Who Is Keith Parnell?
The writer behind kp Tech — weird tech, real facts. 30+ years building businesses, marketing them, and running the technology behind them.
Keith has spent 30+ years in marketing and technology. In 1997 he founded JASE Group, a creative advertising and technology agency, and ran it as CEO until selling the company in 2018 — guiding clients through million-dollar growth along the way. From 2016 to 2020, he served as a Virginia Governor-appointed Commissioner on the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, Hampton Roads Transit's governing board. Today he is CIO/CMO of Ghent Eats, the Norfolk, Virginia restaurant group behind Cogans Pizza Ghent, Cogans Pizza North, Craft on Colley, and Hank's Filling Station.
kp Tech started with a habit. Keith kept running into tech stories that sounded too strange to be true — a chatbot that picked up a goblin habit, a toothbrush with a camera in it, a social network where only the bots post — and he kept checking. A surprising number of them held up. The funny part is what gets you to read a story. The fact-checking is what makes it worth reading. Every kp Tech Article starts with a premise that makes you look twice and ends with facts you can repeat without getting corrected.
Keith is a husband, a father of two daughters, and a grandfather of three, and family comes before all of it. Plenty of kp Tech stories start the way they would at his dinner table: "You're not going to believe this, but it's true."
Keith also offers tech and growth consulting. See Consulting Services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's Keith Parnell's background?
30+ years in marketing and technology. He founded JASE Group, a creative advertising and technology agency, in 1997 and sold it in 2018. He was appointed by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to serve as a Commissioner on the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Transit's governing board) from 2016 to 2020. Today he is CIO/CMO of Ghent Eats, a Norfolk, Virginia restaurant group.
Why did Keith start kp Tech?
Because the strangest tech stories are usually the ones nobody bothers to check. Keith kept running into headlines that sounded made up, looked into them, and found that a surprising number were true. kp Tech is where those stories land: funny or strange enough to make you look twice, and factual enough to hold up when you do.
Who writes kp Tech?
Keith does. Every kp Tech Article is written by Keith Parnell, and every fact in it is checked before it publishes.
Does Keith offer consulting?
Yes. He offers tech and growth consulting for households, individuals, and businesses of any size. Details are on the Consulting page.