Nashville Technology Council

Jim is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte & Touche AERS India Private Limited, the newly created entity for the AERS India Collaborative Venture effective January 1, 2008.  Jim will be focusing on the global roll out of D&T AERS India throughout the DTT world. 

Jim has 27 years of accounting and professional services experience with expertise in auditing multi-national corporations. Jim currently serves as LCSP on OCEO client Cox Enterprises, Inc.  In the past Jim has served multi-national corporations including RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, Nextel International and World Duty Free.

Jim has his B.S., B.A. from Bryant College and is a certified public accountant from Rhode Island, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia.  He is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Jim’s career has encompassed several deployments starting in the Northeast Region 1981-‘87, South Florida 87-‘91, Winston-Salem, NC 92-‘95, St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia 95-‘98, Washington D.C. 98-‘03 and Atlanta ‘03- present.  Jim has served as AERS Regional Managing Partner for the past seven years, first in Central Atlantic, and the past four plus years in the Southeast which includes 20 offices stretching from Baltimore to San Juan to Memphis.

Kent Freeman
Cheif Technology Officer, Ingram Digital

Bio coming soon

Innovation Conference 2009 – Recap

The first speaker of the day was Russell Schnedier, CEO of Marketex Computer Corporation. His speech was titled, “Three Trends Reshaping Storage Virtualization.” He spoke on many computer-related topics, such as whether disks are getting faster and slower, and PC disk speed verses size. He also spoke about how virtual tapes improve everything, from back-up time being reduced by 50% and recovery time being reduced by 90%.

Schnedier brought up the two largest problems that thin provisioning solves, utilization and storage and storage administration challenge. Thin provisioning helps utilization by creating volumes virtually and provisioning space as needed. It helps storage administration challenge by putting space allocation on autopilot.  He ended his presentation by naming the IBM SAN Volume Controller and the Compellent Disk System the best of breed products.

Dr. Eric Dobson, CEO of TrakLok Corporation, gave the next presentation, “Geolock: Secure & Efficient Tracking.” The presentation was all about a patent-pending Geolock that is reusable, removable, armored sealed, RFID, cellular, and GPS acceleromerty and has a life cycle of up to three years. The Geolock can be placed on shipping containers and tracks exactly were the cargo is and whom it is with.

The next presenter was Alan Dash, Associate Partner Technology at Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. Alan’s presentation, “Innovative Technologies of Today & Tomorrow,” focused on many interesting things, including intelligent security camera systems, conference room technologies, RFID/RTLS, and electronic way finding systems. The intelligent camera systems offer 3D tracking, object classification, and facial recognition technology. RFID/RTLS is a real time location service that can track people, assets, and goods.

Dr. G. Marshall Molen, team leader for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University and a Diversified Technology/Ergon Distinguished Professor, gave his presentation on “The Impact of Student Engineering Competitions in the Development of Hybrid Vehicles.” The topic of his presentation narrowed in on a hybrid vehicle that his student’s designed for a four-year Challenge X competition. A Chevrolet Equinox Platform stood as the base for the hybrid vehicle. The hard work and dedication of the students and Dr. Molen paid off when they came out on top as the national winners in the competition. The car itself even made an appearance at the conference.

“Beyond the Assembly Line: Universal Robotics and the Automation of Intelligence,” was the presentation given by Dr. Alan Peters, founder and CTO of Universal Robotics. Peters’ presentation focused on taking standard industrial robots to a new level by teaching them to perform new jobs and work in new environments. To teach the robots what moves to make, people actually get inside the robot and make the moves it wants the robot to learn. The requirements for Natural Intelligence include embodiment, interaction, situatedness, and development.  In his speech, Peters pointed out that the next step in automation is pick and place robots.

Rankin Clinton III, CEO of Woolsthorpe Technologies, wrapped up the day with his presentation, “Patient Friendly Non-Invasive Cardiac Output Solution.”  Clinton spoke about FloWave, a new non-invasive cardiac output solution that could take the place of catheter procedures. FloWave will lower both the high cost and the medical risks linked to catheter procedures.

Michael Summar is the Founder and Principal Strategist at The Analytics Group.  Michael has more than 10 years of web analytics, optimization and interactive marketing experience working with some of the world biggest brands.  The list of clients Michael has worked with includes SAP, ESPN, Bloomberg, Intuit, Suntrust, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Michael’s experience covers virtually the entire ecosystem of web analytics tools and processes.  Michael has expert knowledge of web analytics enterprise and optimization tools including Omniture SiteCatalyst, WebTrends, Coremetrics, Yahoo Web Analytics (formerly IndexTools), Google Analytics, Omniture Test&Target and Google Website Optimizer. 

Before founding The Analytics Group, Michael worked for Scripps Networks managing the web analytics and CRM functions for the eCommerce arms of Shop At Home TV, HGTV, DIY Network and Food Network.  Prior to Scripps Networks, Michael held eCommerce marketing management positions with Daycare Wizard Software and Service Merchandise, whose website was named a “Top Ten Retail Website” in 2000 by The New York Times.

Dave Delaney, Griffin Technology

Dave Delaney is a Social Media Strategist, New Media Specialist and Traditional Marketing Professional based in Nashville, TN.

When Dave was in his pre-teens he operated a bulletin board system (BBS) on his Commodore 64. Late at night he would awake to the sound of his disk drive operating. Dave would jump out of his bed, flick on his monitor and switch into “chat mode”. His taste for online adventures began…

Dave Delaney is an accomplished podcaster, blogger and marketer. His successes range from producing and co-hosting one of the first (2005) parenting podcasts, Two Boobs and a Baby +; organizing and founding Nashville, Tennessee’s first BarCamp (video below) and PodCamp “unconferences”; and working in traditional Marketing for such companies as Mirvish Productions, Toronto Star and Global Television. He hosts the blogs DaveMadeThat and New Media Nashville. Dave organizes the monthly Nashville Geek Breakfasts.

Dave combines traditional Marketing and Promotions know-how with his extensive knowledge of all things web-related in the world of New Media Marketing and Social Media.

Delaney was recently hired by Griffin Technology as their Social Media Coordinator. Find him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/griffintech.

Ed Braswell
President & CEO, edo Interactive 

Mr. Braswell is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of edo Interactive and the Facecard brand in June of 2007.  Edo Interactive is a provider of Prepaid debit and gift card services.  Prior to edo/Facecard, Mr. Braswell was President and CEO of LINK2GOV Corporation, a Metavante company.  Metavante acquired LINK2GOV in November of 2005.  Mr. Braswell was appointed President in 2003 and became President and CEO in 2005. Prior to his current position, Mr. Braswell held the position of Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development. He has been with L2G for over seven years.  Mr. Braswell served on LINK2GOV’s five member Board of Directors.
Prior to joining L2G, Mr. Braswell served as Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Premiere Technologies (NASDAQ-PTEK) where he managed a worldwide sales organization. Mr. Braswell’s professional experience also includes executive level sales management with Centigram Communications Corp. (NASDAQ-CGRM) and ROLM, an IBM Telecommunications subsidiary.
Mr. Braswell currently serves on the Boards of FactorTrust based out of Atlanta, GA and MyPaynet located in California.

Manoj Punja
Chief Sales and Operations Officer Americas
Wipro Technologies

Manoj Punja is the Chief Sales and Operations Officer of Wipro’s IT business in the Americas. Over 60% of Wipro’s IT business is generated from the Americas. In this role, he manages Wipro’s IT business across all business units in the US, Canada and LatAm. His responsibilities include sales, client satisfaction and operations including local development centers in the Americas.

Prior to this role, Manoj served as the Global Head of the business unit for Technology, Media, Transportation, and the Services industries. In this role he was responsible for business development, competency development, client satisfaction and service delivery. Under his leadership, the business unit saw phenomenal growth with revenues that increased 10-fold in six years and a heightened global presence in the years 2002-2008.

Manoj joined Wipro in 1991. He has since led various groups in Wipro including the software products division, strategic resourcing, and sales for Asia-Pacific region. His experience spans sales, marketing, HR and operations functions.

Through his career Manoj has sought challenging and non traditional assignments He has led multiple new initiatives including those in strategic account management, talent sourcing automation and sales force transformation. Under his leadership his teams have developed pioneering new tools around Business Process Management, Governance, Integrated Publishing Platforms to name a few.

Manoj holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and a Bachelors Degree Engineering in Electronics from Bangalore University. Manoj is a part of the senior management team at Wipro and is based in New Jersey.

Garret Harper
Research Director, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Garrett Harper serves as Research Director for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since 1990.  He has also served as Research Director for the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau and for Heartland Alliance in Chicago, Illinois.  Dr. Harper is past president of the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association and he is a Certified Community Researcher.  He is active in a variety of academic and practitioner organizations relating to demographics, business research, regional science, geography, and economic development.  Dr. Harper serves as an adjunct instructor in geography and management and marketing at Middle Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, and Volunteer State Community College.  Dr. Harper holds B.A., M.B.A., M.P.H., J.D., and Ph.D. degrees and is completing a M.T.S. degree.

Laurie Hughes is an executive and attorney with twenty-five years experience in business affairs, business development, and copyright licensing. She is skilled in developing and executing licensing strategies for both copyright owners and digital content providers. In addition to her law practice, Laurie is a principal in Hughes-Kessler Consulting, an intellectual property rights management assessment consulting firm. She has completed meditation training and serves as a music and entertainment industry expert for IP Mediation Group, a national IP mediation service.

Laurie was most recently VP Business Affairs & General Counsel for TouchTunes Corporation, a company which grew from a start up into the world’s largest out-of-home entertainment network and owner of numerous patents and trademarks. She was responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of departments overseeing music programming, acquisition and distribution of content to the network, copyright research and licensing, contract administration and royalty allocation and distribution. Her department obtained rights to millions of works and distributed royalties for over 750 million uses each year. She negotiated licenses with all major and large independent record labels and publishers and all three U.S. performing rights organizations. Her department also obtained rights from thousands of independent record labels and music publishers. Laurie established some of the first digital licenses with Canadian and Mexican collective licensing agencies. She also liaised with outside counsel to protect more than 20 trademarks in the US, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Brazil and India and advised the company and supervised lobbyists on potential copyright law revisions.

Hughes was previously AVP, Business Affairs at ASCAP. Her primary focus was the development of industry-wide license agreements that grew existing revenue each year and created new revenue streams, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue to copyright owners. She led a team of licensing, legal, and economics executives in developing license rates, terms and strategy in negotiations with trade and industry associations, including colleges and universities, satellite radio, concert promoters, hotels, municipalities and major sports leagues.

Laurie began her career as an attorney at SESAC, where she rose to VP Legal & International Affairs. At SESAC, she served as General Counsel during the transition of the performing rights organization from a sixty-year old family-operated firm to an entrepreneurial, investor owned company. She appeared as counsel in Copyright Royalty Tribunal distribution proceedings and testified at numerous state legislative hearings in opposition to bills regulating and interfering with copyright licensing and enforcement. She also served as corporate advocate during meetings with Congressional representatives and their staffs. She has been a speaker on rights and licensing at numerous trade and industry association conferences including:

• Intellectual Property Law Section of State Bar of California (April 2009)
• SELAW (November 2008)  World Intellectual Property Organization (2007)
• Association of Independent Music Publishers (2006)
• North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance North American (2005)
• Kagan & Associates Pay Per View Summit (2003)
• National Speakers Association Annual Convention (2000) She is an alumna of Leadership Music (class of ’92), and a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, Copyright Society of the USA (former trustee), Copyright Society of the South, and founding member of SOURCE, Inc., an association of executive and professional women in the Nashville Music Industry.

  Laurie has a B.A. in government from Smith College, and a J.D. from the University of Memphis. She has also completed basic and advanced negotiation training in intensive summer workshops at the Harvard Law School Negotiation Projects.

NASHVILLE TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL UNVEILS NEW BRAND
A new vision promises to connect the Middle Tennessee Tech Community

Today, we are taking the first step for the next 10 years.  We announced today the release of our new brand strategy at this morning’s first Membership Breakfast celebrating 10 years in Nashville’s technology community.  More than 250 NTC members were in attendance to witness the unveiling at The Factory in Franklin, TN.  The meeting included a speech from NTC’s founder, Warren Ratliff from McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) and William Scott Downs, World-Wide IM Business Development Manager at Hewlett-Packard Business Intelligence Optimization (NYSE: HPQ).

“After careful assessment of the NTC’s current focus and strategy, we found several new and exciting ways to connect with our current membership and attract additional members through this branding process,” said Beth Chase, President/CEO C3 Consulting and Board Chair for the Nashville Technology Council.  “With the plan set forth, the Technology Council can better serve its members and work towards a future of growth & prosperity.”

The branding process combined research, strategy and creativity.  This process provided the NTC with the means necessary to create a precise brand identity that Members would identify with today and into the future.  The process included the creation of the NTC’s new logo, marketing materials, a new website, and guidance on the positioning of the Council for the next decade.

“The campaign will feature the uniqueness of Nashville by helping people feel the beat of technology,” said J. Tod Fetherling, President/CEO of the Nashville Technology Council.  “In Nashville, we have very large vertical industries where technology is critical to their success.  We have a very vibrant creative and new media industry.  There is tremendous energy and a natural rhythm created when we connect in the tech community.  We feel the beat everyday in our music, the heart beat of healthcare, and the beat of pistons in manufacturing.  The NTC ties all of our local technology interests together with a common technology voice.”

The new brand promise for the Nashville Technology Council is to lead in education, innovation, exposure, and connections to the technology community.  Our goal will be to become the voice of technology and our mission will continue to be to help the Middle Tennessee technology community succeed.

Nashville is in a unique position to capitalize on several macro economic trends including the current recession, the need for innovation, and a favorable local business environment.  This in turn creates an opportunity for the NTC to act as a conduit in transforming Nashville into a tech hub and to connect tech entrepreneurs, small and large member companies, universities, students, and the community as a whole.

“The branding process was evolutionary from understanding who we are, to strategic insights, to a thoroughly imaginative creative phase,” said Chris Stovall, CEO of Digital Pigeon.  “I believe we are on the right path to position the NTC for success for many years to come.”