Speakers
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Zebedee Agbanyim
Financial Systems Analyst
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Zebedee Agbanyim is a financial systems analyst at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Prior to joining NASA, he was an auditor for the United States Army Audit Agency and a project financial analyst ...
Patti Albright
Manager, Services
HDI
Patti Albright is currently the manager of services at HDI, where she is responsible for the management and development of support center certification and assessment services. She previously held b...
Charles Araujo
President
The IT Transformation Institute
Charles Araujo is the founder and CEO of The IT Transformation Institute, which is dedicated to helping IT leaders transform their teams into customer-focused, value-driven learning organizations. H...
Joseph Arsenault
Senior Manager
Time Warner
Joseph Arsenault is currently the senior manager for analysis, metrics, and reporting at Time Warner Cable, supporting corporate customer and network care initiatives. Prior to joining Time Warner, ...
Roy Atkinson
Senior Writer/Analyst
HDI
Roy Atkinson is HDI’s senior writer/analyst. He has nearly fifteen years as a practitioner, with experience in help desk and desktop support as well as business consulting. He speaks frequentl...
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Pulin H. Bhatt
Assistant Managing Director, IT Help Central
Texas Tech University
Pulin H. Bhatt is the assistant managing director for IT Help Central at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, where he oversees all on-site services areas, including desktop and executive support. ...
Alan Block
Manager, Service Desk and Security
University Hospitals of Cleveland
Alan Block joined the University Hospitals of Cleveland in 2006 as a change management specialist. In 2009, he was named manager of the service desk and security teams, a group of more than thirty p...
Bren Boddy-Thomas
Help Desk Manager
Exchange Bank
Bren Boddy-Thomas is a help desk manager with over thirty years of customer service management experience, ten of those in the IT service and support industry. She is on the Computer Science Advisor...
Patrick Bolger
Chief Evangelist
Hornbill Service Management
Patrick Bolger has been with Hornbill since 1998 and has been Hornbill’s chief evangelist since 2010. He works closely with customers, industry organizations, and IT luminaries to identify and...
Jim Bolton
President
Propoint Solutions
Jim Bolton’s leadership and knowledge of industry best practices have brought IT service excellence to numerous industries, including higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, and federal, ...
Brian Bolyard
Operations Manager
Intel
Brian Bolyard is the operations manager for the IT Service Operations (ITSO) service desk organization within Intel’s IT Ops and Services organization. The ITSO provides 24x7 internal enterpri...
Jean Mork Bredeson
President
SERVICE 800
Jean Mork Bredeson is the president of SERVICE 800 and a twenty-year veteran of measuring customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for customers located around the world. Jean has played a key rol...
Jeffrey Brooks
Research Director
Gartner
Jeffrey Brooks is a research director on the IT operations management team at Gartner. His research focuses on IT services management, including service desk, process improvement, an SLA management....
Staven Bruce
Manager Technology
Thomson Reuters
Staven Bruce manages Desktop Support for the Thomson Reuters Campus in Eagan, Minnesota. Over the course of his fifteen year career, Mr. Bruce has lead and developed service delivery iniatives for c...
Rae Ann Bruno
President
Business Solutions Training
Rae Ann Bruno is the president of Business Solutions Training, which focuses on training and consulting in various areas of ITIL, internal marketing, metrics, and ITIL process improvement. Rae Ann i...
Mitch Bryant
Enterprise Support Center Manager
Norton Healthcare
Mitch Bryant is the support manager for the Norton Healthcare Service Center in Louisville, KY. This not-for-profit system—the largest in Kentucky—is one of the top integrated health car...
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Jim Cain
Author
Teamwork & Teamplay
Team-building guru Dr. Jim Cain is the author of seven outstanding team- and community-building reference books, including Essential Staff Training Activities (Kendall Hunt, 2010), Teamwork and Team...
Joe Calloway
Author and Keynote Speaker
Joe Calloway is a partner at Engage Consulting Group and the author of several best-selling business books, including Becoming a Category of One (Wiley, 2009). As a consultant, Joe helps companies a...
Elizabeth Cholawsky
Vice President and General Manager
Citrix Online
Elizabeth Cholawsky, vice president and general manager of Citrix Online’s IT services line of business, leads the strategy, vision, and focus of the GoToAssist and GoToManage product lines. P...
Nelson Cicchitto
Chairman and CEO
Avatier
Nelson Cicchitto, a career information technology leader, joined Avatier Corporation in 1995. As Chairman and CEO, he oversees Avatier’s overall corporate and product strategies. With more tha...
Ian Clayton
Principal
Service Management 101
Author of The Universal Service Management Body of Knowledge (Service Management 101, 2008), Ian Clayton is a world-renowned expert in service management and applying outside-in and lean thinking to...
Michael Connors
Supervisor, Product Support
Follett Higher Education Group
Michael has spent the past twenty-five years with the Follett Higher Education Group, a privately held Fortune 100 company. Michael has served in many capacities, including training and development ...
Ray Cornelious
President, CTO, and Author
Comprehensive Cloud Services
Ray Cornelious has over twenty-five years of IT experience ranging from help desk lead to project manager with Harris County Hospital District and Texas Children's Hospital. In addition to his w...
Michelle Croce
Customer Service Agent
DB Consulting Group, Inc.
Michelle Croce is a customer service agent at NASA's Johnson Space Center with over eight years of experience supporting NASA. As a CSA, she strives to continually simplify customer processes an...
Mary Cruse
Associate Director - Oncology Client Services
Integrated Oncology
Passionate about customer service, Mary Cruse has spent more than twenty-five years leading teams for Fortune 500 companies, and has extensive experience in leading both technical and nontechnical c...
Li Cunxin
Best Selling Author and Speaker
Li Cunxin was born into poverty in Mao’s communist China, where, as a young child, he was selected to train at Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy. While dancing for the Houston Ballet, he ...
John Custy
Founder and Principal
JPC Group
John Custy has more than twenty-five years of experience designing, developing, and implementing IT service management solutions. He has helped many organizations develop their service strategies an...
Charles Cyna
President
ThinkITSM
Charles Cyna has more than sixteen years of experience in the ITSM industry, helping organizations to address efficiencies and improve customer support by deploying new service management tools. In ...
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David Dahl
Project Manager, Lead
Spectrum Health
David Dahl has twenty-four years of enterprise IT experience in various industries and various roles, including application architect, software engineering manager, development director, and project...
Chris Dancy
Founder
ServiceSphere
Chris Dancy has been working in IT support for twenty years, with experience as a level one help desk agent, service desk manager, software product manager, and entrepreneur. Most people know Chris ...
Michael Devaney
Director - Support
Enterprise Mobile
Michael Devaney is currently the director of support for Enterprise Mobile, the industry leader in enterprise mobility outsourcing. With over twenty years of experience in service and support, Micha...
Tim Dewey
Founder and CEO
B Virtual Inc.
Tim Dewey is the founder and CEO of B Virtual Inc. An active member of the service and support industry for almost twenty years, he has achieved upper right-hand Gartner Magic Quadrant status. Tim h...
David Disney
Director, Help Desk
Information Technology Services, Board of Regents, University System of Georgia
David Disney has over thirty years service and support experience. Currently director of help desk operations for Information Technology Services, University System of Georgia, his help desk provide...
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Melanie Ellsworth
ITS Customer Support Center Manager
Afni, Inc.
Melanie Ellsworth is the customer support center manager at Afni, Inc., where she oversees tier one technical support and enterprise account administration. She is certified in ITIL Foundation and i...
Michael Estep
Cherwell Adminstrator
General Information Services, Inc.
Michael Estep is a Customer Service veteran with more than 17 years in various Customer Support roles to include Help Desk Analyst, Help Desk Supervisor, Help Desk Manager, Production Support Analys...
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Manley Feinberg
Director IT Operations
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Manley Feinberg is recognized as an inspirational speaker, motivational IT leader, and a skilled outdoor photographer. Whether Manley is coaching and developing his team as the director of IT operat...
Carol Fester
Accounting Center Business Process Lead
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Carol Fester began her career in finance at Ford Motor Credit Company before relocating to Munich, Germany, to be a consultant for Siemens HQ. After returning to the United States, she took a job at...
Michael Fisher
Incident Manager
Molina Healthcare
Michael Fisher has been providing IT support for twenty-five years, building widely distributed IT support teams in the publishing, media, and healthcare fields. He is currently Incident Manager&nbs...
Brian Fox
Program Manager
CompuCom Systems Inc.
Currently the onsite CompuCom program manager responsible for the Volkswagen relationship, Brian Fox has over nineteen years of experience in the IT support world. Having come up through the ranks, ...
Meg Frantz
Vice President eKnowledge
CompuCom Systems, Inc.
Meg Frantz leads the organization responsible for eKnowledge, CompuCom's innovative support concept that empowers its clients' end-users to solve their own IT support issues. With more than ...
Nancy Friedman
President
Telephone Doctor Inc.
Nancy Friedman is a featured speaker at association and corporate meetings. She has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, CNN, FOX News, Good Morning America, and CBS This Morning, and is the author of...
Malcolm Fry
Independent Executive Consultant
Fry Consultants
Malcolm Fry is a recognized IT industry luminary with over forty years of experience in information technology. He has authored many bestselling books, articles, and papers on IT service management,...
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Jon P. Garvin
Associate Director, Information Systems
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
JP Garvin is the associate director of information systems at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and has over eighteen years of experience in the IT field. In his current role, he ...
Dennis Gillespie
Support Center Manager
Indiana University
Dennis Gillespie is the support center manager at Indiana University, where he is responsible for an IT support environment that serves over 110,000 faculty, staff, and students on eight campuses. W...
Gregg Gregory
Speaker
Teams Rock
A diverse, twenty-year background in real estate, mortgage banking, event planning, and production, as well as radio and television broadcasting, created a perfect storm that put Gregg Gergory where...
Jeremy Gruenke
Server Engineer
Johnsonville Sausage
Jeremy Gruenke has worked at Johnsonville Sausage as a systems engineer for the past six years. Jeremy’s primary job focus is on both server and desktop virtualization, but he was also the tec...
Dhiraj Gupta
Manager
Capgemini Financial Services USA Inc.
Dhiraj Gupta is an IT management professional with eighteen years of diverse IT experience in the insurance and manufacturing industries. He also has significant global experience in the areas of en...
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Mike Hanson
Senior IT Manager
UnitedHealth Technologies
Mike Hanson is a senior IT manager at UnitedHealth Group, Inc, where he leads a process and logistics team that proactively looks for ways to improve service delivery to over 90,000 clients. In addi...
Lou Holtz
Legendary Coach and ESPN Sports Analyst
Lou Holtz is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. During his extraordinary career, Lou transformed six losing football programs into winners. He regularly appears on ESPN...
Ken Huang
Director of Security Engineering
CGI
Ken Huang is the director of security engineering at CGI. Over the last twenty-one years, he has worked extensively to architect, design, develop, and secure mission-critical business applications. ...
Lou Hunnebeck
Vice President ITSM Vision & Strategy
Third Sky, Inc.
Lou Hunnebeck, vice president of ITSM Vision and Strategy at Third Sky, Inc., is an ITIL expert with over twenty years of experience in service industries. Her passion for continual improvement led ...
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Shad Jessen
Manager, IT Communications and Training
Boise State University
Shad Jessen is the manager of communications, training, and desktop support in the Office of Information Technology at Boise State University. Shad provides consultation for higher education institu...
Kurt Johnson
Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development
Courion Corporation
Kurt Johnson is responsible for Courion's strategic direction, product management, and securing and managing Courion's alliances and partnerships. Previously, Kurt was the vice president of ...
Rick Joslin
Executive Director, Certification and Training
HDI
Rick Joslin, HDI’s director of certification and training, is the author of two HDI Focus books on knowledge management and the Knowledge Management Maturity Model, and was a contributor to th...
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Dr. Michio Kaku
Futurist and TV Personality
A theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku is the author of several textbooks and more than seventy articles. He is the Henry Semat Chair and professor of theoretical physics at the City College of Ne...
Bill Keyworth
Founding Editor
BSMreview.com
Bill Keyworth is the founding editor of BSMReview.com and a senior consultant with Cutter Consortium's Business-IT Strategies practice, focusing on IT operational excellence. Leveraging over twe...
Phillip Kimball
IT Manager
University of Utah Hospital
Phillip Kimball has been in the IT support industry for seventeen years and currently works at the University of Utah Healthcare as the associate director of IT customer advocacy and value alignment...
Andrew Kramer
Vice President,Customer Solutions
PMG Software
Andrew Kramer has been in the technology field for more than twenty years. Though he started his career in commercial banking and finance, he quickly shifted to technology, becoming a network engine...
Dr. Adam Krob
Senior Advisor
The Verghis Group
For more than two decades, Dr. Adam Krob has studied IT and customer support structures. While his career spans numerous industries, his core focus has always been the optimal alignment of support w...
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Daniel Lafever
Manager of Service Quality
Franciscan Alliance
Dan Lafever is the manager of service quality at Franciscan Alliance. He is a seasoned IT professional who holds several ITIL and HDI certifications. Dan has a passion for continuous improvement and...
Sharon Lewis
President
Questiam Leadership Development
Sharon Lewis is the president of Questiam Leadership Development. She provides her clients with unique perspectives and a powerful blend of hard and soft skills, balancing theory, introspection, and...
Katherine Lord
ITSM Consultant/Certified Instructor
Lord Consulting
Katherine holds numerous industry certifications, including ITIL v3 Expert and Six Sigma Yellow Belt. She is also a seasoned ITSM consultant and practitioner, with significant consulting experience in...
Josh Lorenz
Service Desk Resource I.
BDO USA, LLP
Josh Lorenz graduated from Ferris State University with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Systems in 2010. In that same year, Josh joined the BDO Service Desk, quickly moving up the ranks p...
Fred Luddy
ServiceNow Founder and Chief Product Officer
ServiceNow
Fred Luddy founded ServiceNow in 2004 and currently serves as its chief product officer. Prior to founding ServiceNow, Fred was the CTO of Peregrine Systems and Remedy from 1990 to 2003, technologie...
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Danny Mar
Section Manager – Executive and Advanced Computing Support
Texas Tech University
Danny Mar, a native of Texas, grew up in Odessa, TX, and graduated from Permian High School, home of the “Friday Night Lights.” An accomplished cellist, Danny continued his studies at Te...
Lisa Marcum
Quality Assurance Coach
Progress Energy
Lisa Marcum has been in the customer service business since 1989. Her positions have taken her from metrics and reporting, training camps, motivating employees on a budget, and ensuring quality assu...
LeeAnn McBride
Consultant, Infrastructure Engineer
Nationwide Insurance
LeeAnn McBride has been in the IT industry for over twenty years. She has started a help desk, trained employees and managed service desk software, implemented change management and knowledge manage...
Pete McGarahan
Founder and President
McGarahan and Associates
Pete McGarahan is the founder and president of McGarahan and Associates. Pete’s value to the service and support industry is his thought leadership. As a practitioner, product manager, and sup...
Kelly McLaughlin
Director of Operations and Technical Support
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Kelly McLaughlin is currently the Director of Operations and Technical Support for Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She previously served as the manager of the desktop service line f...
Nathan McNeill
Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Bomgar
As chief strategy officer, Nathan McNeill is responsible for aligning product strategy and product marketing with the needs of over 5,000 Bomgar customers. McNeill functions as product evangelist, a...
Julie Mohr
President
Mind The IT Gap
Julie is a dynamic, engaging change agent who brings integrity and passion to everything. Through her books, articles, speaking, consulting, and teaching - her purpose is to change the world through...
Deborah Monroe
President
Ignite Achievements Int'l
Deborah Monroe is currently one of eighteen Master EQ Practitioners in the world, a certified member of the Global EQ Community of 6 Seconds. She is also an associate with the Institute for Organizati...
Bill Moore
Executive
Customer Relationship Management Institute
Bill Moore’s duties at the Customer Relationship Institute include the design and delivery of CRMI customer and employee loyalty training and retention programs to key accounts that result in ...
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Matt Neigh
Technology Evangelist
Cherwell Software
As Cherwell Software’s technology evangelist, Matthew works closely with existing customers and industry peers to understand how ITSM software solutions are currently being utilized, explore h...
Donia Nolan
Information Manager
Tietronix Software
Donia Nolan supports Space Life Sciences at NASA's Johnson Space Center with more than sixteen years of experience in customer service. She helps organizations maximize their products and servic...
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Dana Olson
Sr. Service Delivery Analyst
Gavilon, LLC
Dana Olson is a nineteen-year veteran of support, with experience in diverse environments and various roles, including trainer, service desk manager, consultant, and process manager. Dana received h...
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Janet Pittman
Director
PepsiCo
Janet Pittman is an IT director at the PepsiCo Support Center. Her twenty-six years at PepsiCo have spanned the areas of Sales, Supply Chain, Sales Accounting, Foodservice / Vending, and the PepsiCo...
Jeff Pitts
Service Desk Tech
Johnsonville
Jeff Pitts has been an all-around IT technician since 2004, moving into the corporate support role in 2006. Originally from Queensland, Australia, he’s a transplant to the snowy depths of Wisc...
Connie Podesta
Organizational Therapist, Life Coach, and Author
Connie Podesta holds a BA in communications and business and an MA in human relations and counseling. She has taught for more than thirty years, from the elementary to university levels, and is a Bo...
Cindy Priester
Service Desk Resource I
BDO USA, LLP
In 2009, Cindy was named the HDI Western Region Analyst of the Year. She is a member of the BDO Service Desk, providing both Tier 1 and Tier 2 technical support to 3,000 client professionals spread ...
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Rob Rachwald
Director of Security Strategy
IMPERVA
Rob Rachwald researches and analyzes data security trends from a business perspective. Prior to joining Imperva, Rob worked at Intel in the early days of e-commerce, helping to convert the chip make...
Jenny Rains
Research Analyst
HDI
Jenny Rains, HDI's Research Analyst, is responsible for survey development and data analysis on publications such as the HDI Practices & Salary Reports and HDI Research Corner. She has more t...
Cheryl Rayfield
Director of Client Services
Juice Inc.
Cheryl Rayfield brings both commitment and an extensive background in client management to her role at Juice Inc. Over the years, Cheryl has partnered with clients in many sectors, including Fortune...
Richard Razon
Co-Founder
PureShare, Inc
Rich Razon has more than twenty-five years of experience in IT service management and has successfully deployed metrics and performance management solutions in some of the largest IT organizations i...
Jo Ann Ream
Manager
PepsiCo
Jo Ann Ream has been in the IT industry for thirty-two years, and she is currently in her dream job as a help desk manager in the PepsiCo Support Center. She received her BA in education from the Un...
John Reed
Executive Director
Robert Half Technology
John Reed is the executive director of Robert Half Technology. John has an extensive background in both technology and staffing, including twelve years in IT product sales and eleven years in the st...
Danny Richardson
Service Manager, IT Customer Support
Pantex
Danny Richardson is the IT customer support manager at B&W Pantex and has over twenty years of customer service experience. Danny focuses on building strong, cohesive teams that thrive on high l...
Steve Rizzo
Attitude Adjuster and Humor Being
Steve Rizzo, once voted “Least Likely to Succeed,” has turned the tables, becoming a stand-up comedian and Showtime Comedy All Star who has shared the marquee with Drew Carey, Jerry Sein...
Kristin Robertson
President
KR Consulting
Kristin Robertson, president of KR Consulting, is a support center consultant, Knowledge-Centered Support consultant/trainer, and executive coach who develops leadership skills in high-potential cor...
Tim Rochte
Product Marketing Manager
CA Technologies
Tim Rochte is currently the product marketing manager for the Nimsoft Service Desk. He has twenty years of experience in technology marketing and strategy in the United States and Europe. In those t...
Jeffrey Rumburg
Managing Partner
MetricNet, LLC
Jeff Rumburg is cofounder and managing partner of MetricNet, LLC. He currently serves on the HDI Strategic Advisory Board and he has been retained as a service desk and desktop expert by Ameri...
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Michael Scarborough
ITIL Instructor and Course Director
Global Knowledge
Michael Scarborough began his career in information technology at the age of eighteen, as a peripheral center technician for a large financial services company, later moving into various supervisory...
Buff Scott, III
Principal Consultant
Propoint Solutions, Inc.
Buff Scott is an ITIL v3 Expert with over thirty years of IT experience, ranging from technical programmer to assistant vice president of IT for a Fortune 500 company. Buff is an accredited ITIL tra...
Mark Shell
Director of Professional Services
Cherwell Software
Over the past twenty eight years, Mark Shell has developed and managed service and support solutions for IT and customer service organizations in the US, Canada, Asia/Pacific, and Europe, implementi...
Thomas Smetana
Solutions Director
Technisource
Thomas Smetana has over thirty years of experience in the IT service and support industry. He is currently a solutions director with Technisource, where his responsibilities include planning, design...
Kevin Smith
Technical Support Manager
University of Minnesota
Kevin Smith is the technical support manager for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. He has been involved in higher education IT support for over sixteen years, and has manag...
Randy Steinberg
Principal
Migration Technologies
Randy Steinberg has years of hands-on operations experience gained from clients around the world. He was global head of service management for a worldwide media company with 176 operating centers ar...
Heather Deane Strickland
I.T. Senior Strategist
Spectrum Health
Heather Strickland has been a service management professional for nearly ten years, the last six at Spectrum Health, a large, not-for-profit health care system in western Michigan. Her enterprise-le...
Robert Stroud
Vice President, Strategy and Innovation
CA Technologies
Robert Stroud serves as the vice president of innovation and strategy on the Service & Portfolio Management team at CA Technologies. Following a four-year term as a vice president with ISACA Int...
Dian Survance
Director Support Services
WORKNET
Dian Survance, director of support services at Worknet, has been in the support arena for over twenty-five years. Prior to joining Worknet, Dian managed the support team for The Clearing Corporation...
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Chuck Tomasi
Sr. Solutions Consultant
ServiceNow
Chuck Tomasi is a senior solutions consultant with ServiceNow. Social media is nothing new to Chuck, as he has been leveraging the Internet for the last twenty-five years. Chuck is the host of sever...
Barckley Toole
Director, End User Support
The Coca-Cola Company
Barckley Toole has fourteen years of IT service delivery experience spanning help desk, desktop, mobile, and application support. His experience also includes multilingual support for IT systems in ...
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Anne Vail
Director, Production Support
General Information Services
Anne Vail is the “people person” in IT. With more than fifteen years of increasing responsibility in IT, she is accomplished at leading and directing information technology service opera...
Frederick Van Bennekom
Principal
Great Brook
Dr. Fred Van Bennekom founded Great Brook to help organizations collect and apply feedback. Great Brook conducts workshops on survey practices along with advising clients on their surveying practice...
Phil Verghis
CEO
The Verghis Group
Phil Verghis is a brilliant innovator and strategist, as well as a past chair of the HDI Strategic Advisory Board. Phil received his BS in electrical and computer engineering and MBA from the Univer...
Eddie Vidal
Manager, Enterprise Support Services
University of Miami
Eddie Vidal has over twenty years of experience in information technology, focusing on service delivery and support for IT infrastructures. He is the manager of enterprise support services at the Un...
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Lisa Weaver
Technical Support Manager
CACU
Lisa Weaver has spent the past twelve years exploring the many facets of IS, in roles from help desk specialist to technical support management and everything in-between. She has found that support ...
Kirk Weisler
Chief Morale Officer
Team Dynamics
Kirk Weisler is widely recognized as chief morale officer of the support industry. A veteran of the industry, Kirk has worked to develop a revolutionary strategy of culture-building with support cen...
Dan Wilson
Manager of Client Services
Volkswagen of America
With over thirteen years in IT service management, Dan Wilson is currently the manager of client services and an enterprise strategist at Volkswagen of America. His growing team of seventy-five prof...
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Eric Zbikowski
Managing Partner
MetricNet, LLC
Eric Zbikowski is a cofounder and managing partner at MetricNet, LLC, the premier provider of IT service desk benchmarks and performance scorecards for corporations worldwide. He oversees the custom...