Kia Behnia, Chief Corporate Architect, BMC Software
As Chief Corporate Architect, Mr. Behnia is responsible for leading the design of BMC's industry-leading Business Service Management architecture and the critical enabling Atrium technologies. In this role he is leading BMC Software Virtualization Management strategy and vision. Mr. Behnia was previously Chief Technology Officer for the Change and Configuration products at BMC Software; In that role, Mr. Behnia was responsible for the product direction and product strategy for the Change and Configuration management solutions at BMC including the BMC Atrium CMDB. Mr. Behnia was previously Chief Technology Officer for Marimba Inc. In that role, he led Marimba’s product strategy and technology partnerships. During his tenure at Marimba, Mr. Behnia was instrumental in the design and delivery of Marimba’s innovative configuration and patch management solutions across servers, client systems and mobile devices. Prior to joining Marimba, Mr. Behnia served as a senior member of the technical team for Tivoli Systems Inc., which was acquired by IBM. Mr. Behnia has over sixteen years’ experience in the management of distributed systems and databases. Mr. Behnia holds a B.A. degree in Computer Science from University of California at Davis.
Sean McDermott, Chairman and Founder, Windward IT Solutions
Sean McDermott has spent over 20 years helping hundreds of global clients better manage their IT environments with proven solutions and strategic consulting. As Chairman and Founder of Windward IT Solutions, Mr. McDermott, together with the Windward executive team, sets and manages the overall direction of the company, including service offerings, strategic partnerships, and overall Company performance.
Previously, Mr. McDermott was the Founder and CEO of RealOps, Inc., the pioneer in enterprise management Run Book Automation solutions. After BMC Software acquired RealOps in July 2007, Sean continued on at BMC as the VP of Service Automation Solutions where he was responsible for the global roll-out of BMC’s runbook automation and configuration management portfolio. In the past, he has also held senior positions with Predictive Systems and Booz Allen Hamilton. Mr. McDermott has a Bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University and a Masters degree in engineering from The Catholic University of America.
Mike Tainter, Practice Director, IT Service Management, Forsythe Technologies
As IT service management (ITSM) practice director, Mike Tainter leads a team of ITSM specialists who assist Forsythe clients with the design, planning and implementation of IT infrastructure library (ITIL)-based service support and delivery. Mr. Tainter’s ITSM and ITIL experience spans many industries, including health care, manufacturing, financial firms and government agencies, where he has designed and implemented solutions throughout the field of IT and network services and operations. Mr. Tainter has over 20 years of experience managing complex IT projects, including extensive expertise in process development and more than 15 years of project management experience.
Prior to joining Forsythe, Mr. Tainter served as the director of IT and implementation management for Telenisus Corporation, a managed security services provider based in Downers Grove, Ill. Before Telenisus, Mr. Tainter was director of enterprise solutions for ValCom PCC in Itasca, Ill., where he focused on developing and delivering systems solutions. His career in technology began while serving in the United States Navy for over 20 years.
A respected industry expert, Mr. Tainter has been a featured speaker at itSMF USA national, regional and local events, CIO Forums, and Help Desk Institute meetings on ITSM and ITIL topics. He is a guest columnist for ITSMWatch.com where he writes a quarterly article, and has been featured in several industry trade publications such as Processor Magazine, SearchCIO.com, and CMP Smart Enterprise. Mr. Tainter is ITIL Foundations and Service Manager certified.
Mr. Tainter holds a bachelor’s degree in vocational education from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and a master’s degree in organizational development from Webster University, St. Louis.
Bill Brown, Director of Strategic Global Accounts, i365
Based in New York, with over 20 years experience in working with Financial Services companies maximize their investments in technology, Bill is responsible for ensuring the success of large Financial Services though i365 solutions.
Mark V. Reichenbach, Vice President of Client and Industry Development, i365
An expert in litigation, Mark worked as a director on the Discovery and Regulatory Response Team at Merrill Lynch. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Reichenbach spent more than a decade as a director of litigation support for both plaintiff and defense firms on complex litigation and electronic evidence matters.
Robert J. Healy, Managing Director, Global Technology Services
Bob currently heads Global Operations for Merrill Lynch’s GTS organization. He is responsible for operations strategy globally and regional execution in the Americas.
Bob recently led the Global Support Model initiative, a transformation program that includes the build out of two Global Support Centers, in Jacksonville, FL and Singapore, and the re-engineering of Service Delivery processes based on the ITIL framework.
Bob has twenty years experience in the field of IT Infrastructure. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Bob was head of Global Network Services for Deutsche Bank and for Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities businesses.
Bob is a member of several technology-related Boards and actively participates in community and charity events. He lives in Chatham, New Jersey, with his wife Pamela and their twins, Catherine and Liam.
Michael Speranza,Vice President, Product Management ,Trading Systems, IPC
Michael Speranza, Vice President of Product Management, is responsible for global product management at IPC. Having joined IPC in 2003, he oversees strategic direction for Voice over IP (VoIP) trading floor solutions and for all aspects of business unit product management, including the product management life-cycle, partnerships, pricing, maintenance, competitive intelligence and business development. With more than 10 years experience in technology and software, Michael is a leader in the discipline of trader productivity, business continuity and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises and brings a unique blend of experience to the financial services trading community.
Prior to joining IPC, Michael served in product management and development roles at Avero, and Deloitte Consulting. Michael holds a B.S. from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y.
Caren Evans, Vice President, IT Application Quality Management, Raymond James Financial
Caren Evans is Vice President, IT Application Quality Management, at Raymond James and has worked in the Information Technology industry since 1981 in both technical and managerial responsibilities. At a computer manufacturing company, Caren managed application development teams supporting the Finance and Human Resource areas. Caren joined Raymond James & Associates in 1994 as a development manager. She received her Series 7 license in 1977 and managed all of the software engineering staff at Raymond James from 1999 to July of 2008. In her current role Caren has responsibility for all Development, Production Non-mainframe Environments, Quality Assurance and Testing, and the Application Lifecycle Management group.
Caren is a member of the DMD (Data Management Division) of the SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association). She holds an officer position on that organization’s Governing Committee. Caren is also on the Women’s Interactive Network Steering Committee at Raymond James which is part of the firm’s diversity initiative. The Women’s Interactive Network provides resources and opportunities to support women’s professional development and enhance their careers at Raymond James. Caren graduated from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Christina L. Costello, AVP Product Management, AT&T Managed Hosting & Application Services
Chris led the USi acquisition and integration with AT&T’s Hosting Business. She leads the product development for Managed Hosting and Utility Computing globally and achieved “Leaders Quadrant” rating by Gartner Group in 2008. Her professional experience ranges from industry expertise in Managed Hosting and application Management, Portals, E-Servicing & Knowledge Management, to several positions held in sales, marketing and operations.
Wayne Winholt, Practice Leader, Contact Center & Business Processing Outsourcer for North America, Avaya.
Mr. Winholt directs Avaya’s sales and partnership activities with leading outsource companies around the world. Mr.. Winholt maintains over 11 years of Outsourcing Experience. Previously, Mr. Winholt was the Avaya Global Account Director for Bank of America/ EDS. Prior to Bank of America; Mr. Winholt led various Avaya teams for Bank One, working closely with AT&T Solutions. Mr. Winholt is based in Chicago, IL.
Jim Lal, Senior Client Principal, Professional Services, Avaya
Prior to Avaya, Mr. Lal worked for BearingPoint, as well as several Fortune 500 Financial Services companies as a contact center executive, responsible for P/L, Strategy, and daily operations in Customer Service, Sales, Billing, and Fraud functions. He has over 20 years of Contact Center/CRM experience, and has lead a wide range of consulting assignments covering technology implementation, business and IT strategies, benchmarking, effectiveness and efficiency, outsourcing, development methods and service management. Mr. Lal is based in Denver, CO.
Matt Stevens, Chief Technology Officer, Apparent Networks
Matt Stevens is the Chief Technology Officer of Apparent Networks. He is responsible for guiding the Company’s technology vision and he manages its advanced research, development, QA, customer support and information technology teams.Prior to joining Apparent Networks, Matt was the CTO of the Event & Information business unit of RSA, The Security Division of EMC. He joined EMC after the acquisition of Network Intelligence Corp. where Matt was a founder. In that role, he was also part of EMC's Office of the CTO, where he and his peer group had responsibility for EMC's overall strategic technology direction. Prior to NIC and RSA, Matt held senior technology and sales management positions with NetApp, Solbourne Computer and Harris Corporation. Matt holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
