Family owned and operated for more than 20 years, Telefonix is dedicated to building close relationships with our customers and committed to developing the novel solutions that their industries need.
Each day, every member of our team works to deliver the innovation, quality, product delivery and service that our customers have come to expect – and that we demand. With decades of combined experience, our leadership team has the expertise to deliver solutions and boost your business. Learn more about the executive team by reading on.
Paul C. Burke, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
From a very young age, Paul has been fascinated with how things work. As a 14-year-old boy, Paul used junked parts to rebuild a 1949 Ford into a working vehicle for his brother’s 16th birthday. Decades later, in 1989, it was that same ingenuity, drive and spirit that led him to incorporate Telefonix, Inc., which has gone on to grow into a global leader in a number of high-tech industries.
Throughout his career, Paul has worn many hats, from mechanic and inventor, to engineer and business owner. He has developed and patented numerous product and application designs, maintained a global perspective by building long-standing strategic partnerships overseas and polished his skills in transforming customer needs into cost-effective solutions. Prior to founding Telefonix, Paul served as vice president of operations for Skokie, IL-based Anixter Brothers, Inc., where he managed a $26 million manufacturing group with seven plants and 1,000 employees. Prior to this, Paul managed manufacturing and plant operations for several other companies on the East Coast. In 2005, Paul’s life work as a business visionary was honored when was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.
Today, his passion for product development and manufacturing continues as strong as ever. As CEO of Telefonix, Paul still believes that the sky is the limit and anything can be achieved through partnership and teamwork. During the years of Telefonix’s existence, Paul’s desire to create, discover and just “find a way” has been the driving force behind the company’s success.
Gloria J. B. Burke, Co-Founder and Director
Gloria graduated from Quinnipiac College in Hamden, CT, with a degree in Marketing and Business Administration. From there, she joined the officer training program in the U.S. Army. As a former Army captain and the first female member of Connecticut’s National Guard, Gloria has long brought discipline, direction and action to Telefonix.
In 1989, she co-founded the company along with her husband, Paul. From the beginning, Gloria has focused on administration, finance and human resources as Paul worked on product design and manufacturing management. Today, Gloria continues to bring energy, and focus to the team and works diligently to ensure that every employee feels that he or she is a part of the family. She is a company director and the Chairman of the Board.
When Gloria is not at Telefonix, she is actively involved in charitable work in the Waukegan community, most notably at the Staben Center for Women and Children.
Michael C. Kuehn, President
Michael has been an integral part of technology centric businesses for over three decades. Upon his graduation in 1982 from Lewis University, Michael worked for his alma mater as a teacher in the College of Aviation. Aviation has always been at the core of Michael’s career, even during his college years when he worked for both Flying Tigers, and Swiss Air. In 1959, he had his first flying experience in a 1959 Cessna 175. After teaching at Lewis University, Michael managed an engineering and production group for MPC, Inc and acquired experience in the design and management of programs for both civil and military aviation customers. He has also held FAA delegated authority during his career as both a Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representative (DMIR), and Designated Engineering Representative (DER).
After MPC, Inc Michael joined a small start up in Oak Brook, IL called Airfone and began working for Jack “John” Goeken. He was there for the first phone call over the Airfone system from TWA L1011 and heard the last call from the commercial system in August, 2006 with many stops in between. During his 25 years with Verizon Airfone, previously GTE Airfone, Michael managed many complex programs across numerous business units on the regulated, unregulated, wireline and wireless sides of the business.
Michael retired from Verizon in late 2008 and in early 2009, after years of collaborating with Telefonix while Vice President of Strategic Accounts and Business Development with Verizon Airfone, Michael joined Telefonix as company President and brought with him a wealth of experience in aviation and telecommunications. At Telefonix, Michael draws upon his management and technical expertise to lead the company’s strategic planning, development, operations management, sales and manufacturing efforts. His proven ability as an innovator helps strengthen Telefonix’s team and our customer’s experiences each and every day.
Allison B. Burke, Executive Vice President
After completing the full-time MBA program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Allison joined Telefonix, a company that she had watched grow from its very early beginnings in her family home. Allison brings a broad base of experience to the family owned business with expertise in program management, business development, and technical management..After earning her bachelor’s degree from Boston University, Allison started her career with John Hancock Financial in Boston, where she began as a mainframe programmer, moving on to hold roles in both e-commerce program management and IT strategy.
In 2004, Allison joined Telefonix as Sales and Marketing Director before earning a promotion to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2007. Since 2009, Allison has served as Executive Vice President of Telefonix, managing the company’s Business Development and Customer Support organization, which includes the Inside Sales, Business Development, Program Management, Marketing and Information Technology teams. In addition to overseeing Telefonix’s revenue targets, she also manages the company’s patent portfolio.
Among her endeavors outside of Telefonix, Allison is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and the Union League Club of Chicago.