IoT Advisory Council

Robert Forget

CTO, Aware360 Ltd.

Robert Forget currently serves as the CTO for Aware360. In this role, Mr. Forget is key in technology research and integration reviews including both devices and software. Robert also manages technology partners and strategic sales efforts for custom solutions leveraging the Aware360 platform. Previously Mr. Forget worked for Vecima Networks Inc., in positions of increasing responsibility starting in business development and moving through the organization as Director of Sales, AVP of Product Management and finally as VP of Telematics.

Robert ran his own consulting firm from 2000-2004, specializing in electronics design and systems implementation. Robert has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Saskatchewan, an MBA and is a certified Professional Manager. Mr. Forget currently serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Institute of Management and has been active on the boards of many organizations from such diverse areas as technology associations, housing developments, politics, and not for profits.

Brandon Fuhr

Co-Founder, XReps

Mr. Fuhr has held positions in marketing, sales, business development, and executive leadership building multiple companies in the technology space, serving clients from SMB to the Enterprise.  These roles have included a handful of startups spanning Supercomputing, Telecom, SaaS, Cloud Computing, and IT Security.

Extensive startup experience with companies in emerging technology has provided Mr. Fuhr the ability to wear many hats.  This helps him see the big picture, understand challenges faced from multiple perspectives, and contribute to the success of teammates, partners, & clients effectively.   Having started as an IT practitioner during College, Mr. Fuhr has a true passion for technology which allows him to grasp new solutions and concepts quickly.

At Coolfire Solutions, Mr. Fuhr is responsible for designing and building the company's Channel Programs which are becoming the company's lead go-to-market strategy.  Coolfire Solutions is the creator of the Ronin Platform, a situational awareness delivery platform which sits on top of legacy infrastructure and new data sources such as IoT, to transform data into easily actionable information. 

The Ronin Platform is currently used by the US Military, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and numerous other organizations in the realms of Public Safety and Transportation.  As of Q1 2018, the Ronin Platform was accepted into a Smart City IoT Innovation Lab created in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and several other organizations to prepare First Responders to operate in Smart Cities of the future.

Jill Klein

Senior Leader of IoT and Healthcare, Sirius

Jill’s background is extensive and diverse, comprised of more than 25 years’ experience in information technology and business transformation consulting. Previously, she’s served as the director of strategic initiatives at Inacom and has held several technical leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies like Gateway and ConAgra Foods. Jill continues her leadership in strategic development at Sirius Computer Solutions.

As the worldwide strategy and execution leader of IoT for Sirius, Jill focuses primarily on strategic growth opportunities by leading new solution developments, including IT service management, cloud, mobility and IoT. Her teams strive to be the IoT solutions integrator of choice, delivering relevant solutions from current and future business partners.

A tireless creative force and evangelist for innovative technology, Jill has been published in InfoWorld, written several blogs and white papers, and is a frequent presenter in video webcasts focused on helping clients successfully adopt emerging tech. Jill will continue creating industry-level thought leadership to assist with the advancement of emerging technologies and new business models as a member of the CompTia IoT Council. Tech Data IoT and Analytics Council CRN recognized her teams work in IoT last year by awarding Sirius with their 2019 IoT Innovators Award

Patrick Albert

VP of Product Management, Auvik Networks Inc.

Patrick currently serves as VP, Product Management for Auvik Networks Inc. where he started in 2017 to build and scale a product management team for the fast growing start-up. He previously held various strategic and execution roles at N-able Technologies (acquired by SolarWinds Inc.) and Dell Inc. He is highly skilled in developing, marketing, and driving products from conception through entire product life cycle. He has extensive experience in the Managed Service Provider (MSP) industry with particular interest in networking, automation and security.

Heather Brundage

Director of IoT Business, Synapse

Heather Brundage is the Director of IoT Business at Synapse, the go-to product development partner to architect, integrate, and deliver connected ecosystems that seamlessly blend hardware and software.

Heather has been helping companies bring their hardware products to market for over a decade through consulting, speaking, mentoring, running factory tours, founding a startup (YC W13), working for IoT hardware companies (Particle), and for companies fostering the hardware community (Maker Media).

She uses her expertise in business strategy, hardware development, product management, operations, and business development; as well as her breadth of experience in various industries including Defense, Oil & Gas, Consumer Electronics, Industrial Robotics, Mobile App Development, and IoT; to deliver value for her clients.

Heather holds a BS in Ocean Engineering and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a patent for a full mouth toothbrush, and builds cocktail robots for fun.

Benson Chan

Senior Partner, Strategy of Things

Benson Chan is a senior partner at Strategy of Things, a Silicon Valley-based innovation catalyst that brings science, breakthrough strategies and disruptive digital technologies to help cities become smarter and more responsive. He recently developed San Mateo County’s smart region strategy, created and launched its innovation lab (SMC Labs), and completed a smart streetlight strategy for a major regional utility company.
Benson has over 25 years of scaling innovative businesses and bringing innovations to market for Fortune 500 and start-up companies. Benson has held project, management and executive positions in innovation-driven organizations, including NASA, Hughes Aircraft Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cisco and Pakedge. He also serves as an industry mentor to lab innovation teams at the US Department of Energy’s Building Technology’s Office, and is on the leadership teams of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Global Cities Team Challenge (GCTC) Wireless Supercluster, as well as the Smart Buildings and Smart Regions action clusters.
Benson holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, a MS in Engineering from Purdue University and a MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

David Eckell

National Market Manager & Emerging Technologies, Graybar

David Eckell is an experienced technology leader, and excel at understanding technology and the value that it brings to the customer experience. David has a varied skill set with years of experience in service delivery, project management, product management, systems engineering, market analysis, business development and channel sales. This gave David a unique insight into the challenge of delighting the customer while being profitable and keeping a competitive advantage. As a result David is often able to cut through the noise to get to the heart of the matter.

Kathleen Glass

CEO, Oinkodomeo

Kathleen Glass is CEO of Oinkodomeo, a sales and marketing consultancy. Kathleen brings over two decades of B2B experience in SaaS and managed services for emerging technologies including IoT, CyberSecurity, Privacy and Analytics. As VP of Marketing for DriveCam (now Lytx), she helped bring to market one of the first video fleet management and telematics solutions and earliest Sprint M2M case study. Today, she regularly advises IoT solution providers in a variety of industries covering transportation, healthcare, manufacturing and oil & gas. In addition, Kathleen is a supporter of the vibrant San Diego technology startup scene, volunteering as a CONNECT Springboard Marketing Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) and a sales and marketing mentor for the CyberTECH NEST accelerator program. She is San Diego Chapter Chair for the Association of Inside Sales Professionals and serves on the AA-ISP National Advisory Board.

Shashidhar Hiremath

Head of Digital, Verizon

Shashidhar ‘Shashi’ Hiremath is an experienced, global technology leader and builder of large-scale commerce/retail/transaction systems and scalable, high-performing cloud solutions for Dow Jones Industrial Average component company Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). Shashi is responsible for the overall digital architecture, merchandising strategy and user experience that supports Verizon Wireless. Regarded as an expert and thought leader in the fields of customer experience, digital transformation and reactive architecture commerce platforms, Shashi is an author on three U.S. patents, a member of the CompTIA Internet of Things national leadership advisory council, a founding member of the Business Journals Leadership Trust Council for Technologists, and a frequent speaker at conferences and industry events like IBM Think and Transformation Summit.

Chris Link

IoT Account Executive, Lenovo USA

Sales & business development professional with an emphasis on IoT Solutions, Edge Hardware, Connectivity and Platforms. Sales management, channel development, and strategic account/new market development experience throughout North America, Asia, and EMEA, with focus on IoT, cellular and other wireless technologies.

BSEE from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Utpal Mangla

VP & Senior Partner; 5G, EDGE & IoT, IBM Corp

Utpal Mangla ( MBA, PEng, CMC, ITCP, PMP, ITIL, CSM ) is a VP and Senior Partner in IBM Services. He leads IBM's TME Industry Center of Competency focussing on Artificial Intelligence, IoT, 5G EDGE, Hybrid Cloud, Robotics and Blockchain Innovations for clients worldwide. In his role as a senior executive in the business with P&L responsibility and thought leader in emerging technologies, Utpal’s mission is to fuel growth by building, selling & implementing differentiated competitive market solution offerings to delight our customers

Andrea Miner

Director of Consulting Services and Marketing of IoT and Data Solutions, Tech Data

Andrea Miner serves as director, consulting services, Internet of Things (IoT) and Data Solutions, North America at Tech Data. In this role, she leads North America’s team of business and technical consultants who are responsible for implementing Tech Data’s Practice Builder™ methodology and accelerating the channel’s growth opportunity in data, analytics and IoT. Prior to her current role, Miner served as director, Global Market Intelligence. As part of Tech Data’s corporate strategy team, she was responsible for interpreting the impact of technology changes and trends for Tech Data and its partners. Leveraging multiple research firms as well as relationships with analysts, vendors and partners, Miner provided actionable insights that enabled Tech Data and its partners to maximize the benefits of technology in a rapidly changing market. She joined Tech Data in February 2017 upon the completion of Tech Data’s acquisition of Avnet’s Technology Solutions division.

Miner brings more than 20 years of professional experience in various disciplines; including specialist solutions, market intelligence and strategic planning, investor relations and strategic and tactical marketing roles. Prior to joining Avnet in 2004, Miner held marketing and sales positions at Arrow Electronics in Silicon Valley and Tempe, Arizona.

Miner has served her community as a mentor with Florence Crittenton Arizona’s WINGS program for at-risk girls. She has been recognized by CRN and Channel Partners Online for her work educating partners about industry transformation and its impact and was named 2020 Women of the Channel by CRN. Miner holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University.

Robert Senatore

President & COO, Data2Go Wireless

Robert Senatore is a seasoned Veteran with more than 25 years in the Telecommunications industry. Robert is currently Managing Member and President of Zirrus Group, LLC, DBA Data2Go Wireless. Previously, Robert was the Founder and CEO of Direct Communication Solutions (DCS). Under Robert’s leadership, DCS became the largest reseller of embedded modules for Telit Wireless in North America. During his tenure at DCS, Robert successfully lead negotiations that resulted in the largest fleet technology modernization project to date for the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, encompassing more than 25,000 taxi cabs over a 3 year period, while securing a multimillion dollar contract for Sprint. Prior to founding DCS, Robert served in several sales and sales leadership roles within the Sprint Enterprise and Wholesale organizations, where Robert was a consistent top producer. Robert is also very involved in his family and community. He has been a Division Director and Director of Sponsorships for City of Parkland Baseball. He has coached Flag Football in Parkland, Florida for the past 7 years. Robert is also a graduate of Florida State University.

Tricia Shevlin

Head of Channel, Teladvance

Tricia Shevlin has been fascinated with telecom technology since cellular communications changed how we do business in the 90’s. Starting her career with AT&T in 1997 as it was changing from a long-distance carrier to a global powerhouse fueling the dot-com industry and the adoption of the mobile device by business and consumers.  At AT&T, she held multiple roles, including supporting the launch of the first digital network.

This laid the groundwork for a career in helping companies solve business challenges with the latest technology and services. In 2005, she joined Advantix, part of the fast-growing communications lifecycle management industry, where she led sales, channel development and marketing.

Today, as Head of Channel at Teladvance, Shevlin oversees, development and strategic direction of global sales.

Tricia graduated from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a MBA in Marketing.  With a passion for education, volunteering and mentorship, she is known for her personable nature and heart for serving others.

Outgoing Texas personality and passionate change agent that is focused on building channel communities that address business challenges with new technology and revolutionizing the world!

Jon Weiss

VP of Emerging Technologies, Software AG

Jon spent the last decade working with some of the world's largest companies, such as: P&G, GE, Pfizer, PepsiCo, Intel, HPE, Foxconn and many others seeking to undergo digital transformations in their manufacturing facilities, supply chain initiatives and enterprise applications. Jon has a very successful track record in leading teams throughout the entire SDLC process, from pre-sales engagements to global roll-outs for hundreds of factories in AJP, EMEA and the Americas.