Our Team
Christopher Schalleur
Founder and CEO
Chris Schalleur founded Christo IT Services in 1999 with the goal of providing small businesses in the Philadelphia region the type of professional IT support larger companies enjoy. Applying his experience working in marketing and sales, as well as IT and engineering, at firms such as Honeywell, Primavera, and Microtrac, Chris quickly built a reputation for superior IT services. Christo has been a leader in the Philadelphia region for small business IT services since its start. With encouragement from Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation and Microsoft, Chris started the Small Business Server (SBS) Philly User Group in 2006. The group is comprised of IT professionals in the Philadelphia region who serve small businesses. They are dedicated to improving best practices, learning about new technologies, and increasing customer awareness in the region. In 2018, Chris co-authored the Amazon best-selling book Sitting Duck: Why YOUR business is a Cybercriminal’s ideal target. Chris is a graduate of Villanova University. He has been a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer since 1998. He lives in North Wales with his wife of over 20 years, Jen, and their daughters, Julia and Emily.
Christopher Connolly
Partner
Chris Connolly joined Christo Consulting in 2000 and became a partner in 2006. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer engineering, both from Villanova University. He has worked with Villanova University in several capacities, including University IT Director of World Wide Web Services, Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Computing Sciences, Director of Law School IT Services, and Consultant to the Athletics Department. While at Villanova, Chris published “From Static Web Site to Portal” in Educause Quarterly, which described his work creating a Web portal for the university. He holds a U.S. Patent for Software Agent for Facilitating Electronic Commerce Transactions through Display of Targeted Promotions. Chris lives in Harleysville with his wife, Angela, and their five kids.
Brandon Beck
Level II Engineer
Drenched with the exceptional ability to manipulate technology at an early age, Brandon has been breaking and fixing computers for over 25 years. He began his career in application and web site development, creating assistive learning modules and custom content management systems in the early days of the internet. Taking a brief hiatus from technology to manage a hotel, Brandon has since returned to his passion for computer systems and spends his time recovering lost data and giving people control over their technology. Brandon is Comptia A+, Microsoft MCP, and MTA
certified and is currently pursuing his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and CompTIA Network+ certifications. When not focused on fixing the network problems for the clients of Christo IT Services, Brandon enjoys microcontroller development, 3D design printing, and consuming vast quantities of television and movies. Brandon has proudly been Christo Blue since 2017.
John Binelli
Level II Engineer
John graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Business. At that time, Information Technology was a hobby for him, until an opportunity arose in a Network Operation Center in the Washington D.C. metro area. John went on to support client networks, servers, and IP telephony for medium to large enterprises. John has over four years of experience in multiple industries, including healthcare, construction, law, real estate, and nonprofits. John’s main focus has always been security—from defending against attacks on a top lobbying firm in D.C. to keeping his clients secure through global threats like “Wannacry”. Staying ahead of the latest threats and vulnerabilities is a point of pride for John. In his spare time, John enjoys playing tennis, woodworking, and quoting Jim Carrey films. John has been Christo Blue since 2018.
Tom Buckley
Level II Engineer
Tom earned his Associates degree in 2000 from Allentown Business School. That same year, he started working for the largest public-school district in Monroe County, Pocono Mountain School District. The school district encompassed 14 schools with over 3,000 computers. Part of his duties included the installation and upkeep of all student, teacher, and administrative computers. During his tenure there, Tom enrolled in post-graduate classes at New Horizons Learning Center, thereby augmenting his A+ and Net+ certifications by earning his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification. Tom’s certifications, as well as his 8 years of experience with the Pocono Mountain School District prepared him well for his next position at another Managed Services Provider in Northeast PA. To date, Tom has nearly 20 years of experience in the field; and continues to provide a wide variety of technical support to varied types of clients throughout Northeast and Southeast Pennsylvania. Tom has proudly been Christo Blue since 2013.
Daniel Fitzpatrick
Project Manager
As a Microsoft Certified Professional, Dan joined Christo IT in 2009 with 10 plus years of experience as a Computer Engineer. Most recently his work with Your Computer Coach, LLC was focused on providing both residential and business customers with a high level of IT support. Prior to Your Computer Coach, Dan earned over four years of experience as a Network Administrator / CNC Machine Operator providing support for Pocopson Industries.
Benjamin Hecht
B2B Consultant
Benjamin Hecht brings a unique background of Outside B2B consulting experience to Christo IT Services. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing & Management from Penn State University in 2010, Ben focused his career path on gaining experience from diverse industries as a Marketing Strategist and Technology consultant. Ben’s background as a Marketer has lead him from executing extensive advertising campaigns in Broadcast Media, to providing Communications, Security, Data, Infrastructure and Audio-Visual upgrades to companies all over Pennsylvania. The levels of customer service and technical experience which Ben brings to the table make a great addition to the Christo IT Services family.
Jeff Hirschfield
Project Manager
Jeff’s experience, BS in IS and dual MCSE certifications, have helped him to become a key “cog” in the Christo IT “engine”.
Eric Johnstin
Level II Engineer
Eric Johnstin holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Information Technology from Purdue University, an Associate’s Degree in Communications from Temple University, and a Network Administration Diploma from CHI Institute. Eric has over 15 years of Manage Service experience supporting the Medical Industry, Educational Institutes, Legal Offices, and Small to Medium businesses. Completing a variety of IT projects, he was able to gain expertise in multiple areas, which broadened his skill set. In Eric’s spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, playing softball, fantasy football and watching all Philly pro sports teams and Notre Dame football. Eric also enjoys traveling as much as possible.
Jesse LaFlair
Level II Engineer
Jesse began his college education in Cognitive Psychology at East Stroudsburg University. He quickly found this area of study did not fulfill his need to constantly learn and that technology was more his true calling. Always looking for ways to improve himself, Jesse has worked hard to cultivate skills and build a list of IT certifications that he can lean on in his career. Jesse has worked with other Managed Service Providers and as well as contract for healthcare institutions, giving him a broad range of experience with many different systems. In his free time he enjoys collecting vinyl records, playing board games, studying martial arts (and let’s not forget about tinkering with IT projects at home). Jesse holds certifications in Operations Management, Datto Technical Specialist II, and Sonicwall CSA and has been Christo Blue since 2018.
Brandon McWhirter
Level II Engineer
Brandon joined Christo IT in 2017, bringing with him over 14 years of experience in the IT field. Prior to CIT, Brandon spent most of his time in the legal industry. At a very young age, Brandon discovered his IT passion while spending time with his father tinkering with computers and electronics. Brandon's ability to self-teach is a valuable asset in any situation! During his career, Brandon has amassed a wide variety of skill sets, varying from networking, server administration, programming and web/email hosting. His goal is to stay in the know and on top of the latest issues, in order to provide the best service possible to CIT clients. In his free time, Brandon enjoys programming, playing video games and gourmet cooking; particularly Indian Food.
Marty Schiavone
IT Technical Support and Customer Service
Marty Schiavone holds a bachelor’s degrees in Information Sciences and Technology as well as Business Administration from Penn State University. Marty has been providing IT technical support and customer service since 2001. Prior to joining Christo IT in 2006, he worked for Iron Mountain and FastNet. Marty has been Microsoft Certified Engineer since 2007.
Star Urmson
Client Advocacy Manager
Star Urmson graduated from Temple University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in English. She has 20 years office administrative experience in various fields such as Law, Engineering and Healthcare. In 2017, Star assumed the role of Client Advocacy Manager. Star comes to work every day with the goal to ensure that our customers are at the center of every business decision that Christo IT Services makes.
Star lives in Gilbertsville, PA with her wonderful husband and two crazy cats. When she is not working on her 1920’s farmhouse, she can be found reading, crocheting and making homemade soap, lotions and candles. Star has proudly been Christo IT Blue since 2015.
