GSA Technology Council

Dr. Joachim Taiber is the Head of the Information Technology Research Office of the BMW Group Information Technology Research Center (ITRC) on the CU-ICAR campus in Greenville. Since 2005 he is in charge of implementing collaborative IT innovation projects for the BMW Group in the ITRC. He joined BMW in 1997 as an in-house consultant for business process re-engineering in product development where his focus was on functional integration and vehicle systems integration. Since 1999 he worked in different leadership positions in the BMW Group Enterprise IT organization in the areas of IT strategy, IT program management, IT innovation management and IT benchmarking.

He holds a Master Degree in Engineering and a PhD Degree in Technical Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland. He is also vice-chairman of the South Carolina Educational Broadband Commission. Furthermore he is member of the ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineering) Advisory Board of Clemson University. He is member of IEEE and ACM.

Joachim Taiber speaks to the GSA Technology Council in February.

Interactive. That’s the hallmark of Amy Wood’s anchoring on News Channel 7 and The CW News at Ten.

Amy co-anchors News Channel 7 at 5, 6 and 11, and solo-anchors the interactive “News Channel 7 at Ten on Your CW”, as well as the interactive “What You’re Saying” segment on News Channel 7 at 7.

In 2008, Amy launched CW LIVE CHATone of the nation’s first live chats during a newscast, that she hosts nightly, while simultaneously anchoring on the CW.

She’s been giving viewers a voice for more than a decade. She was first to do interactive news in this market, more than 13 years ago, with Reality Check reports on News Channel 7.

Amy is a huge believer in the relationships she creates with her viewers online. She uses social media extensively to connect with her viewers and keep them updated on her blogs, developing news stories and webpolls.

You can track Amy’s Twitter updates, and Connect with her on Myspace, Facebook, Plurk, Pownce, Tumblr and You Tube. Amy’s links are on http://www.theribbit.com.

For two decades Amy’s been bringing you award winning stories.

Her heart wrenching special report on domestic violence: South Carolina’s Shame, was honored with a first place Associated Press Award in series reporting.

During the initial war with Iraq, she brought viewers exclusive On The Frontline coverage, using the internet to connect with a commander from Chesnee, SC.

Amy also guided viewers through the morning of September 11th 2001, with local wall to wall coverage and a help line. She also anchored News Channel 7’s Emmy Award winning coverage on Susan Smith, the mother who drowned her sons.

Amy grew up in the New York metropolitan area, and started her career paying serious dues, covering blizzards and breaking news in Western Minnesota at KSAX, TV.

Volunteer work led the South Carolina Jaycees to name Amy the state Distinguished Community Service Award winner in 1999. She continues to work with dozens of local charities and events.

Faith and family are number one in Amy’s life. Carolina Crusaders, her documentary on a mission trip to Russia, won a first place award from the Associated Press.

Amy is married to Mike Wood, and a proud mom to three awesome daughters, Brianna, Gracie and Jami.

Amy Wood will speak to the GSA Technology Council January 2009 learning Lunch.

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder, 10 Best

As President and Chief Executive Officer of 10Best, Inc., Brice oversees the company’s operations with a focus on strategic positioning and national and international partnerships.

Since starting the company in 1999, Brice has been instrumental in growing 10Best into the trusted source for online travel advice, with more than 40 million travelers and the world’s leading names in the travel business turning to 10Best for surprise-free advice for travelers.

Prior to 10Best, Inc., Brice held senior management positions with Ross Systems and SCT Corporation, and corporate sales positions at Inacom Information Systems and Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group.

Brice is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing.

10 travel tidbits about Brice:

• Brice has been to four continents and roughly 27 countries


• He has visited more than 55 major cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Perth, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Shanghai, Penang, Madrid, Paris, London, Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Vienna, Belfast, Santa Domingo, Toronto, Helsinki, Monte Carlo and many, many more


• The most exotic local food he’s eaten: fried beetles in Beijing


• Best travel tip: pack light


• Favorite U.S. destination: Tent on the Madison River in Montana (no cell phone and a 5-weight fly rod)


• Favorite international destination: Hong Kong


• Favorite small town: Barwon Heads, Victoria near Melbourne, Australia


• Coolest place under $400 a night: The Oriental, Bangkok for $300/night but well worth it; Service and setting is fantastic


• Favorite thing about traveling: I love to experience new destinations and the fascinating foods and lifestyle of other cultures


• How he balances a home life and busy travel schedule: I have the greatest family in the world. My wife and children allow me to chase my dreams and have supported me since day one. They put up with my very challenging travel schedule of 100-150 nights away per year and everything that comes with that lifestyle

Brice Bay speaks to the GSA Technology Council in September.

Robert Durden “Bob” Inglis, Sr. (born October 11, 1959) is a United States congressman from the Republican Party. He was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bluffton, South Carolina. He has twice been chosen to represent the South Carolina’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.

Inglis grew up in Bluffton, South Carolina. He attended college at Duke University, from which he earned an undergraduate degree. He went on to gain his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. Upon his college graduation, he worked for a number of years as a practicing attorney.

In 1992, Inglis was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time. Inglis made a pledge during his initial campaign that he would step down from his post after serving three terms. He made good on his promise when he vacated the seat in 1998 to narrowly lose a U.S. Senate race to venerable Democratic incumbent Ernest Hollings. One of the more heated and covered moments of the race was when Hollings referred to Inglis as a “goddamn skunk.” After losing the race, Inglis returned to work as a lawyer, practicing commerical real estate and corporate law.

In 2004, Inglis’ successor in the 4th district, Jim DeMint, opted to run for Hollings’ now open Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House. Inglis chose to take his old House seat back and faced little opposition from either party. As a result, he was elected to again represent the 4th district.

When not in Washington, Inglis currently resides in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, in northern Greenville County. He live with his wife Mary Anne and has five children. He is a member of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church and is the owner of a small farm in northern Greenville County, South Carolina.

Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer, Brains on Fire

Geno was born and raised in the South and proudly calls Greenville, SC his home. He spent two years at Furman University and went on to the University of South Carolina to receive a degree in Advertising. In his 13+ years with Brains On Fire, Geno has helped build word of mouth into the identities of brands that include Fiskars Brands, the American Booksellers Association, Earshot Independent Music Stores, Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, and Rage Against the Haze (South Carolina’s youth led anti-tobacco movement). Geno is responsible for developing word of mouth, buzz, viral and evangelism strategies for Brains on Fire’s clients.

Geno has been repeatedly recognized as a thought leader in both the identity and word of mouth realms and has also received awards from numerous organizations, including the 2004 National ADDYs, where he received honors for his work with Rage Against the Haze. Rage also won a coveted gold Effie award in 2008 and a Wommie award in 2006 from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. The Fiskars Brand Ambassador movement, of which was Geno’s brainchild, was also recognized by ad:tech and the Forrester Groundswell awards in 2007. In addition, the children’s book he helped illustrate and create, The Red Ribbon Works, was used as a backdrop for President Clinton’s War on Drugs.

Geno has given presentations at numerous events, including the National Conference on Tobacco and Health, the American Public Health Association Exposition, several Word of Mouth Marketing Association conferences, Social Media 2007 in Atlanta and Customer Management World 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a frequent contributor to the Brains on Fire blog, which is one of the top marketing and word of mouth blogs in the world and referenced industry wide on a weekly basis.

Geno speaks to the GSA Technology Council in August.

Dave McQueeney is the Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s US Federal Government unit. Dave’s team works with IBM’s Federal Clients and IBM’s Federal System Integrator partners to provide technical leadership across the domain of enterprise systems technology and architecture.

Dave’s background covers a wide range of disciplines ranging from solid state Physics, to high-speed interconnect design, to distributed software development tools, to Government-specific industry solutions. Dave has spent half of his career as a researcher and research executive, and half in IBM’s customer-facing units including Global Sales and Distribution, acting as the Global Government Solutions General Manager and leader of the Federal Systems Integration services unit.

Immediately prior to joining IBM’s Federal team, Dave led the IBM Global Services Intellectual Property and Global Competencies team. Dave was responsible for developing and deploying the business and technical strategies, methodologies, professions, and intellectual property licensing strategies that maximize the creation of business value for IBM’s customers.

Throughout his career, Dave has driven strong connections between IBM Research and the other units of IBM, most recently IBM Global Services. Dave was recognized by Consulting Magazine as one of the top 25 consultants for 2002, citing his work to make the innovations of IBM Research directly available to customers via IBM’s Business Consulting Services.

Dave has held a number of significant positions in IBM Research, including Director of the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, Vice President of Communication Technology, and Vice President of Technical Strategy and Worldwide Operations.

Dave has published a wide range of papers ranging from liquid Helium Physics, advanced electronic packaging, high-speed interconnects, and the evolution of Research in the commercial environment.

He joined IBM in the Research Division in 1988. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Solid-State Physics from Cornell University, and an A.B. in Physics from Dartmouth College.

Dave was recognized as one of the “Fed 100” top leaders in the Federal community for 2006 by Federal Computer Week magazine.

Dave McQueeney will speak to the GSA Technology Council (www.GSATC.org) at it’s October 8, 2008 Learning Lunch.

Keith Coker is CTO (Chief Technology Officer) at Nuvox.

Keith has served in the planning and engineering capacity at NuVox Communications for 8 years, developing the network strategy that has kept NuVox at the forefront of technology. Keith is currently leading NuVox further into carrier-class VoIP services and extending the products that are available across NuVox’s IP-centric network.

Before joining NuVox, Keith managed carrier services for Knology, which was one of the first companies providing voice, video, and data services over a hybrid fiber coax plant. Prior to Knology, Keith oversaw fixed network planning for Powertel, a PCS wireless company that grew from a startup to over 1 million subscribers during his tenure. Before Keith’s work in wireless and cable, he began his career working on a myriad of projects for longhaul fiber provider Interstate Fibernet.

Education
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Auburn University; graduated cum laude
Masters of Science in Electrical and Optical Engineering; University of Arizona

Jeff Brewer has 20 years of experience within the information technology and telecommunications industries in the U.S. and Western Europe. His primary areas of focus have covered two key disciplines marked by tremendous change: IT/telecom security and selective outsourcing.

Jeff founded Business Vitals as a self-funded business deciding to bypass venture capital. His unique business model and approach have been rewarded with enduring client relationships and a rare track record of financial stability and profitability every quarter of operation since launch.

Prior to Business Vitals, Jeff held engineering, project management, and marketing management positions with TRW and GTE, later becoming the CIO for a major IT services provider. Jeff began his career with the U.S. Department of Defense/National Security Agency as a systems engineer and eventual liaison to key suppliers of confidential initiatives using leading edge security and encryption technologies.

With the explosion of the Internet for commercial use, Jeff was at the forefront of commercializing and marketing these security technologies via domestic and overseas channels before setting his sights on the emerging growth segment of IT infrastructure and applications services delivery. He has successfully helped launch two IT services firms that were later acquired.

Jeff is a graduate of USC-Columbia, receiving his BS degree in Computer Engineering and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Jeff is also a certified Information Systems Auditor.

James Pepin is Clemson University’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Director of High Performance Computing.

Pepin has worked on a number of high profile projects, including heading up the Los Angeles Access Point, a key Internet utility operated by USC’s Information Sciences Institute that serves all major Southern California colleges and Universities (including Caltech and the UC and CSU systems).

“Jim Pepin is a world-class authority on high performance computing, communications and the facilities necessary to operate at the very high-end of performance. He will help pave the way for a top-20 ranking for Clemson by leading our technical efforts to build the kind of cyberinfrastructure that is necessary for our faculty and students to perform serious computational research”, said Jim Bottum, Clemson’s Vice Provost for Computing and Information Technology and CIO.

Pepin’s role is advisory and strategic in nature. His duties include advising the CIO on technical issues; leading the development of Clemson’s technical road maps; working with the community to define our technical architecture; leading the development of Clemson’s HPC environment; serving as an adjunct in Clemson’s School of Computing; evaluating new technologies and serving on national level technical committees.

Jim Pepin speaks to the GSA Technology Council on June 4, 2008.

Darla Moore, Vice President of Rainwater, Inc., is founder and chair of the Palmetto Institute, a nonprofit think tank aimed at bolstering per capita income in South Carolina. She serves on the boards of the University of South Carolina and New York University Medical School and Hospital. The University of South Carolina’s business school is named in her honor and she is the first woman profiled on the cover of Fortune magazine and named to the “List of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business”. She has served on numerous corporate boards, including Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She currently serves on the board of The South Financial Group, MPS Group and the National Advisory Board of JP Morgan and was formerly a managing director of the predecessor Chemical Bank. She recently received the “Business Person of the Year Award” from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, Moore holds an M.B.A. from George Washington University.