Meet More of this Year’s Difference Makers

What we discovered when putting together the May print issue of ENX magazine, which focuses on the Difference Makers in the document imaging industry, this industry is chock full of people who are making a difference. There’s more than we could fit into a print publication. As a result, we’re continuing the Difference Makers theme here in ENX/The Week in Imaging with more individuals who are making a difference across all segments of the industry. The individuals we’re highlight are equally deserving of recognition, some you’re probably well aware of, others can be found toiling behind the scenes, but all should be on your radar.

Rebecca Adolf

Marketing Director

Impact Networking

Why Rebecca makes a difference: When I first started writing about social media, long before I began taking advantage of it myself, I learned a little bit about it from Rebecca Adolf, who was senior designer for Impact Networking where she was responsible for leading the dealership’s online marketing program and services initiatives. At that time it was rare to find a dealership offering Web design and online marketing services—and it still is—but you have to admire someone who is chock full of creativity and a key member of a team that is creating new opportunities for what was once a traditional office technology dealership. What’s equally impressive, Rebecca has and continues to demonstrate how someone who operates from the right side of the brain can work hand in hand with those more inclined to operate from the left side of the brain. Not an easy thing to do.

Trevor Akervik

Senior Director of Managed Services

Marco

Why Trevor makes a difference: Trevor leads one of if not the largest managed services practice in the imaging industry. “He’s a wealth of knowledge on both MPS and MNS,” states Tom Callinan of Strategy Development. “The greatest thing about Trevor is that despite the fact that he has a hectic job and is a solid family man, looking forward to time with his wife and kids, he is also willing to attend conferences and speak as part of a presentation or join a panel as a participating member. He even served on the ITEX advisory board to help that event transition to the MNS space. You’ll never hear Trevor utter an ill word about anybody with a differing viewpoint, rather trying to learn from everybody while he devotes his time to educating others.” 

Tom Callinan

Managing Principal/President

Strategy Development

Why Tom makes a difference: After 25+ years in the document imaging industry Tom has seen it all and done it all, from dealer sales rep, dealership owner, working for IKON in various capacities, and for the past 10 years as founder of one of the industry’s most prominent management consulting organizations. He’s an engaging and entertaining speaker whose seminars and workshops have helped many struggling dealers be successful, and even helped many successful dealers become even more successful. His industry knowledge and successful track record in the business is the reason why dealers and OEMs count on Tom for guidance and for educating their team to be among the best in the industry. Way to go bro!

Fred Carollo

GM Office Products Platform

Everbank Commercial Finance

Why Fred makes a difference: Who really gave Everbank Commercial Finance all that much thought before Fred Carollo came along in 2006 and started assembling one of the most talented teams in the leasing and finance industry? It didn’t happen overnight, but Fred and his team have been diligently expanding Everbank’s reach throughout the channel and we are convinced that Everbank’s footprint will continue to grow thanks in large part to Fred.

Barry Clark

CEO

Perry proTech

Why Barry makes a difference: For someone who came from outside the industry prior to joining Perry proTech (Perry Corp.) in 1996, Barry has certainly found a home in this industry and made a huge difference in helping Perry proTech to become one of the preeminent document imaging dealerships in the nation. He’s also selfless in the way he nurtures his employees and gives his time to other dealers and the industry as a whole. As industry veteran Harry Hecht says, “Barry is a textbook leader who is 2,000 percent supportive of developing employees and future leaders inside his organization. He’s a tireless contributor to numerous dealer councils and industry organizations and is always willing to help other dealers and manufacturers grow and become better.”

David Concors

Vice President of Sales

Supplies Network

Why David makes a difference: David has been instrumental in leading the successful Supplies Network sales organization since joining the company in 2008. He’s highly focused on delivering value to reseller partners contributing to their success and is a key collaborator in the development of industry leading programs. 

Pat Coreno

District Sales Manager

Konica Minolta Business Solutions

Why Pat makes a difference: District sales managers don’t always get a lot of respect or at least noticed by most of us in this industry, but if Kathy Vogler, communications manager at Perry proTech, has her way, we need to know Pat Coreno. As Kathy says, “Pat provides unmatched training, knowledge, and support to our team on a continual basis. Additionally, he sends out this very informative newsletter each week that covers all document imaging updates and current events.  He’s a valuable part of our success.”

Sarah Custer

MPS and Equipment Solutions Manager

Supplies Network

Why Sarah makes a difference: There’s nothing like getting a job in the document imaging industry at a young age and quickly moving through the ranks within the organization from account manager, to key accounts manager, to MPS Program Advisor, to MPS Solutions Manager. That’s exactly what Sarah Custer has done since joining Supplies Network in 2005. In her many roles, particularly her last two, she’s been instrumental in driving growth of the MPS business for Supplies Network and its reseller partners and is also a key collaborator between Supplies Network and resellers, supporting ongoing process and program improvements. “Sarah Custer has been an integral part of our mpsSELECT program from its inception,” says Lori Montgomery, marketing program manager, Supplies Network. “Not only is she involved in the high-level decisions and conversations that drive the evolution of our program, she also interacts with resellers on a regular basis, has an in-depth understanding of the intricacies in the technology behind mpsSELECT and knows what it takes to be successful in this space.”

Jordan Darragh

Founder & CEO

PrintReleaf

Why Jordan makes a difference: With his partner Mike Greenberg, Jordan Darragh has come up with one of the greenest and most innovative programs for the document imaging community. His company helps customers reduce their environmental impact by connecting them to the PrintReleaf Exchange, a software platform connecting enterprise printer environments to a network of Global Reforestation Projects where customers can plant trees to offset their paper consumption. Quite clever, and not that all surprising for someone whose origins trace back to the printer and MPS worlds.

Frank DeGeorge

VP Strategic Services/Partner

Impact Networking

Why Frank makes a difference: It’s not often you find someone in an office technology dealership achieving partner status before their 30th birthday, but that’s what happened to Frank DeGeorge last year at Impact Networking where he manages pre-sales and post-sales staff within Impact’s Strategic Services department. Frank’s influence has also been instrumental in Impact Networking being acknowledged as a Top 8 DocuWare dealer in the North and South Americas for the 9th consecutive year.

Eric Ehmer

General Manager

All-Tech Recruiting

Why Eric makes a difference: Eric has helped All-Tech Recruiting build a sound client base of copier dealerships while also helping those dealerships grow by  introducing them to top talent from within the industry. What’s amazing is that some of the top talents he’s matched with dealerships reside only 5-10 minutes away from their new employer and didn’t even know that opportunity existed before Eric connected the dots. “In an industry where good help is hard to find, Eric does a super job of always finding the right match,” says Alex Nicolia of All-Tech Customer Service.

Sam Errigo

Senior Vice President, Business Intelligence Services

Konica Minolta

Why Sam makes a difference: He oversees the growth of the All Covered network and the expansion of Konica Minolta’s ECM business, a business that’s expanding in a similar fashion to All Covered, via acquisitions as much as anything else. He’s proven to be a valuable addition to an All Star team of industry veterans at Konica Minolta. He’s also a great source for ENX and always ready to share his insights either from his office or while waiting for his plane to start boarding in the midst of a bustling airport during his frequent travels.

Mitch Filby

Managing Director

First Rock Consulting

Why Mitch makes a difference: In Australia Mitch’s claim to fame is founder and managing director o First Rock Consulting, a business consultancy, IT & digital transformation advisory firm that works with senior executives in medium and large enterprises. Active in the MPSA Education Committee, Mitch is certainly one of the more knowledge individuals in the world when it comes to managing a changing technology driven environment. He’s also a keynote speaker at global managed print services conference, a journalist and publisher & author on the Australia ad global office printing industry. His book, RIP Rest in Print, is a must read for anyone who gives a damn about what’s going on in our digital world and the digital workplace. His Linkedin page states that “His vision and goal is to help big business manage and bridge existing paper based output content to a more effective & efficient digital content format – digital transformation.” If you’ve ever heard him speak or read his book, you can’t help but appreciate his vision.

Sean Fleming        

CEO

Supplies Network

Why Sean makes a difference: As a successful leader of Supplies Network and its parent company Distribution Management Sean has a knack for making significant investments in technology, infrastructure, and people to deliver channel programs to help independent resellers be equally successful. These talents are something that Sean’s peers in the industry recognize. As Derek Martin, senior vice president of US Bank, North America says, “Our relationship with Supplies Network goes back more than 20 years. They’re successful and positioned extremely well in the marketplace. Sean and the entire management team have consistently shown the ability to envision the future of their industry, always thinking two steps ahead. Sean has invested and committed in the people and technology to execute on this vision.”

Steve Gau

VP of Sales

Marco

Why Steve makes a difference: As the VP of sales for one of the two or three largest dealerships in the U.S., Steve has a lot of visibility into industry trends and that knowledge is well respected and sought after. He’s a member of many of the OEM’s dealer councils and donates his time to speak at many of the industry’s events. And as Tom Callinan of Strategy Development points out, “Moreover, he is a life-long-learner never believing he has all of the answers despite the fact that he leads one of the most successful sales organizations in the industry.”

Tom Hadlock

Senior Director

Seiter & Miller

Why Tom makes a difference: Quick, name someone from an advertising agency for any document imaging company that is as visible in the document imaging industry as Tom Hadlock? We didn’t think you could do it because there isn’t anyone else. Indeed, Tom stands alone. As a long-time presence in the industry, he’s been involved in creating advertising campaigns, first for Sharp, now for Kyocera. We also defy you to find anyone at any document imaging ad agency with the same knowledge and enthusiasm for this industry as Tom. He’s even served on the board of the MPSA. Through his presence at dealer meetings, where you’ll never find him lurking in the shadows, and other industry events, it’s clear Tom is on a mission to learn as much as he can about the trends and issues impacting his client’s business and turn that into dollars for his clients. 

Peter Hendrick

Group Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Business Services Division

Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc.

Why Peter makes a difference: You want to talk about stable forces in the document imaging industry, there’s no better place to start that conversation than with Peter Hendrick who has accumulated some 21+ years in the industry in various positions at Kyocera, and prior to that Sharp. Whether it’s marketing, advertising, public relations, product planning and management, you name it, he’s got the skills to do it. Attend any Kyocera dealer meeting and you can count on Peter to be in the midst of the action. He truly is one of the industry’s good guys and we’ve long been impressed by his even handed approach along with a temperament that allows him to work closely and productively with individuals inside and outside of Kyocera.

John MacInnes

President

Print Audit

Why John makes a difference:  John is a self-proclaimed entrepreneur with a track record that validates those claims. He’s been building businesses from the ground up for more than 20 years now and crazy as it seems, is currently running three companies simultaneously—Print Audit, Payroll by Credit Card, and Rocky Mountain Computer Repair. How does he do it? Maybe it’s an uncanny ability to be in three places at one time or simply he’s that good, especially in the print management business. As Art Post, founder of the Print4Pay Hotel, notes, “John MacInnes is the ‘Pulse of Print.’ He has expanded his managed services software to 3D printing and helped the people of Calgary after a recent flood. He still finds to the time to take my calls and that one aspect of taking the time to answer my call or calling me back is an example of excellent customer service and support.” And in our estimation, John is truly one of the visionaries when it comes to tracking print.

Norm McConkey

Director/Owner

Tangent MTW, Inc.

Why Norm makes a difference: One of the original founders of PrintFleet and its former President & CEO, Norm led the company’s growth during its first six years. He has since built several notable MPS programs for OEM’s and global vendors and has been retrained to train sales reps on OEM program roll outs. Over the last three years he has built a software platform that helps reap profit from fleets managed by resellers. Norm also has a fan in Greg VanDeWalker, senior vice president and general manager – CDG for Great America Financial Services, who says, “I have worked with Norm since 2006 and the one phrase that best describes him is ‘cutting edge’. In the early days of PrintFleet their go to market was a direct model. He took a chance with GreatAmerica to be the first distributor and this was a tremendous success for both organizations. As he moved to Tangent, Norm continues to lead by leveraging his vast experience of the channel and the market to help his clients grow.”

Ed McLaughlin

President/CEO

Valderus

Why Ed makes a difference: It’s not often you see one of the industry’s senior statesman leave their position with a major OEM and still remain visible and viable within the document imaging industry. That’s exactly what Ed has been able to do. His new business is focused on bringing together progressive, independent dealerships in a structure that maintains local management, while providing advanced technological platforms for growth, shared best practices, scale, and an enhanced customer experience. At the same time Ed continues to be a welcome presence at industry events, from BTA regional conferences, to ITEX, to Continuum (he’s a member of its board of advisors), where he’s always gracious about sharing his knowledge with folks from all segments of the document imaging industry. We’re sure glad he didn’t fade away.

 

Jon Mitchell

Director of Social Media

Prospect Builder/Dealer Marketing Systems

Why Jon makes a difference: In his role at Dealer Marketing Systems and Prospect Builder, Jon manages social media for dealerships across the United States and Australia, helping dealers position themselves as experts in their marketplace and empowering their sales teams with tactics to create new relationships. As more dealerships recognize the importance of social media, we expect people like John will be doing their part to help those organizations navigate through what for many are uncharted waters.

Nick Pegley

Vice President, Marketing

All Covered

Why Nick makes a difference: Who in the document imaging industry knew anything about All Covered prior to its acquisition by Konica Minolta five years ago? Admittedly, that’s a rhetorical question. What’s not rhetorical is the impact Nick Pegley has had as the voice of All Covered not only within the Konica Minolta dealer community, but with press and analysts who cover All Covered. Without Nick’s insights and his keen understanding of the Managed Services market and business model, dealers and those following the continued growth of All Covered would be severely shortchanged.

Dominic Pontrelli

Marketing and Strategy Advisor

Pontrelli Marketing

Why Dominic makes a difference: One of the greatest mysteries in the document imaging industry world is why Ricoh consistently lets good people get away. After a long and successful career leading the Ricoh marketing team, Dominic is now helping independent dealers develop and implement strategic marketing plans. “With the shift in buying habits towards doing more online research during the sales cycle, Dominic will help dealers capitalize on this trend,” says Darrel Amy of Dealer Marketing Systems.

Michael Rich

Executive Vice President & General Manager, Document Imaging Division

Nuance Communications

Why Michael makes a difference: We’ve known Michael Rich and been impressed with his business acumen ever since his days leading Equitrac. These days he’s responsible for Nuance’s print, copy, and capture solutions, which boost personal productivity and streamline enterprise workflows. In the past year, he spearheaded the transition during Nuance’s acquisition of Notable Solutions, Inc. and lead the charge in building one of the world’s largest independent document imaging software companies. This success has further solidified Nuance’s position as an innovator in the MFP industry with customers and partners.

Britt Siedentopf

Managed Services Manager

Leapfrog Managed Services by Muratec

Why Britt makes a difference: As Muratec’s Lou Stricklin tells us, “Britt simply gets it. He’s one of a few folks in our industry that truly understands the structure and complexity of both the dealer organization, as well as the Managed Service provider, and is able to marry the two into a successful hybrid. His energy, knowledge and teaching methods will have a positive impact on the imaging community for years to come.” We’re just getting to know Britt, but we can safely say that based on our early conversations with him about Managed Services, Lou is not stretching the truth when it comes to Britt’s knowledge and what he brings to Muratec and its dealers.

Ken Stewart

Founder & CEO, Changeforge

Vice President of Services, Photizo Group

Why Ken makes a difference: Still a youngster by document imaging industry standards, Ken Stewart has been on the front lines of the industry since 2003. At Photizo he’s responsible for the organization’s imaging advisory services, including primary research, forecasts, and client briefings. Plus he’s responsible for developing the Partner Transformation program, which is designed to guide MPS providers through their services transformation. Ken has a keen eye for what’s happening in the industry and does a super job of providing insightful analysis, which makes him one of our go-to analysts. You can also count on Ken to share his knowledge on change management, process improvement, technology alignment, and leadership alignment via numerous speaking engagements, articles, and consulting via his new company ChangeForge.

 

Tawnya Stone

Director of Enterprise Technology

GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.

Why Tawnya makes a difference: Give Tawnya credit for her leadership roles not only at GreatAmerica, but also with MPS, and CompTIA, where she is now leading their MS Community, along with her forward-thinking actions around technology integration. As GreatAmerica’s Josie Heskje notes, “She has done a nice job in building relationships with industry partners, understanding customer’s needs, and forging the road to connectivity to make their lives easier. It’s also nice to see smart women stepping up to the leadership plate – and particularly in the realm of technology.” We couldn’t agree more.