Michael Montonen, Wavestone US Lead Principal

“It’s top-caliber talent like Michael—IT leaders who bring real-world experience to deliver real-world business results—who continue to drive Wavestone’s momentum in the market despite today’s disruptive environment,” says Jeff Vail, CEO of Wavestone US.

RADNOR, Pa. (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

Wavestone US is pleased to announce the recent appointment of strategic digital leader Michael Montonen as Lead Principal. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in driving digital transformation and innovation in Fortune 500 companies and other leading global conglomerates based in the US, Europe, and Latin America. With a strong background in sourcing advisory, IT strategy, enterprise architecture, cloud services, and infrastructure optimization, he has helped CIOs, COOs, and CEOs utilize IT effectively to improve business performance.

Prior to joining Wavestone US, Montonen held several senior-level positions at Atos, Deloitte, WEPS, Accenture, and Gartner. At Atos, he served as the client executive digital transformation leader for a global retail company in a multimillion-dollar deal, successfully steering the 200-strong account team to grow the business and create new revenue streams. At Deloitte, he was instrumental in driving revenue growth and profitability of the firm’s technology strategy and architecture practice. Montonen also led sourcing strategy and RFP development for Accenture’s Latin America region, resulting in millions in savings on IT infrastructure outsourcing over five years.

“Michael has the depth and breadth of expertise and leadership experience to deepen Wavestone’s digital transformation bench. It’s top-caliber talent like Michael—IT leaders who bring real-world experience to deliver real-world business results—who continue to drive Wavestone’s momentum in the market despite today’s disruptive environment,” says Jeff Vail, CEO of Wavestone US.

“Wavestone’s differentiated consulting model based on practical experience sets up IT and business leaders and their organizations for sustainable success,” says Montonen. “It’s great to be part of such a unique organization and I enjoy the opportunity to work with a team of world-class IT experts driving meaningful change in leading organizations.”

All Wavestone senior consultants are seasoned business and IT leaders with a strong track record of producing results. Averaging more than two decades of experience as former C-level executives, they are more than equipped to offer the bold, new thinking needed to face the new challenges in the post-pandemic environment. This peer-to-peer approach has been effective in the transformations of more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies across a wide range of industries. Wavestone US advisory services include IT strategy and planning, IT cost and run optimization, cybersecurity, business operations improvements, and IT talent solutions.

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About Wavestone

In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone’s mission is to inform and guide large companies and organizations in their most critical transformations, with the ambition of a positive outcome for all stakeholders. That’s what we call “The Positive Way.”

Wavestone draws on some 3,000 employees across 8 countries. It is a leading independent player in the European consulting market.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris and recognized as a Great Place to Work®.

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Mohamed Irfan Peeran

Alpharetta, GA: VDart announces Mohamed Irfan Peeran as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

VDart announces Mohamed Irfan Peeran as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions.

VDart Inc., a Global Talent Management, Digital Transformation Services & Product provider, announced the hiring of Mohamed Irfan Peeran to their leadership team as Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions. In this newly created role, Peeran will lead all facets of M&A, including ecosystem strategy, ventures and acquisitions.

“VDart has delivered market-leading growth for the last several years. For us to continue our robust growth trajectory, we firmly believe our M&A strategy will play a key role. Our strategic objectives for M&A are, to deepen digital capabilities, penetrate emerging markets and create exceptional value to all our stakeholders. I am incredibly excited to have Irfan join our leadership team, and very confident his expertise will help us significantly to set the stage for the next phase of our growth. I look forward to working with Irfan and with our entire leadership team – as we continue to drive our purpose and execute our growth agenda,” said Sidd, President and Group CEO of VDart.

Peeran comes with 25+ years of diverse global experience in Strategic Engagements & Alliances, Transformation and Technology Consulting. Prior to joining VDart, he served the Principal Consultant at Peer Solutions Group, where he was engaged by its’ Automotive and Government customers to provide consulting services. In these engagements, he was instrumental in delivering large scale programs in Digital Transformation.

“Irfan is a strategic fit for us,” says Oliver Sam, Vice President – People Strategy & Transformation. “His deep domain expertise and successful entrepreneurial experience offer unique leadership skills for us. As our transformation journey continues, M&A will be a compelling reason for us to keep up with the pace of our growth story. We strongly believe, right leadership talent is a crucial driver for M&A success, and we are very excited with Irfan spearheading our M&A.”

“I am very excited to be at VDart and impressed with VDart’s organic and high-growth,” said Irfan. “VDart has established themselves in a short span of time as a strong contender in the Digital Transformation space by offering cutting edge solutions to its customers mainly in the fast-growing Mobility industry and have helped solve several critical business problems using Blockchain, IoT, AI, RPA and Cloud Technologies.”

About VDart:

VDart Inc. is a Global Talent Management, Digital Transformation Services & Product provider based out of Atlanta, Georgia. We lead digital transformation by designing and developing future-ready solutions using cutting-edge technologies, delivering an amazing experience, and creating better business value.

We power the next generation of mobility with our fleet management, digital key, in-vehicle infotainment and connected vehicle solutions. We have deep industry expertise and focus in the Automotive, Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Energy & Utility, Healthcare and Technology and bring extensive experience collaborating with leading automotive OEMs, Tier1 suppliers and fleet owners to develop advanced mobility solutions to support the growing need for mobility-on-demand.

We specialize in IoT, Mobility solutions and Connected technologies and carry vast expertise in emerging and cutting edge technologies like Blockchain, IoT, UI/UX, AR/VR, Cloud, Machine Learning, AI, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, Identify management, and Intelligent automation. We have deep industry expertise and focus in the Automotive, BFSI, Manufacturing, Energy & Utility, Healthcare and Technology.

We are solving complex technology problems and delivering long term value for our customers. We take immense pride in delivering cutting edge technology solutions, specialized talent, superior performance and seamless execution to meet challenging business needs of customers worldwide including USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Japan, Australia & India.

Visit us at: http://www.vdart.com

Avishek Ganguly

VDart

(678) 685-8650

avishek.g@vdartdigital.com

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Jim Menard

“We are excited to have Jim help us take our customer engagement to the next level. Jim is bold, innovative and champions partnership – all are core values to CallRevu,” said Anthony Giagnacovo, CEO of CallRevu.

BALTIMORE (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

CallRevu, the industry leader in automotive Conversation Intelligence featuring call data, tracking and advanced machine monitoring powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to help Dealers Connect, Communicate and Close deals, is pleased to announce that Jim Menard has joined as the new Vice President of Client Services. Menard will be focus on strengthening CallRevu’s relationships with dealers, supporting customer growth and elevating CallRevu’s brand across the automotive ecosystem.

“I am excited to join CallRevu, where I can apply my passion for helping dealers achieve greater success – helping them simplify the customer experience while strengthening their conversations with customers – CallRevu is a cornerstone in helping dealers achieve their goals,” said Jim Menard, Vice President of Client Services.

Menard has been working in the automotive industry for 23 years, having served as Senior Vice President of Sales, Service and Support for TrueCar and in other senior leadership roles at AutoTrader, vAuto and Search Optics. Menard brings proven experiences that result in better organizational effectiveness, employee retention and satisfaction along with higher sales, greater market penetration, and enhanced customer experience.

Menard comes to CallRevu from Dominion Dealer Solutions where he was the Vice President of Client Success, Operations and OEM Relationships where he focused on dealer and OEM relationships across the company’s software and digital marketing platforms. Jim is also a frequent keynote speaker for influential automotive groups, such as the National Automobile Dealers Association [NADA], National Independent Automobile Dealers Association [NIADA], and National Alliance of Buy Here, Pay Here Dealers [NABD].

“We are excited to have Jim on-board, and help us take our customer engagement to the next level — Jim knows the industry and has proven experience leading a Customer Services team to deliver unparalleled value and service. Jim is Bold, Innovative and champions Partnership – all are core values to CallRevu and made Jim an obvious choice,” said Anthony Giagnacovo, CEO of CallRevu.

About CallRevu

CallRevu, founded in 2008, helps thousands of automotive dealers in the U.S. cultivate the customers that make it into the showroom after having a great experience on the phone. CallRevu has monitored over 110 million calls and by providing local and toll-free numbers to place on all ads, we track, listen, summarize, alert, and report on dealership’s phone calls to monitor call performance. With the robust data we collect, we coach on how to enhance the caller’s experience and improve the bottom line of dealerships. Visit http://www.callrevu.com.

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We are confident that Brian can take the business forward at an even faster pace and magnify our on-going success

WATERFORD, Mich. (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

Kors Engineering, a premier service provider for manufacturing and industrial organizations, is proud to announce Brian Gillespie as its new Chief Sales Officer.

Brian Gillespie, Detroit-based veteran in the manufacturing sector, brings almost three decades of global leadership experience to the innovative Kors Engineering team. Prior to joining Kors, Gillespie held executive sales roles at DataProphet, Citrine Informatics, Sight Machine, Imaginestics, and Plex Systems. In his new role as Chief Sales Officer at Kors Engineering he is responsible for customer and partner development as well as developing market strategy to cement the company’s position as the premier integration solution partner for manufacturing companies.

“Brian is an ideal fit with Kors Engineering. Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our executive leadership team. We are really excited to have him drive our global customer and partner efforts,” said Tony Kaczmarek, CEO, Kors Engineering. “We are confident that Brian can take the business forward at an even faster pace and magnify our on-going success.”

“I’m delighted to join the superb staff at Kors Engineering and help drive its continued success serving industrial clients,” stated Kors CSO Brian Gillespie. “I have always been impressed with Kors’ technology, the caliber of its staff and their exemplary approach to customer service. I am eager to join this dynamic team and build on its impressive momentum in the industry.”

About Kors Engineering

Kors Engineering is a premier systems integrator and automation and controls provider for manufacturers and other industrial facilities. Kors Engineering delivers quantifiable results in cost reductions, time savings and process efficiencies. For more than 40 years Kors Engineering has executed projects to improve systems and business processes on the shop floor and throughout the entire enterprise. For more information, visit http://www.korsengineering.com.

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“[Randy] possesses exceptional skills when it comes to developing positioning and messaging that resonates with customers. We are excited that Randy is now onboard to help tell the Yamaha story,” said Matt Searfus, Corporate Vice President, Integrated Marketing.

BUENA PARK, Calif. (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) announced that Randy Beck has joined the company as Vice President, Integrated Marketing. He reports directly to Matt Searfus, Corporate Vice President, Integrated Marketing.

In his new role, Beck is responsible for managing and leading YCA’s key marketing departments, including Consumer Audio, Guitar, Keyboard, Percussion, Professional Audio, and Winds & Strings.

“Randy has played key roles in building marketing success for industry-leading brands,” said Searfus. “He possesses exceptional skills when it comes to developing positioning and messaging that resonates with customers. We are excited that Randy is now onboard to help tell the Yamaha story.”

Before joining Yamaha, Beck held the position of Vice President, Percussion at D’Addario & Co, where he led the global strategic direction for the company’s Percussion Business Unit. Prior to that, he held several key managerial roles at Nestle Purina Pet Care in St. Louis, Mo., and in 2017, was named director of marketing responsible for the Friskies, Kit & Kaboodle and Deli Cat brands, one of the largest business units in the company.

Beck also applied his brand managerial talent for five years at Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey, where he led brand strategy development and execution for Campbell’s Kitchen and Pace.

“My desire to make music, learn, listen and perform has been at my core for as long as I can remember,” said Beck. “As both a musician and a marketer, I am excited to build upon the Yamaha brand promise to create more musicians and develop closer emotional connections with our customers.”

Beck earned a BS in Finance and Banking from the University of Missouri, Columbia and an MBA with a concentration in Brand Management from Washington University in St. Louis.

He and his wife, Margie are relocating with their two children to Manhattan Beach, California.

For more information about Yamaha Corporation of America, visit usa.yamaha.com

-END-

About Yamaha

Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of award-winning musical instruments, sound reinforcement, commercial installation and home entertainment products to the U.S. market. Products include: Yamaha acoustic, digital and hybrid pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio equipment, Steinberg recording products and NEXO commercial audio products, as well as AV receivers, amplifiers, MusicCast wireless multiroom audio systems, Blu-ray/CD players, earphones, headphones, home-theater-in-a-box systems, sound bars and its exclusive line of Digital Sound Projectors. YCA markets innovative, finely crafted technology and entertainment products and musical instruments targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, music, professional audio installation and consumer markets.

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Jim Savoca

Jim’s breadth of industry knowledge and the sales process specifically, is unparalleled in our industry

DALTON, Ga. (PRWEB)
August 20, 2020

Synthetic turf industry veteran Jim Savoca has been named Vice President of Sales for AstroTurf Corporation. Jim moves into the role after previously serving as General Manager for AstroTurf’s Central Region of the United States.

Savoca brings nearly 40 years of successful sales and management experience to his position as Vice President of Sales where he will oversee AstroTurf’s sales team and will continue to build on the company’s legendary customer service model. Savoca attended Ohio State University where he played for the iconic Woody Hayes for four years. After graduation, he entered the artificial turf business and has worked in all aspects of the industry. Jim sold the conventional AstroTurf products, moved into the heavily infilled versions, and now spends his time promoting the most technologically advanced turf systems in the industry.

“Jim’s breadth of industry knowledge and the sales process specifically, is unparalleled in our industry,” says Rich Jordan, AstroTurf Corporation Executive Vice President. “We’re thrilled he will be guiding the best sales team in the business and imparting his straight-forward and enthusiastic approach to providing solutions to our customers’ sports surfacing needs.”

As Vice President of Sales, Jim is responsible for overseeing the management of AstroTurf’s sales efforts as well as helping plan the long-term goals and strategies for the company. Over the years, Jim has played a key role in the rapid growth of AstroTurf’s athletic field and sports venue business and his contribution to building the AstroTurf brand is widely known and respected.

About AstroTurf®

For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf® has redefined the way the game is played. The brand offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety. To learn more, visit AstroTurf’s website at http://www.astroturf.com.

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Waggl’s “Putting People First During the COVID-19 Crisis” initiative has earned a Bronze Stevie in the category of “Most Innovative Use of HR Technology During the Pandemic.”

“Putting people first is the number one principle that can help guide an organization through the ups and downs of turbulent times,” said Michael Papay, Co-founder and CEO, Waggl. “Inviting all employees to share their ideas results in a more deeply committed team and produces better outcomes.”

SAUSALITO, Calif. (PRWEB)
August 19, 2020

Waggl, the most powerful Employee Voice platform for strategic business and HR leaders, today announced that it is the recipient of a 2020 Stevie® Award for Great Employers. Waggl’s “Putting People First During the COVID-19 Crisis” initiative has earned a Bronze Stevie in the category of “Most Innovative Use of HR Technology During the Pandemic.”

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers are an international business awards competition that are open to all organizations worldwide. The awards recognize the world’s best companies to work for, and the HR teams, professionals, achievements, new products, and suppliers that help to create and drive great places to work.

“As we move through this global pandemic together with our customers, we become more aware every day of the need for organizations to hear the voices of all employees — not just the people in the Boardroom and the Executive Suite,” said Michael Papay, Co-founder and CEO, Waggl. “From what we’ve seen and experienced, putting people first is the number one principle that can help guide an organization through the ups and downs of turbulent times. Inviting all employees to share their ideas, and taking the time to genuinely and empathically understand their perspectives, results in a more deeply committed team and produces better outcomes for all types of organizations.”

Waggl is an agile engagement solution that crowdsources real-time insight from employees to drive faster action and alignment around critical business topics. With a unique approach that enables a shared real-time dialogue, Waggl rapidly surfaces and prioritizes insights, ideas, and information to help organizations maintain connection with their people. In the COVID-19 crisis, the abrupt transition to remote work interrupted the normal workflows of most organizations and presented steep challenges to keeping employees engaged and productive. In order to help support organizations during this transition, Waggl launched an initiative called “Putting People First During the COVID-19 Crisis.” The initiative consisted of three key components:

1. “Putting People First” Module. A new module with 3 pre-loaded question sets designed to help HR leaders sustain connection, guide organizational actions, and shape the future.

2. “Putting People First” Pulse. A collaborative offering that invited HR leaders to share insights and learnings with their peers about their organizations’ responses to the COVID-19 crisis, in order to surface best practices and help support wellbeing.

3. Free access. HR Leaders were invited to use Waggl’s Employee Voice platform to navigate the many challenges associated with the Pandemic, free of charge for 90 days. Waggl’s COVID-19 offering helped to keep people engaged, connected, and informed, filling a gap in the existing engagement toolset and paving the way for ongoing Employee Voice initiatives. Waggl’s inherent ability to facilitate agile, topical and localized engagement around issues people care deeply about made this solution particularly powerful and relevant during the Pandemic.

“The truth is that the COVID-19 crisis has forever changed the landscape of business and work,” said Alex Kinnebrew, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Growth Strategy, Waggl. In order to adapt to the future, we can’t go backward. Building a successful organization in the ‘new normal’ will require leaders to employ transparent communication, encourage authentic dialogue, and cultivate a sense of shared ownership.”

To learn more about Waggl, please visit https://www.waggl.com/.

About Waggl

For HR leaders who need to measure, and truly improve engagement, Waggl is an Employee Voice platform that crowdsources real-time insight to drive faster action and alignment around critical business topics. Inspired by the waggle dance honeybees do to communicate vital information, Waggl believes every voice matters. Unlike heavy surveys or basic pulse tools, Waggl is a dialogue-first approach to engagement that creates shared ownership through inclusive team-based action planning.

With a seasoned Executive Team and premiere customers including Freddie Mac, Paychex, Heineken, 3M, Mastercard, UCSF Medical Center, McGraw Hill, Taylor Morrison and Parsons, Waggl partners with leading enterprises to harness the collective intelligence of their people. For more information and an expanded customer list, please visit https://www.waggl.com.

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Missy has a deep understanding of the challenges in education and a passion for early learning and technology. With her leadership, we are on a path to double our impact, working with partners and investors who share a vision of reading for all.”

PRINCETON, N.J. (PRWEB)
August 19, 2020

Learning Ally, a leading nonprofit with a mission to transform the lives of the 30 million U.S. students who struggle to read, has appointed Missy Sherburne as its Chief of Growth and Strategic Partnerships.

Ms. Sherburne will report to Andrew Friedman, CEO and work closely with the Leadership Team at Learning Ally to advance the organization’s growth goals. With an expanded emphasis on early literacy and professional learning, Sherburne’s work will focus on national initiatives, cultivating new partnerships and developing strategies with a goal to expand Learning Ally’s impact in new markets, build investment in neuroscience research and support the development of needed new platforms. In doing so, Learning Ally will ensure that more educators have the support they need to help students of all ages and more students have the ability to read, learn and succeed.

Sherburne, a former teacher and leader within Teach For America, and mother of a child with dyslexia, has extensive experience working with public schools and corporate partnerships to enhance the use of education technology to impact positive student outcomes. She is a founding executive of DonorsChoose, a crowdfunding platform spotlighted by Fast Company as one of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Her efforts helped to raise more than fifty million dollars with investors to purchase much-needed resources for public school classrooms. Sherburne also held a pivotal leadership role at Tinkergarten, an early childhood outdoor nature play and social impact startup to spearhead growth and expansion of revenue and B2B licensing models across the country.

“We are fortunate to have Missy on board,” said Andrew Friedman. “She has a deep understanding of the challenges in education and a passion for early learning and technology. With her leadership, we are on a path to double our impact, working with partners and investors who share a vision of reading for all.”

Learning Ally’s flagship product is the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution which serves struggling readers through schools and directly to households. It partners with renowned researchers at institutions like the University of California at San Francisco and MIT who develop groundbreaking solutions that allow for early identification of literacy challenges, as well as cognitive strengths and weaknesses of students. The organization also works with neuroscientists and educators to map student profiles to teaching best practices, and is recognized for its Spotlight on Dyslexia virtual conference which brings together educators, parents and dyslexia experts who advocate on behalf of students with learning disabilities. In 2018, the organization was honored with a Library of Congress Literacy Award for its outstanding achievements and innovative, research-based best practices to improve literacy worldwide.

Interested foundations, innovators and investors can contact Missy Sherburne at msherburne@learningally.org.

About Learning Ally

Learning Ally is a leading nonprofit education solutions organization dedicated to equipping educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than 700,000 students and 135,000 educators across the US. The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is our cornerstone award-winning reading accommodation used in approximately 19,000 schools to help students with reading deficits succeed. Composed of high quality, human-read audiobooks, and a suite of teacher resources to monitor and support student progress, it is designed to turn struggling readers into engaged learners.

For more information on Learning Ally, and the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution, visit http://www.learningally.org/educators or call 800-221-1098.

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