Meet the Team

Don Baker, Founder and CEO

A well-known visionary and 30 year veteran to the electronics industry, Don Baker is the CEO and Founder of CTrends, Inc. Don is passionate about establishing quality standards to protect everyone in the supply chain. Don has successfully grown the organization to be an innovative, system driven, quality-based company operating in 13 vertical markets. At CTrends, Don leads the team, sets strategy, and drives results by practicing what he preaches – quality must come first.

Don believes there has never been a greater need for the deployment of a clear and effective counterfeit mitigation procurement standard. We have a unique opportunity to make an impact. Don has an innate understanding of the production life cycle and the factors that contribute to a successful project. Don is currently speaking and lecturing as a subject matter expert in counterfeit mitigation, proactive technology management, as well as quality assurance standards and processes. He is also helping to write the standards for risk mitigation and an active member of many boards including:

Executive Board Member: IDEA (Independent Distributors of Electronics Association)
Member/Producer: G-19 Counterfeit Electronic Parts Committee
Director: US National USNC/IECQ Committee.

Hailing from Michigan, Don moved to California in his early years. Don is a husband, father, and is an active volunteer to local schools; sponsoring and spearheading charity event.

Jason Jowers, President

Jason joined the CTrends team in November 2018, initially leading the company’s operations and its business development within the high-reliability sector. He was appointed as the company’s President in March 2019.

Prior to joining CTrends, Jason led the operations of an independent distributor for 17 years as it grew from a startup to an industry leader with inspection labs and offices in the US, APAC, and EMEA. Before that, he served as a tank officer in the US Army for eight years. Jason graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned his MBA from the University of Texas.

Jason serves on the AS6081A writing committee and as the VP of the Texas ESD Association, gives presentations about supply chain excellence at symposiums around the world, had a paper about supply chain quality published by SMTA, and previously served as the President and as a board member of IDEA.

Charlie Knipp, Vice President

With more than 28 years in the OEM and EMS manufacturing industry, Charlie is the Vice President at CTrends who understands Supply Chain Management, Sourcing and Operations, with a customer first “can do” mentality. He believes canned solutions simply don't work, and Supply Chains need to be tailored to the individual needs of each customer. Charlie is an accomplished business leader, having held executive level roles at fortune 500 companies such as Siemens, Jabil, and Flextronics. Charlie also was the managing member of Big River Capital, as well as RGTC which was his own successful consulting company for 6 years specializing in OEM / EMS engagements and Supply Chain Management.

He is a native Texan who attended the University of Texas at El Paso and Michigan State University, Eli Broad School of Supply Chain Management’s executive program while working at Siemens. He now resides in Tampa, Florida and is an avid fisherman, voracious reader, and world traveler.

Anna Ahmed: Vice President of Sales & Operations

Anna is a results-oriented Vice President of Sales & Operations with experience in the areas of leadership development, customer experience, sales and cost control. She has proven ability to influence and develop leaders to achieve organizational objectives. Anna’s strengths include communication, strategic thinking and high level decision making skills. She possesses the ability to meet and exceed aggressive targets and deadlines in a fast pace changing environment.

Anna is from Minnesota where she formed a strategic planning consultation that helps a diverse clientele to select and implement accounting software and point-of-sale systems. She now lives in Orange County, California as a wife, and mother of two children.

Jeff Smith, Global Sourcing Manager

Destined to satisfy the customer whether the end user or the sales division, Jeff is committed to quality. Touting more than two decades of professional growth, he is perfectly poised to drive the purchasing department to excellence. In an era of strict standards and war fighters' lives on the line, CTrends and our customers alike, can rest assured that requirements and contractual flow downs are adhered to. Managing a system-driven supplier and product vetting / scoring system, his team is able to offer, procure, and deliver the right product at the right time.