Leadership Team

NTT Workforce Development Institute’s management team guides the company’s product innovations and growth with energy and enthusiasm. NTT boasts a large staff of experts who are veterans within their areas of expertise.

John Grillos, Executive Chairman

John Grillos has served on the board of directors for 24 enterprises. He has operated in CEO, COO or other senior executive positions for several enterprises within the service and technology industry segments. His financing and business-turnaround skills helped create the success of CBT Systems (rebranded as SmartForce and since merged with SkillSoft). John maintained a top-quartile track record as a managing director of four venture capital firms (two of which he founded) with combined capital under management exceeding $500 million. John's vision and experience consistently leads NTT toward new product innovations and aggressive growth. He holds a BS from Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Howard Block, Director of Education

Dr. Howard Block has enjoyed a distinguished career as an equity analyst on Wall Street, and the only one with a doctorate in educational policy analysis. He earned a reputation as an original, critical and creative thinker. He began his career at Robertson Stephens and established its research practice in education services, for which he garnered recognition as a member of Institutional Investor's (II) All-America Research Team in 1998. Recruited by Bank of America, he was recognized as the #2 Education Services Analyst by the well-known Greenwich Survey. Howard furthers NTT's growth with both his educational knowledge and financial savvy. Howard takes pride in being a trustee in the Reed Union School District as well as being a father of four and a Little League coach to dozens. He holds an BA in economics from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Educational Policy from Stanford University.

Mike Minatta, President

Michael Minatta began his career at the Big-8 accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand in the audit division. After a very successful period in the public accounting arena, Mike entered into the private accounting sector and has worked for such publicly traded companies as Scott’s Liquid Gold, Inc. and American Health Properties, Inc., achieving the position of Vice President before leaving to pursue other opportunities. Mike joined NTT in 2001 as the Director of Finance, and following many years of dedication and hard work, now holds the position of Chief Operating Officer and President. Mike has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from Colorado State University. In addition, he is a CPA in Colorado. Mike is a devoted husband and father of three. He enjoys coaching youth sports, traveling and music.

Debi Joens, Customer Service Manager

Debi Joens’ background includes organizational management and small business ownership. Her professional career began in international parcel delivery. From there she moved into international container shipping where she became the US Line Manager for a foreign flag operator. She later co-founded and owned a graphic design company in San Francisco and an espresso retail business near University of Denver which she operated until moving to London with her husband. There she was elected Vice President of the American Woman’s Club. Upon returning to Denver she joined NTT where she could employ the management and personnel skills she developed over the course of her career.

Blake Wilson, Director of National Accounts

Blake Wilson began his career with NTT in 1999. He was fortunate to learn most facets of the company by working in multiple departments in his first few years. After working in the Marketing Department, first as a Marketing Analyst and later as the Marketing Manager, he moved to on-site sales in 2005. Blake is proud to have led NTT in total sales since moving to the sales group and he appreciates the relationships that he has been able to foster with clients as he's helped them meet their training needs. Now, as the Director of National Accounts, he looks forward to continuing to help our client partners develop the knowledge and skills of their workforce. He enjoys playing music, watching movies and spending time with his wife and three kids.

Matson Sparling, Director of Product Development

Matson Sparling brings extensive product development and management experience in both software and commercial adult learning. He has developed a variety of software products and applications ranging from physical records management, to geospatial and demographic data enhancement, to global product pricing and management systems, as well as an innovative social learning platform. During his 10-year tenure with Sun Learning Services, he lead several product management teams responsible for the success of blended learning training products targeted at Java developers, Solaris administrators and system administrators for several Sun application servers. At NTT, Matson leads company initiatives to create a broad portfolio of blended learning solutions delivered via Skill Circuit Online.

Joe Green, Operations Manager

Joe Green began his career in industrial training operations approximately 14 years ago. Previously, he enjoyed a successful career in industrial fluid power sales and engineering, experience which acquainted him with the training needs of corporations and government agencies. He brings an energetic “the show must go on” attitude to NTT which enables him to execute over 2,000 training courses each year. Joe also brings extensive experience in shipping/receiving, planning, process improvement and other logistics. His breadth of skills equips him and his team to successfully meet the needs of the thousands of clients who rely on NTT each year for their on-going training, compliance and safety program needs.