About Prime Factors
Prime Factors is a leader in applied data protection
committed to securing an open and collaborative digital world.
Global Footprint
Global Industries Served
For nearly 40 years, we have served more than 1,000 global customers from diverse industries and geographies with cryptographic software solutions for payments, EDI, and general data protection.
History
Prime Factors was founded in 1981 in Berkeley, California. Our first electronic data encryption software solution based on the Data Encryption Standard (DES) was purchased by Chase Manhattan Bank, which began a series of sales to large banks in the New York metro area and established Prime Factors as a popular provider of encryption tool kits to the financial services industry. In the same year as our founding, the first Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards for the transportation, food, drug, warehouse, and banking industries (ANSI X12) were published. As new standards emerged, EDI began to replace paper as a medium for transmitting data between organizations. Prime Factors, in partnership with Premenos Technology Corporation and Harbinger Corporation, would become a leader in securing payments and other EDI transactions – helping global customers protect the sensitive data they exchanged with their trading partners around the world.
The company relocated to Eugene, Oregon, in 1984, and a business relationship with Visa International led to commercialization of the PIN Management System (PMS). PMS helped banks generate and verify the Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and other codes needed to create and process payment cards, without needing to manage the complicated underlying cryptographic algorithms necessary to protect against card counterfeiting. With Visa International as a channel partner, PMS initially rolled out to more than 30 banks across Central and South America and expanded across banks in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. Nearly 17 years later, the PIN Management System was replaced by the Bank Card Security System (BCSS), which added robust cryptographic payment key management and other new features and functionality, including the ability to select software or hardware-based cryptography. BCSS eventually expanded into securing EMV chip card issuance and payments processing and the ability to provision IoT devices with secure credentials. More than 150 global financial institutions across six continents have turned to Prime Factors to help simplify payment security.
In 1988, Prime Factors developed an X9.9 authentication product, which later evolved into the STK Toolkit – a cryptographic library for secure authentication and general data protection. Government bodies, large banks and global enterprises interwove STK Toolkit into their applications and infrastructure, leveraging the products’ strong encryption subroutines and utilities to protect sensitive information. More than 20 years later, Prime Factors launched a product line that would replace STK Toolkit called EncryptRIGHT, which leveraged the cryptographic libraries of STK Toolkit along with robust encryption key management, role-based data access controls, and additional data protection features that delivered a ground-breaking new approach to application level data protection that drastically simplified deployment of robust data protection at the application layer.
As the digital transformation continues and commerce becomes more distributed, collaborative, and cloud-deployed, companies face unique challenges in data protection. Data has never been more plentiful or more valuable, nor has the need to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access ever been more ubiquitous, regardless of industry or geography. Securing sensitive data has also never been more complex, but Prime Factors continues to deliver general data protection software solutions that help to simplify protecting sensitive information where it is most at risk.
Leadership
Henry Cheli
President & CEO
Henry Cheli has been working in the high technology industry in the areas of Data Security and Digital Communications for more than 35 years, helping to commercialize emerging technologies for innovative technology companies globally. Henry served as Vice President, Americas Sales and later as Vice President of Business Development for Thales eSecurity, a leader in advanced data security solutions and services. Prior to this, Henry was President of Annese & Associates (sold to ConvergeOne) and a sales and commercialization consultant for several technology firms. Henry served as the Sr. Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Support Services at Visual Networks, a venture backed startup company that pioneered the development of software tools used for “Service Level Management” of Telco Packet Networks, where he supported their growth through Initial Public Offering (IPO). Henry also served as General Manager of the Networking Group division of Andrew Corp, where he led them to profitability. Henry lived for a period in England, where he reported to the Chairman of Racal-Datacom Global and ran Business Development to facilitate Racal’s participation in the consortium to establish the British “Camelot” Lottery System. He also held management positions in domestic and international Sales & Marketing and as General Manager of a product division of Racal-Datacom, Inc.
Jose Diaz
VP, Products & Services
Jose has worked in data security and communications for more than 40 years, most recently serving as the Director of Payment Strategy at Thales e-Security with global responsibility in guiding the development of solutions for financial services. Leading product development for Prime Factors, Jose brings a unique, customer-centric focus, having also held roles in Channel and Direct Sales in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as global Business Development through technology partners. He has led engineering, product development and services teams developing data protection and network security solutions and has been a keynote speaker at payments and data protection events across the Americas. Jose has four patents in digital communications and is a graduate of the University of Miami with an MSEE degree.
Pete Flagella
VP, Global Sales
Pete brings over 25 years of software management and sales experience to Prime Factors. He has a proven track record of identifying and capitalizing on emerging opportunities, while implementing improved business processes using a consultative approach that includes strategic thinking and tactical planning. Pete is proficient at working with executive management, support staff, and stakeholders to gain consensus on strategic plans to ensure accelerated service delivery and execution. Prior to Prime Factors, Flagella worked for Oracle, Sense Corp, and led a sales team at Arcplan, Inc., where he was responsible for growth and development in every area of revenue.
Justin Teitt
CMO & COO
Justin has a diverse background in marketing, operations and executive management for emerging technologies and communications companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 10. Justin served in a chief executive role at his prior two companies, a venture-backed technology company and a marketing and product development services company. He has held leadership roles in Global Channel Development with Sterling Commerce (acquired by IBM) and National Retail Development with SBC Communications (now AT&T), where he also held roles in corporate marketing, global sales, and field operations line management. Justin has served on the boards of several emerging technology companies as well as non-profit organizations focused on community development.