About Adjudica

Adjudica's principals each have fifteen to twenty years of experience in communications, engineering and technology development.  Collectively they have helped found or grow more than ten companies and are talented at moving a business model from concept through analysis and design to development and operation. 

Like many entrepreneurs faced with the challenge of providing cost-effective health care to their employees, Adjudica's principals saw firsthand the issues with our health care system and became determined to use their experience toward a solution.  Adjudica's unique concepts coupled with Web 2.0 technology provides a framework to reduce healthcare costs by giving individuals the tools they need to effectively manage group decisions. 

Health care is a pooled resource, with the costs of many individuals normalized across the pool, or group.  Until now, there has not been a method that allows members to directly control aspects of their plan.  By bringing the decisions out of the insurance company back office and empowering the consumer to make choices, Adjudica hopes to lower healthcare costs while maintaining current quality levels.

Adjudica Founders:

Blake Ashby, President and CEO

Blake has eighteen years experience in business startups. He was a co-founder and first president of BroadSpan Communications, one of the first data-centric competitive phone providers in the Midwest. The company was acquired by Primary Network and grew to offer service in five states before the combined companies were acquired by Mpower Communications in 2000.  He was also a co-founder and first president of GameRail, a high speed network company that targeted online gaming.  He was an early shareholder and consultant with Envisioneering Medical Technologies, a startup company which has developed a new ultrasound technology for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As a consultant, he prepared the original business plan for SAVVIS Communications, one of the largest backbone providers in the world. He was a founding member of an electronic standards development body for the U.S. Meat and Poultry Industry, mpXML.org, and served as the organization's Executive Vice President. Other ventures have included companies focused on software development, communications technologies and foodservice and food production.

Tom Hesterman, COO

Tom has twenty five years of experience in technology, communications and engineering.  He most recently served as Vice President of Operations for GameRail, helping to establish its nationwide network and oversee development of its proprietary desktop client software and backoffice systems.  Prior to joining GameRail, Tom was Vice President of Customer Operations at Mpower Communications, a $200 million revenue facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier where he managed all provisioning and field service activities. Before its acquisition by Mpower in 2000, Tom was President of Primary Network, where he was instrumental in growing Primary from a local Internet provider and web development shop to a dominant regional telecommunications provider. In 1999, Primary received honors as the fastest growing technology company in St. Louis and was 22nd on the Deloitte & Touche Nationwide Fast 500. Prior to launching Primary Network, Tom was Director of Online Operations for CDM Fantasy Sports, the pioneer of nationwide fantasy sports contests and operator of contests for partners that included The Sporting News, USA Today, and MSNBC.  In addition to his 15 years of experience in telecommunications, Tom has 11 years of engineering experience in the aerospace industry.  Tom earned a BS summa cum laude in Aeronautical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MS in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Missouri-Rolla.