Joe Cannella, Chief Information Officer, Tempel
Joe Cannella has spent his entire career in Information Systems working with medium-sized manufacturers across many industries. He is an experienced IS executive with extensive experience leading people, setting vision, managing large projects, and administering multi-million dollar budgets. For the last nine years, Joe has led the IS Team at Tempel Steel Company. Tempel develops advanced, sustainable, energy-efficient, precision laminations and assemblies on a global scale by partnering with our customers and suppliers and extending our unique technical capabilities to solve their toughest challenges because we care about powering the world in a better way. Prior to Tempel, Joe spent 20 years in a consulting firm that specialized in systems and operations improvement for mid-sized manufacturers. He started as a systems designer, became a partner, and eventually led the firms as president. He has taught Materials Management, Supply Chain Management, and Information Technology classes at the college level and for many companies; published articles on Systems Planning and Implementation, ERP Optimization, and Advanced Systems Technologies for Manufacturers; and has been a frequent speaker for American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Illinois Manufacturer Association (IMA), and as an independent expert for many software vendors.
Douglas Davis, Head of Information Systems, Monical Pizza Corp.
I have worked in the computer and information systems arena since the early eighties spending most of my time as a programmer/consultant. For over 20 years, I’ve headed up the Information Technology Department of Monical Pizza Corporation located in Bradley, Illinois. Monical’s Pizza is a medium-size restaurant chain boasting 65+ locations throughout Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin – half of which are corporately managed and half franchise operated. While my title is Information Systems Coordinator, my responsibilities are many and varied. As well as overseeing the support of all things computer throughout our corporate chain, I also keep track of communication systems both wired and cellular.
My favorite part of working here is when we roll out something new and it works so well that everyone is excited about it. This is true of our new Point-of-Sale System by FoodTec Solutions, Inc. of Boston, MA. This new system has allowed us to add online ordering, integrated security, inventory management, labor scheduling and many other features that help ease the process of managing a restaurant. Additionally, we have rolled out a unified gift card system that includes eGift cards as well as plastic gift cards. We have implemented this throughout both our corporate and franchise locations with great success. Additionally, we are working on the latest release of the Monical’s Pizza App that operates on the iOS and Android platforms. It provides the fastest means to order the best pizza in the Midwest.
When not at the office, you will find me involved with my family and my church. I have five children, three of whom are attending college in three different states. On any given weekend, you will find me travelling to take an active part in their lives. I am also the proud grandfather of two – with a third on the way in 2018. (Pictures shared upon request, of course)
Laura Dribin, President/CEO, Peritius Consulting, Inc.
Peritius was founded in 1989 by Laura Dribin, a refugee from a big five consulting firm. She watched projects succeed, but saw too many fail or limp across the finish line. She believed there was a simpler way.
So, Laura began a journey to find wise people who understood the value of solid and repeatable approaches, but didn’t get lost in those approaches when a creative solution revealed itself. She believed she could mix experience with drive and make these complex initiatives easier to complete. She knew that the hardest part of any job was to hire individuals with strong soft skills / high EQ that knew how to engage people and get them to drive to the desired outcome. . The end result is her current company, Peritius Consulting.
Today, Laura spends her time actively growing her business, biking, getting out of town as much as she can for fun and gilding her empty nest!
Bob Dutile, Chief Strategy Officer, UST Global
Robert (Bob) Dutile, Chief Strategy Officer, works with his fellow executives to constantly evolve their high growth company. He also consults with corporate clients to
1) increase the business value contributed or enabled by Information Technology,
2) to digitally transform their business, through increased value to end customers and re-engineered processes, and
3) increase enterprise agility to succeed in the long term.
He is an experienced executive who concentrates his efforts on the business value created through information technology. Prior to becoming the Chief Strategy Officer, Bob served in multiple roles in his 12 years with UST, including head of the Healthcare business, General Manager of the National Account Business Unit, Chief Information Officer and as the General Manager of Strategy and Services.
Before joining UST Global, Bob served as Executive Vice President of Key Technology Services, and KeyBank; as a Partner in the firm of Grant Thornton LLP; and as the first chief information officer of Reebok International Ltd. He has served on the board of directors for the Financial Services Technology Consortium, and on the board of governors for the Sustainable Computing Consortium at Carnegie Mellon. He has also served as the technical liaison to a venture capital fund, and as an advisor for the product development boards of two software firms.
Bob is certified by American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) in Information Resource Management (CIRM). He is a member of the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals, and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). He is a life member of the American Alpine Club and of the Two/Ten Foundation.
Peter J. Garino, Assistant Director of Regional IT, Mayer Brown, LLP
Peter helps business executives achieve their goals by aligning IT Strategy with business goals to drive increased profitability, productivity and corporate efficiency. He has successfully led business transformation projects in the legal, financial services and healthcare industries among others. A recognized thought leader in IT Strategy, information governance and project management, he has been a featured presenter at CAMP conferences, KM Expo, and PMI Midwest Chapter.
Zach Gorman, Chief Information Officer, Bradley University
Zach Gorman recently joined Bradley University in Peoria IL as their Chief Information Officer. With more than 15 years of progressive leadership talent, he has a proven track record that includes leading organizational change, IT governance and policy within higher education, strategic planning, and IT construction planning and design. He has lead teams through unprecedented change throughout his career, having spent significant time with Augusta University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) in Augusta, GA as their Associate CIO as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. He graduated with a BS in Management Information Systems from Iowa State University and a Master of Organizational Leadership from St. Ambrose University. Currently, he’s pursuing his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership at Georgia Southern University.
Michael Kennaugh, VP & Chief Information Officer, Reinhart Foodservice, LLC
Michael Kennaugh is Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Reinhart Foodservice LLC, joining the company in September 2015. Reinhart Foodservice is one of the top 5 largest foodservice distributor in the US, serving independent restaurants, delis, sporting venues, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, the military and chain accounts. As CIO, Michael has had led several business critical initiatives including an ERP selection and implementation, modernization of the company’s transportation technology and driving a revolutionary new ecommerce and mobile platform.
Prior to joining Reinhart, Michael has had a diverse 30 year career in the IT field across several industry sectors including travel and transportation, finance, investment banking, manufacturing, consumer products, and logistics working for Fortune 100 corporations.
Peter Logothetis, Vice President and Divisional Chief Information Officer Claims, Allstate Insurance Co.
Peter is the Senior Vice President and Group CIO at Allstate responsible for leading several divisional CIOs in three technology areas: Business Insurance, Life Insurance, and Claims. Prior to this position, he was Vice President and Divisional CIO for the Claims Technology Department, with the responsibility to attract and maintain top IT talent that would allow his department to design, develop, and deliver technology solutions that added value to Allstate, its agents and its customers. Prior to Allstate, Peter ran large organizations for major companies in the financial industry. He has also taught for more than twenty years at other area institutions.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA from DePaul University. Peter and his wife have three married children and one grandchild.
Jim P. MacLennan, SVP & Chief Information Officer, IDEX Corporation
James P. MacLennan (Jim) is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at IDEX Corporation, an applied solutions business that sells highly engineered products to customers in a variety of markets worldwide. MacLennan has responsibility for Corporate IT service offerings for IDEX’ portfolio of business units, and drives innovative thinking through strategic initiatives that leverage Information and Technology as growth drivers for the industrial manufacturing space.
Phil Smith, Regional Director, Vantiq
Phil Smith joined VANTIQ as Regional Director in 2017. Prior to that he held Senior level positions at companies such as Rockwell Automation, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, CSC, and Dassault Systemes.
Phil has more than 20 years of experience in IT and sales holding various technical and sales responsibilities. He started his career in software development focusing on elections and county government developing the first Court system for the State of Illinois.
His Trusted Advisor and connector style builds strong relationships with C-level executives and decision makers, delivering results in enterprise software and building high performing technical and sales organizations.
Phil has been awarded various community accolades and won numerous sales awards. He has published whitepapers including presenting to US Congress and broadcast on CNN regarding a Gang Intervention and Dropout Early Warning System utilizing Analytics – (i.e. DEWS).
Phil is from the Chicago area and has earned two (2) degrees in Computer Science including studies at TCU’s Keller School of Business. He is active in the Shriner’s Hospitals, Beverly Farm for disabled adults, Alzheimer’s Association, enjoys photography, hockey, and playing baseball with various MLB fantasy camps.
Mike Solverud, V.P. Information Technology, Superior Bulk Logistics, Inc.
For the past three plus years, Mike Solverud has been the Vice President of Information Technology at Superior Bulk Logistics Inc., in Oak Brook, IL. He is in charge of operations for information technology as well as security and periodically consults for other businesses. Mike believes that collaborating with other people and companies is what we all should strive to do when we carry a unique skill set and knowledge base for the advancement of all. During his tenure at SBL, Mike has had the distinct honor of rebuilding the company within the technology stack from the ground up. Completing such projects as; establishing a new company fiber network, launching a new technology compute stack that involved the use of virtualization, implementing VoIP phone telephony with the use of SIP trunks, populating a new Microsoft network with AD and 47 new complementary network servers. Migration of email from legacy Lotus Notes to Office 365 and Outlook 2016 and implementing SharePoint as the company intranet. Moreover, implementing Disaster Recovery within the footprint of the company that lays the foundation of continuing towards a complete Business Continuity Plan allowing the creation of new process automation for imaging and billing, raising security risk awareness and security protocols.
Mike graduated from Herzing University of Madison Wisconsin, in the summer of 2003 with his Associate of Science in Computer Networking Security Technology. Since then he has worked as Network Administrator, IS Manager, to Director of Technology for manufacturing, credit unions, and transportation companies. His passion in his field and helping others to understand information technology is what allows him to enjoy his work. “I believe that we are put in a leadership role for a reason. We need to mentor, guide and educate our team members to become more than we have to offer. Only then, can we say the future will be brighter than it is today.” Mike has also been a member of the Herzing Advisory Board, giving his input on the content and studies offered to the students that attend Herzing University, and the honor of being the first President of the Alumni Association for the Madison campus.
Mike was born and raised in central Illinois, and moved to Wisconsin as a teenager. Mike is married and lives with his wife in Indiana, and has two daughters. One who has graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2016 with a double major in education, while the other is currently attending Purdue University majoring in Veterinary Medicine.
Marty Sprinzen, CEO, Vantiq
Marty Sprinzen is a visionary leader and successful software entrepreneur. The organizations he created and led have introduced some of the most innovative software solutions in the areas of systems management, relational databases, internet application development and currently, Smart Systems. Sprinzen founded and became CEO of Vantiq Corporation. Prior to Vantiq, he was CEO and co-founder of Forte Software, which was acquired for over $1B. He also served as VP of International Operations and VP of Engineering at Ingres and VP of Development at Candle Corporation. He holds a BSEE from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
John Squeo, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, Thorek Memorial Hospital
John Squeo is an industry-leading expert on strategies for payer and provider convergence and health system growth strategies using IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, hospital-at-home, and clinical data integration across the continuum of care.
As nurses and physicians retire and leave the workforce, John has focused on ways to use Smart Technology to supplement healthcare delivery and payment models using artificial intelligence, sensors, and connected technologies for patients and providers, which reduce labor-intensive tasks in care delivery and payment processing.
He holds an MBA from the University of Kentucky with a focus on decision support and has completed work on artificial intelligence for a PhD.
He is the Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer for Thorek Memorial Hospital in Chicago where he leads the Office of Innovation and is responsible for payer contract incentive strategies, business intelligence, risk analytics for the emerging preventative services and chronic care programs.
John was previously with Vanguard Health Systems, a 29-hospital system, including Weiss, MacNeal, West Suburban and Westlake Hospitals in Chicago. He worked extensively with Vanguard’s population health initiatives including the Michigan Pioneer Accountable Care Organization and the Chicago Health System Accountable Care Organization.
John service on the board of Access to Care of Cook County and is an active member of charitable organizations with the common mission of providing healthcare to all patients, including those most in need of care.
Chad Stallings, VP & CIO, Federal Signal
Chad Stallings joined Federal Signal Corporation as VP and CIO in 2017. Prior to that he held executive positions at other multi-billion dollar manufacturers, ITW and Emerson.
Chad has more than 20 years of experience in IT holding various technical and management responsibilities. He has extensive experience implementing ERP and other systems, enabling data driven decisions, leading the IT integration of acquisitions, managing global IT sourcing, developing IT strategies, and building high performing IT organizations. He has traveled extensively overseeing projects and IT teams in N. America, S. America, Europe, and Asia.
In recent years, he has worked to adapt 80/20 management principles to running an effective IT organization. Over the years, through trial, error and success, he has become expert at building and leading an IT organization that focuses on driving growth and profitability by applying 80/20 principles to managing people and work with prioritization, discipline, and execution.
Chad earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. In addition to English, he is fluent in Spanish and French.
Chris White, VP Product and Marketing Strategy, CAST Software
Chris White is a recognized expert in Enterprise Architecture, Application Portfolio Management and IT Modernization. He has almost 20 years experience overseeing, implementing and advising clients on Enterprise Architecture projects and strategy. As VP of Product Strategy & Marketing for CAST, he is responsible for helping CIO’s around the globe understand the game changing significance of Software Intelligence. CAST is empowering data-driven IT Organizations to thrive in today’s software driven world by providing visibility into the otherwise invisible world of software health, complexity, dependency & risk. With software intelligence, CIO’s make better investment decisions, avoid catastrophic failures, and become business leaders in the digital age.
Michael Wood, Vice President, Information Technology, Wilton Brands, LLC
Mike Wood is Vice President Information Technology at Wilton Brands LLC, the worlds leading supplier in food crafting goods. Mike is the leader of the team defining Wilton’s business technology framework focusing on delivery of technology solutions that support business goals while maintaining a high level of operational resiliency. Mike brings more than 30 years of technology expertise spanning the industrial manufacturing, consumer products, homebuilding and liquid food packaging industries.
Mike joined Wilton in 2013 from Whirlpool Corporation where he led the Global End User Services and Global Telecommunications functions. Prior to Whirlpool, Mike held a number of leadership positions with Tetra Pak, Honeywell and The Ryland Group. Mike began his career with Honeywell Information Systems in 1983.
Mike holds an BBA in Information Systems from Georgia State University.