About The President

President and CEO Alan Shad has been a passionate technology visionary in the portable computing industry since its inception.

As an architectural engineer during the construction recession of the early 1980s, Alan decided to reinvent his career and enter the personal computer business with Tandy Corporation in 1983.  He moved on to MicroAge, an early technology retail leader, in 1985 and in 1989, he went to work for the Micro computers distribution giant Ingram Micro.

During his employment at Ingram, he took notice of the rise of the laptop industry and became an highly enthusiastic proponent of portable computing. He decided to found his own portable computing firm in 1991.

By the end of the 1990s, Alan saw growing customer demand for ruggedized portable computing. After conducting additional research, he founded RuggedNotebooks.com to serve this important market.

Today, Alan sees an unlimited future for ruggedized computing as more consumers understand the advantages of durable portable computers at more affordable cost of ownership, long-term dependability, and reduced impacts on the environment.