×

TMCnet
ITEXPO begins in:   New Coverage :  Asterisk  |  Fax Software  |  SIP Phones  |  Small Cells
 

Lifetime Achievement Awards
For The Call Center Industry


 

 

Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine, in the spirit of celebrating our 25th Anniversary, has been proud to designate a special group of individuals and companies as recipients of our “Lifetime Achievement Award.” Most of these individuals and companies have ties to the call center industry going back decades. They were judged to have made some of the most substantial innovations dedicated to advancing the success and reputation of today’s call center industry. Without these special people and companies, the industry would not be half as successful as it is today. In this issue, we bring you Part One of the tributes to those individuals and companies to whom we presented Lifetime Achievement Awards at our gala celebration in New York City on May 4, 2006.

Amcat International Inc.
Amcat was founded in 1990 after identifying the need for companies to grow by expanding their capability to contact customers through outbound call center software technology. The company, which was an early pioneer of CTI (computer-telephony integration), offers solutions that allow organizations to more effectively communicate with their customers via multiple channels, including inbound/outbound and blended voice, e-mail, fax and the Web. Amcat contact center solutions increase productivity, reduce operating costs and improve the quality of each contact.

Charles Ansley President and CEO Symon Communications Inc.
Charles Ansley has responsibility for all operations of Symon Communications globally. He served on the Board of Directors and as a member of the Compensation Committee since 1997. Previously, Ansley was President of EDS’s Information Solutions U.S., where he was responsible for client relationships, service delivery, client satisfaction and sales. He served as President of units at EDS, including the Communications Industry Group, Communications Service Line and Financial Process Management. Before joining EDS, he served at DSC Communications as Senior VP of Sales and Services.

In the mid 1990s, Ansley was an officer at AT&T, serving as VP of Client Services and Marketing, where he helped create and found AT&T Solutions, an organization focused on the systems integration and network outsourcing marketplace. During his long tenure at IBM, he held successive senior-level roles in general management, sales, marketing and business development in both IBM and IBM Global Services.

Kathryn Barber President Barber Consulting
Kathryn Barber has spent 25 years in the telemarketing business, starting her career on the ground floor as a telephone representative. From 1978 to 1989, she held senior management and marketing positions within direct marketing companies and service agencies, including Grolier Publishing, National Data Corporation and ICT Group. In 1989, Kathryn formed BCSI, a consulting and management firm specializing in outsource management and promotional development using telephone-based technologies. In 1991, Kathryn patented a telephone- based greeting product with partner Brad Wendkos, President of the creative agency Phoneworks. From 1992 to 1996, Kathryn served as President of Telemarketing at LCS Industries. From 1993 to 1995, she also held the post of LCS’s Chief Quality Officer.

Gary Barnett Chief Technology Officer and Executive VP, Worldwide Customer Support Aspect Software
A recognized contact center industry luminary, Gary Barnett is CTO and Executive VP of Worldwide Support Services at Aspect Software. He is responsible for corporate planning, product architecture and lifecycle management. He also oversees strategic partnerships and long-term product integration plans that support enterprise-level applications, and ensures that customers receive the level of product support required to achieve their customer contact strategies.

Most recently, Gary served as president and CEO of Aspect Communications. He played a key role as a founding engineer at Aspect Communications in the development of the company’s first automatic call distributor (ACD). He was a founding engineer at Octel Communications, where he was one of the developers of the company’s first voice-messaging system. In 1987, Gary became a founder of Prospect Software, a company that pioneered computer-telephony integration in the early 1990s. He returned to Aspect in 1996 when the company acquired Prospect Software.

Eli Borodow CEO and Co-Founder Telephony@Work
Eli Borodow is CEO and co-founder of Telephony@Work, the worldwide leader in multitenant IP contact center technology for enterprises, outsourcers and service providers. An attorney by training, Borodow has a diverse background in managing technology companies. His focus since 1989 has been in the computer telephony and call center arenas, with industry-related experience in software design, sales, legal and marketing communications. He is a longstanding speaker at a variety of industry trade events, and his opinions and writings appear frequently in the industry press.

Ralph Breslauer Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing Aspect Software
With more than 20 years of enterprise software experience, Ralph Breslauer serves as Executive VP of Global Sales and Marketing at Aspect Software. He joined the company in January 2002 and currently leads the company’s global sales force in its mission to help Aspect Software’s customers build the desired relationships with their own customers. In addition, he heads the strategic development and execution of the company’s branding and marketing efforts.

Prior to Aspect Software, Breslauer was Senior VP of Worldwide Field Operations for eRoom Technology, a provider of Web-based collaboration software. Previously, he was VP of Marketing and Business Development for Informix Software’s $700 million TransAct Business Group. In addition, Ralph has held a number of other executive roles during his career, including VP of Marketing for Databases and Tools at Ardent Software and Executive VP at System Builder Corporation.

Richard Brock Chairman and CEO Firstwave Technologies, Inc.
Richard Brock founded Firstwave Technologies, Inc., formerly Brock International, Inc., in 1984 to answer the call of businesses that needed a solution to automate their sales, marketing and customer service processes. The founder of Brock Capital Partners, a capital investment firm, and a director of Datastream Systems, Inc., a provider of maintenance software, Brock also served as Chairman of the Technology Association of Georgia. Prior to starting Firstwave, he founded and served as CEO of Management Control Systems, Inc., now a division of the Research Institute of America.

Donald E. Brown, M.D. Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Interactive Intelligence
Donald E. Brown, M.D. co-founded his third software company, Interactive Intelligence, in October 1994 and has served as CEO since April 1995 and President since the company’s inception. Brown has also served as Chairman of the Board since July 1998. Brown has been a director since inception. In March 1988, he co-founded Software Artistry, Inc., a developer of customer support software that became a public company in March 1995 and was subsequently acquired by IBM in 1998. At Software Artistry, Brown served as CEO and director from inception through September 1994. His first software company was acquired by Electronic Data Systems, Inc. in 1987.

Steve Brubaker Vice President, Corporate Affairs InfoCision Management Corp.
Steve Brubaker is senior VP of corporate affairs for InfoCision Management Corporation. In this position, he builds relationships with business leaders, government officials and the public to promote the positive impact of InfoCision and the call center industry. Brubaker began his career with InfoCision in 1985 as a part-time Communicator. He is now responsible for implementing InfoCision’s continued expansion and overseeing the deployment of all new call centers.

As a member of the American Teleservices Association (ATA), Direct Marketing Association (DMA), International Customer Service Association (ICSA) and Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP), Steve has worked to encourage other industry leaders to get involved in promoting ethical business practices. He has served on the ATA’s state, national and executive boards of directors, and currently chairs the ATA Non-Profit & Charities Committee.

Kent Charugundla Eagle IP, LLC
Kent Charugundla is a telecommunications entrepreneur and the founder of Eagle IP, LLC. Kent is a veteran of the telecommunications industry, and is also the founder of Eagle Teleconferencing Services, and Eagle Communications. Eagle Communications Inc., headquartered in New York, is a facilities-based CLEC (Certified Local Exchange Carrier) that offers data, voice and co-location services to business customers, including medium to large Internet service providers.

Citrix Systems, Inc.
Citrix Systems, Inc., founded in 1989, is a global leader and a trusted name in on-demand access. More than 180,000 organizations around the world rely on Citrix to provide the best possible access experience to any application for any user. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 98 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and individuals.

Convergys
A global leader in outsourcing, consulting and software solutions, Convergys combines its industry experience, leading-edge software, operational expertise and world-class facilities to help clients create valuable relationships with their customers and employees. Convergys fully analyzes its clients’ business challenges and leverages more than 20 years of industry and operational experience to recommend, design, implement, and often manage solutions in three business areas: customer care, HR business process outsourcing (BPO) and billing/BSS.

Dominic Dato Founder and CEO Teleperformance USA
With 18 years of contact center industry experience, Dominic has held executive positions for toprated contact center agencies throughout his career. Dominic founded Teleperformance USA in 1993 and under his direction, the company has grown significantly, becoming one of the top-rated contact center outsourcers in the industry. With Teleperformance USA, Dominic has built a strong foundation based on a client partnership approach, dedication, processes, industry experts and a unique understanding of delivering outstanding client success.

Jack Early President Ching Long Capital & Distribution
Jack Early started his entrepreneur career as a cofounder of a sweat equity start up called Early Cloud & Co., a software company that pioneered the first integrated sales and marketing systems in the call center industry. He is considered to be an expert in the areas of e-distribution systems and multichannel sales marketing and technologies that support e-business. Early Cloud and Co was sold to IBM in 1995, and subsequently Early consulted with many Fortune 500 companies; the most significant engagement was with IBM.

In 1996, Early and his wife felt the need for a sabbatical and chose teaching in China as the venue, an experience that has offered a unique perspective on Chinese culture and the rapid economic expansion inside China. Since his return from China, Early has been an investor in multiple start up companies.

James D. Foy President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Aspect Software
Jim Foy brings more than three decades of software industry expertise to his role as President, CEO and Director of Aspect Software. Jim joined the company in 2001 and, under his direction, the company has become the world’s largest company solely focused on the contact center industry. Foy’s continued vision for Aspect Software is to help its customers gain competitive advantage with solutions that enable more effective and efficient customer-company interactions.

During his career, Foy has held several executive positions at leading enterprise software companies. Prior to Aspect Software, he served as President of Informix Software. He also served as the Executive VP of Engineering at Ardent Software; the Founder, President and CEO of Constellation Software; and Director of Research and Development at Prime Computer. While at Prime, he was also a member of the board of directors of X/Open and Unix International.

FrontRange Solutions
Founded in 1989, FrontRange Solutions develops software and services that allow organizations to deliver extraordinary customer relationships. Since its inception, the company has focused on solutions tailored specifically to the mid-market, and today it is has more than one million users and a marquee client list. FRS products increase productivity and customer satisfaction and service. FrontRange product families include: GoldMine for business relationship management; IT Service Management with HEAT and ITIL standards-based modules for complete service management; and IP Contact Center for reduced telephony costs and increased agent productivity, streamlined customer service and communications; and Infrastructure Management, which provides the ability to optimize the full lifecycle of a company’s assets.

Ray Golden Senior Vice President, Blended Solutions InPulse Response Group
After serving in the Air Force during Vietnam and completing his education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Ray Golden began his telemarketing career in 1982 with Steve and Sheri Idelman, Gary and Mary West and Jim Lynch at WATS Marketing of America as a National Accounts Manager. In 1986, Golden was promoted to VP of Sales at WATS Marketing and remained there until May of 1990, when he left to once again join Gary and Mary West at West Corporation, where he remained for the next 14 years.

Over the past 24 years, Ray has represented some of the most recognizable 800 toll-free Direct Response Television programs. He has been a featured speaker for the Direct Marketing Association and the Electronic Retailing Association, and has authored several articles on telemarketing and direct response television. In January, he joined Steve Pittendrigh, CEO at InPulse Response Group, as Senior VP of Blended Solutions.

Ray Hansell Chairman MaraStar Communications
Ray Hansell has been involved in the teleservices and direct marketing industries for over 25 years. He was the CEO of RMH Teleservices, an international call center operation that he co-founded with his partner MarySue Lucci in the mid 1980s and took public in 1996. During this same period, he also performed consulting services for dozens of Fortune 500 companies regarding their in-house call center operations. Currently, he is the chairman of MaraStar Communications, a direct marketing software company he co-founded in 2000. MaraStar produces animated training and communications products that are used in training and motivating employees, particularly those in the call center industry.

Sheri Idelman Vice Chair, Chief Operating Officer, Co-founder Solutionary, Inc.
Sheri Idelman is Solutionary’s Vice Chair and COO. She is responsible for building the corporate infrastructure and processes required to deliver top quality, high-volume managed security services. Idelman brings more than 20 years of experience in the information and customer service industries as a successful entrepreneur and executive. Prior to cofounding Solutionary, Idelman was an investor and consultant involved with several Internet and wireless companies. In early 1986, she co-founded Omahabased ITI Marketing Services and was the company’s COO from its inception through 1995.

Steve Idelman Chairman of the Board, CEO, Co-founder Solutionary, Inc.
As Solutionary’s Chairman of the Board and CEO, Steve Idelman is responsible for setting corporate direction and strategy. With over 25 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur and CEO, he is known for his leadership skills, business management expertise and vision. Prior to co-founding Solutionary, he was an investor, board member and consultant working with select Internet and technology companies. Prior to that, Idelman co-founded Omaha-based ITI Marketing Services, which provided managed marketing and information services to Fortune 500 clientele.

 

 
| More