Leadership

CEO, Zack Farahmand, attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute and earned his bachelors of science with honors and later an MBA degree with honors at Boston University. He began his professional career as a co-founder of Massachusetts Medical Computer Associates, which helped pioneer the development of the medical software industry. He went on to hone his skills in finance while working at Keystone Mutual Funds, and then at Fleet Bank, which was acquired by Bank of America. Zack recognized that he had an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, and, in 1996, he established Axiom Capital Group, Inc., a merchant banking firm offering management, financial consulting, and private equity support primarily to middle-market businesses. Zack continues to provide financial consulting services and is a board member of numerous businesses across a broad spectrum of industries. During his career, he has served as the CEO of Global Silicon Technologies (GST) overseeing three production facilities in the United States and the Netherlands; co-founded and operated Specialty Retail Management, LLC., a management company that operated 125 retail stores for Hasbro (NYSE) and five retail stores of its own. He was also the owner and CEO of Aces, LLC. Aces owned 19 Little Caesars franchises located in Virginia. Since 2014, Zack has been actively involved at Sunrise, first as a consultant, and currently as CEO. In his limited spare time, Zack enjoys reading, Cape Cod summers, skiing, pickleball, traveling with his wife, and spending time with his three daughters.

Immediately following high school, Eric enlisted in the United States Navy. During Electronics Technician A-school, he was awarded the prestigious Navy Achievement Medal. After the Navy, Eric pursued his master’s degree in applied physics at Northeastern University, while working full time as an equipment technician at Eaton semi-conductor. He also obtained three patents on ion beam focusing, particle rejection, and plasma charge depletion during this period. Eric continued working within the semi-conductor industry at Epion, Tokyo Electron, Varian, and Axcelis. He acquired another patent during his time at Epion for local site processing technology using sinusoidal scanning. Also, along the way, he taught himself how to write software in several different languages and developed strong electronic design skills.In 2001, Eric left the semiconductor OEM business and co-started the consulting firm, SmartsInABox. SmartsInABox successfully developed embedded electronic solutions for Forth Inc, Raytheon, SAIC, Brooks Automation, Kronos, Teradyne, GE, and various Department of Defense subsidies. During the fall of 2005, Eric became the general manager and lead engineer at Sunrise Systems. Since Eric started at Sunrise, he has developed over 100 different product lines and helped to successfully navigate two downturns in the industry; He was very much responsible for leading the company to achieve its most successful years, as well. In 2014, with the help of Zack Farahmand, Eric was able to purchase Sunrise Systems and became its managing partner running the day-to-day operations until 2019, when Zack became the CEO and Eric became the CTO.Eric enjoys spending time with his two children, is a nature enthusiast, and has designed and built several homes for his own use.

Luke Collier is Sunrise SESA’s Chief Operating Officer, where he leads the company's global sales strategy. Since Joining Sunrise SESA in 2020 Luke has fueled SST’s growth by leading both sales, marketing and local operations. Under his leadership SST has re-branded with new messaging and is energized on entering new markets. Achieving these goals SST has re-focused on trade-shows and relationship building adding several new channel sales partnerships, created an inbound marketing strategy for commercial products and implemented new software for the bid team to generate more leads. Prior to SST, Luke led teams bringing projects to life for events like Boston Calling and the New York Marathon. He graduated from Royal Holloway, University in London, England, majoring in Politics and International Relations. Outside of work, Luke has a passion for rugby and current affairs. Currently serves on the Massachusetts Manufacturing Advisory Committee.

Steve Budak started his career at Sunrise Systems 14 years ago, working on large sign development and installations bringing extensive experience to all. Outside of work, Steve has a passion for spending time with his family.

Matt Williams started his career at Sunrise six years ago and enjoys being hands-on overseeing a diverse team of Electrical, Mechanical, Software, and Firmware engineers. Outside of work Matt has a passion for cooking and challenges others in BBQ contests.

Joseph LaGambina recently returned to Sunrise-SESA in the new role of Director of Client Services. In this diverse position, Joe is not only focused on sales-related projects for the Sunrise-SESA line of tickers and other LED-based commercial displays but also on contributing to variety of customer-facing problem-solving situations that present themselves across all of Sunrise-SESA’s product lines, from special project development to post-sale installation planning and other unexpected customer support situations. Joe earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Bentley University and has spent his career in a variety of customer-facing roles in credit and collections, wholesale Sales and Operations Management, and even 5 years running his own start-up pizza restaurant. Always an advocate for his customers on the inside of the organization, Joe has brought that same commitment and enthusiasm for relationship building back to Sunrise-SESA and looks forward to contributing to the continued growth of our company going forward. Outside of the office, Joe looks for opportunities to enjoy walks and bike riding with his wife, Beth, and gardening wherever there is a chance to help get plants into the landscape.

Eric McLeod joined the team in January 2025, bringing more than 25 years of experience in high-performance technical sales and project management. Throughout his career, Eric has successfully led complex, large-scale projects from concept to completion, built high-performing sales teams, and developed innovative strategies to drive growth and customer success.He has a strong background in managing cross-functional teams, working closely with engineering and operations to ensure seamless execution and exceptional results. Eric is known for his strategic thinking, hands-on leadership style, and commitment to delivering high-value solutions that exceed client expectations.Outside the office, Eric enjoys smoking meats and has a unique fondness for lions—both of which reflect his patience, focus, and fierce dedication.

Jeff has a degree in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in Engineer project management. He has experience with ISO 9001 and Lean Manufacturing training. Jeff has spent the past 3 years in the field of ITS and 11 years in manufacturing previously. Outside of work Jeff is passionate about friends, and family (especially his godson Tyler). and also enjoys duckpin bowling and billiards.