exponentially Grow Your Business, both best-sellers on Amazon in their respective categories.

Shegerian earned a certification in Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age from Harvard University and has completed the MIT Sloan Cybersecurity program.

Shegerian also hosts Impact with John Shegerian, a weekly podcast featuring conversations with some of the greatest business minds and thought leaders on the planet. The podcast is available for listening on ImpactPodcast.com, Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Spotify, libsyn, and as part of iHeartRadio’s digital broadcast, reaching over 120 million users. Recent guests have included leaders from Verizon, Best Buy, Samsung, General Motors, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, JetBlue, Comerica Bank, Goodyear Tire, Virgin, Dell, GE, IBM, Qualcomm, Ben & Jerry’s, Texas Instruments, Timberland, UPS, Hertz, The Hershey Company, FedEx, Intel, NVIDIA, T. Rowe Price, New York City, Beyond Meat, Panasonic, EPAM, Molson Coors, Seventh Generation, the NBA, the US Tennis Association, Waste Management, and a number of fascinating game-changers, including Martin Luther King III; best-selling author Ryan Holiday; Homeboy Industries founder Father Gregory Boyle; real estate powerhouse and television personality Ryan Serhant; writer/comedian/author Jeannie Gaffigan; ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll; and hundreds more.

No stranger to “recycling lives” and serving up second chances, in 1993 Shegerian co-founded Homeboy Tortillas and Homeboy Industries, which continues to serve as a paradigm for urban renewal in America. Shegerian is also the creator of the popular Bulldog Root Beer brand, which he launched in 1997. Shegerian then co-founded FinancialAid.com, filling the financial aid gap for higher education and generating one of the most successful student loan companies in the country. Shegerian founded Addicted.com in 2005, one of the largest web resources for individuals seeking help for addictions online. The website boasts a database of over 20,000 addiction centers across the United States.

He is also co-founder of RecycleNation, a dynamic recycling and green living resource that simplifies the recycling process on a national level with a comprehensive, interactive recycling location database.

Shegerian is also the co-founder and CMO of The Marketing Masters, a digital marketing and web development company that builds effective, ROI-driven marketing campaigns for businesses large and small. Shegerian co-founded Som Sleep, a drink formulated to help individuals achieve better, more restorative sleep. He is also Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Engage, a web-based platform designed to digitize the process of booking talent online for unique personalized appearances.

Shegerian was named the Clean Tech Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California by Ernst & Young and was officially named to City & State New York’s prestigious “Responsible 100” list last year. This year, he received New York City’s “Above & Beyond” Innovator Award.

Tammy Shegerian

Co-Founder, President & Chief Revenue Officer

Tammy Shegerian oversees and manages the day-to-day operations of each aspect of the organization and is an active member of ERI's Board of Directors.

It’s a role she fits perfectly due to her 25 years of business management experience, most recently having served as chief operating officer and vice president of a privately held food manufacturer. For more than a decade, she was instrumental in achieving dramatic revenue growth while increasing net income through development and management of the company's continuous improvement program. During this period, the company grew from number five to number one market share in its space.

Prior to her work in food manufacturing, Shegerian served as a commercial real estate broker for Julian J. Studley (Sommer Commercial Real Estate). Focusing on office and retail leasing in the Santa Monica/West Los Angeles marketplace from 1989 to 1997, she led that firm’s sales in the Santa Monica market from 1992 to 1997.

Earlier in her career, Shegerian developed her sales and sales management skills at National Service Contracts, a brokerage firm specializing in air conditioning and refrigeration service contracts nationally. Her team’s sales were highest in the company and instrumental in NSC’s completion of a public offering in 1989.

She started her career with the Carnation Company, working with the organization’s product management program until Carnation became part of Nestlé in 1985.

Shegerian earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from USC, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Kevin J. Dillon

Co-Founder / Chief Marketing Officer / Chief Sales Officer

As ERI’s Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Sales Officer, Kevin Dillon oversees all of ERI’s corporate sales and marketing efforts, acquisitions and business development. He also sits on ERI’s board of directors. With a pivotal role in building ERI from the ground up, Dillon has helped lead ERI to its current standing as the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States.

Prior to ERI, Dillon worked alongside fellow ERI co-founder John Shegerian at financialaid.com to help pioneer one of the largest student loan companies in the U.S. Dillon hired and creatively managed the organization’s sales force and loan counselors while growing financialaid.com’s sales to more than $2 billion annually — leading to the organization’s subsequent purchase by and transition to the oldest financial institution in the U.S.

Dillon earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Finance from California State University at Fresno, earned a certification in Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age from Harvard University and has completed the Executive Program in Cybersecurity at MIT.

Aaron Blum

Co-Founder / Chief Operating and Compliance Officer

With a pivotal role in building ERI from the ground up as a co-founder, Aaron Blum has helped lead ERI to its current standing as the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States. Under his stewardship, ERI now has the capacity to process more than a billion pounds of electronic waste annually at its eight certified locations, serving every zip code in the United States.

At ERI, Blum serves as the company’s Chief Operating and Compliance Officer where he oversees all operations, and is directly involved with high-level sales and compliance. Blum works closely with government and regulatory agencies. He helped lead ERI’s efforts to achieve the highest level of certifications available for both data destruction and responsible recycling, with all facilities certified to the following standards ISO 45001, ISO 9001, NAID, and e-Stewards.

Blum has also been instrumental in the development of the corporate relations and research and development infrastructures for ERI.

Before co-founding ERI, Blum led the sales department for Pullz Computers, a Southern California-based computer resale company. Within a year of starting with Pullz, Blum helped double the company’s sales revenue.

Blum graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Tyler Browning

General Counsel

Tyler Browning is General Counsel at ERI®. Prior to joining ERI, Browning worked as a senior associate at Browning & Browning, LLP and as the Director of Business Development and Legal Counsel for CP, Inc., a multimillion-dollar holding company that administers, owns and develops branded consumer products. Prior to his work at Browning & Browning and CP, Inc., Browning was an associate at the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP.

Browning’s long interest in recycling, clean energy and climate change issues, combined with his passion for sustainability and the environment, make him a great match for ERI.

Licensed by the State Bar of California, Browning received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, his LL.M. in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Southern California.

Rich Calzada

Chief Technology Officer

Rich Calzada’s experience and history with ERI did not start with his current position in 2011. He was the VP of Development for a consulting company and oversaw all of ERI’s web properties and core systems since their inception in 2006. With his extensive knowledge of all of ERI’s processes and systems he is able to quickly pivot and guide his department in deploying cutting edge solutions both internally and externally.

Utilizing his years of experience in the industry as well as his Master of Computer Science, Calzada continues to try and push the envelope allowing ERI to offer a superior solution to their customers.

Carol DeBellis

Senior Vice President of Human Resources

Carol DeBellis, SPHR, GPHR, is the former director of human resources for Fresno Pacific University, a private Christian university that experienced significant growth over the past few years. She was previously the international HR and administration manager for Pelco by Schneider Electric, responsible for supporting the organizations international growth objectives, including all aspects of human resources. Prior to that, she was the international HR project manager for JCPenney Direct Marketing Services, overseeing startup projects in Canada, Australia and Japan.

Certified both in Senior and Global Human Resource Management, she graduated from the University of Phoenix with a B.S. in Business Management. She is active in the local community serving as the Chief Operation Officer for the Trauma Intervention Program of Fresno County.

David Hirschler

Chief Sustainability Officer

As ERI’s Chief Sustainability Officer, David Hirschler is responsible for ERI’s internal and external sustainability initiatives to help maintain ERI’s place as the most responsible and transparent IT and electronics asset disposition provider in the United States. This includes managing legislative responsibilities covering the gamut of producer responsibility regulations through data protection regulations, ERI oversees our ESG and waste diversion tracking programs, as well as our efforts to improve circularity and ensure ERI continues to have a positive impact on our communities. In addition, David serves as president of the board of FABSCRAP, a nonprofit organization focused on the recycling and reuse of commercial textile waste.

He has worked in the recycling field for more than 20 years. Throughout his career, David has focused on the implementation, development, and marketing of innovative programs and policies, including convenient electronics recycling plans, reuse systems, producer responsibility programs and more.

David received his Master's Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science from Boston University.

Linda Ramos

Chief of Staff

A wearer of many hats, Linda Ramos is ERI’s Chief of Staff — charged with overseeing productivity and efficiency at ERI’s Fresno headquarters as well as all subdivision offices of the company. Ramos is also responsible for supervision of the front office and HR staff, payroll, accounts payable, investor relations and management of company CEO John Shegerian’s travel and meeting schedule.

Prior to her work at ERI, Ramos performed similar duties working alongside Shegerian at financialaid.com, managing that company’s finances as it grew, and ultimately playing a key role in the success of what became one of the largest student loan companies in the U.S. Prior to her work at financialaid.com, Ramos served as general manager for Di Cicco’s Italian Restaurants for 15 years, where she was responsible for hiring and scheduling for two restaurant locations, on-site managing for a staff of 30, accounting, payroll, outside sales and implementation of company policies.

Ramos graduated from California State University at Fresno with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in management. She was also a member of Golden Key Honor Society and the business fraternity Phi Kappa Phi.