Executive Board
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2010 EXECUTIVE BOARD
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Gary Baker Charlie Barnes David Behan Phil Bertolini John Crary Terry Cross Mark Cybulski Lynne Ellyn Hans Erickson John Fleischer |
Kevin Haskew Paul Peabody Matt Peterson Dan Rainey Joe Sawasky George Surdu Jane Sydlowski Ken Theis Doug Wiescinski Cindy Zerkowski
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Gary Baker
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Gale | Cengage Learning
Gary Baker is the SVP and CIO of Gale | Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools, and businesses. It has over 100 online databases that support 74the company’s 200+ digital and Internet products and an innovative leading edge platform for the 20+ interactive portal products. Started decades ago as Gale Research Co., it also highly customizes and licenses its proprietary content for integration with Web-based information services for nearly 100 organizations. Best known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, Gale | Cengage just enhanced its reputation in December by purchasing HighBeam Research which aggregates content from over 3,500 publications and own www.encyclopedia.com.
Previously, he was the VP of IT Delivery Services at Borders Group, Inc. a retailer of books and music, and the Chief Information Security Officer of this publicly-traded company. His other responsibilities included the program management office, IT planning and control, application production support, quality assurance, support operations, telecom and vendor management. Prior to joining Borders, he was a Director in IT Transformation Services for AlixPartners, LLP, an internationally-recognized firm of corporate turnaround, performance improvement, IT and financial advisory professionals. Before that, Gary was the Process Executive and Managing Director for EDS on the General Motors account leading both Global Purchasing & Supply Chain and Global Business Services, two of GM’s five global process areas. As a Partner in the Advanced Technology Group in Business Consulting for Arthur Andersen, he led numerous client engagements in IT strategic planning as well as application development. In early 1994, Gary was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Online Technologies Corporation, one of the oldest ISPs/ASPs in Michigan providing hosting, comprehensive Internet solutions and Web services for businesses. He sold the company in 1999, however Online Tech continues to be a market leader in its market segment on a regional basis. Listen to Gary now in his 12th year as a co-host of the Internet Advisor radio program on WJR 760AM in Detroit. Gary is an MBA graduate of the University of Michigan.
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Charlie Barnes
Chief Executive Officer/General Council
AMI Strategies
Charlie has been an entrepreneur and business owner for more than 23 years. While attending night school at Walsh College, he started a hydraulic and pneumatic supply business with a partner serving in the role of VP-Sales. He obtained his degree in Finance from Walsh in 1984 and his law degree in 1989. After selling his interest in that first company in 1990, he worked for a Bloomfield Hills law firm, in addition to forming a small custom clothing company. It was at this juncture that his eduation and experience allowed him to counsel entrepreneurs on new business start-ups and franchises.
Charlie left the daily practice of law and served as a business broker/advisor for Colliers International. At Colliers, he was instrumental in obtaining funding and capital as a broker to facilitate the sale of manufacturing and middle-market sellers. In 1999, Charlie, along with three other partners, bought the assets of Paramount Boring & Machine and converted those operations into a production facility Tier IVII supplier. During his tenure he served in the roles as CFO and General Counsel. In 2008, Charlie sold his interest in Paramount.
Mr. Barnes is currently advising entrepreneurs on the finance and legal issues facing business owners, in addition to his advisory executive role at AMI Strategies – a technology expense management company. Also, Charlie serves on the Board of four small companies, and has been actively involved with business owners in the restaurant, manufacturer’s rep, manufacturing, distribution and technology business sectors.
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David Behan
Vice President, Public Sector Practice
GDI InfoTech
David Behen is Deputy Administrator and Chief Information Officer for Washtenaw County, Michigan. Under his leadership in a number of key roles in the organization, Washtenaw County has been named twice to the prestigious CIO 100 list of the top 100 IT programs by CIO Magazine, and three times as one of the nation’s Top Ten Digital Counties by the Center for Digital Government with the National Association of Counties (NACo).
In his seven years and three directorships with the County, Mr. Behen has been the consistent champion of the organization’s drive towards reliable and accessible information, and fully integrated support for 1300-plus employees. An important legacy for the County will be Mr. Behen’s development of a knowledge management strategy that underpins internal communication and planning. Employee Central, the County’s 24/7 intranet, the Help Desk and wide ranging Liaison staff have all resulted from Mr. Behen’s insistence on data driven decision making and quick, easy and accurate knowledge sharing throughout the County’s 30-plus departments.
Dominating Mr. Behen’s community leadership has been his role at the forefront of the Wireless Washtenaw initiative. (wireless.ewashtenaw.org) This nationally recognized breakthrough initiative has brought local public and private sectors together as never before to provide Washtenaw County with free or very low-cost access to the Internet – regardless of location or economic status. The project is on track to blanket all 720 square miles of the County with wireless access in 2008.
In 2007, Mr. Behen was named to influential Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40″ list for outstanding professional achievement before the age of forty. Mr. Behen is the Vice-chair of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Council for Public Technology Institute (PTI), the national non-profit technology research and development organization based in Washington, DC. He is presently serving on the Governing Board for the Regional Leadership Forum for the Society for Information Management (SIM). He was named on of the region’s “Top 50 Digital Innovators”, by The Great Lakes IT Report and WWJ Radio. Prior to his work with Washtenaw County, Mr. Behen was City Manager of Mattawan, Michigan. He lives in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, with his wife Rosalie, and three children: Isabel, Joshua and Olivia.
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Phil Bertolini
Deputy County Executive and Chief Information Officer
Oakland County, Michigan
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson appointed Phil Bertolini as Deputy County Executive/CIO for Oakland County, in January 2005. He is currently leading the Wireless Oakland initiative that will provide free wireless broadband to all residents, businesses and visitors in Oakland County. Phil is also responsible for the Business Continuity Recovery project for all departments and divisions of County government. In his previous position as Director of Information Technology, Phil was responsible for overseeing the technology strategic planning, development and services provided to all of County government and the 62 local cities, villages and townships. He began his career with Oakland County in 1988 with the Equalization Division. Phil was named Director of Automation Alley’s ConnecTech Network in 2002 where his responsibilities include; development of new chapters, nurturing of existing chapters and the oversight of the network-wide events. Currently, there are eight chapters statewide.
Phil is currently a member of the Harvard Policy Group and a Steering Committee Member of the eGovernment Compass Project of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He participates in many technology collaborative efforts with various governmental entities trying to promote enterprise solutions and the integration of government services. These initiatives are cross-boundary in nature with involvement at all levels of government. Leveraging technology dollars across many entities is a core responsibility of his position.
The Oakland County Department of Information Technology was named as one of the “Top 100 Agile Enterprises” by CIO Magazine in 2004 and again recognized in the “Top 100″ in 2006. Also in 2004, Phil was honored as the CIO of the Year by Automation Alley. In 2007 he was honored as one of the “Top 25, Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” by Government Technology Magazine along with L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive. Oakland County was recognized as a top-ten county in the nation in the 2007 Digital Counties Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government. Oakland County also placed second in the 2007 Best of the Web County Portal Category by the Center for Digital Government.
Phil received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University. He resides in Oakland County with his wife and two children.
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John Crary
Vice President of Information Technology
American Red Cross
John Crary was named vice president of Information Technology for Lear Corporation in January 1996, when he joined Lear, and is responsible for all information technology functions within Lear worldwide including electronic commerce, business computing, product lifecycle management, network operations, data management, information security and desktop services.
Before joining Lear, he was CIO for AlliedSignal Automotive in Southfield, Michigan. He also served as the CIO of ITT Automotive and as the Director of Business Systems Management at ITT Corporation in New York.
Crary earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J. Crary is a member of SIM (Society for Information Management), a member of ISEF (Information Systems Executive Forum) at the University of Michigan and serves as a member of the Board of Visitors in The School of Business at Oakland University.
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Terry Cross
Founder
Windward Associates
After graduating from Wayne State University with an MBA in Finance in 1966, Mr. Cross entered the machine tool business in Detroit, Michigan, with The Cross Company, (publicly traded) the world’s leader in Automated Machine Tools. From 1964 through 1968, Mr. Cross worked in many departments of The Cross Company, learning the business from the ground up.
In 1969, Mr. Cross co-founded, CP Systems Company specializing in high-speed, small parts, automated assembly machinery, and built it up to an annual revenue base of $ 10.0 million. In 1972, Mr. Cross sold CP Systems Company to Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company, a NYSE listed company.
Mr. Cross entered the securities business in 1972 through a training program with Eastman Dillon Union Securities. In 1974, Mr. Cross joined Kidder, Peabody & Company in their Detroit, Michigan office and remained there until 1985 when he was transferred to Kidder’s flagship Park Avenue office in New York City. In 1985, Mr. Cross was elected a Senior Vice President and shareholder of Kidder, Peabody & Company. In 1988, Mr. Cross was a transferred to Kidder’s San Francisco office and remained there until 1998. During his years in San Francisco from 1989 until 1998, he focused almost entirely on the companies and venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. In 1995, Kidder was acquired by PaineWebber. Mr. Cross left PaineWebber in July of 1998 to pursue private investments and then joined Highland Capital Management, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor where he specialized in technology investments. Highland managed portfolios on a discretionary basis for high net worth individuals and was the manager of The Drake Passage Fund, LP a private investment partnership. In February 2000, Mr. Cross co-founded Sonoma Photonics, Inc in Santa Rosa, CA where he served as CEO and Chairman until he resigned to return to Michigan in August 2002. During his tenure, Mr. Cross spearheaded the development of the business plan and raised $ 10.7 million in venture funding from domestic and European investors. Sonoma Photonics was sold to Lockheed-Martin in 2008 for a significant return. In August 2002, Mr. Cross returned to Michigan and is currently the founder of Windward Associates, a venture consulting business.
Mr. Cross’ past board memberships include: G2 Networks, Inc. of Los Gatos, CA, Safari Technology Inc. of Lawton, Michigan, GCB Technologies of San Jose, CA, InGenius Technologies of Kalamazoo, MI., Wordenglass Inc. of Kalamazoo, MI., Machine Vision International of Ann Arbor, MI, and Inivest of Detroit, MI, and Triumph Resources of New York City.
Mr. Cross was a founding investor of three companies resulting from MIT’s Technology Transfer Department: Intellitec, Axiomatics, and LNL Technologies. He served as a board member for Axiomatics and Intellitec. He was also a member of MIT’s Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity. He has served as a financial advisor to Triscend Semiconductor of Mountain View, CA, Macropore Corporation of San Diego, CA. and All-American Semiconductor of San Jose, CA.
He currently serves as an Advisor to Municipal Financial Consultants, Inc. of Grosse Pointe, as a Director of Monarch Antenna, a Delphi Corp spinout, as a Director of RealKidz of Ypsilanti, Mi., as Chairman of MIST Innovations, Inc. of Detroit, MI., as a Director of Fisher Coachworks, Troy, MI, as Chairman of Pure Entropy, LLC of Rochester Hills, MI., and as an advisor to ArdentCause L3C.
Mr. Cross was named The Distinguished Alumni in 2005 by The School of Business Administration at Wayne State University where he is also their first Executive in Residence-Entrepreneurship. He also serves on the Business School’s Board of Visitors and on The Critiquing Committee for their Entrepreneur Course relating to business plan development. He also administers the prestigious Adams Family Fellowship for Entrepreneurship at Wayne’s Business School.
In September of 2007, Terry was named to the Task Force for a World Financial Center by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, one of Korea’s most prestigious educational institutions.
He is a past Board member of Great Lakes Angels, a founding member of Michigan Venture Capital Association, a Board member of Automation Alley’s Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan, a former Trustee of Mariners’ Church of Detroit, and a former trustee of The Professional Children’s School of New York City.
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Mark Cybulski
Chief Information Officer
ZF Group NAO
Mark Cybulski became CIO, ZF Group NAO (North American Operations) in October 2006. ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a leading worldwide supplier of driveline and chassis technology with $18B of sales in 2008, 10% from NAO. ZF develops and produces transmissions, steering systems, axles, and chassis components as well as complete systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and off-road machinery. It is the descendant of the company that built transmission and driveline components for Zeppelins. The NAO organization includes 6,000 employees at 20 sites. Cybulski is responsible for all North American information systems.
Prior to joining ZF, he served as CIO for Delphi Product & Service Solutions, the aftermarket division of Delphi.
Prior to Delphi, Cybulski held several positions of increasing responsibility with TRW, including VP, Information Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Program Director, Integrated Enterprise System, and Director, Cost Reduction, Seat Belt Systems N.A. Prior to TRW, he was a Senior Consultant at Theodore Barry & Associates and then a Senior Manager in Management Consulting at Touche Ross.
Cybulski received a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a B.A. in economics from the University of Notre Dame, as well as his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
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Lynne Ellyn
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
DTE Energy
Lynne Ellyn is the senior vice president and chief information officer at DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Ellyn leads an organization of approximately 700 people who provide information technology strategy, development and operations for all of the DTE Energy companies.
Ellyn has an undergraduate degree from Oakland University and an executive M.B.A. from Michigan State University.
Ellyn is a member of IBM’s Advisory Board, and Lawrence Technological University’s Doctor of Management in Information Technology Advisory Board. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Henry Ford Health System Foundation, the Henry Ford Health System Quality Committee, and the board of directors of the DTE Energy Charitable Foundation. Ellyn is Co-chair of the Women’s Initiative for the United Way, and active in the Edison Electric Institute as the 2009 Co-chair/2010 Chair of the Technical Advisory Council. She is a fellow of the Cutter Business Technology Council, and writes a monthly opinion article for the Cutter Business Technology Trends and Impacts Journal.
In 2002, Crain’s Detroit Business named Ellyn as one of the 100 Most Influential Women Business Leaders in the metropolitan Detroit area. In 2003, the Association for Women in Computing named Ellyn as one of the Top Michigan Women in Computing. In August 2004, CORP! magazine named Ellyn as one of Michigan’s Top Business Women.
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John Fleischer
Vice President Systems Integration
T-Systems North America
As Vice President Systems Integration for T-Systems North America, John Fleischer leads the North American unit for systems integration services. This organization delivers solutions for implementation and support of SAP, other packaged applications, and custom solutions for Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Application Management Services.
Mr. Fleischer held other senior leadership positions within gedas USA, prior to its acquisition in April 2006, by T-Systems. These positions included CIO and Executive Director, Operational Services and Director, Software Development and Delivery. Prior to joining gedas, Mr. Fleischer was an IT Executive for a global Tier One automotive parts manufacturer and supplier (US $7B), with focus in strategic planning, budgeting, project management, and line management. He led strategic global initiatives involving units in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fleischer also served in numerous senior leadership positions in the United States Army, directing large-scale systems development and integration projects in communications and computing.
Mr. Fleischer is a distinguished military graduate of Princeton University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Politics and Economics. His Master of Business Administration degree from Ohio State University is dually concentrated in Operations and Logistics Management, as well as Technology Management. While at Ohio State, he was inducted into the PaceSetters society for academic leadership and was recognized as a Weidler Scholar for outstanding academic achievement. He is an honor graduate of both the United States Army Logistics Management College and the United States Army Command and General Staff College. Additionally, Mr. Fleischer holds an advanced certificate in Radar Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology Research Institute and has conducted additional postgraduate studies at Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford University.
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George Surdu
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Comerica Bank
George Surdu is Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Comerica Bank. He is the executive sponsor of the Service Company’s diversity Program Oversight Committee and serves as the Service Company’s representative on Comerica’s National Diversity Roundtable.
Surdu is responsible for supporting Comerica’s business applications on a national basis and for leading more than 850 technology professionals in the areas of:
- Business Technology Services including application development and production support
- Infrastructure and Engineering Technology Services including network, mainframe, server and storage operations, desktop/laptop management and end-user engineering
- Corporate Information Security Services
- Information Services Strategy including technology architecture and strategy, and emerging technology research
- Information Services Support Services including quality assurance/test, resource, vendor and risk management
He has over 30 years of experience in the field of information technology. Surdu joined Comerica in early 2006, where he has led the IT Transformation and Strategy focused on implementing simplified and standardized technology solutions while increasing cost effectiveness and speed of delivery. As part of this strategy, he has introduced innovative technology to meet business operations and customer needs, and improved risk management and disaster recovery capabilities for the bank.
Prior to 2006, Surdu served in numerous senior executive positions within Ford Motor including CIO for Ford Parts Distribution Systems and the Office of the General Counsel, head of Global Application Development Services and Global IT Infrastructure, and Strategic Planning Manager for Ford Credit. While at Ford, Surdu developed the IT strategy to support the business as it consolidated operations throughout North America. He also reengineered efforts for Product Development and implemented a global simplification and defragmentation strategy to reduce operating costs.
Among his professional affiliations, Surdu serves on many charitable and technology boards including: The Detroit Science Center, Financial Services Technology Consortium and the AT&T Technology Advisory Board. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and a master’s degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics, both from Eastern Michigan University. George and his wife of 38 years, Margaret, live in Novi, Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.
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Jane Sydlowski
President
AMI Strategies
Jane has more than twenty years experience in the telecommunications industry. As an engineer for Ameritech in the trunk engineering switched access department, Jane published opinion papers directed to the Federal Communications Commission and wrote methods and procedures for handling new services. Additionally, Jane coordinated the enhanced 911 circuit quantities for the City of Detroit. Jane’s experiences as an engineer, a consultant and a manager give her a unique blend of skills, which ultimately make her an effective leader in the technology field.
As President of AMI Strategies, Jane is responsible for assembling a dynamic and experienced team to design, build and manage her client’s technology infrastructure, while finding ways to lower their cost of communications. Jane has created a vision for AMI that includes 100% client satisfaction, profitable growth, and respect for the individual and employee empowerment. Additional responsibilities include: developing strategies for the creation of tools and processes that allow her to monitor AMI financial process, client communications and satisfaction, project performance and forecasts, sales and marketing and employee satisfaction. She also created an AMI volunteer organization, All Hands Matter, to foster community relationships and good will.
Under Jane’s leadership, AMI was recognized among the 2003 Deloitte Fast 500 public and private technology companies, 2002 and 2003 Inc 500 fastest growing private companies, and 2003 Crain’s Best Places to Work.
Jane has a Bachelors of Science in Applied Engineering from Michigan State University and a MBA from Wayne State University. She successfully completed the marketing program of Thomas Learning Center and is a Dale Carnegie graduate for both the Human Relations and Sales Courses.
Jane speaks to graduate students regularly for the Wayne State University entrepreneurial program and she serves on three boards, Michigan Council of Women in Technology and Greenpath, Inc and the Board of Visitors for Wayne State University.
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Ken Theis
Director for the Michigan Department of Information Technology
State of Michigan’s Chief Information Officer
Ken Theis serves as the Director for the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) and the State of Michigan’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). He and his agency of 1,700 employees are responsible for delivering technology services to Executive Branch agencies across state government. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction for state government technology and ensuring the timely delivery of agreed upon IT services. He reports directly to Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and serves as a Cabinet member.
Mr. Theis came to the State of Michigan from the General Motors Corporation where he held several key business and technology leadership positions. He has extensive background in business processes, technology and developing successful teams to tackle the most complex projects. While at General Motors, his accomplishments included leading reorganization and reengineering of Oldsmobile Division Systems and IT implementation. Mr. Theis also led the Systems Reengineering and Information Technology implementation for the reorganization of six General Motors marketing divisions into one centralized sales and marketing organization.
Mr. Theis was recently named to the “Premier 100″ list by ComputerWorld magazine, placing him in the “Best in Class” as one of the top ten technology leaders in the country. In 1998, Mr. Theis received the General Motors Chairman’s Honors Award and was also the recipient of the General Motors CIO Award in 1999.
Mr. Theis has served as the Deputy CIO for the Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA), where he successfully implemented a statewide Child Support Enforcement System enabling the State to recover substantial federal penalties. He also held the position of Chief Deputy Director of MDIT prior to his appointment as Director/CIO.
Mr. Theis received his B.S. at Ferris State University and M.B.A. at Northwood University.
Cynthia Zerkowski
Chief Information Officer
Macomb County
Ms. Zerkowski was appointed as CIO for Macomb County, Michigan in 1996 by its Board of Commissioners. Previously, Ms. Zerkowski was in the education and healthcare industries, and has 30+ years experience in the technology field with a primary emphasis in strategic planning, networking technologies, and quality service delivery. She was recognized for her achievements in 2006 being the recipient of the Michigan Excellence in Technology Leadership Award.
Ms. Zerkowski, an attorney, holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Computer Science degrees. She served a three-year term, by Gubernatorial appointment, on the board of the Michigan Broadband Development Authority. Ms. Zerkowski serves on various advisory boards for Michigan-based technology summits and is an active participant of the Local Government/State technology collaboration group since its inception.
Ms. Zerkowski continues to also serve on the Macomb Community College Information Technology Department Advisory Board, and is a member of SIM (Society for Information Management). Ms. Zerkowski is an alumnus of Leadership Macomb, class of 2001-2002.
