Executive Team

Les Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer

Les Goldstein joined Ascentis in 2007 as the Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Ascentis, Mr. Goldstein was President and CEO of InterPay, Inc., which became the fourth largest outsourced payroll and related services provider in the United States. InterPay experienced significant growth and was successfully sold to Paychex, Inc. in 2003. Mr. Goldstein brings more than 30 years of experience in the areas of general management, strategic business development, sales and marketing, and customer service. Les holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bridgeport and an MBA from George Washington University. He and his wife reside in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

David Bernstein, Chief Financial Officer

David Bernstein joined Ascentis in 1999 and oversees the company’s financial and administrative teams as the Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Bernstein brings more than 20 years of broad-based experience in finance, IT, and operations. He began his business career as an associate with McKinsey & Company and holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Wharton School.  He and his wife reside in Orange County, California.

Nicolas Cohen, Director, Payroll Software Development

Nicolas Cohen joined Ascentis in 2000, and manages the payroll software development team that designs and builds the Ascentis Payroll products. Prior to joining Ascentis, Nicolas was a software engineer at IBM in Paris working on the company’s CRM software suite. He received his master’s degree in computer science and applied mathematics from ENSIMAG, an engineering school in France. Nicolas resides in San Francisco, California.

Mike Cross, Director, IT & Operations

Mike Cross joined Ascentis in 1995, and is the Chief Technical Officer responsible for IT infrastructure, payroll operations and software quality assurance.  Mike is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from California State University, Hayward in Computer Science.  Mike resides in San Francisco, California.

Kristen Hayer, Director, Sales & Marketing

Kristen Hayer joined Ascentis in 2004, and is director of the sales and marketing teams.  She brings 15 years of experience within the HR services and technology fields to this role, most recently heading up sales for an executive education firm.  Ms. Hayer received her bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University, and is currently pursuing her MBA at the University of Washington.  She resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband and daughter.

Dwight Matheny, Vice President & General Manager Seattle

Dwight Matheny co-founded Ascentis in 1994 and currently serves as Vice-President & General Manager.  Mr. Matheny currently heads up the product management, HR product development, and client services divisions.  Prior to co-founding Ascentis, Mr. Matheny worked for six years at Microsoft as a Product Manager for Windows.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Whitworth University and currently resides in Carnation, Washington with his wife and three children.