Speakers at the CIO Agenda Conference

Joel Basgall
Over the past twenty-four years, Joel has been a technical leader and innovator in software and data architecture, practice management, and project leadership.  He has combined this expertise and solid methodology to mold groups of people into hyper-efficient software development teams.  Joel’s technical background covers mainframe, client/server and internet, and transcends specific platforms. Joel’s particularly unique and powerful contribution to Geneca is his “thinking methodology” which allows him to quickly and correctly abstract software requirements into systems-level designs that are robust and extensible. Prior to Geneca, Joel owned another software firm and was employed by such organizations as Kemper Financial and McMaster Carr.  Joel earned his BS in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University.


Peter Berg
Peter Berg is the Territory VP for the Enterprise North at CompuCom Systems, Inc.  Pete brings nearly 20 years of successful IT sales and sales management experience across the full IT stack of products, services, and Outsourcing.    CompuCom is one of the leading, US Based IT Integrators and Outsourcers.  Pete began his career with NCR Corporation in the Chicago area.   Following that he spent several years focused on selling IT outsourcing, managed services, and IP transformation with AT&T Solutions and Global Crossing, and the France Telecom Group.   Pete has led sales teams based in the Central and Mid Atlantic United States and has worked extensively with Cisco, HP, VM Ware, Microsoft, and many other solution partners.


Costa Hasapopoulos

Costa Hasapopoulos, Vice President of Americas Solutions Products at Hitachi Data Systems is responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy, tools, and tactical execution of solutions sales as it relates to Hitachi's Strategic Initiatives of Business Continuity, Tiered Storage, Storage Management, and File Services. Costa is also responsible for leading the Americas Technical Team - a team of over 200 Solution Consultants and Architects who are responsible for architecting storage solutions for HDS's customers.  Costa joined Hitachi Data Systems in 2007 where he is leveraging his 22 years experience in the IT industry. He most recently was the World Wide Vice President of Solutions and Services for McDATA corporation (formally Computer Network Technology) where he was responsible for the strategic direction and tactical execution of McDATA's professional services and solution consulting organization. Costa was also responsible for the overall multi-vendor product and solution sales go-to-market. Prior to McDATA, Costa was the General Manager of Imation Corporation's Storage Consulting organization. His team was a pioneer in the area of Storage Area Networking interoperability, architecture, planning and overall solution integration of SAN and NAS products and solutions. Costa was the co-founder of a $36m Microsoft based IT consulting organization where they specialized in the education, architecture, and implementation of Microsoft based technology solutions for fortune 1000 organizations.  Costa has been a featured speaker at many industry events such as Storage Networking World, Microsoft Tech-ED, Microsoft Developer Conference as well as multiple IT OEM events. He started his career at Hewlett-Packard after he graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Computer Science.


Mark Horbal
Mark is the CIO and Vice President of Information Technology at SHC Direct, LLC, a consumer loyalty and database marketing / strategy company.  SHC is positioned as a strategic partner for companies in the financial and retail sectors and provides services in the areas of loyalty programs, consumer acquisition and retention and communications.  Because SHC Direct processes large volumes of PII and PCI data, it is certified at PCI Level 1.  Mark joined SHC Direct from V Technology Group, where he served as President and chief architect for mission critical systems. Prior to joining VTG, he was involved in consulting and software product development in the private sector.  This was preceded by an extensive tenure at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Mark’s experience in information technology, management and business development spans nearly 30 years. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois.


Debra Jenkins
As the Chief Information Officer at Carroll University, Debra is responsible for the strategic and operational use of technology in support of the mission of the university.   This includes responsibility for enterprise applications, data and telephone services, and desktop services for both the academic and administrative enterprises.  Debra came to Carroll as the Chief Information Officer in October 2001.  Prior to coming to Carroll, she spent five years at Marquette University holding technology positions in both the library and Information Technology Services.  Debra held positions in data networking and corporate broadband strategy for Wisconsin Bell/Ameritech for ten years prior to moving to higher education.   Debra earned her MS in Computer Science from Northwestern University studying artificial intelligence at the Institute for the Learning Sciences.


Divakar (Dave) Kamath
Dave joined IDEX as their CIO in Jan 2004. IDEX is a one billion dollar global manufacturer of pumping, dispensing and other engineered products and provides solutions for diverse markets. Dave is responsible for delivery of IT services across the IDEX portfolio of 34+ companies. Prior to joining IDEX, Kamath was the vice president and Chief information Officer at IMC Global Inc, a global manufacturer with annual revenues over $1.5 billion. Before IMC Global, he served as the VP-IS at SunSource Industrial Services company and VP- Materials/ Logistics Planning at one of its subsidiaries after having progressed through increasingly responsible operational positions.


Steven Loos

Steven Loos is Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for Wheels, Inc.  Steven joined Wheels in 2006 with more than 20 years of information technology leadership experience at United Airlines, Delco Remy International and Kellogg. Over his career he has implemented numerous client-based technology programs, enabling the development of systems and programs that are built to meet and anticipate client needs on an ongoing basis.  At Wheels he leads all technology development and management teams, including our client-facing systems, internal application, business continuance and systems infrastructure.  Steven has a BBA from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and serves on the board of directors for a Chicago area-based public school education foundation.


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.


Michael J. Ouska

Mike Ouska is Chief Information Officer of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), one of the largest social services organization in America, with over 70 locations and 2000 employees.  Former chair of the Lutheran Information Technology Network, a national network of CIOs for non-profits.  Prior to LSSI, Mr. Ouska was Engagement Manager for Metamor Technologies and Keane, Inc., providing web and offshore development to Fortune 500 companies and Total IT outsourcing to non-profit organizations.  Prior to Keane, Mr. Ouska was Vice President of Information Technology at PNC Mortgage, managing the network infrastructure and, in a separate position, managing application development for the mortgage securities division.  Mr. Ouska also worked in application development for Beatrice and Northwest Industries.  Mr. Ouska has a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.


Dave Patzwald
David Patzwald joined Schneider Electric in 2005 as Vice President, Information Technology, responsible for all information systems and services in the North American Operating Division.  Dave joined the company with over 20 years of diverse business and information technology experience. Prior to Schneider Electric, he was the founder and president of smallCo, an IT solution business whose clients included Kinko’s, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., and Brach’s Confections.  Before smallCo, Dave was Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Emerging Markets within PepsiCo’s Business Solutions Group, where he also led the international integration program following the Quaker acquisition.  Dave also has held senior level positions at Frito-Lay, including CIO for the Asia Pacific region. Based in Australia, he was responsible for IT in ten countries and led the SAP implementation following a major acquisition.   Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computational science from Stanford University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  Headquartered in Palatine, Ill., the North American Operating Division of Schneider Electric had sales of $3.7 billion (U.S.) in 2006.


John Phillips
John Phillips is the VP and CIO of Allscripts, a Healthcare Information company. At Allscripts, he is responsible for driving the technology strategy to create efficient business processes across the organization and transforming the company's internal systems by modernizing its software platforms, enterprise hardware, and network infrastructure. He brings with him over twenty years of technology experience in business alignment and operations. Prior to joining Allscripts, John has held IT leadership positions at Accenture, RR Donnelley, Quebecor World and Thomson Corporation.


Mason Rotelli
Mason Rotelli is the CIO and VP for Inventory Management at Communications Supply Corporation (a November 2006 acquisition of Wesco Distribution).  Mason has been with CSC since 1998.  In the CIO role, he has led the consolidation of 10 acquisitions onto a common IT platform and common business processes.  As the VP of Inventory Management, he manages CSC’s $100M inventory.  Today, CSC has over 900 employees, 32 warehouses, $100 million in inventory, and 32 sales offices throughout the United States. The company is a distributor of private premise networks, low voltage specialty systems, security & surveillance, government and the public network/service provider market segments.


Sumitro Sarkar

Sumitro Sarkar is the Founder and Managing Partner of TechStrategyLabs Inc.  He has over 20 years of experience in technology strategy and transformation. Sumitro has served in management and leadership positions in big-five management consulting firms, financial information services and technology product companies. His areas of interest are redefining technology value propositions, resolving bleeding-edge technology myths, examining the financial impact of technology and using technology to change the rules of business.  Sumitro holds a holds an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.  He also has a BA in Economics andMathematics (with honors) and an MBA from Delhi, India. Sumitro writes the "Is IT Worth It" blog (www.sumitrosarkar.com) and is a featured blogger in CIOZone.com (www.CIOZone.com).


Yvonne Scott

Yvonne Scott is Chief Information Officer for Crowe Chizek and Company LLC.  She joined Crowe in February, 2008 and is responsible for directing all aspects of the firm’s information systems related activities.  Prior to joining Crowe, Yvonne was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for GATX Corporation, a Fortune 1000 NYSE traded company that specializes in the leasing of long-lived assets to corporate customers.  Her responsibilities included the management of all Information Systems related activities.  Yvonne joined GATX in 1990 as Manager, Information Systems Audit and held the positions of Assistant Director of Information Technology; Director, GATX Chemical Logistics; Vice President, Integrated Solutions Group; Vice President, Strategic Initiatives GATX Rail, and Vice President and CIO GATX Rail.   Prior to joining GATX, Yvonne worked for over ten years at Unocal Corporation in various positions, including internal consulting services.  Yvonne currently serves on the board of directors of i.c. Stars, a non-profit organization that trains and prepares inner-city youth for careers in information technology.  She is also a member of this organization’s strategic planning committee.  Yvonne has a Masters degree in Business Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science degree in General Management and Accounting from Purdue University.  In addition, Yvonne has published articles in professional journals, presented seminar topics on third-party managed services, and served as a CIO panelist at several conferences and seminars.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Certificate in Data Processing.


Patricia Shafer
Patricia Shafer is President of Compel Ltd., an international consulting and research firm dedicated to Evoking.Courageous.LeadershipSM. She is also co-founder of The Change Leaders, a global network of consultants and coaches on the human dynamics of change. She and her associates specialize in Inspiring Leaders, Mentoring Multinationals, Transforming Technology, and Empowering Women. This work includes keynote speeches/presentations, workshops/seminars, simulations/games, facilitated dialogues, and strategic client engagements. Patricia has provided consulting and coaching services to executives and private sector and public officials in 15 countries and held senior leadership positions in change management and communications at two global Fortune 100 companies. She is author of the forthcoming book Whole Work: Developing Tomorrow’s Truly Global Leaders (IAP, Fall 2008), based partially on the global research “The Whole World at Work: Managers Around the Globe Tell Us What Still Needs to Change in Organizations” (Compel Ltd. 2006). In 2007, in conjunction with WITI, she led a large-scale research initiative on technology workplaces. And she has agreed to serve as chief editor of a book series focusing on Transformative Technologies, including organizational mindsets and behaviors that affect the success of technology initiatives. Patricia holds Ms. Shafer holds an MSc., Consulting and Coaching for Change, Oxford University, UK, and HEC, France; MBA, Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management; MA, Journalism, the Ohio State University; and certifications in numerous individual and team assessment tools.


Jesse Strittmater
Jesse has a BSEET from Devry University and an MBA from Benedictine University. From 1988 through 1991 he was with NEC Technologies and managed a call center of 22 individuals involved in laptop/monitor support. At TUSC he was an Oracle Consultant for two years. He has been at Life Fitness since 1993 functioning as Help Desk Technician, Manager PC/LAN Support, Manager Operation, DBA, eBiz/DW Manager, Director Service Delivery, Senior Director - IT and, starting in 2007, VP/CIO. As CIO he designed and started the first global IT Strategy. His varied sports activities include bowling a 300 game in 2005.


Jim Vaselopulos
Jim Vaselopulos is a seasoned business executive with domain expertise in Financial Services, Marketing, Manufacturing and Service Industries. Jim works closely with many firms to help align business needs and technology for competitive advantage. His many roles include Partner at PSC Group, LLC, interim CIO at several organizations and strategic business consultant to many others. His speaking engagements include regional executive events, various podcasts, industry organizations and technology-centric educational institutions such as the University of Illinois. Jim holds an Engineering degree from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Marquette University.

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