Management Council

Mary Sumner is Professor of Computer Management and Information Systems and Associate Dean, School of Business, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Prior to that, she was on the faculty of New York University. She has been responsible for building the undergraduate and graduate programs in CMIS and has taught for 28 years in the areas of management of information technology, information systems design, project management, software systems design, and enterprise systems design. Dr. Sumner served as chief information officer for academic affairs and was responsible for organizing and managing information services to support the quality and effectiveness of academic programs at the university. She organizes business/university partnerships and executive programs in leadership, project management, and health informatics. She has taught ERP systems design at the Norwegian School of Logistics over the past five years, and teaches executive MBA courses in Hong Kong and Singapore.

She has written seven textbooks, including college texts in Management Information Systems and Enterprise Resource Planning, and has published over forty research papers on enterprise resource planning, IT workforce issues, project management, and health informatics. Her research has appeared in Database, the Journal of Systems Management, Information and Management, the Journal of Computer Information Systems, Information Resource Management Journal, the Journal of Strategic Information Systems, and the Journal of Information Technology.

Dr. Sumner has served as Conference Chair, ACM SIGCPR, 1993 (Washington, D.C.) and Conference Co-Chair, ACM SIGMIS CPR, 2007 (St. Louis, MO) and now serves as Conference Co-Chair, ICIS 2010 (St. Louis, MO). She oversees the Technology and Commerce Roundtable, a CIO forum and the Project Management Advisory Team. Her education includes a B.A. Syracuse, M.A., University of Chicago, M.A., Columbia University, and Doctorate, Rutgers University. Her certifications include Oracle Master’s and AMIA Health Informatics.

A firm believer that great people invest in good companies and great companies invest back in great people, Dan is driven by facilitating organizations to create a culture where everybody wins. Dan is responsible for leading PeopleProductive's Global Business Relations. He has spent the past decade bringing people who aspire to do great things, together. His international experience, from budding start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, has enabled him to positively influence organizations to benefit from hot new technology solutions, while transforming workplace cultures.   Taking part in the Social Software Start-up movement, Dan was one of the original Argentina-based, founding team members of Avature in 2004, a recruiting tech start-up led by the co-founder of HotJobs.com. His early adoption of online social networking and creative business-relationship building, ignited his strong organizational ties and guided international teams to optimize their product delivery and profits.   Further expanding his IT Solutions experience, he dove deeper into Software Development, a transition that led him back to the US to launch Operations in the Northeast for two reputable LATAM software engineering companies. Dan’s niche for connecting people has endless reach. His professional community of outstanding individuals, encompasses amazing organizations such as SIM Boston, HRLF, MassTLC, Mobile Tea meetup, Microsoft communities, and many more IT arenas.   Dan received his BA in International Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and his bilingual MBA at La Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Caren Shiozaki is EVP-CIO for TMST, Inc in Santa Fe NM. Previously she was CIO for a Dallas-based media company. She has worked internationally for Bank of America and American Express.

She is Chair Emeritus of SIM National and founder of the national DigiRisk SIG. She serves on the boards for the Santa Fe Alliance for Science and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. She judges science fairs for the Santa Fe School District. She holds professional certification in corporate governance and is a certified e-discovery specialist. She holds a degree in Genetics from UC Berkeley.

Cynthia McKenzie is Chief Information Officer for Curaleaf. Cynthia has over 20 years’ experience in IT leadership roles across multiple industries including Media and Entertainment, Engineering and Construction, Financial Services and Cannabis. Cynthia is on the board of directors of STEM Advantage, which is a non-profit which provides scholarships, internships and mentors to women and underserved communities in STEM related majors as well as the Southern California Society for Information Management as well as SIM Foundation. Cynthia has won a number of awards including Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders, SIM Leader of the Year and the Advanced Imaging Society’s Distinguished Leadership Award.

Judy Arteche-Carr is currently a strategic advisor and management consultant to a select group of global companies She has extensive experience in the areas of technology consulting and financial management globally. She has worked with management teams in transformation strategies- aligning IT to the Business and global strategic programs in various financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan (JPMChase) and Salomon Brothers (Citigroup) as well as worked in technology services companies such as EDS and Unisys with responsibility for relationship management, business development, solutions and delivery. Specialties: Management Consulting, Global Outsourcing, Business Process Outsourcing, Global Program/Project Management.

Brian Carey is the Senior Vice President of Client Services for Planet Technology, a national technology consulting and staff augmentation firm. Brian oversees teams in the Northeast, Southeast, and West Coast. Brian is also the Co-Chair for the SIM Boston Outreach Committee where he partners with local non-profits such as Year Up, Per Scholas, Hack Diversity, and Latino Stem Alliance to help promote STEM initiatives for underrepresented groups within technology.

John is the former Executive Vice President of Information Technology at CoolSys and served as the technology thought-leader driving technology innovation and solutions strategy development and execution across the Company. A seasoned IT executive, John  brings over 30 years of in-depth experience from his previous roles that range from managing large corporate IT departments to leading  internet professional services firms. Before joining CoolSys, he was the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Daylight Transport, LLC, a nationwide, expedited transportation provider. John is an Information Technology executive with extensive experience in establishing relationships with business partners to bring technology innovation that creates business value, increases revenue, and mitigates risk. Effective communicator with strong leadership and interpersonal skills who successfully manages, motivates and challenges large cross-functional teams to accelerate time to value for the business. John serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern California chapter of the Society for Information Management (SCSIM). He has served on the board for over 12 years in various roles; Chair, Vice-Chair, Membership, Treasurer, Secretary, Programs, and Philanthropy. He also serves on the Governance and Philanthropy committees and is on the SIM National Technology Committee. He earned his Masters of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a Mathematics minor from California State University, Fullerton.

With over two decades of dedicated leadership in the fields of operations and information technology, Lori is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Chief Information Officer at MEFA, a quasi-state authority located in Boston Massachusetts.  MEFA was created by the Massachusetts state legislature in 1982 with a mission to help students and families access and afford higher education through education programs, tax-advantaged savings plans, fixed-rate loans, and expert guidance.  

In this role for the past 20 years, Lori has been instrumental in providing strategic direction for all aspects of technology, including IT security, information systems, programs, and infrastructure. Her responsibilities extend to overseeing the total technology spend, orchestrating the operational activities of the IT department, managing budgets and outside vendors, supervising her team,  and ensuring the seamless integration of IT solutions to enhance mission-critical business operations. Given MEFA’s mission, she also regularly interacts with others in state and local government.     

  Lori holds a Master's Degree in Education with a focus on Higher Education Administration from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Business Administration from the University of Vermont.  Having completed the SIM Rising Leaders Forum and the SIM Executive Leaders Forum, she brings a robust educational foundation and a commitment to continuous learning to complement her professional experience. Her involvement in various volunteer organizations includes co-chairing committees and serving in leadership capacities for MASFAA and SIM Boston (past Secretary, Vice-President, and President). 

Mark Griesbaum is the Managing Partner of affinITy4U, LLC since November, 2014.  affinITy4U, LLC is focused in the following key areas:  IT Strategy/Vision Development, Operational Integration, Top Line Revenue Growth, and Executive Leadership Development.  Key Clients served by Affinity4U, LLC. are the following:  Burwood Group, Dominican University, Ensono, Littelfuse, Rehrig Pacific Company, True Value, Web-Smart – USA, SIM-National and i.c.stars.   

Mark is involved in various non-profit organizations across Chicago including the Society for Information Management (Trustee), Illinois Technology Foundation (Board Member), 1871 Chicago Innovation, I.C. Stars (Vice Chair of the Board), and the Higher Education CIO Special Interest Group (Co-Founder).

Mr. Waas is on the Board of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Society for Information Management. He is also the Executive Director - GoodTogether a philanthropic program at Sage Sustainable Electronics.  He previously was the Chairman & CEO of the Illinois Technology Foundation. ITF was a not-for-profit organization that focuses on providing mentoring to college age students in the transition from academia to industry. He started his career at Grumman Data Systems Corporation and held various management positions in strategic planning, finance and service management. Mr. Waas was Senior Vice President of Service and Support at Vanstar Corporation, a $2.5 billion dollar system integrator. At Vanstar, Mr. Waas headed the $250 million service organization. Mr. Waas was Vice President of Value Added Services at Dell Computer Corporation. He was responsible for a $750 million dollar division of Dell, responsible for the sale and delivery of software, peripherals and system integration services.

He is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, Harvard University Extension School and Roosevelt Universary. At Northwestern, he also serves as a member of the MSIS Admissions Committee.  

He is member of the board for the Society for Information Management (SIM) Tampa Bay Chapter. He also serves as a volunteer business mentor with SCORE. Mr. Waas was a co-founder of the Service Section of CompTIA and was a member of the Board and Chairman of the association from 1995-1997.

He is an active member on the SPC Advisory Council Task Forces and the CCIT Advisory Council.

Mr. Waas holds a BBA in accounting and an MBA in finance from Hofstra University. He resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.

More on Mr. Waas can be found on his LinkedIn Profile

A Senior Information Technology Leader with 20+ years of business and information technology experience in software development, project management, change management, and process improvement. Saby has assisted multiple diverse clients in their business transformation through project successes, bolstering communications across various departments, and assisted customers in creating effective solutions to complex problems. An international speaker, trainer and coach on leadership and technology, his speech engagements are energetic, lively and engaging. An enthusiastic speaker leader with an uncanny ability to engage and inspire his team and audience. Saby is currently working as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Clackamas Community College and is on the board of SIM Portland Chapter. He is also an Angel Investor with focus on start-ups in Technology and Retail.

Stephen Webster joined MRE Consulting in 2013 as MRE’s Chief Technology Officer. As the leader of MRE’s Information Technology Management practice area, he is responsible for helping MRE and its clients develop and implement sound technology strategies. Stephen is a recognized expert at designing and implementing technology solutions and services for Global Fortune 250 companies. He has provided expert commentary on topics ranging from data security to cloud computing, and has been featured on Bauer Business Focus, NPR and CBS Radio. Stephen has been responsible for strategy development, strategic outsourcing, and has run worldwide support, infrastructure and data center operations.

Prior to Joining MRE, Stephen was the CEO and Founder of StratITsphere, a next generation data center and managed-services company, which was recognized in 2012 by the Houston Business Journal as #2 fastest growing technology company in Houston. As CEO of StratITsphere, he drove innovative award-winning solutions and achieved investor targets focused on growth of cloud, colocation, consulting and outsourcing services. Previously, he was the top technology executive at BG Group, a multinational oil and gas company recently acquired by Royal Dutch Shell, where he served as VP and CTO for global infrastructure strategy and delivery.

Earlier, Stephen held positions with Accenture and Calpine Corporation in leadership roles in solution architecture, enterprise architecture, infrastructure services, and operations management. Stephen has received numerous recognitions from the IT community including listing on the MSPmentor250’s “Top People in Managed Services” in 2014 and CRN’s “Next-Gen 250 List of Groundbreaking Technology Companies” for his work at StratITsphere in 2011 and 2012. Stephen holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Houston and a BA in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bio coming soon.

Sanjay Khatnani is a managing partner and founder of J2 Solutions, a successful technology and business consulting firm based in the greater Philadelphia area, where he provides strategic direction to the company, forms and manages partnerships, works with clients to deploy technology solutions that drive organizational growth and manages recruiting operations. Sanjay brings a unique combination of attributes to this role, with more than a decade of IT consulting experience, an in-depth knowledge of the sales and marketing function and a natural ability to develop and nurture relationships.

Under his leadership, J2 saw a 554% growth over a three-year period. The company was named one of the fastest growing companies on the 2015, 2014 Inc. 5000 list and also ranked on the 2015, 2014 Philadelphia 100 list. Khatnani has been quoted in CIO Magazine and technology business book, “Straight to the Top: CIO Leadership in a Mobile, Social and Cloud-based World,” by Gregory Smith.

Prior to forming J2 in 2002, Sanjay ran the pre-sales organization for Niku Corporation’s northeast division. There, he led a team of six in the development and support of client opportunities, and provided subject matter expertise in all aspects of technical pre-sales activities.

In 1998, as a manager with Connaissance Consulting, he was tasked with developing the consulting organization strategy and build-out to support the most efficient use of the staff. As a direct result of his efforts, he increased the consulting delivery utilization rate from 60% to over 90%—driving bottom line growth for the company.

His earlier career experience includes positions with Deloitte Consulting in sales and marketing, IT consulting and human resources.

Sanjay sits on the advisory council of Tech Impact, a community-based organization that empowers non-profits to use technology. He is a regular speaker for the organization’s ITWorks, an award-winning IT training program for young adults, and is a board member of Philadelphia Society of Information Management (SIM) chapter.

Don Schmidt was the Vice President of Information Technology at Briggs Healthcare. His primary responsibilities for this role encompassed a wide variety of strategic business and technology initiatives built for and aligned with the business. Don’s most significant recent achievement was the transformation of resources, technology and system ownership from IT-owned enterprise solutions to cloud-first business-owned solutions. The transformation delivered business solutions while providing the business with a richer ownership of its own technology.

Don holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, TX. Don maintains an active membership in the Society for Information Management, Chicago Chapter where he is on the Board of Directors as Vice President of Membership. Don also is a guest lecturer at Loyola University speaking on the disciplines of Project Management.

Jim Martin is Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Shepley Bulfinch, a 140 year old national architecture practice with offices in Boston, Hartford, Houston and Phoenix with a focus on institutional healthcare and education design. In an environment of rapidly evolving demands and technology platforms, Jim draws on over 25 years of Information Technology experience to lead the development of strategies for technology tools that support and advance design, delivery, and collaboration.

Kristen Lamoreaux, President & CEO of Lamoreaux Search, LLC, is a cultivator of talent that derives joy from helping others achieve their potential. Her integrity, candor, and focus on moving things forward ensure you will always get the hard truth from her mentoring heart. A woman of energy and action, Kristen is a self-proclaimed “Inclusionist” who dedicates her efforts, both personally and professionally, toward helping people and organizations reap the benefits from a diverse leadership team.

Kristen has garnered industry recognition from her visibility as a contributor for CIO magazine and her frequent appearances as a keynote speaker at national industry conferences. Her thought leadership includes women’s leadership, technology talent, STEM Outreach, and networking through philanthropy.

Kristen is also the founder of SIM Women - a North American networking organization for over 1500 female CIOs and their direct reports. She conducts monthly webinars, regional meetings, and emcees a national conference annually where she hosts tech non-profits focused on diversity and inclusion.