Sky Team

Brian Nichols is the founder and CEO of Sky Systemz. Brian is a McGraw-Hill author of "Taking Charge with Value Investing (2013)" and former fund manager who founded Sky as a spinoff of his former analytics company. “Sky is the greatest investment of my life because there is such a great need for medium sized businesses who want personalized service and cloud based software but need help to adopt. We are serving such a massive need.” Brian and his wife Natalie live outside Lexington, KY and have been married for 15 years and have two children. Nichols is a philanthropist, angel inventor, and enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and working with small companies to grow their business larger.

Natalie is originally from Pikeville, KY and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Walden University. “We have been blessed, but it wasn’t always like this. Sky was created to better our communities and those around us. It’s grown bigger than we ever expected. Every night we’d dream, but also talk about these plans; plans that have turned into action- this business.” In her free time, Natalie enjoys spending time with Brian and her boys, Austin and Christian. She also enjoys singing, travelling, Chinese food and Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama football.

Slade is from Harrodsburg, KY and attended High Point University receiving a BS Biology, Chemistry Minor. After two years at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine he withdrew to pursue a career with Sky Systemz. “Building out the online stores and carry out-delivery services for our hometown restaurants during the lockdown was really rewarding. I really think we helped them navigate the turbulence of transitioning through the various COVID regulations.” In college, Slade started a philanthropy initiative with his fraternity that raised about $50,000/year for disabled veterans. Slade’s academic research has also been published regarding “long bone nonunion” with UK’s orthopedic department.

Erik is from Cincinnati, OH and has a master’s degree in Financial Engineering. After spending over a decade in the FHLB System in a variety of roles from quantitative analysis to portfolio strategy, Erik was intrigued by the opportunity offered by Sky. “I’ve had a long-time interest in the payments industry, credit and debit card rewards, and interchange fees. I am excited to help lead the development of Sky’s financial products”. When Erik isn’t at Sky, he enjoys WW2 history, football, traveling, and spending time with his wife and two kids.

Don has a Bachelors of Business Administration from Hanover College. The reason he chose Sky was because it was an opportunity that challenged him, and he likes the culture of friendship and success. He enjoys playing softball, golf, and chasing around his granddaughter.

Michael graduated from Mercer county senior high school, and attended Harrodsburg Vocational school where he studied Website and graphic design. He chose to work for SKY because he wanted to further his career and create a better life for his children. He enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Lynn has worked in B2B Tech for over 10 years and responsible for all worldwide commercial business included both sales and operations. Lynn grew up outside of St. Louis MO and calls Union MO her home. After a 20 year career in education, Lynn changed paths and earned her degree in Business Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Professional Development/Organizational Culture and Change. Lynn was excited to join Sky’s growing the business "I love to working at Sky because we are providing businesses the cutting edge tools they need to streamline their business and save money.” When Lynn is not at Sky, she enjoys time with family and Cardinals baseball!

Steve Bugg manages all of the company’s account managers who are responsible for more than 1,000 business customers and the 100 plus we acquire each month. Steve is developing the reseller and partner distribution network to provide training and professional support to individuals and companies around the nation that are now selling and offering Sky Systemz service to their business customers. You can contact Steve if you are a business owner in the greater Lexington, KY area interested in using Sky or if you are interested in selling/referring Sky services to merchants elsewhere in the U.S. at steve@skysystemz.com

Jason has been in sales for 18 years across multiple industries. He has spent the last 10 years in leadership positions helping grow and scale sales organizations to success by achieving large revenue targets. Jason was born and raised in Hebron, KY where he currently lives with his wife and 3 children. He is an ex-college athlete and sports fanatic who enjoys coaching football, baseball, going to church, and hanging out with his family. Jason will be responsible for leading sales, sales operations, and marketing efforts for the Sky Enterprise division. Jason says “He has been blessed with this opportunity and looks forward to turning Sky into a sales and marketing machine!”

Adam is a graduate of Houston County High School in Erin, TN, where he currently resides with his wife, Sarah, and his three children. Sky Systemz gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and into my calling. I used to regret waking up for work and now I get to do something I truly enjoy. Adam is the sales manager for all of Tennessee.

Tyler Stephens grew up and lives in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. He attended and played baseballl for the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY. He studied Kinesiology until an injury put a halt to my career, and decided to join the team here at Sky. “I was interested in Sky because of it’s potential from the start...assessing customers needs and outperforming the expectation.” When he’s not at Sky, he enjoys working out and being on the lake.

Joey Stone manages all of the merchant accounts in our Eastern Kentucky region, a 75 mile radius that consists of 100s of business customers that surround Pikeville, KY. While also providing customer service and on-site support, Joey is developing the resell and partner distribution network to provide training and professional support to individuals and companies around the nation that are now selling and offering Sky's service to their business customers.

Randy is from Marion, IL, where he likes to hunt, fish, and ride motorcycles. He was drawn to Sky Systemz when he met Brian Nichols and saw the vision of what we could accomplish as a team in the payment industry. Our customer service is second to none and we have very close working relations with our merchants that truly set us apart from many other processing companies and we are always looking to improve our product.

Misty is from Smithland, KY. She is married and the mother of three grown children. “The very first business I signed with Sky saved over $1500 a month! They are a small business in a very SMALL town. They were thinking, “how could they save money to stay afloat?’ Our services have helped them tremendously” When Misty isn’t saving our customer money she enjoys hiking, Jeep rides and is a Second Regional Basketball Official for the State of Kentucky.

Teri was born and raised in Bowling Green, MO. She has an undergraduate degree in Education from Culver-Stockton College. She also has post-graduate degrees in Administration & Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri and Saint Louis University. “I love the feel within the company, the way all employees work together to help each other, and the comany vision!” When she’s not at Sky, Teri is traveling with her friends, attending Joey Wray shows, or spending time with her three sons and an English Bulldog named Cupcake. Fun fact: Her family is full of musicians - her son is country music artist Joey Wray and her nephews are the Brothers Robinson!

Todd, while originally from eastern Kentucky, currently lives in Bowling Green, KY with his wife and son. Todd earned his Bachelor’s of Science from Morehead State University. Prior to Sky, he worked in the sales industry for 10 years. “I was drawn to Sky for the opportunity to help businesses in South and Central Kentucky succeed and grow.” When he’s not busy at work, you can find him attending local sporting events, traveling, golfing, or golfing while traveling!

Shianne Black loves the outdoors and reaching out to our customers.

Mike is from the Cincinnati, OH area and has a Ph.D. in Business Administration & Marketing Management. “I was drawn to Sky because of my entrepreneurial spirit. There’s just something special about building a business as you go. Fewer barriers and a lot of outside the box thinking.” His marketing experience includes 20 years in the entertainment industry, and 5 years in retail as a private consultant. Additionally, Mike is an adjunct instructor of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati facilitating online graduate level courses including Marketing for Managers, Marketing Ethics and Marketing Strategy. When he isn’t doing marketing, he is a nationally recognized performing artist known as OMEB (One Man Electrical Band).

Erin is originally from Akron, Ohio and currently resides in Cincinnati. She has a degree in Visual Communications Design with Marketing and Biblical Studies minors from Cedarville University. “Sky has not only welcomed me into their company, but has given me an opportunity to learn and grow. I have the ability to be creative and use my marketing skills at Sky, which gets me excited for all the projects that come my way”. When Erin is not designing at her computer she is either exploring Cincinnati, baking cookies, watering her many plants, or spending time with her friends and family.