Fusion 2011Advisory Board

Tim Schaefer

Chief Information Officer, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Fusion 2011 Co-Chair

Tim Schaefer is Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee, WI. In this role, Tim has responsibility for planning, development and deployment of the company’s information technology resources to meet the business needs of the company’s risk and investment product lines, corporate functions and the almost 7,000 financial representatives in 350 network offices across the United States. Tim has been with Northwestern Mutual 20 years serving in a number of IT and non-IT leadership roles. Tim earned a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Masters degree in organizational behavior from Silver Lake College and has completed the Leadership at the Peak Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. In the community, Tim is on the Board of Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Rick Roy

CIO, CUNA Mutual Group
Fusion 2011 Co-Chair

Rick Roy is the Chief Information Officer for CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wisconsin. He directs the strategy, planning, and deployment of all information technology functions for CUNA Mutual and its affiliates. Before being named CIO in October 2008, Rick served as Senior Vice President of Customer Operations for the company from 2006 to 2008. He directed all customer service and operations functions including claims, call centers, and customer implementations and training. Prior to joining CUNA Mutual, Rick was Senior Vice President and General Manager of product development at Metavante Corporation.

Rick holds a Master’s Degree in business from Marquette University and a Bachelor’s Degree in management information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Rick has completed additional management programs at Harvard Law School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Greg Pfluger

AVP Business Systems Transformation, American Family Insurance
Fusion 2011 Co-Chair

Greg is responsible developing new business processes and systems to support American Family’s Property and Casualty business. He came to American Family after seven years at Sentry Insurance, where he was Vice President, IT and Corporate CIO. Prior to joining Sentry, Greg worked as a consultant for ten years. His clients included many of Wisconsin’s leading companies, including Miller Brewing, Harley-Davidson, Kohler Co., Pleasant Company, and American Breeders Service.

Greg is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with degrees in Computer Engineering and English Literature. Greg and his wife Connie McElrone have two children and live in Madison.

Denis Edwards

SVP & Global Chief Information Officer, Manpower
Fusion 2011 Co-Chair

Denis Edwards is Manpower’s Global Chief Information Officer and a member of Manpower’s Executive Management Team, following his promotion from Vice President – Global Solutions Delivery in January 2009. As CIO, Denis has overall responsibility for leading and coordinating information technology functions across Manpower’s operations in 80 countries and territories. Denis joined Manpower in 2007 and has played a significant role in developing key transformational technology solutions for Manpower’s global operations that benefit the company’s clients and associates. Prior to joining Manpower, Denis held senior IT roles with Cadbury-Schweppes, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Marriott International. In addition to his Fortune 500 expertise, Denis has served as Chief Technology Officer for several successful start-up organizations.

Denis holds a Master of Science Certificate in Information Technology from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science degree from Nova Southeastern University, where he graduated with honors. He is a member of Alpha Chi Honor Society.

David Cagigal

Chief Information Technology Officer, Alliant Energy

David Cagigal is a seasoned executive with over 25 years experience in information technology management. The combination of IT and other technologies is a key part of David’s role as CITO at Alliant Energy. Prior to Alliant Energy, David served as Director of Information Services with DeVry, Inc. Prior to DeVry, David has also held executive IT positions at both DePaul University and Maytag.

David holds a BS and MBA from DePaul University.

Davor Grgic

Senior Vice President of Technical Services, Kohler Co.

Over the course of more than 27 years at Kohler Co., Davor has held a series of management and executive positions. He was named Vice President-Corporate Information Systems in 1997 and Vice President-IT and Global Procurement in 2002.

Davor is a 1980 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. Additionally, he is a 1982 graduate of University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, having earned a master’s degree in business administration. He reports to David Kohler, President and Chief Operating Officer.

Philip Loftus

CIO, VP of IS, Aurora Health Care

Philip is the VP of IS and CIO at Aurora Health Care, where he is responsible for defining and implementing the IT component of Aurora’s strategic goal of providing an integrated approach to health care delivery. Previously, he was SVP and CIO at Caremark where he implemented the move to a paperless mail order pharmacy system based on electronic documentation and workflow, developed one of the major systems supporting the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, and launched a high performance eBusiness Internet website with several million active users. He has 25 years of IT experience in the pharmaceutical industry with GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and what is now AstraZeneca, working extensively in both Europe and the US.

Kristin Kirkconnell

Senior Vice President I/S, American Family Insurance

Kristin Kirkconnell joined American Family in November 2008 as senior vice president, information services. Prior to joining American Family, Kristin served as chief information officer and senior vice president of information services and technology for Atlanta-based natural gas distribution company, AGL Resources, Inc. Kristin was responsible for leading the technology strategies, operations, implementation and support for this Fortune 1000 company, which provides natural gas services to 2.2 million customers in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and Florida.

A graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia, Kristin has had additional executive experience with many large companies across varied industries.

Steve Cartwright

Director and Chief Information Officer, IT Services, We Energies

Steve Cartwright was appointed director and chief information officer – IT Services for We Energies in 2005. Cartwright leads the company’s information technology infrastructure initiatives and operations, and is responsible for technology security and corporate center application areas.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., We Energies, with approximately 5,200 employees, serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC).

Kerra Guffey

Vice President of Information Systems/Chief Information Office, Meriter Health Services

Kerra Guffey is Meriter’s Chief Information Officer. She joined the organization in 2007 and currently is responsible for Information Systems including software, hardware, networks, voice communication, and Health Information Management (HIM). Prior to joining Meriter, Ms. Guffey served as the Senior Vice President and CIO for Memorial Health System in Springfield, IL and was an IT consultant with Deloitte and Touche in Costa Mesa, CA.

Ms. Guffey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University with a major in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California Irvine with an emphasis in Information Technology Management and Finance. She also holds a certificate in Biomedical Informatics from Oregon Health and Science University.

Frank Ace

CIO, Department of Justice

Frank Ace graduated with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1984. He has held a variety of technical and management positions in private sector insurance and financial services organizations for 10 years. He came to the State of Wisconsin, Department of Health and Family Services to manage their Applications Development efforts in 1994 amd took the positions of IT Director at the Department of Justice in 1998. Frank has served as Vice Chair, and Chair of the Wisconsin State IT Directors Council, and as Co-Chair of the Wisconsin State Technology Leadership Council.

Subash Anbu

Chief Information Technology Officer, The Manitowoc Company, Inc.

Subash Anbu has over 20 years of experience in information systems leadership and management consulting experience in manufacturing, automotive, insurance, banking, and the airline industries. He is a seasoned professional with proven abilities in IT strategy, governance, program management, transformation and planning. He also has a strong track record in global implementations, process improvement and aligning IS solutions with business objectives.

Prior experience includes Capgemini America, Delphi Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers LL, Tata Consultancy Services etc. In his current role, Subash is responsible for the global information systems, processes and controls at Manitowoc.

Subash has an Executive MBA from Michigan State University, a Masters degree in Computer Science and Applications from Regional Engineering College in Trichy, India and a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Loyola College in Madras, India.

Bentley Curran

Vice President of Information Technology & CIO, Brady Corporation

Bentley Curran is CIO-Vice President and Corporate Officer of Brady Corporation. He is responsible for all Brady’s information technology solutions and services. In addition to IT, Mr. Curran leads the corporate sustainability and eCommerce programs. Mr. Curran has served Brady since 1999 in various leadership roles including Vice President, IT and Director IT – Global Infrastructure. Mr. Curran received his bachelor’s degree in business from Marian University. In addition, Mr. Curran also serves on various groups, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison eBusiness Consortium Advisory Board and the Brady Corporation Foundation Board.

Bob Grawien

SVP and CIO, School Specialty, Inc.

Bob Grawien is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for School Specialty, Inc. in Greenville, Wisconsin. In his current capacity, he is responsible for the overall strategy and execution of the Business Technology function at School Specialty, Inc, as well as the program management office and eCommerce sales support team.

Prior to joining School Specialty early in 2009, Bob spent 10 years at Schneider National in Green Bay, WI where he held positions of increasing responsibility across the information technology function, including enterprise architecture, product management and application development. Bob began his career with IBM where he held a variety of technical and management positions in IBM‘s server division and software group.

Bob completed the Information Technology Leadership Development Program at the Harvard Business School in 2007 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Math minor from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse.

Peter Logothetis

SVP and Head of Technology Services, QBE the Americas

Peter Logothetis is senior vice president and head of Technology Services of QBE the Americas, formerly Winterthur US Holdings. He has over 30 years of experience in IT management – mostly in the insurance industry with organizations like Kemper and Liberty Mutual. With QBE, he oversees an IT staff of 290 people and IT functions in multiple U.S. locations. Logothetis holds an MBA in information systems from DePaul University and served as an adjunct professor of computer science.

Brent Leland

CIO, Trek Bicycle Corp.

Brent Leland brings over 20 years of business and information technology experience to his Chief Information Officer role at Trek. He joined the company in 2007 to focus on modernizing Trek’s systems and creating business driven information solutions. He is passionate about IT taking a proactive role in implementing better business processes.

Prior to joining Trek, Brent worked as the Director of Business Information Technology at Spectrum Brands (formerly Rayovac) where he was involved in the acquisition and integration of more than a dozen companies. Previously, he held various business and engineering roles for Hewlett-Packard, Space Systems/Loral, and General Dynamics.

Brent holds an MBA from Stanford and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida.

Oskar Anderson

CIO, WI Department of Enterprise Technology

Oskar Anderson is the administrator of the State of Wisconsin’s Division of Enterprise Technology (DET) within the Department of Administration. He has been in that role since March 2007, and as the state’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) he oversees state government’s IT operations and investments.

Anderson served as CIO for the state Department of Revenue (DOR) from 2001 until joining DET. He also the administrator of the Systems and Information Services Division and CIO for the Alberta Solicitor General Department for six years early in his career.

Anderson received his computer science education at the University of Alberta.

Steve Cretney

VP CIO, Lands’ End

Steve Cretney rejoined Lands’ End in 2010 to lead the IT organization through a new era growth and expansion for Lands’ End. Steve has nearly 25 years of IT experience with an innate ability to lead organizations and deliver results. In his previous position as President and COO at TASC, a third party administrator of employee benefit services, Steve had the unique opportunity to help develop business strategy and lead various business units, including Sales and Operations. Prior to his position at TASC, Steve was with Lands’ End as the leader of IT

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sue Peterson

Vice President of IT, Sargento Foods

As Senior Director of Information Technology (IT) of Sargento Foods Inc., Sue oversees all of the Sargento IT functions, including the development, implementation and support of information systems, security and compliance, data management and integrity, and project/portfolio management. Sue’s unique background allows her to work closely with departments to properly align IT and business strategy. Sue joined Sargento in 1997 and has held various management positions in Finance, including supporting the Consumer Products Division business decisions and leading the implementation of key software solutions. Prior to her current position in IT, Sue was the Assistant Treasurer. Before joining Sargento, she spent twelve years with the Kohler Co. in various Finance and Accounting roles.

Sue is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a degree in Finance, and also earned an MBA from UW-Milwaukee. Sue is also a licensed CPA.

Ed Meachen

CIO, UW System

Edward Meachen is Associate Vice President for Learning and Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin System. In June 1997 he was asked to step into the position on an interim basis and was officially appointed Associate Vice President in March 1998. Prior to coming to UW System Administration, Ed was Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Services at UW-Parkside for eight years and the Director of the Library Learning Center at UW-Parkside for two years. In 2000 Ed helped establish the Academic ADL Co-Lab and continues to serve as the Co-Lab Commission Chair.

He was appointed as a member to the Council of Chief Information Officers for the UW System in 1995 and currently serves as its Chair. He has served as a member of the UW System Distance Education Steering Committee as well as the UW System Task Force on Academic Computing and Emerging Technology.

Galen Metz

CIO/Information Services Director, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin

Galen Metz serves as Information Services Director and CIO for Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, joining the Madison-based healthcare organization four years ago from PacifiCare in Cypress, California. His responsibilities include clinical information systems, insurance information systems, business intelligence, and technology infrastructure. Galen brings over twenty years of healthcare and IT management experience to the role.

GHC-SCW was named to the 2010 InformationWeek 500 for innovation in technology, including being selected as the winner of the Analytics category, recognizing corporate achievement in data analytics and business intelligence.

Rick Davidson

Director, Information Management Services, AlixPartners

Rick Davidson joined AlixPartners in January 2009. AlixPartners is a global business advisory firm offering comprehensive services to improve corporate performance, execute corporate turnarounds, provide litigation consulting and forensic accounting services and execute IT organization turnarounds. As a Director in the Information Management Services practice, Rick provides consulting and onsite leadership services for companies interested in transforming the performance of their information technology function.

Prior to joining AlixPartners, Rick was the Global CIO for Manpower, a global HR services company. Previously, he was a CIO Partner at the Feld Group, an IT leadership and consulting firm. He has also been the CIO at Case New Holland, an agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer and at Haworth, a global office furniture manufacturer. Rick began his career as an electrical engineer for Revlon. Rick Davidson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University.