In 1996, Thede co-founded Leverage Information Systems. Leverage produced a Java-based app-server and provided engineering services to consumer-focused Internet companies. As Leverage's CTO, Thede was responsible for the software architecture of Leverage's products, client services, and the company's technical strategy. Thede became Leverage's CEO in 1998, re-focused the company on an open-source strategy, and lead Leverage's sale to Diamond Technology Parnters, Inc.,(NASDAQ:DTPI). At Diamond as a Knowledge Leader, he assisted Diamond's clients with technical and business strategies.
Thede is a former fellow of the University of Michigan's interdisciplinary Socio-Technical Infrastructure for Electronic Transactions program (stiet.si.umich.edu). At Michigan from 2002-2004, his research focus was Artificial Intelligence (multi-agent and peer-to-peer systems) and Information Economics (the economics of spam). He is a co-author of two patents (pending) and a co-author of "An Economic Answer to Unsolicited Communication", a mathematical analysis of the economics of communications spam (proceedings of ACM SIG-EC'04). An extended version of this paper, targeting an economics audience, is forthcoming (BEP). His work on spam has been presented at the ACM, National Bureau of Economic Research, the Federal Trade Commission, WISE, and at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva.
Thede holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Michigan (2004) and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester (1993). He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and is a recipient of the Newton Prize, the Hook Award, and the Emil M. Kuichling Prize (U of R).
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