IS Advisory Board Biographies

Michael Aufdembrink, Energizer

Michael Aufdembrink is CIO of St. Louis based The Outsource Group. He has more than 22 years of experience helping organizations strategically utilize information technology to drive sustained operational excellence.

Prior to joining The Outsource Group, Mike served as Vice President of IT at Sara Lee Corporation, Managing Director of EPS Technology and provided consulting services for major organizations during his time at Accenture. Mike holds a bachelor's of science degree in electrical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, as well as Master's in Business Administration and Master's of Science in Information Systems from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

Laura Baur, Microsoft

Laura Baur joined Microsoft in 2005. Laura’s current role is as Director, Business Development and Analysis on Microsoft’s Business Architecture team. In that role, she is focused on connecting Microsoft Productivity products and services into end-to-end business solutions. During her tenure with Microsoft she has held several roles working with companies in a variety of industries from manufacturing and retail to financial services.

Before joining Microsoft, Laura spent 9 years in business development with Maritz, Inc., where she developed a passion for encouraging collaboration and streamlining business processes. Laura has a BS from Murray State University and Master of Arts degrees in Marketing and Media Communications from Webster University.

Paul Boal, Mercy

Paul is currently the Director of Business Intelligence Architecture for the St. Louis based Mercy Health System. Mercy, a regional health system with 18 acute care hospitals and more than 200 clinics, is the 9th largest Catholic health system in the nation (28th largest over all). Paul and the Business Intelligence team are responsible for the design, development, and support of centralized data warehousing, reporting, and analytical solutions across Mercy's operations.

Paul's background includes application development, consulting, and solution architecture. His primary focus for the past 8 years has been the development, architecture, and management of data warehousing and business intelligence solutions. Paul has been published in Teradata Magazine, ASP Today, and Dr. Dobb's Journal. He holds bachelor degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

Paul lives in Kirkwood, MO with his wife, two daughters, and son.

Samuel Bennett, The Boeing Company, Associate Board Member

Joseph Brennan, Stifel Financial Corporation

Joe is the Information Security Director for Stifel Financial Corporation (SFC). Currently, Joe’s primary mission is to stand up Stifel’s Information Security Office (InfoSec). InfoSec is responsible for protecting the firm’s information assets. In order to carry out its responsibilities InfoSec performs risk assessments, information security training, control assurance and business impact analysis. InfoSec is also responsible for developing and implementing the data governance program for Stifel as well as implementing the enterprise-wide, governance, risk management, and compliance platform.

Joe has worked in Information Technology (IT) for over 15 years. Joe started his career as the IT Director for a rapidly growing retail startup. After graduating with an MBA with an emphasis in Information Systems from UMSL in 2005 Joe worked as a consultant in BIG 4 public accounting. He spent several years afterward working in large complex financial institutions including Edward Jones and Morgan Stanley as an IT Audit Manager before joining the Federal Reserve as a Commissioned IT Examiner. There he worked with large, complex financial institutions. In his role as an IT Examiner he also presented to the Federal Reserve Board on topics including data governance and the impact high frequency trading on individual investors. Joe also presented on several occasions to the Arkansas Bankers Association (ABA), Missouri Bankers Association (MBA), and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Technology Education Center on cyber security and other related topics.

Jason Briggs, Unisys

Sheila the Managing Partner of Spry Digital, LLC. Spry Digital is a nimble interactive agency that knows how to design and build things for the web that help organizations grow and meet their objectives. They leverage open source technology to create affordable, scalable solutions that include web applications and business websites. Sheila also runs Tuxedo Park Leasing, which recently completed a historic redevelopment at 2710-2714 Lafayette Ave. in St. Louis.

Prior to starting her own business, Sheila was a partner at Edward Jones with over twenty years of experience in their Information Systems division. Her experience is primarily in software maintenance, design and development but also includes project management, strategic planning, IS general controls and infrastructure management.

Sheila has her bachelors degree from UMSL with an emphasis in MIS and her masters degree from Washington University. She is currently on the Craft Alliance board, the St. Louis Panhellenic Alumnae Association and an active member of the Delta Zeta Alumnae.

David Burlis, Express Employment Professionals

David Burlis owns an Express Employment Professionals office in St Louis. David opened the office in 2006 and has been helping clients in both locally in St Louis and nationally by solving their HR and employment needs with tailored solutions that meets their needs. Express has just celebrated its 26th anniversary of helping companies find the right people as well as helping individuals find the right company. David is active in the community as a member of numerous Chambers of Commerce in the St Louis area as well as SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), HRMA (Board Member - Human Resource Management Association of Greater St. Louis), and is on the Board of the Kirkwood – Des Peres Chamber of Commerce as well as the University of Missouri St Louis IS Board of Advisors. He is a graduate of the Leadership Chesterfield program. David is also the President and Director of the Human Capital Advisory Alliance – ACA-St Louis.

Prior to starting the Express Employment Professional office, David was the Vice President of Information Technology for Sears in Chicago. Prior to Sears, David was the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and SVP of Information Technology at CIGNA Insurance in Hartford, CT. He had also held senior leadership roles at Prudential Healthcare in New Jersey, The Associates First Capital in Dallas Texas, and Thorn EMI in Wichita. He is originally from St Louis where he worked at Edison Brothers Stores and helped form Edison Brother Mall Entertainment. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication from St. Louis University and a master’s degree in business from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Michael Coats, Edward Jones, Associate Board Member

Mike Coats is a senior programmer analyst responsible for Data Services Tools at Edward Jones.  After joining the firm in 2005, he spent his first five years supporting the firm's international systems in the UK.  Currently he develops and supports business intelligence, ETL and database tools on Windows, Linux and UNIX platforms, including Pentaho, SQL Server and Oracle.  Prior to Edward Jones, Mike worked as a software developer for A. G. Edwards, Amdocs and MasterCard International.

Mike received his Bachelor's degree in Biology from Washington University and a Master's of Science in Information Systems from UMSL, where he mentors and serves on the MIS Mentoring Advisory Board.   He and his wife Darlene live in Maryland Heights, MO with their two sons, who are avid hockey players.

Ray Creely, Retired from IBM, Emeritus Board Member

Mr. Creely recently retired from his position as Developer Relations Executive for IBM's Global Technology Unit with responsibilities for the Communication Sector and Security. He has over 30 years experience in information technology and has expertise in solution design and development, project management and systems integration. As the Developer Relations Executive, Mr. Creely worked with Israeli based technology companies to provide a variety of industry and security based solutions to clients globally. In the US, he has worked with both the Atlanta Israeli Chamber of Commerce and the California Israeli Chamber of Commerce to explore opportunities.

Mr. Creely received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Missouri, St Louis. He has continued his education within IBM through a variety of programs including the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Creely is currently a board member of the Philadelphia Education Fund, a member of the Steering Committee for the Philadelphia Math + Science Coalition and a member of the Immaculata University Business Department Advisory Board. In the past he had worked with the St. Louis School District and UMSL's Center for International Studies in developing a high school international business curriculum. He also represented the St. Louis business community in developing an innovative accelerated degree program partnering with UMSL, Washington University, St. Louis Community College and area school districts.

Eric Crum, Panera Bread Company

Eric Crum joined Panera Bread in December, 2008, and currently serves as Director of Financial Applications within the IS team. He has responsibility for managing Panera’s finance applications, including Oracle E-Business Suite, finance-related business intelligence systems, and in-café financial activities. Prior to joining Panera, Eric owned and operated an IT services firm based in Fairview Heights, IL that focused on serving the technology needs of small businesses. Prior to that, he spent 17 years working a variety of technology roles in the Global Technology and Operations division at MasterCard Worldwide.

Eric holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He and his wife, Sharolyn, have two children, Alyssa and Brianna, and reside in Villa Ridge, MO.

Amy Deiters, Credere Group

Amy Deiters is a consultant with Credere Group.  She has more than 22 years experience in IT helping companies deliver technical solutions around the world to move their business forward.

Prior to joining Credere, Amy held positons at United Compounding Management, Enterprise, Ernst & Young, Edward Jones, Anheuser-Busch, Prudential, SCS Compute and ServiceMaster. She has worked in process, infrastructure and application development areas in IT. She holds a bachelor in Business Administration in Information Systems from University of Missouri – St. Louis along with a MBA from Saint Louis University. She is on the Housing Corporation Board for Chi Omega – Eta Kappa Chapter and is assisting with the St. Louis Aspirations awards in St. Louis for the National Center for Women in IT. Previously she has been involved with the UMSL IS Mentoring program and was the president of the Edward Jones UMSL Alumni Association.

Brian Dummann, Emerson

Debra Erickson, Metro St. Louis, Emeritus Board Member

Debra Erickson, vice president and chief information officer of St. Louis-based Metro. She reports to Metro Chief Executive Officer John Nations. Erickson joined Metro after serving as a senior information technology executive at both Peabody Energy, Inc., and Ameren Corporation, Missouri's largest electric utility company, where for more than a decade she served as head of applications development in Information Technology.

Her experience also includes a stint in management consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Erickson holds a bachelor of arts degree from Lindenwood University and an MBA from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. A native of Columbia, Mo., Erickson resides with her husband, Tim, and children Holly and Adam in Defiance, MO. 

Paul Eveld, Technology Partners

Paul is currently an independent consultant working with MasterCard. Paul was with Monsanto for most of his career and in his last role was responsible for global purchasing and payables SAP support, global order to cash SAP support, global expense reporting, Monsanto Corporate site services and security systems. He is the lead of the Monsanto IT Coop program placing 40 coop students yearly. Paul has a broad background in application development and infrastructure management and has extensive experience working closely with business management. In prior roles at Monsanto, he has provided IT support for US Sales organization, Global Marketing, Manufacturing, and Finance.

Paul has a BSBA in Business, with an emphasis in MIS, from the University of Missouri St. Louis. He continued his education in a Monsanto sponsored Components of Corporate Strategy curriculum at John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University.

Mary Fowler, UMSL

Michael is a Managing Director with Accenture. He is member of the Products, Life Sciences practice. He is currently the Global Technology Account Lead for Johnson & Johnson, as well as the Location Managing Director of the St. Louis Office since 2008.

From early 2012 thru May 2013, he was a member of the Resources Operating Group and helped lead a start-up Agriculture practice. During this time, he was the engagement lead for the CVSCaremark Client Connect platform integration program. Prior, he had spent prior 19 years as a member of Accenture’s Health Payor practice. He has also been global Client Account Lead for Centene, Monsanto, and Express Scripts.

The early part of his career in the mid-1980s he was with Arthur Andersen's Computer Aids to Tax Practice, in Chicago, IL. In addition to Arthur Andersen, his work experience included AT&T Bell Laboratories and St. Louis Children's Hospital. He holds a BA from Marquette University and a Masters Health Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Outside of Accenture, Michael enjoys pickup basketball, running, and spending time with his wife Martha and their four children. He is active at Washington University in St. Louis as a guest lecturer, a Board Member of University of Missouri St. Louis IT Advisory Board, Northside St. Louis Regeneration Initiative, the Donald Danforth Plant and Science Center, Missouri Corn Growers Association, the Salvation Army, and the Missouri Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Bryan Garcia, ITEN STL

Bryan Garcia career covers over 35 years in various roles ranging from education, hardware and software engineering to executive management in Information (Innovative) Technology. Mr. Garcia is the CEO of Innovative Technology Solutions, is a mentor for SixThirty (a Financial Technology Startup Accelerator in St. Louis MO), and is a member of the Information Systems Program Advisory Board at University of Missouri St. Louis. Mr. Garcia is a solutions driven IT Leader skilled at helping business partners utilize technology to solve business problems, increase revenue and improve the customer experience. Strong advocate of aligning technology strategy to business needs, carefully planning execution, building strategic partnerships, and creating reusable and shared platforms.

Most recently Mr. Garcia recently retired as the Chief Technology Officer after 29 years with Equifax in a variety of roles. Much of his career was spent with TALX Corporation until it was acquired Equifax in 2006. During his tenure at Equifax / TALX Mr. Garcia supported growing TALX as a startup from inception to over $250 million annual run rate by delivering innovative technology solutions to enable business growth. Mr. Garcia partnered with Leadership Team of both TALX and Equifax on 25 acquisitions, over 50 M&A evaluations, implementing appropriate technology solutions tailored to the specific business need.

Mr. Garcia attended Washington University for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and was also an Adjunct Faculty member at Harris Stowe State University.

Susan Harris, The Boeing Company

Sue Harris has worked in the Information Technology field for 32 years. She is currently the IT Director for Manufacturing and Quality Systems, where her team supports all of the manufacturing final assembly and fabrication plants across Boeing. Scope includes work instruction authoring, delivery and execution, parts fabrication and delivery, through final product delivery and dashboards/reporting for every Boeing product (Commercial and Military airplanes, helicopters, missiles/bombs, satellites, etc). Prior to this role, Sue was the IT Director for HR Systems, the IT Business Partner for the KC-46 Tanker program, and then the IT Director for Manufacturing & Quality Assembly Systems. Prior to these roles, Sue was the leader for the development of the inSite corporate collaboration tool, and the Quality and Compliance leader for Boeing IT Finance Systems, responsible for SOx, CMMI, Project Management, Strategic Sourcing, Lean + and other initiatives. Sue was also the Program Management leader for the Midwest Region defense programs, responsible for direct IT program support for Naval Systems programs, Global Strike Solution programs, and Phantom Works and Weapons programs. She is a also a board member for St. Josephs Institute for the Deaf.

Sue began her career with Boeing in June of 1982, after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Accounting. Sue and her husband, Lance, have been married for 29 years. They have two children, Courtney, 22, and Kelsey, 21, and reside in Wildwood, Missouri.

Gilbert Hoffman, Mercy

Gilbert L. (Gil) Hoffman, who has been named by ComputerWorld magazine as one of the top 100 chief information officers in the United States, recently accepted the position of CIO at Mercy. He previously was CIO at Maritz, at which he started his career in Computer Operations Division in 1973. He then held a series of technology leadership positions in applications development and client consulting, helping to design and develop systems for client programs. He was promoted to vice president of Computer and Network Operations in 1989. In 1994 he became VP Director of Information Technology for Maritz Research and in 1996 he became a corporate officer and promoted to VP Director of Information Systems for Maritz Performance Improvement Company.

In 1998 Gil was named the corporation's first Chief Information Officer and Director of Maritz Global Technology Services. In this position, he oversees the development and deployment of innovative information technology throughout the corporation, in the United States and abroad.

Under Gil’s leadership, Maritz has been named by InformationWeekas one of the nations Top 500 Most Innovative Companies through the effective use of technology. Maritz has received this recognition each year for the last eleven years. In addition, ComputerWorld has named Maritz one of the top 100 places to work in I.T.

Gil holds a master's in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University, St. Louis and is a founding member of the St. Louis CIO Board, a member of the Webster University of Business and Technology Advisory Board, and a winner of the Maryville University Alumni Tribute Award.

Married with three children, Gil and his family enjoy boating on the lake and all types of outdoor activities.

Gerry Imhoff, Maritz

Gerry's professional experience spans over 30 years across a wide variety of information technology disciplines.  Gerry, a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri St. Louis in 1982 with a BSBA in Management Information Systems.  While working at Mercantile (now U.S.) Bank as a programmer, Gerry earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from UMSL in 1986.  Gerry worked at Citicorp Mortgage for 11 years in positions ranging from Technology Support to System Administration to Assistant Vice President of Distributed Technology.  Joining Maritz in May of 1995 as Director of Network Services for Maritz Information Resources (MIR), he was promoted to Division Vice President in 1998.  In August of 2000, Gerry was named Division VP, Director Global Infrastructure Services, taking on responsibility for the consolidation of all infrastructure technology and nearly 350 staff members associated with formerly decentralized organizations. Gerry was promoted to Corporate Vice President in June of 2004 and to his current position of Senior Vice President in November of 2012, taking on responsibility for all Corporate I.T. at Maritz.

Gerry and his Maritz Global Technology Services (MGTS) team have overseen the successful deployment of numerous global applications including financials, intranet, messaging and collaboration; implemented a secure, commercial-class internet hosting infrastructure featuring advanced virtualization technologies; and standardized the Maritz network, server, telephony/contact center and desktop infrastructure.  Through standardization, automation, consolidation, project management discipline and ISO-based continuous process improvement, Gerry and his team have reduced technology expenditures by over one-third and dramatically improved service levels across the board.

Gerry is ITIL Foundations certified, was a founding member of the St. Louis Infrastructure Executive Board, and is a current member of the St. Louis CIO Board.  He also serves on the University of Missouri St. Louis Information Systems Advisory Board and the Technology Boards of the St. Louis Archdiocese and St. John Vianney High School.

Gerry and his wife Leah live in St. Louis County, Missouri and have two adult sons, Matt and Drew.

Jim Kinnet, Monsanto

Jim Kinnett is the Global Supply Chain IT lead. In this role, Jim is responsible for supply chain solutions across Vegetables, Crop Protection, and Seeds and Traits’ businesses across the globe. Jim’s primary role includes innovating, implementing and supporting the enabling platforms and data strategy supporting the businesses’ short- and long-term needs. His current focus is to automate the base Supply Chain global processes and implement platforms across our businesses. These processes and platforms will enable improved planning, optimization of inventory, reduction of COGs and increased customer satisfaction.

Jim’s previous role was the Global Vegetable IT Lead. Jim’s partnered with the Vegetable LT to establish the Seeding Together plan which enabled the visibility and accountability of inventory to the regions. This initiative set the foundation for future phases of product advancement and customer enablement functionality. Prior to Vegetables, Jim was the US IT Lead and the interim Brazil IT Lead. His prior focus was to enable the US/Brazil business to enhance farmer experiences through knowledge, product choice and relationships.

Jim held various project and management roles in the R&D IT area from 1991-2005. He was the Biotechnology IT lead that was established as a result of a merge of the Genomics and Biotechnology functional groups in 2002. In this role, he set the direction and strategy for IT support and innovation of Biotechnology, which includes Genomics, Quality Traits, Agronomic Traits, Yield and the Trait Development Pipeline. In addition to strategy, Jim's focus was to build relationships and common platforms between R&D IT organizations supporting Biotechnology, Molecular Breeding, Field Breeding and the Regulatory organizations.

Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science in 1991 from University of Missouri – St. Louis, and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Washington University in 2006. Jim has been at Monsanto for 23 years. Jim and his wife, Dayna, have three daughters (Brooke 20, Baylee age 17 and Kylee age 14). He enjoys golf, boating and watching his daughter’s sports.

Jay Knobbe, Ameren

As Manager, Application Development at Ameren Corporation, Mr. Knobbe leads an IT department that supports a diverse collection of internal clients including regulated and un-regulated Generation, nuclear Generation, Substations, Transmission, Fleet Services, Power Trading and Marketing, Fuels, and various other operational business units. Also as a member of Amerens IT Lead Team Mr. Knobbe establishes direction for a wide range of tactical and strategic IT issues.

Mr. Knobbe has over 20 years of Information Technology experience, beginning his career at Ameren in 1988 as an application developer working on early client server projects. Since 1992 he has held a variety of increasingly responsible IT management positions and was promoted to manager in 1998.

While at Ameren, Mr. Knobbe has supervised a number of application development product deployments, managed application integration efforts for three acquired utilities, oversaw the retirement of mainframe legacy systems at our Callaway nuclear plant, and served as the IT management lead for Amerens Source to Settle initiative.

Mr. Knobbe holds a BS degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Missouri - St. Louis and a MBA degree in Information Management and Finance from St. Louis University. He currently serves on the University of Missouri St. Louis Information Systems Advisory Board.

Kayvan Lavasani, Edward Jones, Associate Board Member

David Laux, IBM

David Laux, Global Executive, Games & Interactive Entertainment, IBM: As the Global Executive for Games and Interactive Entertainment, Dave Laux leads IBM’s efforts in this rapidly growing and strategically important industry. A long time industry participant (played a lot of games), Laux is responsible for helping games and entertainment companies leverage IBM’s strength and assets to reduce expenses while increasing efficiency and profitability. He has worked with a number of the largest and leading games developers and publishers all over the world to enhance the overall development, delivery, and deployment of their games. Laux has presented at a number of conferences, including The Game Developers Conference, Austin Games Conference, Digital Hollywood, China Joy, E3, Leipzig Games Conference, and the GCDC to name a few. He has been quoted on games topics in The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Gamasutra, Game Daily, Marketwire, CNN, Fox News, Game Planet, AfterTV, cNet and several other publications. He also has a number of podcasts on the games industry and technologies available on the web. He actively encourages industry interest and participation among high school girls and minority students through IBM’s Future of Games program, which is presented to high schools throughout the community. Laux joined IBM in 1994 to help form a new sales organization, which grew in sales from $25 Million to $1.6 Billion in 1998. He went on to lead a national telecommunications sales team for IBM and IBM’s GMB ‘NetGen’ business unit. In 2000, Laux joined IBM’s venture development organization to explore new emerging opportunities for IBM, as well as manage IBM’s relationships with several key venture capital firms. Prior to IBM, Laux was an investment banker and retail broker for several national and regional investment banks and brokerage firms. He also started and managed several successful entrepreneurial endeavors.

Jim Malke, HP

Jim has been with HP for 4 years serving as an account manager for a variety of enterprise and government accounts. Prior to HP, Jim spent 10 years in account management at Telcordia-Bellcore supporting AT&T. Prior to Telcordia, Jim worked for 17 years at Digital, HP and IBM in various sales and marketing capacities. Jim has an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University and a BS in Physics from the University of Missouri St. Louis. Jim is a native of the St. Louis area and currently resides in Wildwood with his three children.

Judy Marth, Retired from The Boeing Corporation, Emeritus Board Member

Judy retired from the Boeing Corporation after 39 years of working in a variety of IT roles.  Judy’s role prior to retirement in April of 2013 was serving as the Director of a large Information Technology group and Chief Logistics Integration Officer supporting the Global Services & Support organizations in Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). Her team supported the IT needs at the eight major sites as well as numerous others across the BDS Business Unit.

In this dual role, she was responsible for all IT solutions and service delivery to Global Services & Support, and lead the effort to ensure that integrated service-ready information systems solutions support GS&S business strategies. She also partnered with BCA Commercial Airplane Services (CAS) IT for common business solutions and cost savings, and she managed related IT proposal development for potential growth opportunities.

Marth was previously the IT Director of Supply Chain Management Systems for IDS and Phantom Works. Prior experiences include the Computing and Network Operations organization supporting the Midwest Region for Service Delivery Management and Operations; Finance Systems; the Missiles Division of McDonnell Douglas; and the Telecommunications Division of McDonnell Douglas Automation Company.

Judy has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In 2012 she was the recipient of the UMSL Alumni of the Year Award and the 2012 Most Influential Business Women Award from the St. Louis Business Journal.  She and Ron have been married more than 25 years and have two children, Alex and Lisa. Her hobbies include boating, water-skiing, horseback riding, exercise, and having family fun.

Judy continues an active role in the UMSL IT Advisory Board and the UMSL College of Business Administration, Dean's Leadership Council.

As a Senior Business Leader in Information Governance, Ms. Meyer is responsible for developing decision management services that protect consumer data and ensure effective data governance.

During her 18-year tenure at MasterCard, Ms. Meyer has also spearheaded the development of a world-class data mart for fraud analytics, and partnered with a variety of leading data scientists to launch new fraud detection models.

Before joining MasterCard, Ms. Meyer held sales and product management roles in telecommunications and financial services software development. Ms. Meyer holds a B.A. from Macalester College and a Master of Science in Information Systems from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.  In 2014, she completed a Data Mining certificate program from the University of California—San Diego. 

Ms. Meyer resides in St. Charles, MO with her husband and daughter.

Charles Moore, Express Scripts

Charlie Moore is an IT Sr. Director at Express Scripts, for whom he has worked since September 2000.  He leads the Infrastructure Architecture team within the office of the CTO, with particular focus on systems integration, Information Lifecycle Management, and IT Service Management.  Charlie received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Central Methodist University in 1995, and his MBA from UMSL in 2011.

Joseph Parker, MasterCard

Joseph Parker is Vice President, Customer Operations Services for MasterCard Technologies, a global business unit for MasterCard Worldwide in St. Louis, Missouri.  In this role, Mr. Parker defines global support strategies and leads the Emerging Products support teams in seven countries.  Members of his organization provide first and second level operational support and implement system processing changes for MasterCard customers.

Mr. Parker previously served as Director of Charitable Giving and Community Giveback for the St. Louis Chapter of Society of Information Management.

Mike Powers, Edward Jones

Melissa Ronning, Wells Fargo

Greg Schlake, AT&T

Margaret Shoptaw, Dell

Margaret holds a B.S. from the University of Missouri–St. Louis and is currently in a technical sales role for Dell’s Enterprise Solutions Group with a focus on large manufacturing companies. She has more than twenty-five years of IT industry experience in engineering, management, consulting, and sales. Prior to joining Dell, Margaret held positions with Microsoft and IBM in Consulting and Sales. Margaret serves as the President of the IS Advisory Board for the University of Missouri-St. Louis College Business Administration and sits on the Leadership Council,

Kristin Tucker, TDK Technologies, LLC

Kristin Tucker began her career in Information Technology in 1987. Currently the Managing Principal of TDK Technologies, LLC, Kristin was one of the founding members of the organization in April 2001. Kristin's duties include operational management of TDK Technologies, management of the Management Services practice, recruiting, and business development.

Prior to starting TDK Technologies, Kristin spent twelve years at Solution Consultants, Inc. Hired as one of the original consultants, Kristin held positions of increasing responsibility, including staff consultant, project manager (for both fixed bid and staff augmentation projects), marketing representative, and operations manager responsible for over fifty consultants.

Kristin has worked in a variety of industries, including financial management, healthcare and manufacturing; and for clients including Mallinckrodt, Edward Jones, Ralston Purina (now Nestle Purina), BJC Healthcare and AG Edwards (now Wells Fargo Advisors). Throughout her career, Kristin learned how to best serve the client and the consultant, and has focused on implementing those skills into TDK Technologies' business model.

Kristin previously held application development and analysis roles with Monsanto and Forrest Ford Consultants, Inc.

Paul Van Dillen, PCI Staffing Solutions Inc.

Paul joined PCI in 1999, and currently serves President of PCI Staffing Solutions since 2001, a Professional Services Staffing Company (founded originally as PC Innovators), with headquarters in St. Louis. Prior to this he served in a variety of roles in St. Louis with Maritz, McDonnell Douglas, ITT, Citi and National Steel Corporation. Paul’s experience and education led him to PCI where he has built a nationwide business focusing on companies who value technology as part of their success and technology-related product development. Paul has long been associated with the Dream Factory, a volunteer no-profit organization, whose mission is granting dreams to children diagnosed with critical or chronic illnesses. He served on the initial Board of Directors working closely with the co-founders to expand the program nationally in the mid 1980’s.

Since 1999 Paul has served on the IT Advisory Board at Ranken Technical College. He has supported several local community activities and has served on a variety of volunteer committees.

Paul received his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri – St. Louis and went on to earn a Master degree at Webster University. Paul and his wife, Colleen, have 3 boys and reside in Weldon Springs.

Dustin Wilcox, Centene Corporation

Dustin Wilcox is the Chief Information Security Officer for Centene Corporation, a national leader in the healthcare services field and member of the Fortune 500. He has over 20 years experience in a variety of Information Technology disciplines spanning a diverse array of industries including financial services, defense, energy, and healthcare. Dustin began his career as a network engineer and has held a number of technical and business leadership positions ranging from security consulting, to systems integration and enterprise architecture, to mergers and acquisitions.

Dustin holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa where he also served as Student Body President and Chairman of the Association of Big Ten Students. He holds or has held a number of technical and administrative certifications including CISSP, CSSLP, GSEC, CCNA, and CNE among others.

Dustin, his wife Paula, and their four daughters reside in O’Fallon, Illinois where they are active in their community and in worthy causes across the St. Louis region.

Mark G. Zimmerman,

Mark recently retired from his position as Vice President, Information Technology, for St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets, Inc., a family owned and operated grocery retailer. He is responsible for all IT aspects of the company, including application development, network and database management, computer operations and technical infrastructure. Mark also serves as Information Security Officer for the company. Mark began his career with Schnucks in September of 1997 in the position of Manager, Systems Development.

Having more than 20 years experience in the Information Technology career field, Mark began as a computer operator with the U.S. Air Force in 1982. He has served in a variety of roles throughout his career -- computer operator, database administrator, application developer, systems analyst, consultant, project manager, and most recently in executive management.

His education includes a bachelor of science in Business Administration (emphasis in MIS) from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and an executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He is active in the St. Louis metro community, previously serving as a member of Goodwill's a.d.e.p.t. Business Advisory Council. He is also an active member of the RGCA CIO Forum, serves on the United Way Technology Committee and is also a member of the Food Marketing Institute's IT Committee.

Mark and his wife, Diane, have 2 children and reside in O'Fallon, Illinois.