2011 Speakers

Steven Sheinheit

Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, QBE the Americas

Steven Sheinheit is a member of Executive Management Board at QBE the Americas, a $5.2 billion Property and Casualty insurance company headquartered in NY. QBE the Americas is a division of QBE Insurance, a $13.4 billion global company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Sheinheit leads two very critical functions at QBE the Americas, business strategy and technology. The business strategy is responsible for the formulation and execution of all corporate and business strategies. Very recently, QBE the Americas has embarked on a 5-year strategic journey to grow the company organically by a significant amount of premium and Steve and his strategy team is driving the coordination of this program. In addition to its traditional role, the technology function will play a vital role in the company achieving the 5-year strategic plan. Previously, Sheinheit served as EVP & CIO for both MetLife and JP/Morgan Chase. Steve holds an MBA in operations research from Baruch College in New York and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from City College of New York School of Engineering. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program.

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.

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.

Andy Warzecha

Vice President of Strategy, IBM

Andrew Warzecha is the Vice President of Strategy for IBM‘s Software Solutions Group, which includes Collaboration (Lotus), Analytics (Cognos/SPSS) and Industry Solutions (Industry Frameworks/ECM). Mr. Warzecha is responsible for the group’s overall strategy and writes/speaks frequently on this topic. He is a focal point for IBM‘s software acquisition strategy, market/competitive intelligence, and cross-IBM coordination through various marketing programs. Prior to this role, Mr. Warzecha was the VP of Strategy for IBM Information Management division and helped create its Information On Demand strategy.

Prior to joining IBM in May of 2005, Mr. Warzecha was an IT analyst for META Group and as a Group VP led half of its coverage services (i.e., Content & Collaboration, Enterprise Analytics, Enterprise Applications, and Integration & Development Strategy). His experience includes helping organizations with strategic planning, competitive/vendor assessment and business development. Prior to META Group, he managed the content management practices for a large systems integrator; lead sales, marketing, and product management for an independent software vendor; provided project management for a value added reseller; and sold computers and peripheral equipment.

Mr. Warzecha holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Harry Labana

Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Desktop Division, Citrix Systems, Inc.

Harry Labana joined Citrix in July 2009 as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for the Citrix Desktop Division. As CTO, he is also responsible for helping to communicate the strategic direction of the company’s desktop virtualization solutions to internal and external audiences. As part of the Citrix Office of the CTO, Harry collaborates with other Citrix CTOs to drive the company’s overall technology direction and product strategy and advises the executive management team.

Prior to joining Citrix, Harry was at Goldman Sachs for nine years and was most recently a Vice President in the technology division, leading the global engineering and architecture efforts for desktop and application virtualization. Harry Labana has 15 years experience in numerous infrastructure, architecture, project management and software development roles in financial services firms such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, and he was a Citrix customer for many years.

Harry holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic systems engineering with honors from the University of Manchester (UK).

Mick Hollison

Vice President of Marketing, Desktop Division, Citrix Systems, Inc.

As vice president of marketing, Hollison is responsible for leading the marketing function for the $1.3 billion Citrix Desktop Division. Hollison is responsible for the creation of desktop virtualization messaging and demand generation. Prior to this role, Hollison was the vice president of marketing for the XenApp product group, where he was responsible for leading the go-to-market plans for the company’s flagship product line.

Hollison joined Citrix in 2006 as vice president and chief of staff. After driving the successful introduction of a desktop delivery strategy for Citrix, he was asked to manage the highly strategic new product line, XenDesktop. Hollison joined Citrix from Microsoft where he was responsible for the development and delivery of marketing messages targeting C-level executives.

Hollison holds a bachelor’s of science degree in management from Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also an accomplished public speaker who has shared his insightful messages on the business impact of technology with audiences around the globe.

Graham Waller

VP, Executive Partner, Gartner

Graham Waller is a vice president and executive partner with Gartner Executive Programs. He supports and is a trusted adviser to CIOs across a variety of industries, assisting them in business-IT alignment and maximizing IT value. He came to Gartner as part of the firm’s acquisition of META Group, where he led CIO-level research on transformational change.

For more than 20 years, Graham has been driving business results and achieving measurable value from IT-enabled transformation. He has held both IT and business leadership positions within end-user and IT service provider Fortune 100 companies, including direct responsibility in the major disciplines of strategy, governance, IT portfolio management, e-commerce and CRM.

Graham holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Liverpool and a certification in e-business strategy from the University of Chicago.

Tyson Hartman

Chief Technology Officer, Avanade

As Avanade’s Chief Technology Officer, Tyson is responsible for Avanade’s technology vision, solutions and R&D investments. Focusing on how best to leverage the latest Microsoft technology to solve customer problems, Tyson leads the incubation and engineering teams to deliver differentiated solutions across the complete enterprise IT lifecycle.

Tyson joined Avanade in June 2000 and has held various positions in his nearly ten years with the company. Prior to his role as Global CTO, he served as Americas CTO, leading teams on major technology, strategy and quality initiatives. As a member of Avanade’s first engineering group, he was instrumental in developing solutions and assets for some of Avanade’s first key customers. Previously, Tyson was with Accenture, where he focused on ecommerce and high-volume online transaction processing systems in the high-tech, communications, and consumer products industries.

Tyson is a sought-after expert and author, with particular expertise in subjects such as cloud computing, SOA, application integration, and high-volume transaction systems. Tyson holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Dave Hansen

General Manager, Management Products & Solutions, CA Technologies

Dave Hansen is General Manager of the Management Products and Solutions customer solutions unit at CA Technologies. He is responsible for managing the creation and development of a portfolio of products and solutions that seamlessly manages IT and the business of IT across distributed, virtualized and cloud-connected environments for large enterprises. Dave also has been Chief Information Officer for CA Technologies — and in that role, he was the company’s best and toughest customer.

Dave has more than 20 years of professional experience leading IT organizations. He joined CA Technologies in 2002 and, in 2003, was named Senior Vice President, CA Technology Services for North America. In 2005, Dave was named Senior Vice President for Worldwide Presales where he was responsible for a team of 1,400 employees, enhanced customer relationships, and created technology teams focused on security, storage and infrastructure management.

Prior to joining CA, Dave led IT for the Canadian division of Bowater Inc. where he was responsible for IT infrastructure, technology acquisition and integration, and ERP implementation.
Dave received a Bachelor of Science degree from Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada.

Bryan Bechtoldt

Chief Technology Officer, Core BTS

Mr. Bechtoldt guides Core’s expansive technical team across its breadth of core competencies. Mr. Bechtoldt’s extensive IT background and expertise is critical to Core’s practical application of the ever-changing technical innovations for its customers. His expertise was honed as CTO of Inacom Information Systems, where he was responsible for growing the solution portfolio and technical team by over 200%.

Mr. Bechtoldt himself holds a substantial list of certifications, and his knowledge and thorough understanding of technology is unmatched by his peers. In his many years in the industry, Mr. Bechtoldt has completed a number of notable accomplishments. One of which was the honor of co-authoring the winning case study for the Microsoft World Wide Partner of the Year for Learning Solutions Award in June 2004.

Mr. Bechtoldt is currently one of only fifteen worldwide members of Microsoft’s VAR Leadership Council.

Michael Hailye

Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Phoenix House

Michael Hailye joined Phoenix House in September 2008 as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining Phoenix House, Michael performed technical research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Lewis Research Center in support of airplane engine noise reduction. In July 1993 he joined Allied Signal Corporation’s Aircraft Landing Systems Division and assisted in engineering studies to improve maintenance plant processes and reduce operational costs.

Michael then joined Arthur Anderson, LLP in May 1995 as a technology consultant and helped to build their New York computer forensics services. Finally, Michael joined Ernst & Young, LLP in May 2002 as a Manager in their New York information technology advisory practice. Michael is a graduate of Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute (BS Aeronautical Engineering) and the University of Michigan (MS Aerospace Engineering).

Chuck Hollis

VP-Global Marketing CTO, EMC Corporation

A 16-year EMC veteran, Chuck is a key member of EMC‘s management team, working on strategic aspects of marketing, business development and technology. He is a popular industry blogger and also is leading EMC‘s social media proficiency initiative.

Previously, Chuck ran EMC‘s Technology Alliances organization, building strong partnerships that deliver customers superior multi-vendor solutions. Prior to that, he was VP of Strategic Marketing, where he helped map out key aspects of EMC‘s transformation strategy, messaging and field execution.

Prior to EMC, Chuck worked at several UNIX and database companies in Silicon Valley. Chuck has received degrees in Computer Science and Economics from University of California at Santa Cruz.

Matt Poepsel

Vice President of Performance Strategies, Compuware Gomez

Matt is a recognized expert on Web performance management and is responsible for the Compuware Gomez Benchmarking and Professional Services practices. Matt has led the professional services team since 1999 and has worked with Internet teams from leading brands including Amazon, Best Buy, Expedia, and USA Today.

Mike Riley

Central Area CIO, NetApp

Mike Riley has been with NetApp over 10 years and currently serves as the CIO for Central Area Sales and Director of Technology and Strategy for Americas sales. Mike represents NetApp as a panelist/speaker at storage seminars; conducts training for new engineers and sales staff; and travels the U.S. and abroad listening and talking to customers about storage challenges. Mike joined NetApp in 1999 and previously worked on the customer side in various roles from capacity analyst to systems administrator. Mike has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Loyola University.

Mark Hillman

Vice President of Strategy and Product Line Management, Compuware Corporation

Mark ensures Compuware’s extensive portfolio continues solving operational challenges as applications and infrastructure increase in complexity. He collaborates with customers, analysts and industry thought leaders to identify the most-pressing IT challenges businesses face today in order to assure the strategy and implementation of Compuware products and services provide superior value. Prior to Compuware Corporation, Mark held senior IT executive positions at General Motors, including Director of GM Global Computing Operations and Director of Supply Chain Operations. Before General Motors, Mark served in marketing, product management and information technology at Texas Instruments.

Pat McQueen

VP – North America Sales Engineering, Salesforce.com

As vice president for salesforce.com, Pat McQueen is responsible for the company’s Americas’ Sales Engineering organization which provides solution design and demonstrations of salesforce.com’s offerings. He is charged with advancing the company’s winning on-demand strategy, customer success, and growing the customer base. McQueen is a deep technologist bringing more than 18 years of experience delivering business applications. Prior to joining salesforce.com in 2004, McQueen held marketing and sales roles in the formative years of several start-up companies including Netscape, E.piphany and Verity. McQueen holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Western Michigan University.

Tim Stanley

SVP, Strategic Advisors, Salesforce.com, former SVP and CIO, Harrah’s Entertainment

Timothy S. Stanley has over 20 years of business and joined salesforce.com to create a new group to provide “advisor services” to salesforce.com’s key customers. His experience includes being the President of Tekexecs, an executive advisory and consultancy; and Founder and CXO of Innovatects, a business innovation accelerator. Mr. Stanley is also an adjunct Professor for the Merage School of Business at the University of California Irvine. Previously, from 2006 to 2009, Mr. Stanley served as CIO and Senior Vice President of Innovation, Gaming and Technology for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., the largest provider of branded casino entertainment in the world. From 2003 to 2006, he served as Harrah’s Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Information Technology; and from 2001 to 2003 as Vice President, Information Technology. Prior to Harrah’s, Mr. Stanley was a Partner leading the Travel and Entertainment practice for USWeb; CIO & VP of Information Technology for National Airlines; startup CIO for jetBlue Airways; and led various other marketing, product, technology and services teams at Intel, Optima/KPMG, and Kimberly-Clark in the US and abroad.

Sadik Al-Abdulla

Solutions Practice Manager, CDW

Sadik Al-Abdulla has been in IT Security for more than thirteen years, and with CDW for almost 11. Sadik has held responsibility for security operations in the CDW Data Center business, served as a senior security consultant, security researcher, and penetration tester prior to assuming leadership of the CDW Advanced Security business in 2007.

Bill Brennan

President and CEO, Forsythe

Bill Brennan is president and CEO of Forsythe Technology, Inc. and Forsythe Solutions Group, Inc. Brennan is responsible for Forsythe’s technology and business consulting services, technology leasing services, and value-added reseller services for all of the leading technology product manufacturers.

Prior to being named president in October 2005, Brennan served Forsythe as senior vice president of sales. Brennan joined Forsythe in 2003 as vice president of sales and product operations, responsible for sales operations strategy including client targeting, marketing integration, and sales programs; sales team development and planning; sales methodology; and order fulfillment processes.

Brennan also serves on the board of directors for Forsythe Technology, Inc. and is chairman of the board of Forsythe Solutions Group, Inc.

Prior to his work at Forsythe, Brennan was an independent consultant for 10 years, leading a variety of strategic business transformation engagements, primarily for U.S.-based multi-national companies. He has extensive strategic planning, business model development, organization change management, and process design experience.

Prior to his consulting work, Brennan gained 14 years of hands-on sales, sales management, marketing, planning, and management experience in various roles of increasing responsibility at IBM Corporation.

Brennan earned his bachelor of science degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a member of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and the Executives Club of Chicago.