Committed to Legacy

As the pioneer in COTS obsolescence management, GDCA is authorized by our OEM partners to continue to manufacture and repair the embedded legacy products critical to long-lasting applications. Using OEM-authorized IP and original specifications, GDCA provides repair, long-term customer support, manufacturing, and sustainment for over three thousand End-of-Life, COTS, and custom-embedded computer boards and systems.

Established in 1987 and located in Livermore, California, GDCA has its roots in the Silicon Valley. GDCA’s location affords access to leading technology experts who help develop the ever-evolving tools we use to sustain our customers’ critical programs.

TRACC and Collaboration

Shaping the foundations of GDCA’s work are our core values: Teamwork, Respect, Accountability, Continuous Improvement, and Customer commitment (TRACC). TRACC and our commitment to collaboration help us develop proactive legacy solutions that support our customers, partners, and supply chain.

Our OEM partners count on our expertise to maintain the high level of quality and rigorous standards their customers have come to expect. We firmly believe that collaboration helps us bring together the industry’s best thinking and is a critical part of tailoring our solutions to meet customer needs. Through these partnerships and TRACC, GDCA focuses on collaborating to develop the best ideas for making painful issues of embedded obsolescence a thing of the past.

GDCA Leadership Team

Ethan “The Plan” Plotkin
CEO

Born in Northern California, Ethan Plotkin brings over a decade of international and cross-industry management experience to GDCA’s role as CEO. He is a veteran in business transformation and process engineering with a keen focus on innovation, execution, and the delivery of real and measurable business value. Ethan has held multiple leadership roles with Accenture, centering on CRM Solution Architecture, enterprise-wide project delivery management, and training of top consulting professionals.

Ethan has a reputation for concisely summarizing the challenges programs face around legacy and then tailoring the solution accordingly. When working with GDCA’s industry partners and clients, he takes the time to directly address program requirements and implement decisive action modeled on a clear plan and accountability measures. His business philosophy is shaped by the understanding that to solve a problem, one must overcome more than superficial difficulties by addressing the issues at its core.

He is never too far from a whiteboard, and his creativity and resourcefulness can be seen from his collaboration with his entire team. Because of his pointedly inquisitive nature and enthusiastic direct approach, he is always ready to explain his reasoning.

With an eye toward the innovative nature of legacy sustainment, Ethan is always on the ball and rarely off the clock.

When not at GDCA:  Ethan works on mastering his golf swing and enjoys exploring California and beyond with his wife and dog.

Ethan’s “secret mutant” skill: His uncanny ability to use Excel to organize information and put together large-scale, detailed plans.

Arlin “Einstein” Niernberger
Director of Engineering Services

Arlin grew up in western Kansas but quickly realized opportunities were calling him elsewhere. He gained over 20 years of experience working with Boston Scientific, Trimble Navigation, Dolby Research, Motorola, and Plantronics in the United States and overseas.

Although Arlin’s nature is conversational and laid-back, he prefers to keep things tight and to the point. He approaches product legacy support challenges with laser-sharp focus and creative vision and thinks of his “silver bullet” solutions as personal wins over obsolescence.

Being one to take on a challenge, Arlin’s anti-counterfeit collaboration with the Department of Commerce helped shape the foundation for GDCA’s Counterfeit Avoidance Program (CAP).

His keen determination and persistence are manifested in work and play, and he can often be found on the golf course at early light, playing to beat par.

Why someone would want to work with Arlin: Arlin is not known for “Band-Aid” quick-fixes; he collects all the information necessary to completely understand a situation, thus ensuring targeted solutions to meet customers’ critical needs.

What’s the origin of the nickname “Einstein”: His work with several customers and OEMs on significant obsolescence issues provided such innovative and cost-effective engineering solutions that he is often addressed as GDCA’s Einstein.

“Queen” Anne Bennedsen
Director of Quality

Anne was born and raised in Long Island, New York. She moved to the Bay Area after receiving her master’s degree in Instructional Design.

Anne worked for many years as a technical communicator. Before joining GDCA, she spent seven years at an online gaming company as documentation and compliance manager. She spent the last two of these years specifically working on compliance, and transitioning to quality seemed like a logical next step in her career.

One of Anne’s greatest strengths is taking difficult concepts and distilling them down to understandable units. True to her nature, she is passionate about keeping GDCA’s QMS in order; documenting the processes and proactively managing the wide range of conformance issues that arise when forced to use an aging supply chain to manufacture and support legacy products.

Anne is dedicated, fun to be around and has a sweet, quirky sense of humor. She loves to learn about new things and spends much of her time off reading about anything from tea to social justice to advances in neuroscience. And she loves to spend time talking about her latest topic of interest.

How does Anne want to be remembered: Anne tries not to worry about how she’ll be remembered. She prefers to focus on the present, doing her best to treat people well and to excel at what she does.

If you had a secret mutant skill (or super power) what would it be: Complete control of time—I would want the power to freeze it, rewind it, slow it down, and speed it up, at will. This power would include the ability to time travel, and to step outside the time stream completely and look at events holistically—all the better to catch quality issues before they cause problems.

Bill “Ace” Spain
Director of Legacy Solutions

Bill “Ace” Spain is an expert in solutions. Throughout his career he has successfully steered sales departments and increased the bottom line in companies both large and small including IBM, Gartner Group, AMD, Radware, Radview, PaymentNet, Opticon and more recently ClipCard. He has sold direct, indirect and through channels and enjoys the unique challenges each has to offer.

After a successful career establishing himself as a trusted producer, Bill was looking for a company with a solid reputation and value added proposition. Because he thrives on helping people with difficult, seemingly unsolvable issues find fulfillment, GDCA was the ideal fit for him.

Bill is enthusiastic about solving tough problems. He is a champion of planning and develops support options for his customers by balancing future need with component and supply chain conditions.

Born in New Jersey, and raised in California, it is no surprise that Bill loves the outdoors. He enjoys snow and water skiing, scuba diving, mountain and road biking and driving fast cars. The most precious times in his life are spent with his wife and daughter.

If Bill had a secret mutant skill (or super power) what would it be: The ability to heal.

How does Bill want to be remembered: As a Dad and good husband—someone who could make you smile.