Our Story
Eric Sullender
The Sullender Group
Eric Sullender launched The Sullender Group LLC in 2022 to work with hospitality brands as well as top service providers to define and refine their Wi-Fi strategy and products.
Throughout his career, Eric has been recognized for his ability to build and manage high-performing teams, establish effective cross-functional collaborations, and drive innovation. He is a thought leader in the field of access network management and has written and presented on network security, seamless authentication, and guest engagement.
Eric began his career in New York City with Arthur Andersen’s Advanced Technology Group advising start-ups and large corporations such as Goldman Sachs and MetLife on their Internet technology strategy. After a brief stint at a failed startup (even after a pivot!), Eric moved to Portland, Oregon and was the first employee at Eleven Software Inc., a provider of SaaS software in use by some of the largest communications and hospitality companies worldwide to manage access to their networks. Eric held a number of roles at Eleven over the years precipitating his primary focus: leading and growing the product team and defining the product strategy and roadmap as the VP of Products. Eric was instrumental in many of Eleven’s successes including global expansion into 50+ countries, entry into five new verticals, adoption of cutting-edge technologies and the successful launch and eventual divestment of an independent business unit. Most recently, Eric was actively involved in the sale and transition of Eleven to a private equity firm, delivering a successful exit for Eleven’s original investors and shareholders with a more than 13x return.
Eric Sullender is a visionary that couples extensive hospitality network experience with creative problem solving and focused customer service. His group brings a practical, foundational, view point to an industry challenged with disparate systems and goals.
How We Can Help
Eric is a senior executive who can engage with stakeholders to fully understand the problems that need solving. Trusted by engineering teams and CEOs alike, he is a seasoned product management executive with more than two decades of experience leading teams to develop and launch products that drive business growth. He fosters intrinsic motivation in employees, brings a deep understanding of a broad range of technologies and builds trusted relationships with customers to drive success. With expertise in both B2B and B2C product development, Eric is skilled at identifying market opportunities, defining product roadmaps, and executing on product strategies that align with business goals.
Personal Interests
A love of learning and discovering new and interesting products, technologies and companies drives Eric. He has seen firsthand how the resources angel investors bring to a startup can help accelerate growth, so he joined the Angel Investor Forum in 2022 to help provide that same foundation to founders and start-ups.
Eric holds a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University’s College of Engineering. He lives with his wife, two sons and daughter in Brookfield, Connecticut where he is also a Volunteer Firefighter, EMT and Fire Lieutenant.