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Speaker Biographies
Al Wallace, Director, Operational Systems
Openwave Systems, Inc.
Al has used his extensive sales experience to positively affect top and bottom line results at Openwave and constantly seeks ways to improve customer intimacy, team performance, and operational excellence. He is a published author and speaker at international technical conferences on subjects ranging from attaining market leadership and implementing best practices for competitive advantage, to identifying enterprise computing requirements and creating sustainable design. Al has formal education in business management, network and wireless communications, component engineering, systems and facilities design, lean six sigma, and quantitative analysis.
Jeff Heard, VP, Organizational Development
Thomson Corporation
Jeff Heard is Vice-President, Organizational Development for The Thomson Corporation where he works with sales organizations on a variety of sales effectiveness issues. As part of his role, he coordinates the activities of the Sales Best Practices Council at Thomson.
Before assuming his current position, Heard was Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Media General’s newspaper division where he was responsible for driving the growth strategy for the company’s 25 daily newspapers and more than 100 weekly publications. Heard joined Media General as Vice-President and Group Publisher of the company’s community newspaper operations in North Carolina. Prior to joining Media General, he was Chief Operating Officer for Thomson Newspaper’s South Georgia operations. Heard held a variety of leadership positions at Thomson Newspapers including Vice-President of Marketing for Thomson South Georgia and Publisher of the Valdosta Daily Times.
Jay Spach, SVP
Thomson Corporation
Jay Spach is Sr. Vice President of Organization Development at the Thomson Corporation, having joined Thomson in 1993 in the newspaper group. In his years with Thomson, has been intensely involved in the transformation of Thomson from a holding company to an integrated operating company co-designing and implementing the comprehensive program for implementing change and teamwork known as Pathway to Prime.
Jay has over 25 years of consulting, change management, training and facilitation experience in banking, financial services, manufacturing, and publishing. Prior to that, Jay and his wife were Broadway singers, actors, and associate producers. Jay holds a BA from Holy Cross College and an MBA from Clark University and sits on the Advisory Board of the Clark Graduate School of Management.
Glenda Cahill, New Product Launch Manager, Operating Excellence
Sonoco Products Company
Glenda Cahill is currently a New Product Launch Manager in the Operating Excellence Group at Sonoco Products Company. Sonoco created the position of new product launch manager in 2001 in order to support growth via optimizing new product commercialization. In her role, Glenda has completed the launch of 8 new products/processes, adding over $50 million to Sonoco’s top line.
Prior to her work in New Product Launch Glenda spent 2 years as a full time 6 Sigma Blackbelt and 7 years in R&D at Sonoco, 5 years in New Product Development in Dow Chemical’s Films and Engineered Laminates Group and 2 years in manufacturing with Rohm and Haas. She has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science and a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville
Martin Smith, CFO, Wachovia Direct Access
Wachovia
Smith is responsible for strategic planning and competitive analysis as well as overseeing financial management to include financial projections and budgeting, financial control, business unit consulting, profitability reporting, financial literacy, performance management and governance. Smith has 19 years banking experience, 10 years with Citicorp in New York and nine with Wachovia in Charlotte. His experience includes finance, operations, accounting, treasury and strategic planning. He has also worked in the ATM business, mortgage and customer relations.
Steve Rynkowski, Senior Director, Group Leader/Sales Communications
Pfizer US Pharmaceuticals
Steve joined Pfizer after graduating from Boston College with a degree in Economics and Political Science. He is presently in his 28th year with the company.
Starting in the sales force, Steve spent almost five years as a successful sales representative in the greater Boston area before moving to New Jersey as an assistant to the regional manager. He was promoted to District Manager in Brooklyn, NY and then elevated to Assistant Director, Sales Administration in 1989 at Pfizer’s NY Headquarters.
Over the course of the next 16 years, Steve worked within Sales Administration, as a Director of Sales Training and within Sales Operations for Pfizer, supporting the US Sales organization. During this time, Steve’s teams were involved with the introduction of laptop computers to the field, the move to an incentive plan based upon prescriptions versus pharmacy sales and multiple realignments of the sales force structure due to product launches and the mergers with Warner Lambert and Pharmacia.
Presently, Steve is Senior Director, Group Leader of Sales Communications, with oversight of the information sent to the field via e-mail and voicemail, as well as management of the field force web platform, in-house monthly field force printed magazine and a quarterly informational CD.
Susan Barry-Montgomery, Director/Corporate Accounts
J&J Health Care Systems
Susan has twenty years of cross-functional experience in account management & marketing, strategic consulting, program management, strategy, HR and operational excellence across multiple industries. Her Fortune 100 work experience includes J&J, IBM, PWCC, and General Electric Corporation. She has many years of experience in facilitating change by leading large customer focused business transformation programs, and enterprise wide strategic initiatives to drive measurable business results. She is a certified GE Six Sigma Master Black Belt and leadership development coach, a J&J Process Excellence Business Assessor, and a Wharton Executive Management Academy Fellow.
Openwave Systems, Inc.
Al Wallace, Director, Operational Systems
Openwave Systems, Inc.
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