Executive Board
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2010 EXECUTIVE BOARD
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Paul Peabody / Chairman Gary Baker Charlie Barnes David Behen Phil Bertolini John Crary Terry Cross Mark Cybulski Lynne Ellyn Hans Erickson John Fleischer Kevin Haskew |
Adriana Karaboutis Marcy Klevorn Jason Lambiris 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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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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Adriana Karaboutis
Purchasing and Supply Chain Process Information Officer
Information Systems & Services (IS&S)
General Motors
Adriana Karaboutis is General Motors Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Process Information Officer in the Information Systems & Services (IS&S) organization. In this capacity, Ms. Karaboutis is responsible for all global procurement, order fulfillment, supply operations and logistics systems. She joined GM in August 2004.
Prior to working for General Motors, she spent 15 years at Ford Motor Company where she began as a programmer/analyst and moved into various global IT leadership positions with increasing responsibility in Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance and Purchasing based in both Europe and North America. She also moved cross-functionally into Ford’s Material, Planning and Logistics organization where she spent six years in various Global Production Planning and Scheduling positions as well as leading the Order-to-Delivery Reengineering initiative.
Before joining Ford, Ms. Karaboutis accumulated a breadth of automotive industry experience including the development of microprocessor-based welding controls and gauging inspection devices at Medar, Inc.; test engineering at Volkswagen of America; and thermoforming process engineering at GMs Fisher Body Division. Adriana also worked as a translator in the shipping industry in Athens, Greece.
Ms. Karaboutis received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science in 1986 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where she was a Merit Scholar. She subsequently pursued graduate Electronic Computer Control Systems studies at Wayne State and received an Academic Excellence Award jointly from Wayne State University and Ford Motor Company.Adriana completed the accelerated Fuqua School of Business Marketing Strategy Program at Duke University and also received The Certificate of Advanced Greek Language Studies from Athens, Greece and is fluent in the Greek language.
Ms. Karaboutis was a member of the advisory board of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT). She also participates on the advisory board for i2 Technologies.
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Marcy Klevorn
Director, Global IT Operations
Ford Motor Company
Klevorn is responsible for end to end customer service for all application support and all aspects of infrastructure across the global business. She maintains responsibility for overseeing Ford’s business applications, technical infrastructure, architecture, data centers, web-hosting requirements, engineering, and infrastructure services.
In addition, Klevorn is responsible for influencing future technological innovations through an employee focused program called Digital Worker. She is also responsible for establishing Ford’s IT Global Service planning and delivery.
Klevorn was named director of Global IT Operations in March 2009. She has led Ford’s IT Infrastructure organization since May 2006. Klevorn reports to Nick Smither, group vice president and chief information officer, Ford Motor Company.
Klevorn began her career at Ford in September 1983 in Telecommunications Services. She held a series of IT-related positions within Ford IT and Ford Credit through August 2003 including: leading the Treasury Systems department, launching comprehensive securitization system to diversify company funding for Ford, While managing the Customer, Branch and Dealer Systems department at Ford Credit, Klevorn led the Compass Replacement project, which entailed rewriting one of the largest client server applications world-wide to a J2EE application, and supporting the launch of eight new Ford Credit Service Centers and associated technologies (the largest migration in Ford Credit history).
In late 2003, Klevorn became the consulting program manager for the purchasing business systems initiative eVEREST, leading the analysis and decision that drove the migration back to legacy systems. In 2005, she was appointed global director, Product Lifecycle Management, spearheading a business process change in data and information management across product creation. In 2006, Klevorn was selected as director for Enterprise Defragmentation, leading the strategy and implementation of infrastructure defragmentation, data center consolidation and overall systems management at Ford.
For more than 10 years, Klevorn has been involved in the Ford Professional Women’s Network (PWN) and is now an executive sponsor. In 2006, she joined Nick Smither as Ford corporate liaison to The Henry Ford. In 2008, Klevorn completed the Global Leadership Summit, championed by Ford Motor Company’s President and CEO, Alan Mulally. She was also nominated for Leading the Way at the Ford 2008 Global Diversity & Inclusion Summit. Klevorn is the executive sponsor for the following Ford IT initiatives: the IT Diversity Action Team (ITDAT), the IT Executive Shadowing Program, and the IT Leadership Program (ITLP) recruiting at the University of Michigan.
In 2009, she was recognized by the Profiles in Diversity Journal in their annual “Women Worth Watching” edition. Also that year, Klevorn was nominated Foundation President for the Michigan Council for Women in Technology (MCWT). In 2010, Klevorn was named MCWT President with foundation and council responsibilities. She has been newly elected to the Lawrence Technological University Board of Trustees.
Klevorn earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She lives in Farmington Hills, MI, with her husband and son.
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Jason Lambiris
Chief Executive Officer
Apex Digital Solutions, Inc.
Jason A. Lambiris is Chief Executive Officer of Apex Digital Solutions, a leading provider of Managed, Traditional and Green IT Services based outside of Detroit, Michigan. Lambiris founded Apex in 1998 with a vision of building a company that is committed to excellence, personal and professional growth, and shared success through innovation, integrity, respect and teamwork.
Mr. Lambiris is responsible for the management of Apex’s overall strategy and technology direction. In addition, he actively plays a role as a trusted advisor and virtual CIO/CTO for many of his clients and focuses on achieving the proper balance of people, process and technology with their business goals. He believes strongly that through proper education technology can drive innovation within an organization and should not simply be viewed as a commodity.
Jason joined the Macomb-Oakland University INCubator as a Corporate Partner and Advisory Board Member in early 2009 and is passionate about helping out a community that has given so much to him. In September of 2009 he was selected as Corp! Magazine’s Entrepreneurs of Distinction and also served as a panelist on challenges facing entrepreneurs during tough economic times. In 2008 he led Apex to earn Corp Magazine’s Best of Michigan Businesses award for Technology Companies. He is a former Board Member of Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit from which he was a Finalist for their Platinum Award for Sales and Marketing Success in 2005. As a member of the Distinguished Clown Corp, Jason leads an independent effort each year to raise funds to send underprivileged children from the Detroit area to America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade each year.
He attended Macomb Community College where he earned an A.A.S. in Construction Technologies. He then attended Oakland University to pursue a B.A. in both Computer Science Engineering and Management Information Systems.
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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.
