Speakers

Ron Maestri, Executive Director and COO, New Orleans Zephyrs

Ron Maestri covered all the bases in forging out an outstanding baseball coaching and college administrative career. Ron Maestri is the current executive director and Chief Operating Officer of the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball team.

He is also the former head coach of the University of New Orleans Privateers baseball team and former athletic director of UNO. Maestri was the head coach of the UNO baseball program from 1970-1984, leading his team to the 1984 College World Series. He was the UNO athletic director for 21 years, which ended in 2000, and Maestri Field is named after him.

Maestri has also been with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation as the executive director of the New Orleans Bowl. He is also a member of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the University of New Orleans Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Italian-American Hall of Fame, the Bradley Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Hall of Fame. Maestri will explain how he motivates college athletes to perform and progress, while doing this himself today with the New Orleans Zephyrs.

Angela Childs, Director of Professional Services, Imaging Office Systems

"IQPC Shared Service Center of the Year" Simmons Bedding Company

Angela Childs, Director of Professional Services for Imaging Office Systems, will present the Simmons shared services story from its genesis to the present day. Focusing on why companies pursue shared services and the challenges of implementation, Angela will discuss how document imaging technology makes it possible. Included will be Simmons' knowledge on automation, best practices, specific productivity improvements, lessons learned along the way, and finally, what's next on their roadmap.

Angela is a certified project manager who has specialized in content management and process improvement since 1993. During her 9 years at IOS, she has overseen the installation of over 100 imaging systems including multi- location systems as well as complex workflows, and has managed over 100 custom development projects. With her experience in million plus document conversions, as well as large system conversions, Angela consults to both internal and external clients on database design, the creation of standard operating procedures, taxonomy, workflow and all aspects of quality control.

Blaine Kern, founder of Kern Studios

Mr. Blaine Kern established the origins of Kern Studios in 1947. The unique nature of the profession has taken him to over 65 countries where he acquainted himself with the numerous artists and craftsman of the most renowned public celebrations. Acquiring the knowledge of "old world" artistry while blending innovative modern techniques, Blaine Kern has sustained and enriched the art and tradition of New Orleans Mardi Gras in addition to global events exhibiting focus and enthusiasm towards these events. Mr. Kern has been recognized as one of the country's foremost authorities on creative decorative arts. Blaine is very supportive of education and has worked for many charities throughout the United States. He has received an honorary Doctorate Degree and the Spes Unica Award from Our Lady of Holy Cross College, and the college library which bears his name.  He will share his personal progress story with the audience, as well as how each of us can help our community progress.

Larry Wilson, Senior Manager - AP Special Projects, Shared Services AP

Larry acts as the liaison to the Technology Services Group (informally known as IT). He also manages the imaging department for the payable process.  He was instrumental in bringing the concept of adding intelligent scanning to the existing payables process. His major focus is to implement technological solutions to reduce processing time and transaction costs. Larry has been with Time Warner for five years and has seen Accounts Payable go from back-end image archiving to front-end ICR value-added processing.

His prior experience with both Fortune 100 Companies and technology consulting firms has given him the ability to recognize cost-savings opportunities and institute best-practice processing. Larry has an MBA in Finance from Wilkes University with an undergraduate in Accounting.

Denny Seiber, Manager of Operational Accounting, Starwood Vacation Ownership

Denny Seiber is the Manager of Operational Accounting for Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO) in Orlando, FL. SVO is a division of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, whose brands include the Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, W, Aloft, Le Meidien and the Luxury Collection. He currently manages the accounts payable and fixed asset departments for SVO and was the project manager for the recent ReadSoft invoice automation implementation. His background includes work as a business administration manager, controller, as well as a teen and college minister. Denny is originally from Wichita, Kansas and holds a bachelor degree in accounting, a master’s degree in sports administration and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) all from Wichita State University.

Dave Lindeen, Vice President, Corcentric

Dave Lindeen has served as Vice President of Corcentric since 2002. Prior to joining Corcentric, Dave acquired 16 years of experience within the transportation industry where he spent the majority with Ryder System Inc. At Corcentric, Dave is responsible for strategic business planning including sales, technology investments, and systems improvements required to maintaining company growth, operations, and competitive advantage.

In addition, Dave plays an instrumental role in recognizing new developments in technology, and anticipates organizational modifications. He develops strategy for new marketing initiatives and new system rollouts, and oversees the acquisition of hardware to meet new and existing application needs.

Dave is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.B.A. Degree and a Major in Marketing.

Lou Ann Fortner, Manager of Customer Service, Cook Medical Incorporated

Lou Ann Fortner is the Manager of Customer Service for Cook Medical Incorporated. With over 29 years of customer service experience, Lou Ann’s focus is implementation of technological solutions that reduce processing time while maintaining world-class customer service. Responsible for managing a department that processes over 2,700 purchase orders daily, Lou Ann was responsible for coordinating the implementation of the ReadSoft OCR technology for fax order processing.

Lou Ann will present with Steve Nimon from Imaging Office Systems regarding their collaboration on implementation of ReadSoft DOCUMENTS for Invoices.