About

As an acquisition holding company, Rugly Holdings is interested in acquiring companies in the telecommunications industry that bring mutually advantageous products and services to the group. The initial segments of interest are in (1) the vanity number and toll free industry, (2) the Responsible Organizations (RespOrgs) that manage toll free numbers, (3) enhanced calling services, (4) Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC) and (5) companies with intellectual property that support these industry segments.

Management
Christopher Rugh is a successful entrepreneur with irrepressible passion for business and life. He launched Custom Toll Free as a DBA of Rugly Group Inc. (http://www.customtollfree.com) in 1997. Custom Toll Free has since become the nation’s leading vanity telephone number search firm. Fortune 500 companies and well recognized brands such as 1-800-CONTACTS, Comcast, and Best Buy are among the Company’s valued clients. Revenues at Custom Toll Free have escalated dramatically every year since its launch.

The idea for Custom Toll Free came to Chris as he was sifting through 20,000 case files of bankrupt companies back in the mid 1990’s. He noticed that heavy equipment and other assets were selling for pennies on the dollar. He also discovered that vanity phone numbers retained tremendous value.

On his first big score, Chris noticed that one number of a particularly colorful nature was getting a great deal of traffic. He found the owner of the number, acquired the rights to it, and subsequently cashed in on its misdial value. This combination of Sherlock Holmes curiosity and savvy negotiating have worked to Chris’s favor as he’s grown Rugly Holdings Inc. from a simple idea to a thriving telecommunications and marketing corporation.

In addition to his leadership of Rugly Holdings, Inc, Chris is also an engaging and award-winning speaker and a tell-it-like-it-is blogger (http://www.chrisrugh.com) who believes in working hard, playing hard, and enjoying the journey every step of the way. Chris has been refining his speaking talent since 1995 with Toastmasters. He is a long-standing member of the prestigious Entrepreneurs Organization (http://www.eonetwork.org). He is a board member for BloopCamp, a non-profit artist collective he helped create, where he as done interesting fun things like build an electric car from scratch with friends . He is also a strong advocate for social justice and a lifetime member of the ACLU.

Rugh earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and advertising from Grand Valley State University. He lives in Seattle, WA.

Michael Evans is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Rugly Holdings, Inc, a holding company formed to execute a consolidation strategy in the telecommunications industry. With over 25 years of senior executive experience, Michael has successfully managed companies from startup, through the IPO process, and achieved growth of annual revenue to over $300 million. He draws on this experience to manage the operations of Rugly Holdings, Inc and to oversee the company’s organic and acquisitive growth plans.

From 2001 to 2008, Michael Evans was Chief Executive Officer of Certified Security Solutions, Inc. (CSS), a national information security consulting company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. Under Michael’s leadership, CSS rapidly grew from inception to over $5.9 Million in annual revenue. CSS was recognized as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in Washington for four consecutive years (2004-2008).

Prior to forming CSS, Michael was President and Chief Operating Officer of Cotelligent, Inc., a national information technology firm employing over 3000 people in 26 branch offices across the U.S. During his tenure at Cotelligent, Michael participated in the initial roll-up of four companies and the subsequent IPO. Michael was also involved in the acquisition and integration of 13 additional companies that helped to increase the depth and breadth of services offered by Cotelligent. In 1982, he co-founded FDSI Consulting, Inc., a regionally-based information technology consulting group headquartered in Bellevue, WA and was its CEO until its sale to Cotelligent in 1996.

Directors
Jay Westerdal graduated with a Bachelors of Computer Science from Central Washington University. Previously the founder of Name Intelligence, Inc. Jay sold his company to Thought Convergence, Inc. in mid 2008. Jay currently serves on the board of Thought Convergence, a diversified holding company which owns and operates brands like Spry Hosting, Inc, DomainTools.com, Aftermarket.com, TrafficZ.com, Domain Roundtable, and LeaseThis.com. He also serves on the boards of AboutUs, Inc.