Breakout Session Bio's and Abstracts

Networking: Centers of Excellence Roundtables

Field Service Operations

Moderator: Peter Manni, Vice President, North American Client Services, Siemens Business Services

About Peter Manni:
Peter currently directs all aspects of IT services for Siemens North America, with 1650 employees spanning 70 locations, and an annual budget of $173M. Prior to this role, Peter held the positions of VP, North American IT Operations, where he was responsible for operations including supply chain, field operations, logistics and technical service; and VP, National IT Field Service/Help Desk. Peter also serves on the CompTIA Board of Directors and is a frequent guest speaker at industry events.

Sales and Marketing

Moderator: Judy Fick, Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Sales and Operations, Unisys

About Judy Fick:
Judy Fick currently leads WW Sales and Operations for Unisys, responsible for driving a $4.2 billion revenue pipeline to grow Unisys’ global account revenue. Over her 20-year career, Judy has held key executive leadership positions with the industry-leading IT companies such as IBM, HP, CSC, Computer Associates, and Compaq. She has led and grown profitable P&L’s in excess of $3B.In addition, Judy is also an accomplished speaker on the topics of service/technology trends and evolution, presenting at conferences such as “The Corporate Summit 2006”, The Asian CIO Conference”, and “The Technology Leadership Forum”. Judy holds a BS in International Finance, an MBS with an emphasis in Technology Management, and a Ph.D in Organizational Psychology

Customer Support

Moderator: Chris Farnath, Senior Director, Customer Support Europe & Africa, Apsect Software

About Chris Farnath:
At Aspect Software, Chris heads a department of 50 and is responsible for protecting annual services revenue of $100M. His operation comprises direct support personnel, augmented by a multitude of channel partners including Siemens, KPN & British Telecom and provide mission critical support to over 2,000 customer sites across thirty countries in Europe & Africa. Chris is also Immediate Past President of the Association for Services Management UK.

Professional Services

Moderator: Thomas Lah, Executive Director, TPSA

About Thomas Lah
Thomas Lah co-founded and currently serves as the Executive Director for the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA).

Since 1996, Thomas Lah has helped a broad range of companies establish or improve their professional services organizations. Prior to TPSA, as founder and principal of Thomas Lah, Ltd. he became known worldwide for his incisive analysis, strategic thinking, and creative solutions. His recent books include Mastering Professional Services (Professional Services Press, 2005), and Building Professional Services: The Sirens’ Song (Prentice Hall, 2002). Mastering Professional Services (Professional Services Press, 2005), is the first complete guide to designing a viable services strategy that complements a broader company portfolio. Building Professional Services: The Sirens’ Song (Prentice Hall, 2002), has been adopted by technology companies throughout the world, including China’s Lenovo, which acquired IBM’s PC business in early 2005.

In 2004, he was invited to Zhejiang University in China to lecture on the topic of building professional services. In his earlier career, he was Director of Solutions Engineering at Silicon Graphics. Previously, he worked with several other companies in related roles, including Director of Solutions Engineering, Business Development Director, Regional Sales Director, and Senior I/T Development Manager.

He received an undergraduate degree in Information Systems and holds an MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

Leadership and Management

Moderator: Gary J. Ross, President, Cott Systems

About Gary Ross
Gary brings over 20 years of experience - developing, leading and growing technology service businesses - to the Cott organization. Gary graduated with honors from Kent State University in 1981 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics. He achieved his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1991 from the Ohio State University with a focus on International Business and Marketing. Gary also attended Thunderbird University for Spanish International studies and Global Marketing. Before joining Cott Systems in November, 2003, Gary spent 14 years with Emerson Electric, the last 5 years as President of European and North America service businesses with up to 600 associates. Prior, Gary worked for Unisys and General Electric in high technology sales and marketing roles. He has had experience with various facets of developing, growing and restructuring businesses at every level.