Our Leadership

Danny Palo is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Vital Records Control and has been with the company since its inception. He began his career in 1985 as a part-time driver and steadily acquired roles with increased responsibility, including Operations Manager, Vice-President of Development, and Chief Operating Officer.

With his entrepreneurial spirit and ground-up view of customer expectations, he has led Vital Records Control’s transformation into a national company with a wide range of service offerings. Danny’s passion for premier, local customer service, and time-sensitive operational performance have inspired the strong set of values that guides the company’s team today. Danny is an active member of ARMA, PRISM, NAID, AHIMA, and other information management industry-related organizations.

Keith Shirley has 11 years of experience in the Information market and has held various operational positions with Vital Records Control, including Vice President of Operations, Executive Vice President, and currently Chief Operating Officer. Keith is ultimately responsible for all aspects of Vital Records Control’s day-to-day operations throughout the United States.

Before joining the company, Keith worked in the solid waste business for 16 years at Browning Ferris Industries, followed by Allied Waste after its acquisition.  He has a proven track record of leading management teams and driving operational efficiencies while successfully guiding overall customer satisfaction for the company.

David Dunavant is Chief Financial Officer for Vital Records Control and is responsible for all its finance, treasury, accounting, financial planning, and mergers and acquisitions activities. Before joining Vital Records Control, David was CFO of both Monogram Foods and LEDIC. He has held financial planning and accounting positions with Kellogg Company, Jimmy Dean Foods, Hilton Hotels Corporation, and the United States Navy.

David is a certified public accountant and has been a member of various professional organizations and served on Boards for non-profit organizations including: The TN Society of CPAs, Institute of Management Accountants, Society of Human Resources Management, Memphis YMCA Board of Directors, Leadership Memphis Board of Directors, and The Family Link, a United Way agency.

As Executive Vice President of Development, Chris Ferrell is responsible for leading and executing new sales growth strategies. He possesses over ten years of experience in the information management market and held multiple positions with the company, including General Manager, Vice President of Sales, and Senior Vice President of Sales.

Before joining Vital Records Control, he was a small business owner of a chain of telecom retail stores where he used his talent for sales to drive a competitive edge in the marketplace. Chris possesses a strong passion for creating a positive customer experience that continues to help grow and differentiate the Vital Records Control brand to this day.

Charles Bennett is the Corporate Control for Vital Records Control overseeing all accounting related matters.  Prior to joining Vital Records Control, Charles spent over 9 years practicing public accounting at Reynolds Bone & Griesbeck where he was a senior audit manager providing audit and consulting services to clients in the distribution and auto dealer industries.

Charles graduated from Christian Brothers University with a Bachelor’s degree and is a certified public accountant.

Michelle Byrd is the Vice President of Compliance at Vital Records Control and leads the governance program overseeing compliance, risk management, and internal auditing initiatives. Michelle’s current role includes establishing standards and policies about ethical conduct, regulatory and legal requirements, and ensuring these standards are communicated and institutionalized across the company.

Before joining Vital Records Control, Michelle worked in the legal department of International Paper for eight years, where she worked closely with the business, records management, environmental, health, and safety teams. She holds a degree in Paralegal Studies and possesses 16 years of experience in records management, project management, legal and regulatory compliance sectors. Her passions include animal rescue and working with various charitable organizations throughout the Mid-Western United States.

Grant Davis joined Vital Records Control in 2000 and has over twenty years of experience in information management. Starting as a manager in the vaulting division, Grant has worked in several of the company’s service divisions, providing him a strong knowledge of process development and deployment.

As the company’s current Vice President of Integration, he is responsible for managing the team that handles the transition of new company acquisitions. Before Vital Records Control, Grant worked at several technology-related businesses as a project manager and data integration specialist. In his free time, he enjoys sports and traveling with his family.

Gene Hamilton has worked in various roles at Vital Records Control, starting as the General Manager for the flagship Memphis operation nearly 10 years ago. In his current position, he has helped create and promote new software updates for the company’s online customer portal, VitalWeb, to provide a more user-friendly client experience. Additionally, Gene oversees the flow of data during all company acquisitions to ensure integrity throughout the process and usability by all clients.

His prior experience includes management consulting for call centers, satellite design/build and nuclear power projects. Additionally, Gene ran a 3rd party logistics company in Memphis that moved as many as 2M units per month through its various facilities utilizing small parcel, LTL, TL, and inter-modal methodologies. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and also enjoys coaching lacrosse.

Ray Helbig is the Senior Vice President of Customer Development at Vital Records Control (VRC) and responsible for driving customer success strategies with the adoption of VRC’s network of solutions. He joined the company in 2003 as the General Manager of the Fort Myers, FL facility after 30 years of working in the manufacturing and automotive industries. Ray’s expertise ranges from operations management to assisting in sales, managing organic growth, and mentoring internal personnel for advancement.

He is an active volunteer in the local Fort Myers community where he has served on the City Parks Recreation Board and held the position of Assistant District Administrator. In his downtime, Ray enjoys coaching local little league teams in the Fort Myers area.

Charlie Holmes is responsible for the introduction and education of Vital Records Control’s rapidly growing service offerings to existing clients.  After years of executive leadership with other service-related companies, Charlie joined the company in 1998 as Vice President of the Memphis office. While managing the Memphis facility, Charlie also assisted in the company’s expansions into Arkansas, Florida, and Mississippi.

More recently, Charlie managed Vital Records Control’s expansion into Louisiana and took a Regional Manager role in Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana.  Charlie holds certifications in Homeland Security – Level III (with training in several different security formats), Distributions and Logistics, Six Sigma – Total Quality Fundamentals, and HIPAA.  Over the years, Charlie has been active in ARMA and other information industry groups.

Lawson Horton has 18 years’ experience in the information management field and has held multiple positions with Vital Records Control including General Manager, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Special Projects and Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administration.  Prior to joining Vital Records Control, Lawson worked at Exxon Mobil where he held multiple management positions.

As the current Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Vital Records Control,  Lawson develops strategic staffing plans with management and oversees all personnel operations to encourage continual growth and development within the company. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis and has been a Reserve Police Officer with the City of Germantown, TN for the past 13 years.​

Horst comes to Vital Records Control with over 10 years of Information Management experience, holding sales and leadership positions with various national records management entities.

Prior to joining VRC, Horst held management positions in the Information Technology and Manufacturing sectors as well as spending 12 years as a Lutheran parochial school teacher.  Horst has been an active member of the Dallas Chapter of ARMA International where he has served multiple terms as President as well as serving on various committees.  He has also served on non-profit boards including the Perry, OK YMCA Board of Directors, Perry, OK Chamber of Commerce, and Ponca City Rodeo “Possy” Volunteer organization.

Tony Maro is Vice President for Information Technologies at Vital Records Control and has over 20 years in software and network design and network security.  Before joining Vital Records Control, he was CIO of EvriChart, Inc. where his team developed secure customer portals for managing healthcare information including a custom scanning and digital conversion platform, secure encrypted digital transmission of healthcare data and secure hosting of 100+ TB of archived data.

His focus has always been on the customer experience by developing systems and infrastructure for both external and internal customers.  Tony is a regular contributor to open-source software projects and has written articles for multiple computer publications. He holds several network security certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), GIAC System and Network Auditor (GSNA) and GIAC Critical Controls Certification (GCCC).

Rachel Pruitt joined the Vital Records Control team in 2017 and currently maintains the role of Director of Marketing. She is responsible for developing multi-channel marketing strategies and executing them through online/offline marketing efforts, advertising, events, and campaigns.

After spending more than a decade in fashion buying, project management, trend analysis, business development, and marketing in the retail and real estate industries, Rachel understands the impact positive customer experiences have on a brand. Her passion lies in creating a brand identity that’s reflective of a company’s core values and driving results from integrated marketing initiatives that appeal to key decision-makers. Rachel believes strongly in giving back to the local community and providing support to nonprofit organizations, including the Humane Society.

As Vital Records Control’s Senior Vice President, Jim Teske plays a key role in the company’s mergers and acquisitions efforts. He began his career in the legal field and has held senior management positions with a number of information and technology-related companies including nearly ten years as President of RecordMax USA; as Vice President, North America with O’Neil Software; and in leadership roles with several other regional records management operators.

Since 1989, Jim has been affiliated with PRISM International and has spoken at conferences and seminars on numerous topics. Additionally, he’s been a speaker for ARMA International, the Association of Legal Administrators and Lorman Education Services. Jim also serves on the State of Louisiana Board of Directors for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Andrew Ysasi, MS, CRM, FIP, FIIM, CIPM, CIPP, CISM, PMP, IGP, CIP, has worked in information management since 2007 and is an expert on information governance and records management.  As Vice President of Advocacy, Andrew is tasked with mentoring, educating, volunteering, and advocating for all matters related to information governance (IG).  Andrew serves on various industry association boards and is currently the President of IG GURU®, an IG news organization to ensure relevant IG news is shared with the IG community.

Additionally, Andrew is a host on the Inside the Records Room podcast, is a contributor to ARMA’s IGBOK, a former Regent for the ICRM, and a former adjunct professor at Davenport University.  He holds a Master of Science in Administration with a concentration on Information Resource Management from Central Michigan University.​