Speaker Bios

Roger Berry
Former Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

As a successful senior technology executive, Roger Berry has demonstrated a consistent record of transforming how companies strategically think about, manage and leverage technology to enhance the brand and drive value in their businesses. He has held key CIO roles at Fortune 100 companies such as The Walt Disney Company, The Campbell Soup Company, and the former Tenneco Gas (now El Paso Energy.) Throughout his career he has specialized in expanding executive understanding and confidence in the power and potential of technology and building high performance IT organizations that utilize technology to advance innovation and enable growth. In his ten years at Disney he first served as the SVP & CIO of Walt Disney World in Florida. While in this role, at the request of the CFO, Roger also served for two years as the acting Corporate SVP & CIO for The Walt Disney Company where he directed a total restructuring of the global IT organization to better leverage the scale and technology spend of the global $36 billion dollar entertainment company. He was then promoted and became the first global SVP & CIO for The Walt Disney Parks and Resort group of Companies. Roger was named one of the Top 100 CIO’s by CIO Magazine and has published articles in InformationWeek, CIO Magazine and CIO Insight. He is frequently asked to address business and technology executives on a variety of topics including driving innovation and transforming IT within the business. He has served as a member of the technology board for the State of Florida at the request of Governor Jeb Bush and presently serves on the technology advisory boards at the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and his alma mater, the University of Houston.

Susan Caldwell
Senior Partner of Recruiting Services
Corner Office Consultants

Susan holds credentials as a National Certified Personnel Consultant and a National Certified Temporary- Staffing Specialist.

In her 30+ years in the technology industry, Susan has held customer service focused positions with some of the largest corporations in America including Data General, DGC – Atlanta, Compaq, Hilton and Oracle.

She is on the board of the Memphis Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and is affiliated with the Atlanta Chapter. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Memphis Regional Chamber Technology Council, and the Project management Institute (PMI).

Lee Congdon
Chief Information Officer
Red Hat

Lee Congdon is responsible for Red Hat's global information systems, including the technology strategy, enterprise architecture, information technology governance, solutions delivery, and systems operations supporting the company. His role includes enabling Red Hat's business through services such as knowledge management, technology innovation, technology-enabled collaboration, and process improvement. Congdon has over 25 years experience as an information technology leader. Prior to joining Red Hat, he was Managing Vice President, Information Technology at Capital One where he developed and delivered information technology solutions for the firm's corporate functions and Global Financial Services group. Before Capital One, Congdon was Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, at Nasdaq, where he led the organization's efforts to identify, implement, and operate technology solutions for Nasdaq Japan, Nasdaq Europe, and other strategic global ventures. Earlier, at Citicorp, Congdon led multiple global technology initiatives for the private bank and the corporate bank. Congdon began his career at IBM as an operating system developer and held several technology and technical marketing positions of increasing responsibility with that firm. Congdon holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science from Purdue University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Mark Ernest
IBM Distinguished Engineer
IT Optimization, GTS

Mark Ernest was named Distinguished Engineer by the IBM Corporate Technology Council in April 2001, and voted a member of the IBM Academy of Technology in 2004. Currently, Mark is serving as the Technical Advisor to IBM’s IT Optimization organization, and a member of the core team who designed and executed the 2009 IBM CIO Study.

Prior to being named to his current position, Mark led the team responsible for the development, evolution, and application of IBM’s IT Optimization methodology. This methodology helps identify management system and technical modifications to maximize the value an organization realizes from their investment in IT. Mark also led the team who created the Component Business Model for the Business of IT, participated in the development of the Process Reference Model for IT, and the Service Management Reference Model. Mark is also a certified ITIL practitioner.

The focus of Mark’s thirty-two year IBM career has been helping CIO’s and IT organizations achieve their goals. Starting as a customer engineer with the Field Engineering division, he has also served as a software engineer, systems engineer, and manager of the Washington Systems Center’s data center, located in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Mark Hamm
Vice President of Innovation
FedEx Corporation

Mark leads FedEx Innovation, a cross-discipline team tasked with identifying emerging customer needs and technologies to change what’s possible through innovative solutions and businesses. The team systematically researches and demonstrates bold new concepts in key opportunity spaces and develops the best concepts further with accelerated prototyping, incubation, and commercialization. Long-range goals to increase revenue and strategic advantage are progressed by fostering leading-edge innovation culture, methods, and thinking throughout FedEx and its international ecosystem of partners and customers.

Mark joined FedEx in 2007 as VP Innovation with prior leadership experience as VP of Customer Experience at ServiceMaster, VP of Information Technology, and over a decade of direct entrepreneurial experience as CEO, CTO, EVP Business Development, and board member.

Mark earned his B.S. in computer science from Rutgers University, and after working for VC Accel Partners and not-for-profit Young Life, attended Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern to earn an M.B.A.

Brian Janz, PhD
Professor of MIS
The University of Memphis

Dr. Janz is a Professor of MIS and an Associate Director for the FedEx Center for Supply Chain Management in the FedEx Institute of Technology  at the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at The University of Memphis. In addition, he is the co-founder of the University’s Center for Managing Emerging Technology, and recently served as the Director for the Fogelman College's Executive Education program. Brian’s research has been published in book chapters as well as many academic and practitioner journals as including MIS Quarterly, Decision Science, Journal of MIS, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Database Management, Journal of Information Technology Management, Information and Management, Journal of Global IT Management, Cycle Time Research, Journal of Strategic Performance Measurement, and the Journal of Education for MIS. In addition, Dr. Janz serves on the editorial review boards of numerous journals. Dr. Janz has over 20 years of experience in the information systems field working for The University of Minnesota, IBM, Honeywell, and General Motors, as well as consulting with several Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies. Brian is sought out by these organizations to conduct consulting projects, educational and leadership programs, as well as to deliver keynote speeches. Dr. Janz did his bachelor’s work in electrical engineering at both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota. He earned an MBA in strategic management and a Ph.D. in MIS from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

M. Steven Kendrick
President
KER Partners, LLC

With over 20 years of business focused IT leadership recruitment experience, Steve has led successful search engagements for clients across industry segments including financial services, healthcare, consumer retail, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and wireless industries. Steve has served industry leading clients including global Fortune 500 multinationals, mid-cap-mid-market firms, as well as private equity backed portfolio companies. Prior to founding KER Partners, Steve was a Principal at Spencer Stuart, and a key member of the firm’s global Information Officer Practice. He also served as president of Kendrick Executive Resources, a Dallas-based retained executive search boutique specializing in recruiting IT executive leaders and CIOs. Steve’s early search career also included serving as an executive director and partner at Russell Reynolds Associates and TMP-Lamalie Associates, respectively. Prior to entering executive search, Steve spent six years with EDS Corporation, performing both technical and professional recruiting, as well as providing recruitment training and counsel on employment-related issues. He began his career as a district manager with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, where he was responsible for sales management and operations.Steve is an active speaker and panelist at key industry forums on topics including executive IT leadership development, career management and succession planning. He is a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) and the Society for Information Management (SIM). Steve earned his undergraduate degree in business from Jacksonville State University in Alabama, along with graduate studies at the University of Texas in Dallas

Bruce Livesay
Chief Information Officer
First Horizon National Corporation

Bruce Livesay serves as EVP and Chief Information Officer for First Horizon National Corp., a position he has held since August of 2008. Bruce is a member of the Executive Management Committee. As CIO, he is responsible for ensuring that the company’s information technology investments are aligned with our strategic business objectives. He manages technology information assets, operations and policy. His duties also include oversight of desktop architecture and support, the telecommunications network, and software development and information management. In addition to the traditional technology-related responsibilities, he also has responsibility for enterprise project services and business continuity/records management.

Livesay has more than 22 years of experience in the information technology industry, with prior experience at Bank One, Alltel Information Systems, and Regions Financial Corporation. He began his career with the financial services group of Andersen Consulting.

Kellie L. Maske, PhD
Economist
FedEx Services

Kellie Maske is an Economist with FedEx Corporation.  Kellie received her Ph.D. from UNC Chapel Hill.  Prior to joining FedEx, Kellie served on the faculty at Appalachian State University and Washington and Lee University, teaching courses in international economics and public policy.  Kellie’s international experiences include teaching in Jamaica and North Europe and also guest lecturing in China.  Kellie’s research work has been published in respected economics journals.  Her focus areas at FedEx include global economic growth, international trade, and global risk analysis.

Tamara Payne
Senior Vice President of Corporate Systems and Support
FedEx Corporation

Tamara joined FedEx in 1984 and has held a variety of positions within the IT organization, including an assignment in Asia-Pacific where she built the Singapore Data Center, call centers in Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and China.  In her role a Vice-President of FedEx.com, she was responsible for the development, deployment and support of competitively superior solutions that enhance the global power of the FedEx portfolio with a focus on "The Purple Promise" for each and every customer. She is an innovative and experienced Officer with more than 20 years of successful experience in Development Systems, Telecommunication, Technology Services, Software Quality Testing, and Financial Management. She holds a Masters degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Finance and an Electronics Technology Degree.

Mark Polansky
Senior Client Partner & Managing Director, Information Technology Officers Practice
Korn/Ferry International

With more than 25 years of executive search experience, all in technology, Mr. Polansky has extensively recruited chief information officers, chief technology officers and other senior IT leaders across a wide range of vertical industry sectors. He also has expertise in recruiting for both general and technical management for public and private high-tech companies, managed service providers, professional services organizations, venture firms and their portfolio companies. Mr. Polansky joined Korn/Ferry in 1997. Mr. Polansky frequently addresses conferences and writes on information systems subjects as well as career management and human resources topics, and he is the creator of the "Executive Career Counsel" column in CIO Magazine. He currently serves on the advisory board of Columbia University's executive graduate program in information technology management. He is a member of the Society for Information Management previously serving as chairman and president of the New York Metro Chapter. Mr. Polansky currently serves on the advisory boards of The Information Technology Senior Management Forum, the national organization dedicated to fostering executive talent among African-American IT professionals, and HITEC, the Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council.

Donnie S. Steward
CIO
ACH Food Companies, Inc.

Mr. Steward is the Chief Information Officer for ACH Food Companies, Inc. Mr. Steward has twelve years of Consulting and eighteen years tenure in the CIO role for companies such as ServiceMaster Diversified Health Services, a $500 Million long-term health care company, Del Monte Fresh Produce, a $2.8 Billion global food processor; and ACH Food Companies, Inc., a $1.6 Billion Consumer Branded food manufacturer.

ACH Food Companies is a 100+ year old company with the most significant and diverse edible and specialty food ingredients oils business of any food company in North America. Within its Consumer Products Group, this includes marketing Mazola®, the preeminent brand of corn oil in North America along with Argo, the leading brand of corn starch and Karo®, the leader in corn syrup. In Mexico, ACH now markets the number one healthy brand of cooking of cooking oils, Capullo and also markets the number one Mexican brand of shortening, Inca®.