Featured Speaker(s)

WELCOME FROM OUR SPONSOR


Joanne Persinger
Senior VP, Information Technology, Americas
Tech Data Corporation

Joanne has served as an Information Technology Executive since 2000. Joanne joined Tech Data in 1989 and has held various leadership positions including Marketing Manager, Director of Customer Relations, Director of Business Analysis and Vice President of Logistics systems. As part of Tech Data’s global IT organization, Joanne is responsible for the Americas IT infrastructure, 24x7 data center operations, application development, delivery portfolio, eBusiness, and IT shared services. Joanne most recently led multiple SAP rollouts over a six year period in both the U.S. and Canada.

Joanne is active in the Florida Diversity Council and is an Education Co-Chair with the Council’s Tampa Bay Chapter. Joanne is the Executive Sponsor of Tech Data's Diversity and Inclusion Council. Joanne also serves as a board member for the Tampa Bay Technology Forum. Joanne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of West Florida and a Masters of Business Administration from Florida State University.


Tracy Veillette
VP/Controller
Tech Data Corporation

Tracy Veillette is Vice President and U.S. Controller for Tech Data Corporation. She is responsible for overseeing all of the distributor's U.S. accounting, controlling, and related transaction processing functions. Tracy joined Tech Data in 1998. Prior to her current position she served as Director of Vendor Accounting/Assistant Controller.

Tech Data Diversity & Inclusion program’s 1st employee resource groups was Ladies of Tech Data.  As executive sponsor, Tracy has helped it become a benchmark for future groups.  She was recently honored with the FL Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women Award.

She currently serves on the boards of two female professional organizations, AFWA (Accounting and Financial Women's Alliance) and AWSCPA (American Woman's Society of CPAs). Tracy also serves on the board of the Children's Dream Fund, a local wish granting organization for children with life threatening illnesses, where she serves as Chairperson. In 2013 Tracy received the Tampa Connections Citizen of the Year Award, and in 2014 Tracy was named STEM Women of the Year as well as being named to the Channel Top 100 Women. Tracy received a master's degree in accounting and a bachelor's degree in business administration with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cal Jackson
Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion Program
Tech Data Corporation

Cal is responsible for the development of Tech Data’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. He is also a certified NTL Diversity Practitioner. Cal is most known in the Diversity and Inclusion community for his design, development and delivery of engaging and thought-provoking cultural competence workshops. Topics include generations, gender, lookism, self-awareness, discrimination, bias, classism and enhancing the cultural competence of managers.

He has received various accolades for his work from Centers for Disease Control, FL Blue, The Florida Diversity Council, the Conference Board, Jacksonville Business Journal, Indo-USA Chamber of Commerce (Jacksonville, FL), and the First Coast Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

Cal Jackson has been an advocate for social justice through his many associations which include the board of directors of the Florida Diversity Council, Hispanic Institute for Life & Learning, OneJax’ Project Breakthrough, Blueprint for Prosperity, Jacksonville Diversity Council, Northeast FL United Negro College Fund Advisory Board, and Community Hospice of Northeast FL Board of Directors.



MODERATOR

Mark Jackson
Director, IT Americas Region
Tech Data Corporation

Mark Jackson is Director of the IT Americas Region at Tech Data Corporation and 25-year veteran in the wholesale distribution industry. In his current role, Mark is responsible for Enterprise Reporting and Analytics with more than 10+ years of experience in the field.

Additionally, Mark has responsibility for EDI Development and Support, Distributed Application and SQL Development, Project Management, Shared Services and IT Solutions Consulting practices.


PANEL DISCUSSION


Jennifer Rothenberg
Social Business Manager
IBM

Jennifer Rothenberg is a social statistician who researches the intersection of technology, marketing and digital communication known as customer experience. In her role at IBM, she is restructuring internal communication to employ machine learning and artificial intelligence to segment and deliver relevant information to global audiences instantaneously.

In previous roles at Nielsen, Hillsborough County and Step Up For Students, she used data insights to lead operations teams, establish strategic plans and develop marketing campaign insights. Jennifer holds a bachelor's degree in public relations and a master's degree in applied social research methods, both from Florida State University.


Krasi Nacheva
Manager, Marketing Analytics & Reporting
Financial Planning & Analysis
Tech Data Corporation


Krasi Nacheva is a Manager of Marketing Analytics at Tech Data Corporation overseeing the implementation of BI strategies and adoption of new analytics tools. Krasi manages a team of analysts who support the Marketing department with analytical insights and recommendations.

Krasi is passionate about finding how data impact business decisions and strategic initiatives. She has an MBA in International Business and over 10 years of analytical experience.


Glenn Ross
Managing Consultant
Resources Global Professionals (RGP), Southeast Region

Glenn Ross has more than twenty years of leveraging data, analytics and technology across many industries, primarily in financial services and telecommunications. Glenn leverages his doctoral training in economics, from Vanderbilt University, to identify, scope, shape, quantify, and solve complex problems. He has held senior roles in management and technology consulting firms like American Management Systems (AMS), IBM, and Accenture. Glenn also held executive roles as Head of Client Strategy for Wealth Management at Key Bank and Global Quality and Productivity Executive for Image and EPS at the Global Corporate and Investment Bank at Bank of America.

Much of Glenn’s career has been focusing on enabling companies to become more operationally efficient and to drive more profitable revenue leveraging technology, data and analytics. He has led several enterprise wide business intelligence efforts at Fortune 500 companies. The monetization of data is where Glenn is spending more time with clients these days. Revenue is always king!


Giti Javidi, Ph.D.
Professor of Information Technology | College of Business
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

Prior to joining USF Sarasota Manatee as as professor of Information Technology, Dr. Gita Javidi was a professor of Computer Science at Virginia State University, where she played a pivotal role in developing and advancing the teaching curriculum for the Computer Science program. Dr. Javidi’s research interests include scientific visualization, big data analytics, user interface and interaction, information visualization and visualization in education.

Dr. Javidi has been the recipient of a number of prestigious NSF and NASA grants. As a long-time advocate for increasing participation and retention of women in STEM fields, she has worked tirelessly on a number of projects in this domain over the last 12 years. She currently serves as an active member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and has spearheaded establishing an Academic Affiliation with VSU and USF Sarasota Manatee.

Dr. Gita Javidi received her B.S. from University of Central Oklahoma and M.S. and Ph.D. from University of South Florida in Tampa.