About ProGrade Digital
ProGrade Digital was founded on a mission to provide the highest quality, professional grade memory cards and workflow solutions available.
Our goal is to be the professional’s source for top performing, professional grade memory cards and workflow solutions. We are committed to focusing our efforts on the digital imaging professional who is meticulous about his or her equipment and workflow.
Whether you shoot with a DSLR, camcorder or digital cinema camera, we have the memory cards that match your requirements for performance, quality and reliability.
The founders of ProGrade Digital are industry veterans in the removable storage and digital photography industries. Each, having spent time at leading companies such as Lexar and SanDisk, brings extensive expertise in the design, development and manufacture of digital storage products, plus longstanding relationships with key manufacturing and supply chain partners. The company focuses exclusively on development of memory cards, card readers and workflow software for professional imaging markets. Flagship products, ProGrade Digital CFast™ 2.0 and ProGrade Digital SDXC™ UHS-II, are optimized to render maximum performance when paired with high-end DSLR, mirrorless, camcorder and digital cinema cameras from manufacturers such as Canon™, Nikon™, Panasonic™, Sony™ and Blackmagic™. ProGrade Digital memory cards expand the creative visions of cinema and photography professionals around the world.
What’s the difference?
Performance
Professional photographers tend to be meticulous about their cameras and equipment since their livelihoods, client trust and reputations are riding on how well their gear performs. ProGrade Digital understands these stringent requirements, and offers memory cards and workflow readers with the performance, quality and reliability that professionals demand.
Quality
ProGrade Digital leverages years of experience working closely with professional DSLR and video camera manufacturers to ensure that all cards meet rigorous compatibility and qualification tests. In compatibility testing labs we verify that cards operate within thousands of different camera models. We ensure that cards meet quality compliance to the manufacturers’ requirements, and cards are verified to operate with specific camera models. All ProGrade Digital cards are built to meet the industry standards of the SDA or CFA.
Reliability
ProGrade Digital performs comprehensive card testing prior to leaving the factory to ensure the lowest possible field failure rate. This is a far more time-consuming and rigorous process than sample testing done by other card manufacturers. By the time our cards hit the market, they have gone through hours of testing. You can have the highest level of assurance that your card will perform flawlessly.
About SDA
The SD Association (SDA) was founded by Panasonic, SanDisk Corporation and Toshiba Corporation in January 2000 as a new industry-wide organization to develop and promote memory card storage standards. Today, the SD Association has approximately 900 members involved in the design and development of SD standards.
SD standards are used by hundreds of brands across dozens of product categories, such as digital cameras, televisions, personal navigation devices, mobile phones, smart phones, automobiles, computers of all types and video cameras, to name just a few. There are thousands of device models using SD standards today.
The very small memory cards, developed to SD standards, have become the most popular portable storage cards in the world.
More info at https://www.sdcard.org/
About CFA
The CompactFlash® Association was established in 1995 by a group of international companies and is now focused on the common goal of creating industry standards for flash-based memory cards targeting the professional imaging, video and industrial markets. The CompactFlash Association focuses on the development of the specifications, compliance testing processes and tools, as well as conduct marketing activities to promote CFA products, technology and associated applications. Today, the CompactFlash Association has approximately 80 members involved in the design, development, manufacture or sale of products using CFA specifications and technologies.
The CompactFlash Association objectives include:
- Development of current and future specifications
- Management and development of compliance specifications and tools
- Promotion of technology and usage models
- Ensure compatibility for users of all CFA product types
More info at https://www.compactflash.org/
Meet Our Team
Wes Brewer
Founder and CEO
Wes is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at ProGrade Digital. He brings more than 30 years of executive management, corporate strategy, product development, and go-to-market experience to this role. As CEO, he leads the company to fulfill its goal of being the preferred brand of memory cards and workflow accessories for professional photographers, videographers, and cinematographers.
Prior to founding ProGrade Digital, Wes had P&L responsibility of Lexar as its Vice President and General Manager. He was directly responsible for Product Marketing, Product Management, Product Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Demand Planning for all Lexar branded memory products.
He also held leadership positions at SanDisk, where he was the Vice President of the Cards and Accessories Division and played a key role in building SanDisk into a multi-billion-dollar retail business. He has also held executive-level roles at other consumer- and enterprise-focused technology companies including Magellan Navigation and Seagate Technology.
Wes holds a BS in Economics from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Mark Lewis
Co-Founder and VP of Marketing
Mark is the Vice President of Marketing at ProGrade Digital. With more than 20 years of leadership experience at high-growth technology companies, he is responsible for building global brand awareness, driving go-to-market strategies, and demand generation for ProGrade Digital’s professional products.
Mark was most recently the Senior Director of Marketing at Lexar, a global brand known for its memory cards, USB flash drives, readers and storage drives for retail and OEM customers. He led brand messaging, outreach and marketing initiatives, content marketing, and partner engagement programs that built awareness and demand for Lexar products on a global scale. He expanded Lexar’s Influencer Marketing program to include Ambassadors, Communities, and Lexar’s Elite Photographers programs.
Mark held other marketing leadership positions. He was the Global Director of Marketing at SanDisk, the leading retail brand for memory cards and storage devices, where he built a global marketing team to manage the retail business as the company strategically expanded into the consumer market. He has also held senior marketing leadership roles at Fujitsu, Logitech, HP, and other companies.
Mark received a BA in Business, Communications, and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.
Kevin Seago
Director of Operations
Kevin is responsible for manufacturing and product fulfillment in his role as Director of Operations. He balances business goals with key customer commitments, systems management, and supply chain planning and execution.
Kevin has been with ProGrade since 2020 and has brought in a young vibrant approach to proactively managing the entire operations function. He continues to evolve operations to meet the growing needs of the ProGrade business.
Kevin earned a BS in Business Management at San Jose State University.
Sonny Nguyen
VP of Engineering
Sonny is the Vice President of Engineering at ProGrade Digital. With over 25 years of technical experience that include both small start-ups and large technology companies, he is responsible for leading the technical development of ProGrade Digital’s hardware/software portfolio. This technology portfolio encompasses all current and future high speed digital memory cards, card readers, and workflow software solutions.
Sonny was most recently the Director of Hardware Engineering at BrightSign, the global leader in digital signage media players. He led complete hardware development from initial specifications to full production to technical support. His focus has been on developing highly reliable, high performance, and affordable technical solutions.
Sonny has also held lead technical positions at Boeing, Tiara Networks, Zoran, as well as other innovative technology companies.
Sonny received a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a MS in Electrical Engineering from USC.
Martin Nibel
VP of Finance
Martin is the Vice President of Finance at ProGrade Digital. With more than 30 years of leadership experience in multiple fast scaling start-up and development stage technology companies, beginning his career with the public accounting firm KPMG, he is responsible for Finance, HR, Compliance and all other administrative functions of ProGrade Digital.
Prior to ProGrade Digital, Martin held financial leadership positions designing and developing the infrastructure necessary to accommodate high-growth in a variety of early stage tech companies in manufacturing, software and biopharmaceutical through multiple rounds of venture capital, private equity and debt financing and experience in the successful completion of two initial public offerings.
Martin received a BBA in Business Management, graduate study in Accounting and Finance at California East Bay and a former CPA.
Kazuhiko Oki
Japan Country Manager
Kazuhiko, “Kaz” is Japan Country Manager with ProGrade Digital. He brings more than 30 years of sales, marketing, and business development experience, having worked for global companies that specialized in audiovisual, gaming, information technology, and semiconductors. As Japan Country Manager, Kaz will build upon the company’s relationships with Japanese imaging manufacturers, plus manage regional marketing, customer service, and sales support.
Prior to ProGrade Digital, Kaz served as Japan Sales Director at Micron Japan. There, he had direct responsibility for managing the sales and marketing of both Lexar and Crucial brands. During his tenure, he contributed to increasing revenue, plus expanding brand awareness.
Earlier, as Marketing Director for SanDisk Japan, Kaz drove efforts which established that company as the number one memory card brand in Japan. Prior to SanDisk, he held various management roles at Microsoft, Sony, and other firms.
Kaz received a BA in Economics from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
