It has always been about the Match. Long before “lead generation” became an industry, and long before AI entered the conversation, we learned a simple truth by operating inside the markets we serve. Better outcomes come from better matches, not more volume. Match Engine is the culmination of nearly five decades spent building, scaling, and refining how customers and service providers find each other in compliance-driven industries. Every chapter of our history has moved us closer to a single goal: creating the most intelligent, outcome-driven matching system in the market.
From Operator to Digital Pioneer to Marketplace Builder to Intelligent Matching Platform.
Across every compliance-oriented market, the same principle holds true: the most valuable system isn’t the one that produces the most activity; it’s the one that consistently produces the right match.
Over decades of operating in demand generation marketplaces, one thing has become clear: results depend on where demand enters the sales process. Unlike traditional demand generation or PPC programs that deliver top or mid-funnel leads requiring significant follow-up, Match Engine delivers opportunities at the very bottom of the funnel. Each match comes with a confirmed scope of work, a defined need, and a customer ready to receive pricing and proposals for a near term buying decision. Match Engine inserts these opportunities into the sales cycle exactly where it can lead directly to revenue.
After matching customers and providers at scale for years, we recognized that the future wasn’t more demand, it was better matches, systematized and continuously improved. Match Engine was built to turn that insight into a platform. Today, Match Engine is a technology company that combines deep business expertise, human intelligence, and AI-powered systems to transform ready-to-buy customer demand into outcome-driven matches. Our platform improves real-time results from conversion, sales efficiency, and partner success. (We are?) a company built for long-term growth. (why initial caps?) A Company Built for Long-Term Growth.
Our Mission & Culture
Leadership
Our Story
Our Mission and Culture
We operate with a disciplined "yes first" mindset, encouraging new ideas, pressure testing them rigorously, and refining them into durable solutions. We believe principled decision-making and measurable performance create sustainable advantage.
At Match Engine, caring about outcomes means
- Creating a great place to work
- Ensuring customers are consistently well-served
- Using technology to create real market efficiencies
- Doing everything possible to make our partners successful
Match Engine cares about people, performance, and doing the right thing because that’s how lasting systems are built.
Our Leadership
Melinda Powelson
Melinda Powelson is the CEO of Match Engine and has spent much of her life around this business, watching it grow from hands-on operations in a Denver plant into a company that now connects customers and service providers across North America. What excites her most today is helping Match Engine continue that evolution by combining real-world experience with intelligent technology to create better matches and better outcomes for customers and providers. Having grown up around the day-to-day realities of the business, Melinda understands what it takes to serve customers well and support the people doing the work. She has seen firsthand how much trust, accountability, and care matter on the plant floor, in the field, and across teams. That perspective shapes how she leads.
As CEO, Melinda focuses on setting direction, solving complex problems, and making sure the company grows in a way that stays true to its values. She holds high expectations and cares deeply about her team, often describing them as an extension of her own family. She believes people do their best work when they feel respected, supported, and challenged to grow. Melinda leads with empathy and conviction, investing deeply in relationships with employees, partners, and customers alike. She thrives on tackling hard problems, building long-term partnerships, and creating a culture where people take pride in the outcomes they deliver together.
Outside of work, Melinda is a proud mom to two adult children, Megan and Alex. An English major at heart, she enjoys reading literature, hiking Colorado’s foothills, and doting on her four Siberian cats. Those quieter moments help keep her grounded and creatively energized as she guides Match Engine into its next chapter.
Melinda enjoys connecting with those who are entrepreneurial and building technology and AI-driven businesses.
Diane Janson
Diane is the CTO of Match Engine, where she oversees and actively participates in all aspects of technology, doing everything from team and project management to software development to server administration. If there is a technological puzzle to solve, Diane is most likely at the center of it, working closely alongside her team. She has been involved in the company since 2004 and has enjoyed being an integral part of the proprietary software that powers Match Engine since early on in the company's evolution.
Diane works full-time remotely, but due to the close working relationship she has developed over the past 10+ years with Melinda and her team, she is able to fully participate in daily collaboration that fuels our quick pace and productivity. An effective hybrid remote/on-site technology team is made possible through her leadership, instilling a strong work ethic and trust through mutual support and an environment for constant learning and growth.
Outside of work, Diane’s two main passions are family and ice hockey/skating. The best of both worlds is when she has the opportunity to play and watch hockey with her family. She currently lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and travels as much as possible to visit family in Virginia and Ottawa. Another important family member she wouldn’t be without is her exceptionally loving cat, Tillie.
Kumar Wiratunga
Kumar Wiratunga is a results-focused leader who has spent his career helping businesses grow in thoughtful, responsible ways within compliance-oriented industries. Earlier in his career, Kumar had the rare opportunity to be part of a company’s full evolution, from a small, local operation to a nationally scaled platform that ultimately became a publicly traded company on the NYSE. Working across strategy, operations, marketing, sales, technology, and partnerships gave him a deep appreciation for how growth really happens day to day, not just on paper. Along the way, he helped drive meaningful revenue expansion and built trusted relationships with Fortune 1000 companies, technology partners, service providers, and affiliates, always with a focus on long-term value, trust, and results.
As SVP Growth and Innovation at Match Engine, Kumar focuses on expanding revenue, improving partner outcomes, and helping the company grow in ways that are both practical and sustainable. He works closely across teams to align demand generation, precision matching, and partner enablement making it easier for providers to grow efficiently while maintaining the trust that matters so much in regulated industries. Kumar is especially passionate about the real world use of AI, not as a buzzword or abstract concept, but as a way to add context, surface insight, and guide clear next steps that sales and operations teams can actually act on. His approach to innovation is
grounded in helping every employee perform like the best performers in sales and every other working group. He values delivering tangible, measurable improvements in conversion, sales efficiency, and revenue growth where real growth is built on trust, AI turns insight into action, teams own the outcome, and a genuine interest in growing partner revenue. Kumar values genuine relationships based on common interests.
Outside of work, Kumar is a strong believer in the power of a growth mindset, both personally and professionally. He is a devoted dad to his wonderful daughters and a grateful husband to an amazing wife. Guided by faith, family, and integrity, he brings those same values into how he leads, builds relationships, and makes decisions. Those foundations keep him grounded as he helps guide Match Engine forward, working to build a company that people trust, partners value, and teams are proud to be part of. Kumar enjoys connecting with enterprise leaders, investors, and partners who are interested in actionable, AI driven innovation, meaningful revenue expansion, and long term growth built on trust and shared success.
Alex Tarnoczi
Alex is the Vice President of Business Development at Match Engine and joined the company in 2017, continuing to grow alongside the organization. Over the past eight years, he has become deeply embedded with our partners and the essential work they perform to protect consumers from data breaches, uphold identity security, and ensure the privacy of sensitive information. Having also experienced the impact of personal data falling into the wrong hands, Alex has a profound appreciation for the importance of our network and the critical role they play every day.
In his role, Alex focuses on cultivating and expanding relationships with our established network of service providers across the Records Information Management (RIM), medical waste, and electronics/ITAD verticals. His top priority is delivering exceptional
service to our network and leveraging our data-driven insights to help partners grow their businesses—something Match Engine has successfully done for nearly 30 years.
Outside of work, Alex is a former DI student-athlete who enjoys staying active. However, the most important thing in his life is his son, Liam. Spending time with him and coaching his soccer team is at the forefront of his life at home!
Jason Stackhouse
Jason is Match Engine’s Marketing Operations Manager, responsible for growing our multi-channel lead generation pipeline and ensuring a consistent flow of qualified, motivated customers for our provider network. His team handles content marketing, advertising, search optimization, and marketing automation systems for our four national brands.
He’s been productively obsessed with the Internet since the 90s, grew up on the early Web, and started working online as soon as it was practically possible. His clients have ranged from multinational life science companies to local artists, but creating new opportunities in unexpected ways is always his favorite part of the job.
He moved from Philadelphia to the Hudson Valley in the early 2000s, where he learned civilized ways and started a family. When not at work, Jason’s usually tinkering with something work-adjacent or putting time into shared hobbies with his children: game design, writing, historical oddities, and pulling needlessly complicated pranks on each other.
Natalie Morgan
Natalie is the Manager of Accounting and HR at Match Engine, working closely with both the internal team and our provider network across North America. After working across several industries throughout her career, Natalie has found a passion for helping businesses in compliance-heavy industries grow the right way. She finds it especially rewarding to make complex processes simpler and more efficient.
In her role, she oversees the functions that keep operations running smoothly behind the scenes, including payroll, benefits, and financial administration. Natalie graduated from CU Boulder with an accounting degree in 2016 and went on to work in oil and gas, real estate, and financial services before joining Match Engine in 2023.
A Colorado native, Natalie enjoys taking advantage of all the activities the state has to offer. In her free time, she can often be found spending time in the mountains with her family, whether hiking, skiing, or simply enjoying the fresh air.
Forrest Morgan
Forrest Morgan has represented Match Engine from its formation and has worked with the company's principals for over thirty-five years. As Match Engine’s General Counsel, he brings decades of experience across all aspects of corporate operations and transactions.
For several years, Forrest’s private law practice focused on information security, and he witnessed firsthand the tremendous expense and potential devastation a single data breach can have on individuals and small businesses. That experience taught him that secure information management is about protecting people's livelihoods and reputations—not just checking compliance boxes.
What excites Forrest most is addressing the rapidly growing need for Match Engine’s services in our increasingly digital world. As businesses face mounting pressure to protect sensitive information while transitioning from paper to electronic systems, document shredding, electronics destruction, and secure records storage have become essential tools—not just compliance requirements. Forrest is passionate about helping companies navigate these challenges, connecting them with security services that safeguard privacy, prevent breaches, promote efficiency, and enable business growth.
Yolanda Warde
Yolanda is the Manager of the Presales Consulting Team at Match Engine. The company’s mission to provide both consumers and providers with their best match is driven by a combination of our AI technology and human intelligence—and that’s where Yolanda’s team plays a critical role. Her team filters thousands of calls and requests each day, providing the human touch needed to gather accurate information and guide each customer to the right solution.
She joined the company in 2012 and started as an inbound phone sales rep within the call center, experiencing firsthand the importance of having the right conversations to ensure success for both the customers and our partners. After being promoted in 2016 to Assistant Manager and then to Manager in 2025, she now leads her team with the same passion and drive that have motivated her throughout her career. She believes that partner success fuels her team’s motivation and performance.
Her ambition was shaped by entering the workforce at a young age after starting a family. Her success comes from strong mentorship, adaptability, and a “yes” mentality—embracing opportunities and consistently exceeding expectations through determination and attention to detail. Outside of work, Yolanda likes to go bike riding, four-wheeling, hanging out at the lake, and enjoys spending quality time with her husband and three children.
Our Story
Click a year to get the details.
1977
Founded TRI-R
1980
Expansion into document shredding
1996
Launch of Trir.com
2004
Shred Nations Debut
2006
Expanding with Record Nations
2018
Introduced Medical Waste Pros
2022
ShredTronics Launch
2025
AI





