GSA Technology Council

Chad Hardaway is a Technology Commercialization Consultant with the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers and is also Associate Director of Innovation for the Faber Entrepreneurship Center at USC’s Darla Moore School of Business. In both capacities, Chad works with University Technology Startups and South Carolina Technology Companies to form partnerships, find capital, explore research opportunities, develop new markets, and ultimately move products into the hands of consumers. Specifically, Chad assists with technology startup creation, license generation and execution, intellectual property counseling, and early stage funding for startups.

Chad has five years of experience in navigating grant proposals and awards of the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. In the past, Chad was a Process Engineer with Eastman Chemical Company and also an Associate Director of Licensing in the University of South Carolina Office of Technology Commercialization. These past positions and experiences provide a broad understanding of the early stage technology development cycle and how it can connect with existing corporate market and technology development.

Jim Bottum is the Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost for Computing & Information Technology at Clemson University. Clemson University sees information technology as critically important to all facets of a top university, including education, research and service. At Clemson University, Jim leads efforts focusing on high performance computing and communication as well as collaborating with State and National governmental entities. During his tenure, ComputerWorld named him one of the Premiere 100 IT Leaders (2007) and Storage Magazine featured him on the cover in the Jan, 2008 edition. Under his leadership Clemson University’s Palmetto Cluster (HPC) has appeared at #60 in the world’s Top 500 Computing Sites (top500.org) alongside Clemson’s Computational Center for Mobility Systems (CU-CCMS), ranked at #100 (Nov, 2008).

Prior to coming to Clemson, Mr. Bottum was the first CIO and VP for Computing at Purdue, where he was responsible for planning and coordinating all computing and information systems across the university. He had direct oversight of the university’s central IT organization, Information Technology at Purdue, known as ITaP (pronounced eye-TAP). Under Mr. Bottum’s leadership, ITaP was recognized nationally for innovative uses of information technology to improve teaching and learning, including classroom response systems, technology classroom sites and podcasting as a centralized service. In the fall of 2005, these innovative approaches were recognized by “Newsweek” and with a cover story in the “Chronicle of Higher Education.” Mr. Bottum has also had experience as executive director for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mr. Bottum currently serves on the NSF Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI), the NSF Advisory Committee for CRPA Assessment (AC/GPA), and the Internet 2 (I2) Board of Trustees. In the past, he has served on other NSF Committees as well as national laboratory boards, Educause working groups and other higher education committees and consortiums. He has provided consulting services for major universities across the US and is frequently an invited keynote presenter at state, regional and national conferences regarding cyberinfrastructure and high performance computing.

Jim Bottum is speaking before the GSA Technology Council May 2013 learning lunch.

Mark Terry has been the Chief Information Officer for Palmetto Bank since early 2011 and is responsible for managing all technology and deposit operations functions. He has also served as CIO and a member of the Board of Directors for Forcht Group of Kentucky. During his tenure in senior executive positions at the Forcht Group, Mark developed deep expertise in providing support to financial services, insurance, construction, real estate and retail subsidiaries, bringing expansive knowledge to advance technology, operations and service delivery to improve the overall client experience and profitability.

Jim De Piante, Executive Project Manager at IBM Research, served as project manager on the IBM Watson Project.

Jim holds IBM’s highest internal certification for project managers. He successfully managed projects in hardware, software, systems architecture, and eBusiness for various IBM Product Divisions, IBM Research, IBM Global Services, IBM Global Engineering Services, IBM Sales and ibm.com, among others.

Jim has delivered keynote speeches and track sessions in areas including Project Management, soft skills and public speaking, among others.

Stephen is an expert in Mitel’s virtualized Unified Communications and Collaborations portfolio for North America. He is one of Mitel’s key voices into the Unified Communications and Collaboration market. He represents Mitel in numerous industry events, press interviews and spends as much time as possible in front of current and potential Mitel customers and Mitel Business Partners. Stephen currently serves as Vice President of Technology and Applications, reporting to Phil Keenan, EVP of North America.

Stephen has over 20 years of experience in the network and telecommunications industry and has served in many roles on his journey so far; ranging from technical support, pre-sales engineering, business development, strategic alliance management and future product marketing, where he has consistently contributed to optimizing performance levels, driving business growth, facilitating key alliances, and defining and implementing business relevant technology driven solutions.

Stephen and his teams at Mitel are responsible for three major focuses: developing solution architecture for industry specific applications that incorporate third party products, providing pre-sales design support to Mitel’s Business Partners and Area Sales Executives and provide the operational support for Mitel’s Executive Briefing centers across North America.

Stephen Brown presents, “The Importance of Unified Communications and Collaboration in the Cloud” before the GSA Technology Council August Learning Lunch.

Keith Hayes is the Senior Vice President of Network Operations and Engineering Services at Charter Business.

Keith is a 30 year industry veteran who is currently Senior Vice President of Network Operations and Service Assurance at Charter Communications, the fourth largest cable telecommunications company in the US serving almost 5 million customers. Prior to Charter, he served as VP of Operations and Network Planning at Adelphia, as COO of GTS, and a variety of other industry roles. A two-term Chairman of SCTE, he was the founding President of the SCTE Foundation where he continues to serve on the Board, and has received numerous industry awards and certifications, including the Star of Integrity award and Broadband Communications Engineer (BCE) certification. Keith lives in the Atlanta area with his wife Pam and sons Marc and Todd.

Drew Grafton joined the FBI as a Special Agent (SA) in 2004 and is currently assigned to the Columbia, SC Field Office of the FBI where he is responsible for investigating criminal and national security matters involving Cyber Intrusions, Intellectual Property Crime, Internet Fraud and Crimes Against Children. Prior to being assigned to the Columbia Field Office, SA Grafton served in the Charlotte, NC and Newark, NJ FBI Field Offices where he was responsible for a wide range of investigations including Cyber, White Collar, Public Corruption, Terrorism and Violent Crime matters. SA Grafton also served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC. SA Grafton has attended numerous training courses provided by both the FBI and private industry for cyber investigations, malware analysis and intrusion techniques.

Prior to joining the FBI, SA Grafton was an Engineering Program Manager for Hewlett Packard’s Industry Standard Server Group, a Memory Systems Engineer for Compaq Computer and a Memory Test Engineer for IBM. SA Grafton has a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Ohio State University.

Andrew Grafton is speaking at the April 2012 GSA Technology Learning Lunch.

Deb Sofield is an award-winning speaker and executive speech and presentations coach who creates and trains world-class public speakers nationwide.

Deb has personally coached scores of executives and elected officials to tap into their natural abilities, becoming capable and motivational speakers who deliver a message with lasting impact. That’s because Deb knows exactly what it takes —and means— to deliver a meaningful message. Deb is a skilled politician and savvy businesswoman who has been winning campaigns for public office while running her own successful business for more than two decades. She’s an accomplished corporate, political and talent strategist who coaches her clients to the top, and a dynamic keynote speaker who is in demand both nationally and internationally.

Deb Sofield spoke before the GSA Technology Council for the March, 2012 Learning Lunch. Watch the presentation at: GSATC March 2012 Learning Lunch: Speak Without Fear

Michele Abraham has served as the State Director for the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers (SC SBDC) since late January 2010, where she manages a statewide network of expert advisors and professional staff who provide business consultng and training to South Carolina’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.

From 2006 – 2009, Michele worked for the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) and served as the State Director of the Ohio SBDC, one of the five largest SBDCs in the nation. During her tenure there, the Ohio SBDC was recognized nationally by the U.S. Small Business Administration as one of the top programs in the country and honored with a visit from the national Advisory Board.

Michele also served the Ohio ODOD as Chief of Strategic Management, where she developed and implemented a department-wide strategic management process to ensure accountability to the agency and their stakeholders. Prior to her time at ODOD, Michele worked in the private sector, successfully progressing through positions with increasing responsibility in sales management, business development, marketing and senior management. She has over 20 years of experience in advanced materials and products for aerospace/aircraft, as well as automotive, sporting goods and other industrial market segments. Her successes include building a mature, stagnant business (Owens Corning) from $6 million to over $23 million in annual sales; and guiding a start-up business (Atlantic Research) to $11 million in five years through a series of strategic partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions. Michele also has owned and operated two successful businesses.

Born in Athens, Ohio to a military family, Michele moved throughout the United States during her childhood. Abraham is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Bowling Green State University where she majored in communications, journalism and PR.

Michele Abraham is speaking before the GSA Technology Council’s February 2012 Learning Lunch, “How the Small Business Development Center Can Help Build Tech Businesses in South Carolina“

Chip Felkel is a veteran public affairs strategist, media relations expert and advocacy innovator who advises corporate decision-makers, issue-based campaigns, and select candidates at the state and national level.

Today, as CEO of Felkel Group, he provides counsel and guidance on policy matters and business development projects using targeted messaging and extensive key relationships in the public and private sector, working with Fortune 500’s, privately held companies, professional services firms, associations and grass roots advocacy groups who value his frankness, intuitiveness and tenacity.

In addition to his strategic and communications work, Felkel is the creator of The RAP Index, the software he developed to provide an effective, efficient process for organizations to uncover valuable relationships with key policy-makers as well as their top internal advocates that can be leveraged in public policy battles.

Chip Felkel is speaking at the January 2012 GSA Technology Council Learning Lunch.