Board of Experts

Gwen Acton, PhD
CEO of Vivo Group

Gwen Acton, PhD, is an expert on strategic leadership at the intersection of science and business. She is CEO of Vivo Group, a firm that improves the business skills of scientists and engineers so that they can be more productive and innovative in the life science and technology industries. Prior to this, she served as Director of Scientific Development at the Whitehead Institute, where she established institute strategy for building long-term relationships with industry. Dr. Acton also ran the operations of the Functional Genomics Program, overseeing operations for a $40 million, 50-person sponsored research program related to the Human Genome Project, while successfully managing alliances with industry sponsors.

Dr. Acton received a doctorate in biology from M.I.T. where she worked in a Nobel-Prize winning laboratory. She next served as a faculty member at Harvard University in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Dr. Acton led the non-profit group Women Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology (WEST), where she expanded membership and programming by over 10-fold. Recently she served as Board Chair of The Bioscience Network, a Boston-based professional development organization.

Dr. Acton is the author of the book The Bluffer’s Guide to Genetics, published by Oval Books. She has also authored industry reports published by the Cambridge Healthtech Institute, and has written over 50 freelance articles for organizations such as the Associated (AP), National Public Radio, and Technology Review Magazine. A popular speaker and facilitator, Dr. Acton is a member of the National Speakers Association


Phil Ailes
Learning and Development Specialist>
Ailes Consulting LLC

Phil has extensive experience in the development and delivery of innovative technical and management courses. Prior to Ailes Consulting Phil worked at Fidelity Investments as a Senior Project Manager/Instructional Designer designing, developing, delivering and managing company-wide IT training programs. Phil has worked as the Sales Training Manager at Markem, Global Training Director at NetScout systems, and Senior Sales Trainer at Digital Equipment Corporation.

He holds a Master of Management degree from Cambridge College in Cambridge Massachusetts.


Roger Grannis
President
Clearwater Creative Communications

Roger Grannis is the President of Clearwater Creative Communications, where he has worked with clients such as GE, Pepsi Bottling Company, TowerGroup, and YankeeGroup.

Prior to founding his company, he was the former Vice President of Media Products for Gartner, Inc. He is a highly creative and successful sales executive, sales trainer, and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of business experience. During that time, he was a key contributed in the revenues growth of a Fortune 500 company from $32 million to $750 million through the creation and implementation of comprehensive sales training and client communications programs. br>


John Kermelewicz, MCP, ITMLP, ITMLE
Global Executive Services IT Management Services
Applied Materials, Inc.

John Kermelewicz is responsible for the technical support of high level executives and their administrative staff members reporting to the Head of Global Executive Services.

He has worked within the Information Technology industry for eighteen years, at Harvard University, Axcelis Technologies, and for Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates. Mr. Kermelewicz began his career with Varian, at IT Enterprises – Site Services in 2006 and migrated into GIS (Global Information Services) after the Applied Materials acquisition of VSEA in 2011.


Steve Markman
Founder and President
Markman Speaker Management, LLC.

Steve Markman is founder and president of Markman Speaker Management, LLC, a speaker agency based in the Boston area, established in 1994. Steve has more than 30 years of experience and first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the conference, event, and speaker business. The Speakers Bureau division is used internationally by companies, associations, colleges and universities, and other organizations seeking Keynote and Featured speakers. Steve’s One-On-One Coaching Program focuses on the strategies, tactics, and processes of how to attain speaking engagements. The program is designed for anyone – in any industry or profession – who recognizes the many benefits of speaking engagements as a way for an individual or a firm to generate business leads, build visibility and increase brand awareness. Steve has helped hundreds of consultants, authors, executives, and other professionals grow their business through speaking.

Prior to launching Markman Speaker Management, Steve led the conference divisions for some of the world’s leading conference organizations, including COMDEX, The Conference Board, and Giga Information Group. Steve is referenced as a source in the book, Speak Like A CEO and has contributed to chapters in two other books. He serves on the Education Committee of the New England Society of Association Executives.


Saibal Sen
President
ZENeSYS Consulting

Saibal has close to 20 years of experience in vendor and technology selection for medium to large corporations around the globe. He started as as a Management Consultant at Arthur D. Little advising CXO level management at Global 1000 on vendor selection and technology roll out planning. He continued to provide same type of services in his first consulting startup, Kuber Inc. Later in 2009, Saibal founded ZENeSYS Consulting, a company focused on Analytics driven solutions. Their vendor and service management analytics platform in the cloud called ZENATICS is in use at two Global 1000 companies.

Saibal has recently published his book “Analytics Driven Service Contract Management” published by Bite Sized Books of London, UK. The book earned #1 in New Release and 5th highest selling in Outsourcing category in Amazon.


Mark Simon
Principal Training Specialist
HiMark Solutions

Mark Simon is a Principal Training Specialist at HiMark Solutions and has over 25 years of hands-on experience with design, development, and delivery of eLearning and instructor-led training. Mark is also an Adjunct Professor in the Instructional Design graduate program at UMass-Boston.

Mark’s clients have included Biogen, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Forrester Research, RSA, Genzyme, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Honeywell, Black Duck Software, and more.

Mark is a frequent contributor to a variety of professional publications and shares his experiences often at professional shows and conferences. Mark makes frequent appearances at ATD and eLearning Guild conferences and events, and you may have read some of Mark’s articles in T+D and eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions magazines.


Jim Stewart
Principal
JP Stewart Associates

Jim Stewart, principal of JP Stewart Associates, has been managing projects for over twenty years. As a Project Management Professional and Certified Scrum master, he provides guidance to organizations in project best practices.

He is a speaker at Project Management Institute chapter meetings and project symposia and former VP of Programming at the Mass Bay Chapter of PMI. He is also on the advisory board of MindEdge, Inc. in which capacity he reviews course material and advises on PM trends.

Jim is co-authoring a book about best practices in project planning, tentatively titled “Facilitating Project Planning Meetings: A Practical Guide to Ensuring Project Success.


Harold Waisel
Founder and President
Performegy LLC

Harold Waisel, is the Founder and President of Performegy LLC, where he facilitates strategic planning sessions for leadership teams, and helps train IT teams to provide better client service to their business partners.

Harold has over 25 years of experience building strategies and roadmaps, delivering technology solutions, improving service levels, integrating companies, and developing key performance measures. He was also a 3-time National Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

His educational background includes a BA in Economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from the Boston College Carroll School of Management, where he majored in Organizational Development and Finance.


Amy Young
Professor
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Dr. Amy Young is a professor and management consultant who specializes in organizational and management practices associated with successful digital transformation.

As a faculty member at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Dr. Young teaches on the subjects of digital communication, organizational collaboration, and digital transformation. She also advises IT executives on effective approaches to achieve organizational adoption of IT initiatives and to build relationships with the C-suite and business units outside of IT.

Dr. Young’s recent work includes Thinkbanking & Corporate Webbing: 50 Secrets to Success in the Digital Age, which explores effective approaches for organizational adoption of IT initiatives.