Executive View
Strategize and align your people, processes, and technologies for long-term success. Chris Farver, Program Chair
Principal Consultant, BMC
As a leader in BMC’s Global Project Management Office (PMO), Chris Farver focuses on the consistency and high-quality delivery of BMC’s Professional Services engagements. Chris has more than twenty-five years of experience in the IT industry, having spent many years as a hands-on practitioner, progressing to senior-level consulting, and now focusing on successful global BSM solution implementations.
Chris is currently the chair of the One Association Board and a member of the HDI Strategic Advisory Board. He regularly speaks at HDI local, regional, and national events, as well as other support industry association events. Chris is well respected within the support industry and has been instrumental in the success and growth of HDI’s local chapter community. He was a founding member of the North Coast chapter in Cleveland, back in 1993, and has been on the chapter’s board of officers for the past fifteen years, including six years as president.
Operational Excellence
Examine the latest real-world approaches to improving your IT operation’s efficiency and effectiveness. Jim Bolton
President, Propoint Solutions
Jim Bolton is the president and founder of Propoint Solutions, where his leadership and knowledge of industry best practices have brought IT service excellence to a variety of industries, including higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, and federal, state, and local government. He is an IT service management consultant, accredited by EXIN as an ITIL Trainer and ITIL Courseware Provider. In addition, he was a founding officer of the Denver itSMF LIG, and is a member of the HDI Faculty and the HDI Strategic Advisory Board. Jim is also an author, and he speaks on ITSM-related topics at conferences around the world.
Jim received his MBA in technology management from the University of Phoenix. He holds a number of other certifications as well, including the ITIL v3 Expert certificate, the ITIL v2 Manager certificate in IT Service Management, ITIL Practitioner certificates for Support and Restore (IPSR) and Agree and Define (IPAD), ITIL v3 certificates for Operational Support and Analysis (OSA) and Service Offerings and Agreements (SOA), the itSMF ISO/IEC 20000 Consultant certificate, and the Certified Process Design Engineer (CPDE) certificate.
Support Essentials
Learn the fundamental concepts, processes, and best practices critical to success in the technical support organization. Mark Fitzgerald
Director of Customer Care, Boise State University
Mark Fitzgerald has a passion for teaching, and working at universities for nearly fifteen years has opened up many opportunities to teach in both formal and informal settings. In addition to managing Boise State University’s Help Desk of Distinction, Mark teaches part time in the College of Business and Economics. He has also presented several times at HDI conferences, local chapter meetings, and Higher Education Forum meetings. Mark is a member of the HDI Desktop Support Advisory Board and he sits on the steering committee for the Higher Education Forum.
Team Dynamics
Examine key leadership strategies for motivating and managing your team. Deborah Monroe
President, Ignite Achievements Int’l
Deborah Monroe is currently one of eighteen Master Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Practitioners in the world, as well as an associate with the Institute for Organizational Performance (IOP) and a member of the HDI Faculty. Working with all levels of executive leadership, management, and individual contributors, Deborah concentrates on integrating humans and processes to create a balanced working environment. Her aim is to build understanding and encourage empathy, improving the bottom line through employee and customer retention. Executive and personal life coaching is another one of Deborah’s areas of expertise, and her clientele includes individuals from a wide variety of industries, from entertainment to corporate environments.
Metrics and Measurements
Make the metrics you use matter. Eddie Vidal
Manager, Enterprise Services Support, 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 currently the manager of enterprise support services at the University of Miami, supporting over 35,000 faculty, staff, and students. In addition to higher education, Eddie has worked in IT in the hospitality and travel industries. Currently, Eddie serves as the president of the HDI South Florida local chapter and is a member of the HDI Desktop Support Advisory Board (DSAB). He has spoken at local, regional, and national events, and has been published in HDI’s SupportWorld magazine.
Customer Focus
Learn what it takes to create a service culture and ensure high customer satisfaction. Mary Cruse
Director, Client Services West, Genzyme Genetics
With a passion for customer service, Mary Cruse has more than twenty-five years of experience leading teams at Fortune 500 companies in the airline and healthcare industries. She is an expert in both technical and nontechnical customer service, with extensive experience in software implementation, call center design and technology, workflow definitions and design, and people leadership and development. At Genzyme Genetics, Mary manages five external customer support centers and fifty customer service representatives across the Southwest.
Mary is an HDI Certified Instructor and holds the HDI Help Desk Manager and Help Desk Analyst certifications, as well as the CIAC Call Center Operations Manager certification. In addition, Mary is president of the HDI Los Angeles chapter, chair emeritus of the HDI Member Advisory Board, and a past member of the HDI Strategic Advisory Board.
Desktop Support
Explore the latest practices and emerging trends in desktop support operations.
Earl Begley
Total Quality Manager, University of Kentucky
Earl Begley is an industry veteran with more than twenty years of experience. He started his career as a workstation support technician and, over the years, has been a cable installer, network administrator, bar code application programmer, LAN administrator, data center manager, and service desk team manager. Earl is currently the ITSM implementation project manager at the University of Kentucky. Earl earned his BA in business administration from Alice Lloyd College and his BA in computer information systems from Eastern Kentucky University. Additionally, he has earned numerous professional certifications, including Master Microsoft Office Specialist, Microsoft Authorized Instructor, ITIL v3 Foundations, and ISO/IEC 20000 Foundations.
Technology in Action
Select and implement the right technologies to maximize your support center’s performance.
Roy Atkinson
Senior Writer/Analyst, HDI
Roy Atkinson is an HDI-certified Support Center Manager and a veteran of both small business and enterprise consulting, service, and support. He has both frontline and management experience and is known for his social media presence, especially on the topic of customer service. Roy was a member of the conference faculty for the HDI 2011 Conference & Expo and he serves as the chapter advisor for the HDI Northern New England local chapter.