Speakers

• Jim Fortner
  VP of IT, Operations and Applications Managment The Procter & Gamble Company
  
  

  Jim Fortner is the VP of IT, Operation and Application Management, reporting directly to the office of the CIO, and is responsible for all corporate IT applications, architecture and infrastructure for P&G worldwide. Fortner also manages key IT relationships (HP, BT, Accenture, SAP and Oracle) which help drive the necessary operations and innovations for global business services. In addition, he plays an active role in sponsoring global IT talent supply as well as U.S. IT diversity. Fortner has been at P&G for 22 years and has been in shared services since the beginning in 1999. Prior to joining P&G, he spent four years with the U.S. Air Force in Accounting and Finance and four years in Information Systems Analyst/Programming. Fortner attended Northern Kentucky University where he earned a B.S. in Information Systems and Economics. He earned a Master's in Science at St. Louis University.

• Barb Kew
  VP, IT & CIO Hill-Rom, Inc.
  
  

  Barb Kew is VP, IT and CIO at Hill-Rom, a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry based in Batesville, Indiana. Kew has more than 30 years experience within computer manufacturing, financial and healthcare-oriented Fortune 500 companies. She has a broad and deep understanding of end-to-end technologies and service delivery, including strategic planning, staff development, systems selection and implementations. Kew has significant experience in addressing international business needs, mergers and acquisitions and negotiating vendor contracts as well as start-up consulting experience.

  Previously, Kew served as VP, IT for Wellpoint, Inc. During her tenure at Wellpoint, she served as CTO and led several areas, including eBusiness development, IT mergers and acquisitions, vendor management, help desk, field support, operations command center and disaster recovery/availability office. Prior to her tenure at Wellpoint, Kew was CIO for Bank One Home Loan Services, including all first mortgages and equity loans.

  In 2008, Kew was named winner of the ‘Women & Hi Tech Leading Light Risk-Taker Award.’ In the community, she was appointed by the Governor to serve on the 2006 Indiana Education Technology Council , was an active participant in the creation of the ‘Digital Age Learning Plan’ proposed for the State of Indiana, and is a United Way contributor.

  Kew earned a B.S. in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

• Kevin Ledford
  VP, IT & CIO Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
  
  

  Kevin Ledford has served as VP and CIO of Chiquita Brands International Inc., since January 2011. Ledford served as Chiquita’s VP, IT Global Applications from 2007-2010. He is in his 20th year at Chiquita and has worked in various IT leadership positions in Chiquita’s European, Latin American and North American operations. Prior to joining Chiquita in 1991, Ledford worked for Armco Steel Company and the Hewlett-Packard Corporation.

• Dr. Françoise LeGoues
  VP of Innovation Initiatives, Office of the CIO IBM
  
  

  Dr. Françoise LeGoues is the VP of Innovation Initiatives in IBM’s CIO’s organization. She and her team are responsible for identifying, testing and transferring emerging technologies that have the potential for transforming IBM and the way IBMers work, communicate and innovate. She joined the IBM Research Division after getting a Ph.D. in Material Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University. As a research staff member, and then as the manager of the ‘Materials Characterization’ group, she authored more than 150 scientific publications and obtained four patents.

  LeGoues held a number of positions at IBM, all of which had the common thread of bringing innovation to clients and to IBMers. As the manager of the Industry Solutions Lab, she managed three solutions labs worldwide, where customers can see, touch and play with the new technologies.

  In her most recent role as VP and CTO for the Distribution Sector, in IBM’s Sales and Distribution organization, she used innovation throughout IBM to help define and build new industry solutions and to help clients define their own technology strategy. LeGoues is an IBM Distinguished Engineer, and a member of the IBM Academy.

• Donald Marinelli
  Professor, Drama and Arts Management & Executive Producer, Entertainment Technology Center Carnegie Mellon University
  
  

  Donald Marinelli has been at Carnegie Mellon for 30 years. He was integral in creating the Master of Arts Management program and the M.F.A. in Acting degree program with the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia. With colleague Randy Pausch, author of the acclaimed international bestseller, The Last Lecture, Marinelli co-founded the Master of Entertainment Technology degree program and the ETC.

  Marinelli completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Tampa. He attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where he received an M.A. in Clinical Psychology specializing in Existential-Phenomenological Psychology. Marinelli subsequently attended the University of Pittsburgh where he received his Ph.D. in Theatre History, Literature and Criticism with a dissertation on the Italian Futurist F.T. Marinetti.

  Marinelli is currently leading the expansion of the Entertainment Technology Center internationally, with ETC branch campuses or degree partnerships in Adelaide, Australia; Osaka, Japan; Madeira, Portugal; Monterrey, Mexico; Singapore; and Silicon Valley, California.

• Russ Mayer
  EVP & CIO GE Healthcare
  
  

  Russ Mayer is the EVP and CIO of GE Healthcare, a $17B division of General Electric. GE Healthcare is the global leader in medical diagnostic technology, information systems and biosciences. Mayer joined GE Healthcare in 2005 from GE Transportation, where he was the VP and CIO beginning in 2004. He joined GE Aircraft Engines in July 2000 as CIO and in September 2000 was named an officer of General Electric Company.

  Before joining GE Aircraft Engines, Mayer was SVP of IT and chief quality officer of NBC. Mayer was the Six Sigma Leader for GE's Electrical Distribution & Control business from 1997 — 1998; prior to this, he was their CIO. He was AVP of Information Services for Chiquita Brands International from 1992 — 1994. Before his tenure at Chiquita, Mayer held a variety of information systems positions with increasing responsibility in GE Lighting and in several large steel companies.

  Mayer earned a Bachelor degree in Psychology with a concentration in Mathematics from Mount Union College, in Ohio. He is a certified Quality Leader.

• Bob McDonald
  Chairman of the Board, President & CEO The Procter & Gamble Company
  
  

  Bob McDonald is Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Proctor & Gamble. With more than 30 years of brand-building, market development, global business unit and global operations leadership experience across the company and throughout the world, he is the most broadly experienced CEO in P&G history.

  McDonald graduated from West Point in the top 2% of his class with a B.S. in Engineering. He then went on to serve in the U.S. Army as Captain, Infantry, Airborne Ranger, 82nd Airborne Division. In 2007, McDonald received the inaugural ‘Leadership Excellence Award’ from the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard Business Review. In 2010, he was awarded a Doctor of Laws, Honorary Degree, from Hampden-Sydney College, and a Doctor of Commercial Science, Honorary Degree, from the University of Cincinnati.

  McDonald is Chair of the Business Roundtable Fiscal Policy Initiative and Vice Chair of the U.S.-China Business Council. He is a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations — originally appointed by President Bush, then reappointed by President Obama. He also serves on the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia and Singapore’s International Advisory Council of the Economic Development Board.

• Deven Mehta
  Deputy Director, Department and Administrative Services, OAKS State of Ohio
  
  

  Deven Mehta currently serves as a Deputy Director in Department of Administrative Services-OAKS ERP program. Given the fragmented, competitive nature of state government, the collaboratively driven coalition of state IT, fiscal and HR professionals led by Mehta implemented BI governance strategies that will result in more than $50M enterprise savings and laid the foundation for future efficiencies and enterprise business transformation. This business intelligence delivery model was also recognized in the Gartner Case Study: “The State of Ohio Delivers Business Intelligence With a 'Think Global, Act Local' Organizational Model” which was published January 2011.

  Mehta is a seasoned business applications professional with more than 15 years experience in the IT consulting service, financial, government, and software products industries with companies such as Sterling Commerce (an IBM company) and Cambridge Technology Partners. Throughout his career he has been responsible for building strategic vision; providing critical engagement delivery leadership; project management; IT investment and portfolio management; as well as organization change management. Mehta holds an M.S. in Engineering from The Ohio State University.

• The Honorable Dale W. Meyerrose
  Former Associate Director & CIO Office of National Intelligence
  
  

  The Honorable Dale W. Meyerrose is currently VP and General Manager for Cyber Integrated Solutions for Harris Corporation. He is responsible for leading all aspects of strategy, business development and program execution for Harris cyber growth initiatives across the corporation. Meyerrose has more than three decades of military and government experience in cyber, communications, information technology, intelligence, command and control operations, and space support. Most recently, he was the first President-appointed, Senate-confirmed CIO and Information Sharing Executive for the U.S. Intelligence Community in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. While on active duty, he served as CIO in three major U.S. Air Force Commands and three unified Combatant Commands. Meyerrose retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2005 with the rank of major general. Among Meyerrose’s many professional awards are the ‘International AFCEAN of the Year,’ the ‘Executive CIO Top 10 Leaders and Innovators Public Service Award’ for excellence in public leadership, and Computer World ‘Fed 100.’ He was also recognized by the Government Computer News for ‘Outstanding Information Technology Achievement in Government.’

• Dickie Oliver
  VP of Global IT YUM! Brands, Inc.
  
  

  As VP of Global IT for YUM! Brands, Inc., Dickie Oliver is responsible for architecture, security, compliance, messaging, networks, applications and monitoring on a global basis. He has spent more than 14 years in various roles of increasing accountability within the Yum! IT organization. This has included IT leadership positions within individual Yum! Brands, Yum! shared services and Yum! corporate organizations. Oliver has 20 years of experience in IT related areas including development, consulting, project management and IT leadership.

  Prior to joining Yum! Brands in 1996, Oliver was an engineering consultant and instructor at PowerCerv, Inc. in Augusta, GA. He is currently a board member for Volunteers of America in Louisville. He has presented at multiple IT conferences and won the ‘Westinghouse Malcolm Baldridge’ award for IT excellence. Oliver earned his B.B.A. in Finance, his B.B.A. in Management and his minor in Computer Science from Eastern Kentucky University

• George Photakis
  VP & CIO Anchor Hocking Company
  
  

  Mr. Photakis is an experienced Senior Executive and dynamic leader with over three decades’ experience in MIS, Business Management and administration, Logistics and distribution, ERP analysis and implementations, customer service, systems development and support, virtualization, business continuity,  M&A and due diligence, contract negotiations.
  
  His Career is specialized in the unique challenges facing IT in the manufacturing, logistics and distribution industries. Strategy oriented; understands business processes and using IT as a competitive advantage. George is someone who drives and supports the business from the viewpoint of the customers, suppliers, management level and all drivers of productivity in a successful business.
  
  Known as a transformational and turn-around Executive who has successfully reorganized, revitalized and restructured organizations. George has implemented many business process and information technology solutions all improving both bottom and top line business metrics and direct impact to each companies profitability and market dominance.

  Mr. Photakis has served on various advisory councils, nominated two years in row for Columbus Executive of the Year by his peers, and is known for his motivational style of speaking by reducing complex issues into understandable topics.  
  

  The 3 loves in his life are Flying, his wife and his dogs but he never comments on the order of the above!

• Kumar Rachuri
  CIO Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
  
  

  Kumar Rachuri is the Chief Information Officer, and the Director of Ohio Shared Services Strategy office at the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM). Kumar’s leadership skills are instrumental in creating multi-agency partnerships to solve the state’s IT challenges. These challenges are addressed by leveraging internal enterprise talent to create cost-effective, collaborative approaches in building mission-critical IT solutions that promote centers of excellence models throughout the state of Ohio. By applying effective and innovative methods to mesh these technological partnerships, Kumar successfully paved the way for the launch of a shared services initiative for the state of Ohio that is a cost-effective and pioneering approach for a public sector IT operation.

  Kumar was born in India and moved to the United States in the early 1980s to further his education. He graduated magna cum laude with an associate’s degree in electronic engineering from Columbus State Community College, and continued his education at The Ohio State University in Bachelor of Sciences, where he majored in electrical engineering and minored in computer information systems. Kumar has served Ohio in different capacities, ranging from a technology specialist to a member of senior management, and at several different state agencies, prior to joining the Ohio Office of Budget and Management as the Chief Information Officer.

• Doug Ross
  VP & CTO Western & Southern Financial Group
  
  

  Doug Ross is VP and CTO at Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern), based in Cincinnati. Western & Southern is a Fortune 500 diversified financial services company with revenues of approximately $5.4B in 2009 and assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $48B as of October, 2010. It is one of the eight strongest life insurance groups in the world based on Standard & Poor’s rating.

  Ross joined the organization in 2005 with his current role, reporting directly to the CIO at Western & Southern. In this capacity, Ross is responsible for driving the introduction of technologies that effectively support business strategy, IT agility, risk management and future growth. While in this role, he was named one of ComputerWorld’s ‘Premier 100 IT leaders’ in 2009.

  His startup experience includes co-founding FASTech Integration in 1987, which was subsequently acquired by Brooks Automation. Ross earned a B.A. in Computer Science at Indiana University. He participates in the Withrow High School Mentor Program, the Xavier University Executive Mentor Program, and is a member of the University of Cincinnati MIS Advisory Council.

• Spencer Wood
  CIO, Ohio Department of Transportation State of Ohio
  
  

  Spencer Wood is the CIO at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). As an IT executive and leader he has more than 20 years of experience executing IT initiatives and projects aligned with the department’s business priorities.
  
  Wood is the Co-Chair of the Enterprise Technical Architecture Committee at the State of Ohio’s Office of Information Technology. He has driven enterprise change while fostering a strong sense of collaboration between disparate state agencies. This collaboration is responsible for IT cost savings exceeding $80M annually. Wood will lead an enterprise effort to create revenue via unique and creative sources for the Department of Transportation.