Christy Barker is Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Olin Corporation, a global manufacturer of Chlor Alkali Products, Vinyls, Epoxy and Winchester.   Christy joined Olin in 2016, tasked to transform the IT operating model, business and manufacturing technology platform to integrate Olin’s global operations and deliver new capabilities that enable the company’s strategic digital roadmap.   She also serves a member of the American Chemistry Council’s Chemical Information Technology Center Executive Board.

Christy’s previous experience includes senior leadership positions at Israel Chemicals Limited, where she worked in the USA, Israel, and Europe, and as CIO of Astaris.  Christy has extensive experience working within intense and demanding environments, leading global transformations and establishing business shared service centers around the world. She graduated with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State and received her MBA from Webster University, while living in The Netherlands.

Jim Cavellier is currently the EVP & Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Cass Information Systems. Cass is the nation\’s leading provider of transportation, energy, telecom and environmental invoice payment and information services.  Within Cass, Mr. Cavellier has responsibility for the company’s global information technology strategy and operations.

Mr. Cavellier has more than 25 years of experience in strategic technology planning and development of critical systems. His background includes streamlining operations, implementing Agile and Lean methodologies and enhancing business partner alignment.

Immediately prior to joining Cass, Cavellier was a Domain Chief Information Officer for Payment and Wealth Management technologies within Comerica Bank. Over 16 years at Comerica, he held numerous technology leadership positions ranging from strategic technology planning to operational responsibility for all technology across the U.S..

Previously, he held technology leadership positions with AAA Michigan, Ernst & Young, LLP and General Motors/Electronic Data Systems.

Mr. Cavellier earned a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Oakland University, Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Mr. Cavellier was the recipient of the 2021 St. Louis Corporate CIO of the Year ORBIE award.  He currently serves as the Chairman for the St. Louis InspireCIO Chapter, Board member for the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL), and is active with the Society of Information Management (SIM) and St. Louis Regional Business Council (RBC).

Lisa Nichols is the CEO and co-founder of Technology Partners, a Women-Business Enterprise and provider of premier IT staffing, solutions and software. Lisa and her husband Greg founded Technology Partners in 1994 driven by their passion to revolutionize the staffing industry with their transparent business model. They co-lead the business today. Greg and Lisa have made it their priority from day one, to create mutual wins for their employees, clients and the communities in which Technology Partners operates. This has, in large part, led to Technology Partners winning the Top Workplaces 2018 for Work/Life Flexibility.

Technology Partners’ 360 Degree IT services include: Scalable Workforces, IT Staffing, Custom Mobile and Web Applications, Managed IT Services, Cloud Productivity, Marketing Technology, Digital Media and Design, Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, Business Process Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, and Helpdesk Support.

Lisa devotes her time to many professional and philanthropic organizations including CEO Forum, as well as YPO Christian Fellowship network, the St. Louis Independence Center, YWCA and United Way.

Lisa’s most recent project is her all new podcast, “Something Extra” produced by Technology Partners. She interviews leaders from around the world and across the for profit and non-profit spaces. Each episode explores the guest’s journey and what they believe is the “something extra” every true leader possesses that define them.

Teresa Sanzottera is a senior Information Technology executive with over 25 years’ experience leading technology across multiple industries.   Her career reflects a demonstrated track record leading successful IT transformations, optimizing IT processes, and executing various M&A transactions worth over $13B.  She brings deep knowledge and experience in IT strategy, governance, operations, controls, risk management, cybersecurity, and advanced technologies.

Ms. Sanzottera is currently Vice President, IT at Barry-Wehmiller.   She also serves as an Advisory Board member of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start up.   Prior to joining Barry-Wehmiller, she was Vice President and CIO for a global specialty generics company where she was a member of the executive leadership team and Operating, Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management committees and chaired the Information Technology committee.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Webster University in International Studies, a Master of Business Administration from Maryville University and Executive Certificates in Strategy and Innovation and Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

 

Tanya Acevedo is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for CapMetro in Austin, Texas.  With three decades of technology experience, Tanya Acevedo has a proven track record of establishing the technology vision and leading innovative strategies that add value, increase revenue opportunities, and ultimately decrease costs of service, for large organizations. Her prior roles include the CIO for Miami Dade College, Houston Airports and Travis County, Texas.

Tanya holds a Master of Business Administration in Information Systems. She was recognized in 2021 as a Public Sector finalist by the Houston CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards. In 2017, Tanya was listed in Government Technology Magazine as a Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers and in 2016, Tanya was recognized as the Texas Public Sector Chief Information Officer of the Year.

Business-minded technology executive who advances success in market by transitioning technology organizations from internal service functions into sources of competitive value.

I believe it is important to inspire people to become leaders themselves, to truly understand the perspective of customers, and to be authentic and respectful in our interactions. I am always looking for new ways to drive ideas to market that deliver significant value to people and revenue to organizations.

Senior leader with more than 25 years of results-oriented experience in leading people, strategic planning, delivering secure/efficient/effective information technology solutions, and directing complex programs and projects. Strong record of success in leading large/small/multinational organizations, infrastructure operations, Internet of Things business models, vendor/contract management, cost containment and quality improvement.

– Key skills:
— Cultivating strong relationships at all levels and building motivated and productive teams
— Strategic business planning focusing on technology operations, budgets, and revenue impact

– Focus areas: cyber security, enterprise resource planning (ERP), secure and efficient IT operations, and business continuity / disaster recovery.

Jamey Cummings was formerly Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry’s Global Technology Practice. He co-lead’s the Firm’s Global Cybersecurity Practice and is also a member of the Firm’s Information Officers Practice.

Mr. Cummings is a recognized leader in advising organizations on the recruitment, assessment, development, and retention of information technology as well as information security & risk management talent at all levels, including the Board of Directors. His clients range from large global corporations to high growth entrepreneurial companies, spanning all industries. In addition to Chief Information Officers, Chief Information Security Officers, and their key leaders, he also recruits cybersecurity consultants for leading professional services firms as well as top executives for cybersecurity technology companies and managed security services providers. He is based in the Firm’s Dallas office.

Prior to Korn Ferry, Mr. Cummings served as an associate principal in the industrial, supply chain, and transportation & logistics practices of another leading executive search firm, where he executed senior executive search assignments for both public and private equity-backed companies. He also served clients in the consumer & retail, technology, government & defense, biotechnology, and education sectors.

Prior to his career in executive search, Mr. Cummings was a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Dallas, where he worked on a wide variety of projects with clients in the aerospace & defense, consumer finance, telecommunications, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and education industries.
Earlier in his career, he served nine years with distinction as an officer in the U.S. Navy\’s SEAL teams.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University, and graduated with merit with a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from The United States Naval Academy.

Brian Donnelly is chief information officer (CIO) of INVISTA, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for global technology and enabling digital transformation for one of the world’s largest integrated fibers and polymers companies.

 

Prior to joining Koch Industries as Chief Financial Officer of Koch Membrane Systems in 2008, Donnelly worked for fifteen years at Rohm and Haas Company (now part of Dow Chemical Company) in accounting, finance and IT roles. In 2013, he joined INVISTA as North America Controller and transitioned to a finance leadership role on INVISTA’s global enterprise resource planning implementation. Donnelly became CIO of INVISTA in November 2015.

 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration from Babson College.  

Jamie is currently the Information Security Officer for Equifax Workforce Solutions where he oversees a team of security professionals that protect the business unit based in St. Louis.  His information technology career started 17 years ago with a dedicated focus on security for the past 12 years.  He has obtained a wide range of industry experience that includes time with Anheuser Busch and Charter Communications in network engineering roles.  Next he managed an infrastructure team for an organization that provided international business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions. 

He then spent time at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on the Threat Management team identifying and responding to many organizational \’cyber\’ risks.  He moved on to CitiMortgage as a Business Information Security Officer overseeing a large area of the mortgage business with a significant focus on data protection efforts and risk management.  Jamie currently holds CISSP, CISM, and CRISC certifications and continues to look for opportunities to engage with industry peers to continue to grow and developing within the always-changing security field.

 Jake Fritz is Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Emerson. In this role, he manages information technology strategy for the company’s global operations, including information security, digital customer experience, hardware, software, and services, as well as its telecommunications and data center infrastructure. He was appointed in August 2015.

Prior to his current role, Fritz served five years as vice president of infrastructure and operations for Emerson’s corporate information technology organization, where he was responsible for managing data center services, client services, service desks, and the company’s global IT centers.

Fritz joined Emerson in 2001 as an IT strategic planner. He was then progressively promoted to a number of positions within Emerson’s corporate IT organization, including manager of vendor relations and enterprise initiatives, manager of corporate information systems, and director of software engineering.  He also served as head of information technology for Emerson’s Power Transmission Solutions business unit.

Before joining Emerson, Fritz worked as an IT specialist at International Business Machines in Southfield, Mich., and as an analyst at Andersen Consulting in Detroit.

Fritz graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Jesse Ghere is responsible for overseeing Emerson’s global data center, cloud and Oracle database technology. His current role consists of managing the Infrastructure and Operations organization and ensuring the delivery of world-class hosting services to Emerson’s internal business groups. Jesse joined Emerson in 2009, as the Windows Technology Platform Manager, where he led a team tasked with supporting the buildout and migration into a newly built Global Data Center. Upon successfully completing the project Jesse transitioned into managing the UNIX/Linux platform team.  His team embarked on a major project of migrating Emerson’s Oracle database platform from Sun Solaris to Dell/Red Hat Linux infrastructure.  This project consisted of migrating more than 250 databases to new architecture that delivered tremendous business benefit.  Jesse was promoted to Director of Global Data Center Operations where he was responsible for all the data center technology, which included everything from strategy to day-to-day operations. In 2015, Jesse was promoted to Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations for Emerson Corporate.

In 2000, Jesse graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelors in Business Administration with majors in Management of Information Systems and Marketing. He was also played defensive back for the Iowa football team from 1995 to 1999.  In 2006, Jesse graduated from St. Louis University with a Masters of Business Administration.  Recently, Jesse joined the University of Missouri – St. Louis’s business school IS Advisory Board.

Eric Gorham has served as CIO for the REJIS Commission since 1998.  He originally joined REJIS in June of 1983 and has been a member of the REJIS staff for more than 33 years.  Eric is responsible for the development, implementation and ongoing support of IT systems and solutions in critical government areas such as, law enforcement, courts, corrections, disaster recovery, data center operations, NOC, network services, security, and citizen services.  He participates on several committees that oversee the operations of the REJIS Commission which help guide the strategic direction for the organization.

Eric is a 1998 graduate of the SIM Midwest Regional Leadership Forum (RLF) and founding member of the St. Louis Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM).  He served as the Chapter’s President in 2007 and served as SIM National Chair from 2014 – 2015.  He currently serves as Vice Chair for the SIM National Foundation and as a member of the SIM St. Louis – President’s Advisory Council.  Eric supports local community organizations as a member of BackStoppers, The MASTERS, and as a Board Member for the St. Louis Community College Foundation. 

In 2006 Eric helped found what is now known as the Gateway to Innovation (G2I) conference.  He has participated on the conference committee since 2006, chaired the conference in 2010 & 2011, co-chaired the conference in 2016 while continuing to serve as an Executive Committee member for the conference.  In twelve years the conference has contributed more than $1,679,000 back to the St. Louis community supporting STEM initiatives, scholarships, and the technology needs of organizations.  Eric is also a co-founder and Executive Committee member of the St. Louis Gateway to CyberCity (G2C) conference.   In two year’s the conference has contributed $45,000 back to the St. Louis community.  In 2006 Eric was selected as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders and in 2010 he was selected as the SIM St. Louis Chapter’s member of the year and as a SIM National Leader of the Year.

Eric holds an Executive MBA, from Washington University and a Bachelor of Science, Organizational Administration from St. Louis University.

Priscilla Jacks is currently the Vice President – Technology Risk Management at U.S. Bank within the Wealth Management and Investment Services division. She has more than 25 years of IT experience in multiple Fortune 150 companies across both Retail and Financial industries. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, she was a Senior IT Operations leader at Lowe’s Companies. Priscilla serves on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Priscilla also serves on multiple United Way Panels and Committees. Priscilla is also a member of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville CMIS Advisory Board and the Project Management Advisory Board. 

Josh Knopp, vice present and information security officer of Enterprise Holdings, is responsible for developing and implementing Enterprise Holdings’ global information security strategy in a manner that enables business and reduces friction.

Enterprise Holdings operates – through an international network of regional subsidiaries and independent franchises – the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands, as well as more than 9,000 fully-staffed neighborhood and airport locations in more than 75 countries. Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world, as measured by revenue, fleet and employees. In addition, Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry.

The company and its affiliate, Enterprise Fleet Management, offer a total transportation solution, accounting for more than 1.7 million vehicles throughout the world. Combined, these businesses – accounting for $19.4 billion in revenue and more than 93,000 employees in fiscal year 2015 – include the Car Sales, Truck Rental, CarShare, Rideshare vanpooling, Zimride, Exotic Car Collection, Motorcycle Rental and Flex-E-Rent services. The annual revenues of Enterprise Holdings, one of America’s largest private companies, rank near the top of the global travel industry, exceeding many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies.

Josh has more than 20 years of experience in information technology and more than 16 years of experience directly in the field of information security.  Prior to joining Enterprise Holdings in April, 2016, Josh led MasterCard’s Site Data Protection program and was responsible for improving the logical security framework for the global payment industry.  Josh developed and implemented MasterCard’s strategy to influence market stakeholders towards increasingly secure information security postures and use of secure, emerging payment technologies.  Josh also represented MasterCard on the Executive Committee of the PCI Security Standards Council.

Dara A Meath was formerly the Divisional Chief Information Officer and Head of Digital / Ecomm at Conair Corporation. Prior to joining Conair, Dara was the Vice President of Information Technology at The Camuto group. She provides executive leadership as Head of Global IT. Responsible for all aspects of strategic IT planning, implementation and support worldwide as an integral component of business the plan. Redesign cost-effective system strategies, policies, and procedures. Before devoting her work fulltime to The Camuto Group, Dara served as Director of System Implementation at Apparel Business Systems. Re-engineered, developed, and advised companies on existing and new platforms. Designed a customized application structure to support a full business solution. Managed custom modular applications, project management, application training, and implementation plans.

Dara is also the owner of DestinyintheSkye, a local CT accessories business designed to give back the majority of sales to local and global organizations in need. The business was started for her two children, Destiny and Skye with a simple goal to always be passionate in what you do and always give to those in need!

In addition, Dara is actively involved with many Advisory Boards, an active participate of many Organizations, Speaker and Writer for Technology and Business.

As vice president and chief information security officer for BJC HealthCare, Matthew Modica is responsible for the strategic direction, planning and implementation of enterprise IT systems, business operation and facility defenses against security breaches and vulnerability issues. He has the responsibility for establishing, meeting and continuously monitoring the information security goals and objectives, while maintaining alignment with the strategic goals and priorities for BJC. BJC HealthCare is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care organizations with $5.3 billion in net revenues and more than 31,000 employees in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. Its teaching hospitals, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, are affiliated with internationally renowned Washington University School of Medicine. Modica has a long-tenured career in the information security field at multiple Fortune 1000 companies in the financial services, health care and data services industries. Modica holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Southeast Missouri State University and is currently attending Webster University’s MBA program. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Modica is passionate about preparing the next generation to serve in cybersecurity and STEM-related roles. He serves on the St. Louis CISO board and cybersecurity advisory committees for Southeast Missouri State University, Webster University, Washington University, SecureWorld St. Louis and the Evanta CXO Summit. Additionally, Modica sits on the Autism Speaks STL golf committee whose mission is to raise funds to support research and services for those on the autism spectrum.

Greg Nichols is the President, COO, and co-founder of Technology Partners, an award-winning national provider of premier IT staffing and solutions. Greg and his wife, Lisa Nichols, CEO, founded Technology Partners in 1994 driven by their passion to revolutionize the staffing industry with their transparent business model. Having started as a developer contracting through several staffing firms, Greg took his understanding of the consultant experience and created a model focused on career control and high salaries for the consultant while providing better value for the client. This vision upon which Technology Partners has been recognized for 5 years in a row by our clients and consultants Best of Staffing Award®, presented by ClearlyRated for client and consultant satisfaction.

 

With a dual degree in accounting and information systems from Murray State University, Greg fell in love with software programming in his first job at McDonnell Douglas. As a technology enthusiast, Greg loves studying how automation can simplify our lives and tries to implement those practices in his own company. He also received a graduate certificate in Artificial Intelligence from Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Terry A. Owens became the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Chief Information Officer in June 2014.  He serves as the principle IT Advisor for the organization, tasked with directing the agency’s IT functions, programs, and initiatives—including strategic, capital, and operational plans.  As the leader of Information Resource Management, he is responsible the management and support of the agencies technical resources and services, including application development, information security, network management, data center operation, architecture and infrastructure design, storage and email services, telecommunication, virtual technology and help desk operations. Before he came to CBO, Terry served as IT Director for the Georgia Department of Correction – Georgia Correctional Industries.  He was responsible for management and support of IT infrastructure and application software, as well as project design, configuration management/maintenance, disaster backup recovery and enterprise security performances and help desk.  In his previous position, he served as an Active Duty Lieutenant Colonel in the capacity of Director, Systems Automation and Communication for the United States Army; he was responsible for the planning, design, configuration, analysis, integrating of First U.S. Army IT Infrastructures of multi-servers network environment, data systems, desktops/printers and Video Tele-Conference Suites installations, supporting over 21,000 personnel within 17 states across the United States.  He holds a BS degree in Computer Information Systems from Grambling State University.  He is a 23 year (Retired Lieutenant Colonel) Army Military Veteran.  

Adil Rahman is a strategy lead on Bayer’s Crop Science Digital Strategy and Innovation team. In this role, he works with the Corporate Strategy team to identify strategic acquisitions, partnerships and growth opportunities in the digital space.

Bayer Crop Science continually looks to leverage its strong balance sheet and align new investments to its corporate vision and business strategy by exploring opportunities to acquire new businesses or create new business partnerships.  

Adil joined Bayer’s information technology team in 2006. As an innovator and thought leader Adil has delivered multitude of digital platforms in the Ag space.  He is passionate about applying technology to transform agriculture and customer experience, and building integrated products & services to unlock new growth and digital revenue.

Adil has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan and a MBA from Washington University, St. Louis MO. 

Randy Raw is Chief Information Security Officer at Veterans United Home Loans in Columbia, Missouri. VU is the largest purchase lender in the VA space of the Mortgage Industry and a top 20 overall lender. He has more than 25 years of experience in both public entities and private industry, having built several Information Security programs from the ground up. He is a proponent of risk-based, layered security measures that utilize both preventative and detective approaches to achieve the right solution for the organization. Randy is a CISSP and is active in the Central Missouri Cybersecurity community. He has spoken at many local, regional and national conferences. He owns a coaching business where he helps Cybersecurity professionals build effective Information Security Programs that don\’t break the bank. Randy also coaches emerging and successful leaders in the technology space and those who want to move from the technical trenches to a leadership role.

Suresh Shaddarsanam is Senior Director-IT at Peabody Energy and has global responsibility for Data Analytics and enterprise Mining Applications. He joined Peabody Energy in 2008 and led applications, development and analytics teams. Prior to joining Peabody, Suresh spent 9 years at Monsanto in various roles related to applications management.

Suresh is a Global IT leader with over 25 years of experience developing and executing IT strategies in alignment with business objectives. He holds a MS degree in Industrial Management from Indian Institute of Technology, India and a Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Master degree in Information Management (MIM) from Washington University.

Tushar Shelar is CIO at Murphy Company, a leading mechanical contractor delivering innovative solutions to the commercial, industrial and institutional markets in St. Louis & Denver areas. Tushar joined Murphy in 2016 and was tasked to increase their digital and technology foot print across various business processes and to lay an operational model for solution delivery.  Prior to his current role, Tushar was with Allergen Plc for 13 years (formerly Actavis Plc, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc.) in various technology and leadership roles where he was part of the digital transformation team with extensive work in Divestitures/Acquisitions & Mergers.

Tushar graduated from Webster University with MS, Computer Science and also holds a Bachelor’s  in Accounting from the University of Mumbai.

Dan Sherman, Former Director of Business Information and Innovation for Graybar Electric, is responsible for Mode 2 applications within Graybar’s Digital enterprise.   The Digital Enterprise includes platforms for Big Data, IoT, Analytics, Commerce, Data Management, Mobility and UI/UX Technologies.  Prior to joining Graybar, Dan had spent over 20 years selling software and software related services for SAP, Workday, Hortonworks and ADP. 

Michael Smith is a partner with Fortium Partners, the largest technology leadership-as-a-service firm in the United States, where he leverages his 25+ years of technology leadership experience to provide advisory, fractional, and interim CIO, CTO, and CISO services to various industries and business models.  He has held various roles in consulting, employment with both private and publicly traded companies, as well as non-profit and association organizations.  His vast array of experience across multiple industries and organizations has given him a unique perspective on how technology can be used as a competitive advantage in the marketplace.  As an experienced technology strategist with an extensive executive leadership background, uniquely positions him to meet organizational strategic objectives while enforcing IT execution to achieve greater growth and sustained profitability.  He assists clients to drive technology innovations, lead digital transformations, and deliver strategic technology solutions that enhance profitability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

In addition, Michael serves as the Chief Information Officer at InnovaPrep LLC, a life sciences startup company, where he leads the technology strategy and execution to commercialize several products and position the company for IPO and/or acquisition. He has implemented a new hybrid cloud computing environment, a new ERP platform, and an innovative R&D environment that have resulted in multiple patents and award-winning product development. He is passionate about building enterprise sustainability and mentoring the next generation of technology professionals.

Joey Smith (CISSP, EnCE) joined Schnuck Markets as the Chief Information Security Officer in January 2014 and is responsible for enhancing the security program of the company.  Since joining, Smith has created and implemented a new comprehensive risk based security strategy for the company, including: bringing in the people, processes, and technologies needed to maintain a mature security posture.  Additionally, his experience in information security investigations and payment card fraud as afforded him the opportunity to be a speaker at a variety of security conferences around the county.

In 2015, Smith received the “Rising Star Award” from the Security Advisor Alliance recognizing him as an up and coming security leader who displays creativity, leadership and the sense of corporate citizenship necessary to handle the complex and challenging role of being a leading security executive.  Additionally, in 2014 Smith was an honored recipient of the Southeast Missouri State University “Young Alumni Merit Award” and lead the College of Science, Technology, and Agriculture, including the University\’s first Cyber Security graduate’s, into the graduation ceremony.

Previous to Schnucks, Smith worked for MasterCard Worldwide running the technology company’s incident response program. From 2008 – 2012, he was the primary investigator and incident manager for MasterCard’s global computer security incident response team. In 2012, he joined the MasterCard Account Data Compromise (ADC) team. In this role he was responsible for ADC fraud investigations and worked closely with merchants, issuers, acquirers and other payment card brands to issue fraud alerts and respond to global ADC events. He was also part of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) responsible for reviewing the work of the various PCI forensic investigation companies to ensure the work being performed met the quality standards of the PCI Council.

Haroon is Technology Strategist and Visionary with a passion for transforming customer-facing digital experience and business operations. He has over 25 years experience in both mid-market and Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. Among his colleagues, he is known for his ability to share enterprise technical vision, champion new digital capabilities, gain consensus, and motivate large complex organizations to deliver critical projects on-time and on-budget. Prior experience includes:

At TKC Holdings, Inc. (formerly Centric Group LLC), Haroon led digital product development, enterprise applications, architecture and service delivery. He was responsible for the technology strategy for the organization, ranging from point-of-sale systems, kiosks, websites and mobile apps to B2B/B2C solutions and ERP, CRM, HR and supply chain systems. Haroon drove cross-organizational digital initiatives, led the Agile and DevOps transformation and helped create a collaborative IT/business culture. In 2019, his team received the “Digital Edge 50” award from CIO and CIO Executive Council.

At BioMérieux, Haroon held positions of increasing responsibility before serving as the multinational biotechnology company\’s Global Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture & Business Planning. During his tenure, Haroon led the development of new digital capabilities for some of the company’s premier product lines and drove numerous initiatives aimed at expanding market share, reducing product development cycle-time, increasing operational efficiency, and modernizing legacy platforms. These efforts earned him the Computerworld “Premier 100 IT Leader” Award in 2011.

Haroon has a BS and MS in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Jeff’s professional experience encompasses over 28 years and he is responsible for the coordination and execution of BDO’s National Service Offferings related to Third Party Assurance, including Service Organization Controls (SOC), WebTrust for Certification Authorities, and Cybersecurity reporting.  Jeff works with a variety of industries including technology, software companies, large government agencies, manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, financial institutions, entertainment companies and online retailers.

Jeff is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, serving as Co-Chairman of the WebTrust/PKI Assurance Task Force (Founding Member) and Cybersecurity Working Group Member, and he serves as Board Secretary for the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has authored several security/privacy articles for IBM, CCH, CIO Magazine and the Journal of Accountancy and was the recipient of the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants “Innovative User of Technology” Award.

Jeff works internationally with the CA/Browser Forum, a consortium of web browsers such as Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple, as well as Certification Authorities such as Digicert, Verisign, and Symantec, to name a few.  In this role, Jeff provides input on evolving security issues and challenges. 

Jeff received a B.S., Business Administration – Accounting,  Southeast Missouri State University.

Andrew Wilder is currently the Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Hillenbrand.  Prior to this role, he spent 18 years at Nestle where his last role was Regional CISO for Americas, Asia, and Europe.  In addition to being a CISO, Andrew is a Board Member and Adjunct Professor at Washington University’s Information Security Executive Education Program.  He believes that Cybersecurity should offer usable solutions to meet business needs, in order to be a business enabler.  As a leader, he supports the continuous development of his teams while removing roadblocks.”

Mike Williams is the CEO and Founder of Software Design Partners.  Software Design Partners was established in 2005 with the vision of working effectively and efficiently with clients to exceed their business objectives. SDP’s goal is to collaborate with our clients to develop and implement the best technology solutions. Our model of success and growth is based on our ability to provide innovative, individualized solutions that are within the function, scope, budget and time requirements of each client.

Mike has over 25 years of experience designing, developing and implementing software solutions for fortune 500 companies to startups. His software architecture and management expertise span vertical markets and industries. Using this experience, he ensures each client fully understands how to leverage technology to their business advantage.

As CEO and Founder, Mike takes pride in the assembly of the SDP team of industry experts and the continued reputable growth and stability they provide to clients. Mike graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Illinois University- Carbondale with degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics. In addition to time with his family, Mike enjoys travel, golf, running and outdoor activities.

Erica Wilson has over 18 years of IT experience, 15 of which are in the field of Cybersecurity. She has worked in various industries including manufacturing, higher education and financial services. Erica currently serves as VP of Cybersecurity and Technology Risk at Cass Information Systems. She has responsibility for all aspects of the company’s Cybersecurity program, including security strategy, policies & procedures, technologies, and training program.  In addition, Erica leads all aspects of technology risk management, including compliance with internal and regulatory controls, as well as the Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery program.

Prior to joining Cass, Erica worked at Anheuser-Busch (2001 – 2009), followed by Scottrade (2009-2018). While at Scottrade, Erica held multiple positions of increasing responsibility ranging from Manager of Information Security to VP of IT Infrastructure Controls and Risk Management. Similarly, while at Anheuser-Busch, Erica held multiple positions pertaining to information security and data protection. Erica has a passion for STEM education.  Throughout her professional career, she has consistently identified ways to influence and encourage others in the community, specifically generations X and Z, to explore opportunities to work in the fields information technology and cybersecurity. 

Erica holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration/Information Systems from the John E. Simon School of Business at Maryville University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Southeast Missouri State University. She also holds various professional certifications which include a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium ISC(2) and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) from ISACA. Erica enjoys being an advocate of STEM education particularly to youth in the St. Louis community. Outside of work, she loves to travel and spend time with her husband, Aaron and daughter, Avery.

Using my academic background in Sociology and Organizational Behavior grounded my career in IT at a an IT services start-up in 2001.  Spent roughly 10 years defining, articulating, selling and creating useful, impactful solutions to business problems for my financial services clients.

 

Lina A. Young is a Business and Information Technology leader with over 25 years of experience. Currently serves as Senior Vice President Peabody Business Services & Chief Information Officer for Peabody, a global fortune 500 Company, supporting 7200 employees in over 26 locations worldwide, with customers in nearly 30 countries on 6 continents.  Lina leads the global business shared services organization for delivery of core business services as well as oversees all strategic and operational aspects of Information Technology worldwide.   

Lina has over 20 years of technical and management experience in the Energy industry, serving in a variety of a management roles as a global IT and business leader.  She served as Senior Vice President Marketing Commercial Services, Vice President Enterprise Resource Planning and as Vice President of Healthcare Management in Human Resources.  Prior to joining Peabody, she was a member of technical staff with AT&T focusing on technology advancements in telecommunications.

Lina is active in the community and serves on number of Advisory Boards, Regional Board of NPower and served on the Board of Directors for the YWCA and Family Resource Center. She was recognized as the 2017 Gateway to Innovations’ Technology Leader of the Year by her peers, “25 Most Influential Business Women” and “25 Most Inclusive Leaders” by the St. Louis Business Journal.  In addition, she was nationally recognized in STEMConnector among 100 Women Leaders in STEM.

Lina holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Tulane School of Engineering, Masters in Information Management and a Masters in Telecommunications from Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science.