As the Director of the Enterprise Service Center for PerceptIS, Heather is responsible for service delivery of the Enterprise Service offerings to their many clients who are primarily in the Higher Education, Government and Non-profit industries. PerceptIS uses a combination of onsite and virtual agents to service their customer base. Prior to joining PerceptIS, Heather was an IT Support Services Practitioner and Operations Program manager for Bristol West Insurance Group. Before moving into IT full-time nearly 10 years ago, Heather’s experience was based in training, management and as a US Navy Aircrewman where she was in charge of Naval Air Training Operations (NATOPS) qualifications for the HC-3 Packrats aircrewmen. Heather has been an active HDI member since 1999 in the North Coast Chapter and is currently the VP of Programs. She is also a member of HDI’s Strategic Advisory Board (SAB). Heather was the chairperson of the North Coast chapters HDI AOY committee for a number of years and has served on the local, regional and national judging panel for this award. Heather is an HDI Certified Support Center Manager.
Laura has 20 years experience in the Computer Support field. Her experience includes work at TeleSciences, GE Aerospace, Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation, Merck Pharmaceuticals, and Stonemor Partners. Her IT career encompasses training and installation, instructional development, technical writing, quality assurance, and help desk support and management. She has built and managed both training and support organizations, focusing on process and procedure development. Her responsibilities have included projects in Belgium, England and Canada. Laura has an M.Ed. in Computers from Rosemont College. Currently her role includes managing the Technical Services and the Telecommunications Groups for a public company in the greater Philadelphia area with 200 remote locations nationally.
Sarah Carpenter works for Electronic Data Systems (EDS). She started her career with EDS in March of 1999. Sarah graduated from Olivet College with a BA in Business Administration and Communication.During her nine years with EDS she has had the opportunity to fulfill several Service Desk Positions. She began her career as a request handler supporting General Motors. She has served as a Team Leader, Supervisor, Career Progression SME, Contract Owner, Site Training Lead and Regional Training Lead. Today Sarah manages the groups who handle Global Training, Global Process and Global Communications for the GM Global SvD.
Brandon Caudle is the Support Center Manager for Delta Dental of California. Over the past nine years at Delta Dental, he has consolidated six Help Desks and been instrumental in the creation of Delta's 24x7 Follow the Sun support model and also the Enterprise-wide adoption of consistent Incident Management Best Practices and Processes Brandon is the past president of the Sacramento Chapter of HDI and carries the HDI Help Desk Manager Certification. His passion is Customer Service and willingly shares his thoughts and experiences both online and in speaking to HDI and other groups.
John Custy is the founder and Managing Partner for JPC Group; an organization focused on improving customer satisfaction, employee morale and business processes. John is recognized for his innovation and ability to identify the changes necessary for an organization to improve. John has been actively involved in the support industry for the last 20 years, both as a fractioned and as a consultant. He has been involved in developing standards for both individual and site cortication for multiple industry associations. Mr. Custy has a BS from UMass Lowell and an MS from Boston University. As an Authorized Training Partner for HDI, John is a certified instructor for the Customer Support Specialist (CSS), Help Desk Analyst (HDA), Help Desk Senior Analyst (HDSA), Help Desk Manager (HDM) and Knowledge Center Support (KCS). He is also a Support Center Certification (SCC) auditor and is a member of the International Certification Standards Committee. He has also been an advisor to the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA) was instrumental in developing the Support Center Practices (SCP) certification. John is a speaker at industry conferences and has worked with customers successfully planning and implementing Support Strategy, Operations and Services. As the Managing Partner for JPC Group Mr. Custy assists support centers in improving their operations by developing Support Services strategies specific for the organization, Business Process Alignment and adopting best practices from multiple industries. Mr. Custy’s practice takes him across North America, South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Michael Devaney is currently the Director of Support for Enterprise Mobile, an industry leader in providing implementation, management, and support of Windows Mobile solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. With over 20 years of experience in service and support, Michael has previously been employed as a Managing Consultant for IBM’s Global Business Services and as a Director at CompuCom, a national outsourcer for Help Desk Services. He has presented on Knowledge Management at several HDI Conferences as well as a contributing author to HDI’s Implementing Service and Support Management Processes: A Practical Guide.
I am a graduate of Fairfield University. I am certified as a Help Desk Manager by Help Desk 2000 now HDI. I also possess a Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management.I have provided Help Desk management in various industries: retail, regional banking, global reinsurance, and medical systems. I recently started by own consulting firm, DNP Consulting specializing in Help Desk management and hope to write a book on Help Desk management. My personal hobbies are spoiling my niece, two nephews, and my two great nephews, gardening, and collecting candle holders. I am a lifelong resident of Stratford, CT.
With over 30 years of experience in the high technology and software development industry, Paul has held numerous positions in customer services, support and marketing. Experience includes front line technical support (levels 1, 2 and 3), support team lead, manager of international support, service business development manager, marketing manager and director of solutions marketing.Paul’s wide ranging experience includes creation of support center policies and procedures, integration of multiple support centers, selection and development of Knowledge Management Systems, quality assurance processes, implementation of sophisticated Service Management Systems, support marketing strategy and collateral development, new service development and launch, and services marketing.
Nathan Eatherton is the IT Service Desk Manager for the University of Missouri, where he is responsible for all front line support channels. Nathan has worked at the University for over 10 years and has led two separate support center consolidations. He is currently working to implement ITIL and KCS best practices.Nathan holds Support Center Manager, Director and Knowledge Centered Support certifications from HDI, the Project Management Professional certification from PMI and has an MBA from the Gordon E Crosby MBA Program at the University of Missouri.
As JM Family Enterprises’ Manager of IT Service Management, Mark is responsible for the management of the Support Center as well as the overall Service Management functions within IT. Mark has more than 12 years experience assisting companies leverage their IT investments through well defined service and support processes. An HDI member since 2004, Mark will be assisting with the creation of the North Florida local HDI Chapter in 2008.Mark is a graduate of Florida State University, holds the HDI Support Center Manager certification, and two ITIL certifications, Foundations and Support and Restore.
Nathan is currently the IT Quality Assurance (QA) Manager for FedEx Kinko's; ensuring products delivered by the FedEx Kinko’s Information Technology (IT) department meet FedEx Kinko’s IT Quality Standards. Prior to QA Nathan was the Service Desk Manager for FedEx Kinko’s; an internal First and Second Level Tech Support organization comprised of 5 supervisors and 80 support professionals providing 24x7 technical support to 20,000 FedEx Kinko's employees at over 1,400 retail locations in the US and Canada. Nathan has been with FedEx Kinko's since 1998 filling the roles of First Level Support Representative, Team Lead, Second Level Specialist, Supervisor, Engineer and Manager. Nathan started his management career in 2004 overseeing support for the largest technology deployment FedEx Kinko's has completed; deploying a new point of sale and workflow management system to every FedEx Kinko's retail location. Nathan is an HDI certified Support Center Manager (SCM) and is ITIL Foundations certified. Nathan also serves as the VP of Membership for the local HDI chapter in Dallas / Ft. Worth.
Greg is an independent IT service management consultant. He has been active in service management software and process consulting for more than 15 years. Greg holds ISO, ITIL, COBIT, Six Sigma black belt and several software tool certifications. Greg has been delivering IT tool and process training for 25 years. Greg has written several ITIL training courses and has developed a Deming-based ITIL implementation methodology. He works closely with the Collaborative for Enterprise Transformation and Innovation at the Ohio State University and InsightETE, an IT service management software vendor in Columbus, Ohio.
Drew Jaehnig has been in IT for more than 15 years and has managed service desks, network operations centers and technical control facilities for Defense Department agencies ranging from the United States Navy, The Counter-Intelligence Field Activity, The Defense Information Systems Agency and Joint Staff Support Center. He has managed service desks providing global as well as local support to a wide range of Defense Department users on systems ranging from Command and Control functionality in direct support to the troops on the ground to basic administrative support for office workers in the National Capital Region. As such, Drew has seen the high octane high survivability portion of the industry and understands how the US Government is approaching IT in its most dynamic forms.Drew is currently the Operations Chief for the Joint Operations Support Center in the Pentagon. Drew has been with the Joint Staff Support Center for a little over a year. His Service Desk receives calls globally from the Combatant Commanders in direct support of Command and Control efforts on the ground and operates in a 24x7 basis high pressure environment.Drew is a former member of the United States Navy and is a member of the HDI Government Forum, the HDI Desktop (formerly Field) Technician's Technical Review Committee and is a certified HDI Support Center Manager (will be after I do my test this week.). Drew has a BA in Mathematics and two Associates in Physics and Acoustic Design.
Rick Joslin is the Executive Director of Certification & Training for HDI. He is responsible for the development, sales, and delivery of HDI’s training and certification offerings. Rick is a certified Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) instructor and has guided organizations with the implementation of KCS. He is also a certified instructor for the HDI certification courses. Prior to joining HDI, Rick was a Principal Consultant with IHS Support Solutions. Formerly, Rick was the VP of Customer Care for ServiceWare, VP of RightAnswers.com, and VP of Knowledge Engineering. Rick was responsible for the production of the industry’s leading third-party knowledge bases, known as Knowledge-Paks. A winner of the 1999 Service 25 Award, Rick has been widely acknowledged as one of the most influential luminaries in the support industry. Rick is the author of the HDI Focus Book on Knowledge Management, the HDI Focus Book on the Knowledge Management Maturity Model, and a contributed the Knowledge Management chapter in the HDI Service and Support Handbook. Rick is an active member of the Consortium for Service Innovation’ KCS Program Committee and serves on the Strategic Board of Advisors for HDI and the Advisory Council of Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Business College. He was a founding member, chairman, and director-at-large of HDI’s Member Advisory Board, and continues to serve as a chairman emeritus on this board, on the HDI Training Advisory Board, and the HDI International Certification Standards Committee. Rick was a founding advisor for the Help Desk Professionals Association, as well as the president and chapter advisor in the Pittsburgh Chapter of HDI. Rick has served as a judge for the 10 Best Support Websites sponsored by the Association of Support Professionals, as a judge for the HDI Team Excellence Award sponsored by HDI, on the Eservice Standard Advisory Board sponsored by Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), and on the HDI Support Center Certification Committee.
Moustafa Kadous, President and COO, HDI-MEA, is an internationally recognized IT Services and support industry expert who has more than 15 years of experience working with major multinational and government organizations throughout the Middle East and Africa. He has directed numerous training projects and workshops ranging from software development, Documents Management systems, archiving systems and imaging solutions, to training and consultation. Kadous has trained and certified more than 3000 key industry leaders and service pioneers in the private and public sectors, including industry professionals with Saudi Aramco, Sabic, Etisalat, Emirates Post, ITIDA, Orascom, Mobinil, Emirates Bank, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Banque de Caire, Unilever, Halliburton, the US Navy, and many others.As one of only eight certified HDI Support Center Certification (SCC) auditors in the world, Kadous conducts Support Center Certification assessments and audits and guides organizations through the processes related to organizational maturity based upon IT service management best practices. Kadous is certified by leading organizations and holds global certifications, including HDI’s Customer Support Specialist, Support Center Analyst, Support Center Team Lead and Support Center Manager. He is a Certified Instructor for HDI ‘s Training and Certifications and he manages the ATP program and the Certified Instructors in the Region. In addition, he is A+ Certified from CompTIA, Microsoft Office Specialist, and ITIL Foundations and is an authorized instructor for accrediting ICP program trainers.Based upon his commanding presence as HDI’s Authorized Training Partner in the MEA marketplace, Kadous launched HDI-Middle East and Africa, the first member-based organization serving the region, in 2006. Under his thoughtful leadership, HDI-MEA is dedicated to increasing the community’s knowledge about the IT service and support profession and propelling the industry forward.
Linda Lenox is the IT Manager at Cox Communications-Hampton Roads, where she is responsible for server, network and telecommunications management, the service desk, and client services. She previously held positions at Smithfield Foods as the Senior Manager of End-User Services and at The New York Times Company as the Manager of Computer Support and IT Operations. Ms. Lenox received her MS in Telecommunications Management from the University of Maryland University College and her BS in Business Management from LeTourneau University. She is a recipient of Best Practice Awards in Business Process Improvement (2006) and Help Desk (1999), and was named to the Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders in 2003.
Peter J. McGarahan is the founder and president of McGarahan & Associates. Pete is also the acting Chairman of the IT Infrastructure Management Association, a sister organization to HDI. Pete’s value to the service and support industry and business is his thought leadership. As a practitioner, product manager and support industry analyst and expert, he has influenced the maturity of the service and support industry. His passions for customer service led the Taco Bell support organization to achieve the Help Desk Institute Team Excellence Award. IT Support News also named him one of the “Top 25 Professionals in the Service and Support Industry” in 1999. Support professionals voted McGarahan “The Legend of the Year” in 2002 and again in 2004 at the Help Desk Professionals conference for his endless energy, mentoring and coaching and his valuable contribution to the support industry and community.
As Manager of IT Client Services for Novant Health, Chris Meadows is responsible for the overall Incident Management process and Service Desk function which supports 22,000+ customers. His responsibilities include managing the Support Center, Data Center Operations and Remedy Teams. Chris has 10 years experience in the support industry. Prior to accepting support leadership roles in the HealthCare arena, Chris served as a Certified Instructor for STI-Knowledge / Help Desk 2000 during which he trained and certified more than 500 support industry practitioners nationwide in Best Practices. In addition to being HDI Support Center Director certified, Chris is also ITIL Practitioner certified.
Simone Moore is a Senior Consultant with Help Desk Association Australasia (HDAA), our Gold Australia and New Zealand country partner since 1999. Simone conducts many of the HDI certification programs, ITIL Foundations and provides consultation for best practice review and implementation. Simone’s experience covers fast-paced, dynamic environments such as the Military, telecommunications, information technology, pay television and health.With industry qualifications in Contact Centre and Service Desk, Simone specialises in customer service, strategic planning, organisational development, change management and human resources. Simone is also certified in various therapeutic techniques successfully integrated with the corporate arena.Simone engages you in a depth of knowledge, collaboration, sense of humour and a learning approach that is thought provoking, interesting and relevant ensuring synchronicity in the mind, body and spirit of a company.
Bernie Murano has 20+ years experience in the support field in a number of capacities. She is currently the Corporate IT Support Manager for an Architectural / Engineering firm; supporting offices in the U.S., Dubai, and India. Prior to Burt Hill, she managed the Help Desk for a grocery supermarket chain with over 45,000 internal customers. Bernie has been an active member of the Pittsburgh Local Chapter of the HDI since its inception, holding officer and advisor positions. She also served on several chapter committees, including acting as a judge for the annual Help Desk Analyst of the Year competition.
Skip Pogue is a Support Center management professional with proven leadership skills and a track record of building value in all types of Support Center environments. He has been with Technisource 10 plus years during which time he has held several management and director level positions. Currently he is the Director of Training, Certifications and Transitions for North America with the responsibility for the transition of all new Help Desk / Deskside Services accounts from conception to steady state. Prior to accepting this position with Technisource he was the National Director of Help Desk Quality Management. This position allowed him many unique opportunities to utilize his management and leadership skills. His previous Technisource experience includes a position as an Operations Director with oversight responsibility for 3 major managed service accounts. These accounts, located in Fishkill and Melville New York and Kennesaw Georgia, exceeded 400 total employees and generated over $20,000,000 in revenue.Before joining Technisource Skip worked for and retired from IBM. The last 15 years of his career with IBM was spent entirely in the customer service and Support Center arena. Additionally, there was a 3-year period with TSS (Technology Service Solutions) a subsidiary of IBM directing the day-to-day operations of a help desk supporting IBM server products. Skip is also a certified instructor for HDI. Through HDI he holds the certifications of Help Desk Manager, Help Desk Analyst, Customer Support Specialist, Desktop Support Technician and Support Center Team Lead. He is also an HDI Support Center Certification Auditor.
Mike Rabinowitz is an experienced certified trainer. He spent the first part of his career as a New York City Police Officer. He calls it "the ultimate learning ground for communication skills". He also got involved in educating people in the community through meetings, lectures and lots of face to face communication. After a 10 year police career, Mike now has 10 years in the world of IT support and customer service. He spent 6 years learning his craft with companies such as Carolina Medical Center and Bank of America as a field technician, team leader, manager, Assistant Vice President and for the last 4 years as a trainer. Using his "street corner" approach and his passion for helping people learn the tools that allows them to stay motivated, Mike can be depended upon to combine his real life work experience and process knowledge to help companies get the most out of their training dollars.
I was born in Des Moines, IA and have lived in states in the Midwest and south. My wife and I currently live in Southern Michigan near Kalamazoo. I am the Controls Manager for the Dematic Customer Service Technical Support Desk which is a 24/7 Call Center. I have a BS from California Coast University and certifications as a Help Desk Director, Manager, Knowledge Manager and Project Manager Professional PMP. I enjoy traveling and boating.
Jacque Rowden has been part of the evolution of Help Desks for the past 20 years. Managing internal global technical support organizations at Viacom, a dot.com, and several law firms, Jacque has been on the front lines of changes in how we think of support (HDI, ITIL).Jacque is a board member of the Steel City chapter of HDI. She is a Microsoft Certified Professional as well as HDI Support Center Director certified. She has spoken about eDiscovery, managing IT professionals, certification versus experience, and Small to Medium Help Desk Strategies. Her current team's vision: To be the best Help Desk in the world!
Artur Sygnatowicz began his career in 1982 as a system design engineer. From 1990 till 2006 he was a manager and a member of the board of several IT systems integration companies and an IT outsourcing company. He also has experience in managing a software house company. Artur is currently working as an IT management consultant. He has participated in IT audits and IT system development projects where he was the project manager. He has focused his professional development on security systems and IT systems management projects.In 1998 he established HDI-Poland. He now hold the position of HDI-Poland manager. He is also an SCA and SCM certified instructor. Artur graduated the Faculty of Electronics at Warsaw University of Technology.. He also completed postgraduate studies in Business Management and Marketing as well as many courses in IT including COBiT, PRINCE2. He has been awarded the ITIL Foundation certificate.
Clyde Talley is currently employed at the University of Connecticut (UConn) as Manager of the Help Center and Problem/Change Management within the Customer Support & Relations department. He previously worked at Phoenix Life Insurance as a Manager for the IT Service Center Operations and Desktop Support for the United States and managed a Help Desk site overseas in Bangalore, India. Clyde holds a Masters of Science Degree in Management from Cambridge College with certificates in Diversity and Organizational Development, and is certified as a Help Desk Director, Certified Knowledge Manager, Certified Project Manager, and a certified trainer for the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Clyde has also worked as a consultant for the National Conference for Community and Justice. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Board of Directors of Early Childhood Centers (ECC) in Springfield, MA. Under his leadership, ECC built a new 4.5 million-dollar facility.A native of Springfield, MA, he has been involved in Toastmasters (a communication and leadership organization) for over 17 years. He is a Past District Governor of the organization and has served as Lt. Governor of Education and Training and District Governor for Toastmasters International covering over 2,200 members in Eastern New York, Western MA and all of Connecticut. He also received Toastmaster’s Excellence Award in Education and Training. As a professional speaker/lecturer for over 18 years, Clyde has given workshops and presentations to various businesses, colleges, local and civic organizations. He is also the creator and presenter of the “Inspired Excellence” seminar and workshops.
All of Mark’s work has involved some form of public or private customer service and support operations. In IT, his career includes technical, lead, and management positions in datacenter operations, application development and support, and his current role of managing Halliburton’s Global IT Service Center. Mark has also led teams in developing processes for configuration, incident, change, and service level management based on the ITIL and ISO 20000 frameworks. HDI’s certification standards are key tools that Mark uses in developing his team and its operations. Mark is in his second term as a member of the HDI Strategic Advisory Board.
Dan Wilson has over ten years experience in IT Service. Dan is currently the Manager of Client Services at Volkswagen of America in Auburn Hills, MI responsible for Incident Management as well as the day to day management of the Help Desk, Desktop Support, and Asset management vendor, T-Systems. Previously Dan was the General Manager at PMV Technologies focusing on the continuous improvement of PMV's service and internal operations as well as maintaining their IT infrastructure. In the past, he has managed help desk and technical staff for Oakland University’s IIT Help Desk and School of Business Administration, Handleman Company, and PMV Technologies. Dan has served many years in the HDI Motown Chapter as President, Vice President of Membership and Vice President of Programs. He also sits on the HDI Member Advisory Board as a Member at Large and the HDI International Certification Standards Committee. Dan's strengths are in the areas of process and procedure, management, analytics and statistical reporting. One of Dan's passions is helping people (family, peers, colleagues, and customers). Being in the support field allows him to fulfill the passion every day. Dan has a Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems from Oakland University's School of Business Administration, HDI's Help Desk Manager and ITIL Foundations certifications.
Sarah Younger has worked in the technology support arena for more than 15 years. Currently she is the director of support center operations for the American Medical Association in Chicago, IL.