Our Management Team

We celebrate the life our President and General Manager Pia Samson (1974–2021) who was taken from us by cancer far too soon. She filled our lives with joy and was a wonderful person to work with. We miss you so much.

Dave Palmer, Chairman (non-Exec)

Dave has a focused background of telecommunications and transport connectivity.

He has held highly active senior roles in Icomera, Aperto, Fujitsu, Philips, Moovera & Ensemble Communications, helping drive business growth & customer value in many areas of the world, primarily in USA, UK & Europe.

Jim Baker, Founder & CEO

Jim is a veteran transportation technology entrepreneur, founding Xentrans in 2010, & husband to our General Manager Pia Samson. He was formerly CEO at Moovera, Telabria & 21st Century Media. He is an avid cyclist, scuba diver & social historian. [LinkedIn]

Soren Bakken, president & COO

Formerly with Amtrak Marketing, Soren leads our business & financial activities. An ardent proponent of connected transit, he is also an accomplished audio engineer & musician. 

Alan Rowe, CTO

Alan is our Lead Project Manager & transit systems technical expert with a long career in the UK & US rail industries. Pastimes include bee-keeping & natural house building.

Colleen Richter, CMO

An Amtrak and Metrolink alumna, Colleen leads our marketing activities & coordinates efforts on the state-led California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP).

jeremy dalton, vp mobility

Jeremy is a technology policy strategist who specializes in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) & integrated transport. He is the Technical Project Manager for the California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP). [LinkedIn]

Erika Ehmsen, Director of client engagement & experience

Erika is a journalist by training & a comms expert. She is passionate about customer success & advises public transit & rail clients via the California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP). When not working, she’s likely dancing or scuba diving. [LinkedIn]

clay michaels, vp services

Clay manages our support desk & the ongoing health of our customers' operational systems & previously had a similar role at Nomad Digital. He enjoys collecting books & walking in the woods with his family.

richard strand, vp engineering

Previously at Nubolabs, Icomera & Moovera, Richard leads our business insights (BI) system development, providing our customers with a deeper view of transit operations.