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Speakers at the IT Leadership Strategies
Conference |
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Hardik Bhatt
Hardik's was appointed as the
Chief Information Officer (CIO) by Chicago's Mayor Richard M
Daley in February 2006. He is also the Commissioner for the
Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). As the CIO and the
Commissioner of DoIT, Hardik's role is to protect City’s
existing investment in Information Technology while identifying
and implementing new and innovative technology solutions that
deliver efficiencies in serving constituents and visitors of the
City of Chicago.
Specifically, Hardik strives to implement Mayor Daley's vision
of a city government that benefits from an assimilation of best
practices from both the public sector and the private industry
by raising the level of service provided to citizens, businesses
and tourists. As the CIO of the City of Chicago, Hardik oversees
several Technology Implementations, Mobile Solutions and
Information Sharing projects. This primarily includes
improvements in collection and sharing of information across
various City agencies and dissemination within agencies and to
the general public. Also of high priority are streamlining
City's various business processes to attract qualified firms to
partner with the City, integration of various enterprise systems
such as for Revenue, Finance and Procurement, Human Resources,
Inspection and Permitting, and Customer Service Requests. He is
also responsible for implementing a Geographic Information
Services (GIS) that provides digital maps, photographs and
up-to-date data on all property City-wide.
Hardik is leading charge for Mayor Daley for universal and
affordable broadband for all Chicagoans through various
initiatives. Hardik is also spearheading Mayor Daley's vision of
career academies in the technology sector. The first technology
academy, supported by more than 80 large and small businesses,
will open its doors in fall 2009.
Hardik co-chair's Mayor Daley's council of Technology Advisors
comprised of leading CIO's of the region including Boeing,
Bexter, CNA, Exelon, Aon and HCSC as well as leading
representatives from technology, non-profit and academic
sectors. This council focuses on economic development of the
technology sector as well as bridging technology talent gap and
digital divide.
Prior to joining the public sector, Hardik worked as a
consultant with Oracle corporation in the US and Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) in India.
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David A. Chapa
 David
has invested over 23 years in the computer industry focusing
specifically on data protection, data disaster recovery and business
resumption practices. He has held several senior level technical
positions with companies such as Cheyenne Software, OpenVision, and ADIC
and Quantum. David is currently Director of DP Strategy/Global
Alliances at NetApp.
Prior to joining
NetApp, David served as Senior Technologist where his global
responsibilities included evangelizing the value of disk based backup,
integrated software solutions and the value of backup and recovery
planning with purpose. In his role with NetApp, bringing the same
passion and experience in backup and recovery, David continues to
evangelize disk based data protection, snapshot based data protection
and influences the backup and recovery strategy at NetApp.
David is an
energetic, dynamic speaker who brings a great deal of experiential
knowledge, humor and keen insights to his audience. He has been a
featured speaker at VERITAS Vision, CA World, Storage World, Chicago
Software Association, CAMP/IT and served as panelist on various
discussions related to disaster recovery, compliance and the use of disk
and tape for backup and backup/recovery strategies.
David has written
several articles and blogs, is the co-author of “Implementing Backup and
Reocvery”, the Technical Editor of “Cloud Security” and is recognized
worldwide as an authority on the subject of Backup and Recovery. In
addition, David is also a member of SNIA’s Data Protection and Capacity
Optimization (DPCO) Committee, whose mission is to foster growth and
success of the storage market in the areas of data protection and
capacity optimization technologies.
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Tom Coleman
Tom
Coleman has worked successfully at many organizational levels in
information technology and in user disciplines. He has a detailed
understanding of strategic planning, process improvement, technical
systems strategies, and manufacturing. Tom has worked in various
manufacturing positions leading to the position of Director of
World-Wide Materials. In the information technology area, he has held
positions such as Business Systems Analyst, Director of IS, Vice
President of IT, and Chief Information Officer. Tom has led six
enterprise-wide systems implementations and he currently holds the
position of Chief Information and Process Officer at the Sloan Valve
Company in
Franklin Park,
IL. He is responsible for the Information
Technology Group, Sloan’s process improvement initiative, and Tom
facilitates Sloan’s strategic planning process. Tom holds a Bachelor of
Business Administration from a small college in
San Diego.
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Sharon DeWitt (Getz)
Sharon is an information
and change management executive with over 20 years experience in Information
Technology and over 10 years experience in executive leadership. Sharon has
worked in various industries including defense, public utilities, manufacturing,
distribution, consumer marketing, aerospace and professional services. Sharon
is currently the Director of Information Technology at Scot Forge in Spring
Grove. Scot Forge is a 100% employee-owned
manufacturer of custom open die and rolled ring forgings. Started as a small
hammer shop in Chicago, IL in 1893, Scot Forge has over 100 years of experience,
leading the industry as one of the most modern and respected forging companies
in the world.
Prior to that Sharon
was at Zebra Technologies, Inc. and was responsible for Zebra’s Global IT
Organization for over 9 years until she joined the Business Development Team as
the Sr. Director of Acquisition Integration responsible for the leadership of
integration planning and execution of all functional areas for several newly
acquired companies into Zebra Technologies. Sharon holds a B.S. degree in
Computer Information Science and a MBA from Cleveland State University.
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Brian Farrar
Brian Farrar has over 20 years of consulting, technology,
and investment banking experience. Prior to Maven Wave
Partners, Farrar spent 7 years in technology investment
banking. Over the course of his career, Farrar has completed
merger and capital raising transactions worth in excess of
$2 billion. Farrar has served as President and Chief
Operating Officer of Xpedior Incorporated (NASDAQ: XPDR) a
technology consultancy with over $200 million in revenues
and 1600 employees serving global 1000 companies. Farrar
also served as President and CEO of Metamor Technologies, a
systems integration and software consulting firm with
revenues in excess of $80 million. Farrar’s consulting work
has achieved recognition by USA Today, The Wall Street
Journal, Good Morning America, and Wired magazine. Farrar is
a published author with 6 books on technology related topics
distributed in 6 languages worldwide. |
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Sam Ferguson
 Mr.
Ferguson has been employed by the Village of Schaumburg since
1998 and was hired as Schaumburg's first Director of Information
of Technology. He worked as the Village of Palatine's first
Director of Information Technology from 1989 to 1998. In his
director roles, Sam brought together various islands of
departmental technology to form cooperative enterprise
technology organizations capitalizing on standards, establishing
policies, and information technology governance providing a
clear direction for municipal technology. The last two years
Schaumburg’s IT Team worked to implement over 25 ERP modules in
a 19 month timeframe.
Mr. Ferguson has been the
president for the Illinois chapter of Government Management
Information Sciences (GMIS) and has held all officer roles of
International GMIS, culminating in the president’s position in
2000/2001. Currently Sam serves as the GMIS International
Treasurer. Mr. Ferguson has been recognized in the northwest
suburbs as having one of the top technology organizations in the
metropolitan area. The Village of Schaumburg has been
recognized 5 times as a one of the top 10 digital municipalities
in the nation by the Center for Digital Government.
Mr. Ferguson holds a M.S. in
Administration from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale,
IL, a B.A., with departmental honors, from Monmouth College,
Monmouth, IL, and graduated from the U.S. Army Computer Science
School, Indianapolis, IN.
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Praveen Gupta
Praveen Gupta, President of Accelper Consulting, Editor-in-Chief
of International Journal of Innovation Science, and the author
of Business Innovation in the 21st Century will be addressing
these issues. Praveen has been a recognized thought leader in
excellence and innovation areas. He has given keynote addresses
in several countries and cities across USA.
Praveen teaches Operations Management at DePaul University,
and Business Innovation at Illinois Institute of Technolgoy, and
is the lead architect of the Certified Business Innovator
program. In his past life, Praveen had been the CEO of
www.ezbol.com, a supply-chain company in the dotcom
era. Praveen holds MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering
from IIT, Chicago. Prior to founding Accelper Consulting,
Praveen worked at Motorola and AT&T Bell Laboratories.
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Mark Hattas
Mark Hattas co-founded Geneca in 1998 as a young, 26-year old
entrepreneur. Today, as Geneca’s CEO, he is at the helm of one of
the fastest growing IT services firms in the Chicago region. Geneca
is a trusted technology partner to many Fortune 1000 companies and a
destination workplace for Chicago’s brightest IT professionals.
Mark is a charismatic leader widely respected for his commitment to
his clients, employees, community, and family. With a career
largely devoted to raising the bar on the delivery standards of IT
services firms, Mark and his team work passionately to help IT
organizations predictability deliver business value.
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Mark is an active member of the Board of Directors for the
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, i.c.stars, and the Charles Tillman
Cornerstone Foundation. He is the recipient of a Young Executives
Award and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. He has
led Geneca to its receipt of numerous awards including the Inc.
5000, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce’s Workplace Excellence Award,
and Crains Best Workplaces. Mark is an invited speaker on topics
such as Generational Theory, business and innovation strategy, and
the role of IT in delivering business value.
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Larry Kallembach
Larry Kallembach is Executive Vice
President and Chief Information Officer of MB Financial Bank. MB
Financial a Chicago based bank with assets of $11.5 billion.
Spanning over thirty years Larry’s banking
career includes expertise in operations, payment systems, information
management and technology, risk management, and mergers including FDIC
acquisitions. As CIO at MB Financial his corporate-wide responsibilities
include the direction and management of all information technology
systems, bank operations, payments and payment systems and the bank’s
enterprise risk management systems. His effective leadership is a
product of his strategic thinking and interpersonal communication
skills.
Larry is a former National Board Member
of the American Institute of Banking (AIB), and former Chairman of the
Illinois Bankers Operations and Technology committee. Larry currently
serves as the Chairman of the FiServe-Signature User Strategic Direction
Committee and is a member of the Illinois Bankers Association Board of
Directors. He has taught Finance and Economics at Parkland College and
he is a periodic speaker and lecturer for various organizations
including the University of Illinois.
Larry holds a Bachelor
of Science in Finance degree from Indiana University and Master of
Business Administration from the University of Illinois.
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Michael Kozlowski
Mike is the CIO for Rust-Oleum, Inc. He has been a Vice President or Director in IT for
25 years. For the last 7 years, he has led the Rust-Oleum IT organization,
building a new staff on his arrival to support their just-installed SAP system.
Prior to that, he was Director of IT for the Gas Research Institute where
he re-invigorated the IT staff, directed a PeopleSoft system implementation, and
helped the organization migrate their mentality and culture from a
federally-funded institution to operating on a for-profit basis. A
substantial part of Mike’s experience spanned 20 years with Keebler Company as
Applications Development Manager, Director of Customer Service and Computer
Operations, and Director of Sales Information Systems. The last notable segment
was his involvement in their very challenging SAP implementation, a 2 year plus,
$50MM effort. At that time it was, world-wide, the highest transaction volume
SAP implementation to date. One of his key experiences as Director of
Sales Information Systems was that he reported to the VP of Sales, and thus Mike
dealt with the Keebler IT department from a user perspective for 7 years.
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Bruce
Massel
Bruce Massel is the
Vice President of Information Technology and the
Project Management Office at Fidelitone
Logistics. Bruce has more than 23 years of
information technology leadership, management
and consulting experience with mid-sized
distribution companies. In addition to his IT
experience, Bruce also has more than 6 years of
operations, sales and web marketing management
experience. His career has progressed from a
technical programmer to a hands-on business
leader in the implementation of innovative and
practical technology solutions. He has led IT
departments as CIO in multiple industries after
beginning his career at Coopers & Lybrand as an
EDP auditor before becoming the practice lead
for the Midwest Middle Market IT Consulting
Services. Bruce earned his BS in Computer
Science from Purdue University and a Masters of
Management in Marketing and International
Business from Northwestern University's Kellogg
School of Management.
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Chris Nabinger
Chris has served as CIO for
numerous public companies including: Polycom, Infospace,
Phillips Electronics, and Skytel, as well as private companies
such as Netcom and Masergy. Chris has also served as CEO of
mobile telecom focused start up Soniya Technology
International. He currently serves as an Executive Partner at
Gartner advising CIOs on strategic issues.
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John
Phillips
John Phillips
is an information technology executive with over 28 years of
professional experience at publicly traded and privately held
companies. His accountabilities and expertise include
information systems strategy, daily operations, and
organizational alignment.
John is
currently serving as the Senior Vice President and Chief
Information Officer for Briggs Medical Service Company and its
subsidiaries (Briggs Corporation, Briggs Medical Supply, Mabis,
Duromed, and OmniMed). Previous positions include the CIO of
Uline in Waukegan, Illinois,. the Corporate Director (CIO) of
Information Technology & Services at Trinity Industries in
Dallas, Texas, the CIO of a US Freightway’s reverse logistics
subsidiary in Dallas, Texas, the Director (CIO) of Management
Information Systems for PrimeSource Building Products in
Carrollton, Texas, and progression through several levels of
management at Frito-Lay and Texas Instruments.
John has a
Master of Arts degree in Information Systems from the University
of Texas at Dallas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from
Illinois State University with a major in Computer Science.
John is active
in several professional societies and organizations, and is the
Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Information
Management (SIM), a position he held in the Dallas Chapter.
John has
published articles in Handheld PC Magazine and
Internet Week, and has been a guest speaker at many industry
events including the Micro Focus International Users Conference,
Burton Group’s Catalyst Conference, and Gartner’s regional
client briefings.
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Lac Tran
Lac Tran is Senior Vice President and CIO of Information Services at Rush
University Medical Center. He speaks widely on CIO and healthcare
topics.
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Grant Vankerk
Grant Vankerk is a
Senior Solutions Consulting Manager for Hitachi Data Systems. Grant has
over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, having served as a Field
Service Engineer, International Tech Support Specialist, Systems
Engineer, Pre-sales Support Engineer and Technology Acquisitions
Specialist. Grant has previously worked for Cambex Corporation,
StorageTek, and EMC, with responsibilities for Mainframe Memory
products. Grant was also involved with the introduction of the first
Symmetrix systems.
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John B. (Jack) Wright
For more than thirty years, Jack has marketed, sold, and managed
companies in their successful initial development and subsequent
wide-range marketing of new products.
Educated in economics at Fordham University and with a graduate degree
in business policy from Columbia University, Jack moved from sales and
sales management of tangible products for 3M and The Mennen Company to
lead in marketing more complex financial products now used daily
throughout the world.
More than two decades ago, as Vice President of New Product
Implementation for Chase Manhattan Bank’s Treasury Department, Jack
created and implemented plans for new treasury products, accelerating
new product introductions and aggressively pursuing new sales
opportunities, resulting in more than 35 new products introduced in
record-breaking time with outstanding revenue results. Later, in a
similar position at Chemical Bank, he created global standards for a
single worldwide trading system to network trading positions in New
York, Tokyo, Geneva, and London.
In 1987, Jack moved into the credit card industry, first for MasterCard,
then for CNA. As President of the Travelers Cheque business at
MasterCard, he increased sales 38% in one year and simultaneously
reduced operating costs by 17% by redesigning core business, financial,
and administrative processes. He then expanded the business globally and
negotiated its sale to Thomas Cook. At CNA where Jack was Senior Vice
President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Risk Management Group, in
one six-month period, he increased new customer acquisition by 400% and
then designed a PC-based business proposal system to tailor customer
proposals by both industry and product.
In the last decade, Jack has entered the dot com arena for an internet
start up. He developed a unique marketing plan to introduce DoxIt™, a
means of safely and securely transmitting information across the
Internet, for Netdox. He also consulted with Progressive Coatings
Technologies, Inc. to develop their business strategy and marketing plan
for advanced technology start-up.
As a student of cognitive psychology at both the undergraduate and
graduate level, Jack has grown to understand its substantial
contribution in business and has practiced its application for more than
30 years during his business career. 12 years ago, after significant
additional formal training, Jack switched his emphasis from building
high performance executive teams to applying cognitive psychology for
business clients to raise the performance of their executives and to
build high performance teams.
Jack contributes his expertise in cognitive/behavioral change for
executives and executive teams, as well as in new product development,
marketing and strategy. He is a major contributor to The American
Institute’s projects and clients. The American Institute of Learning and
Cognitive Development, Inc. is a leader in the fields of leadership
development, human capital assessment and development.
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