Robert F. Patten – President & CEO
Rob
Patten is co-founder and President/CEO of Northridge Systems. Mr. Patten is
responsible for the sales and marketing operations of the company and works
closely with company division leaders to craft the long-term strategy for the
firm. After starting Northridge Systems with Jeremey Zela in 1999, Mr. Patten
led the effort to further fund the company and successfully raised angel
financing as well as convertible debt. Mr. Patten has been integral in driving
consistent double-digit annual revenue growth and Northridge Systems today is
debt-free, profitable, growing rapidly and continuing to establish itself as
the premier Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the southeast region.
Prior to starting Northridge Systems, Mr. Patten held senior Information
Technology positions with American Card Technology, MCI Telecommunications, and
Wang Laboratories. Mr. Patten is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer and
has over 15 years of professional software engineering and consulting
experience.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from George Mason
University in Fairfax, VA. In his time away from the office, Rob enjoys time
with his family, playing golf, and watching Washington Redskins football. Rob
and his wife Cindi currently live in Alpharetta, GA and have two young
children.
Email: rpatten@northridge.com
Jeremey Zela – Executive Vice President & CTO
Jeremey
Zela is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Northridge Systems. Mr. Zela
focuses his attention on operations, delivery methodology, and technology best
practices. Mr. Zela is continually involved with researching emerging
technologies in order to forge the technical direction of the company. Jeremey
oversees all technology-related endeavors of the business including practice
line development, best practices, thought leadership, software engineering, and
systems design and architecture.
While at Northridge Systems, Mr. Zela has led the design and architecture of the
firm's robust Microsoft.NET-based class library which allows the company's web
and software development teams to deliver reliable software within a reasonable
timeframe and budget. In addition, Mr. Zela was the chief architect on the
Northridge Systems Content Management System which is a full content management
suite providing security, workflow, authoring, publishing, and site management.
Mr. Zela has over ten years of professional technology experience including
consulting, technical architecture, and software engineering. Jeremey has held
senior technology roles with several leading firms including IBM, MCI
Telecommunications, and Wang Laboratories. Mr. Zela is regarded as an industry
expert in the areas of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 development, COM/ActiveX
design, SQL Server 2005, ASP.NET, XML/XSL, and software engineering best
practices.
Email: jzela@northridge.com
Walter Rowland – Chief Business Development Officer
Walter Rowland is Chief Business Development Officer at
Northridge and heads up marketing, sales, and partner management for the firm.
Mr. Rowland and his team are charged with crafting and informing the
marketplace of Northridge capabilities and solutions, building relationships
with new clients, managing the Northridge/Microsoft relationship, and forging
and managing relationships with other complimentary partners.
Mr. Rowland has over 14 years of consulting and management experience in the
areas of project and project portfolio management, IT, internet custom
application development, interactive marketing and design, software package
implementation, and technology business development across multiple industries.
Prior to joining Northridge, Walter worked for UMT Consulting Group – a project
and portfolio management consulting firm and a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
– as Senior Vice President Business Development; for Commerce One – a
business-to-business ecommerce software firm – as Regional Vice President
Business Development; for AppNet – a 1,500 person technology management
consulting firm – as a Practice Director leading custom ecommerce application
development engagements for large commercial clients; and for NMP – a new media
consulting firm – as a Team Leader building internet systems for commercial and
non-profit clients.
Walter received his undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University,
and holds an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School.
Email: wrowland@northridge.com
Bill Kellert – Chief Financial Officer
William Kellert, CPA is the Chief Financial Officer of Northridge
Systems. Mr. Kellert is responsible for the financial planning as well as the
accounting operations of the company. Mr. Kellert has over twenty years
experience in accounting and finance including running his own public
accounting firm in Atlanta.
Prior to joining Northridge Systems, Mr. Kellert has, in addition to managing
his own firm, held the CFO position for WorkComp Solutions, Inc., and worked
with Trust Company Bank of Georgia, Touche Ross & Co. and Wilensky &
Co, PC.
Bill holds a Certified Public Accountant certificate in Georgia, a Masters of
Taxation degree from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Business
Administration degree in Accounting from Emory University. In his time away
from the office, Bill enjoys time with his family and volunteers for community
organizations.
Email: bkellert@northridge.com
Stephen Love – Group President, Northridge Interactive
Stephen Love is the Group President of the Northridge
Interactive division of Northridge Systems and originally was President &
CEO of Vervos, Inc. (acquired in 2005 by Northridge Systems). Stephen leads a
team of seasoned communication strategists, designers, and marketing
professionals within the Northridge Interactive business unit. While at Vervos,
Stephen worked with many leading companies and non-profit organizations
including HBO, EMC, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center,
Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.
Prior to founding Vervos, Stephen served as Executive Creative Director of the
Commerce One Design Center (previously AppNet and NMP, Inc.). In his six years
with the company, he built and managed a team of 40 brand consultants,
designers, copywriters, and interface engineers. Stephen was responsible for
representing the Design Center in sales engagements as well as ensuring the
successful delivery of projects. He also served as Interactive Marketing
Consultant and Creative Lead on several key client engagements, including
Cablevision, Discovery Communications, BellSouth, Worldcom, BET, Wall Street
Journal, and World Wildlife Fund.
Stephen recently served as a judge of the Web Marketing Association’s 2005
WebAwards. Also in 2005, he was certified as an ePhilanthropy Master Trainer
(ePMT) by the ePhilanthropy Foundation, speaking at many of their eTour stops.
Stephen was also contributing author to Fundraising on the Internet, the
ePhilanthropy Foundation’s Guide to Success Online, and writes ongoing updates
delivered via email to buyers of the book.
Stephen holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in American
Civilization, focusing on cultural trends and how they impact society.
Email: slove@northridge.com
Matthew Barman – Senior Vice President, Development Practice Director
Matt
Barman is Senior Vice President, Development Practice Director for Northridge
Systems. Mr. Barman is responsible for creating and deploying process and
project management best practices at Northridge in addition to his efforts
leading large-scale client discovery and implementation projects. Matt has
extensive experience with project management methodologies as well as software
engineering frameworks such as the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and the
Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). With considerable programming expertise to
complement his knowledge of project methodology, Matt has a unique set of
skills that enables him to be keenly aware of all aspects of a project's
workings and helps him ensure the successful delivery of those projects.
Prior to joining Northridge Systems, Mr. Barman was a senior consultant for both
Cambridge Technology Partners and Semtor where he developed his proficiency in
designing and delivering large-scale software development projects on time and
within budget.
Matt received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with
High Honors from the University of Florida.
Email: mbarman@northridge.com
Ted Davis – Vice President of Marketing, National Sales Executive
Ted Davis is Vice President of Marketing for Northridge Systems and also focuses
on National Account Sales. Mr. Davis brings over 15 years of senior-level
sales, marketing and management experience working for leading companies such
as Inacom Information Systems, Xcelerate and KPMG.
As Vice President of Marketing at Northridge Systems, Mr. Davis is responsible
for developing, implementing and coordinating all corporate marketing programs
and initiatives. Mr. Davis’ marketing and sales experience spans across web and
software development, colocation and hosting, information security and managed
IT services markets.
Mr. Davis was a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the Information
Systems Security Association (ISSA) and served as the Director of Vendor
Relations. He is currently a member of the Atlanta chapter of the International
Association of Microsoft Certified Partners (IAMCP).
Email: tdavis@northridge.com
Scott Middlebrooks – CIO, Systems Engineering Service Director
Scott Middlebrooks is the CIO, Systems Engineering Service
Director at Northridge Systems. In this role, Scott is responsible for
strategy, delivery, operations, and technical sales support aspects of
enterprise infrastructure projects as well as hosting, collocation, and managed
services. Mr. Middlebrooks has extensive experience in network design and
architecture, systems engineering and infrastructure security. Scott was
originally responsible for architecting the Northridge Systems hosting network
infrastructure to ensure stability, redundancy and scalability.
Prior to joining Northridge Systems, Scott served as a senior network engineer
at Harry Norman Realtors where he was responsible for network design,
implementation, and administration. Scott is a Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineer (MCSE) on both the Windows NT 4.0 platform as well as the Windows
Server 2003 platform. In addition to his deep expertise with Windows operating
systems and enterprise applications, Mr. Middlebrooks also has significant
experience with network appliances from major vendors including Cisco, Juniper,
SonicWall, Watchguard, Barracuda Networks, and others.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management
Information Systems from the University of Georgia. In his time away from the
office, Scott enjoys time with his family and friends, pursuing his private
pilot’s license, and is an accomplished grill master.
Email: smiddlebrooks@northridge.com
Keith Freeman – Infrastructure Practice Director
Keith Freeman has over 10 years of combined technology and
corporate operations experience and is responsible for running the
Infrastructure practice at Northridge Systems. Mr. Freeman was recently the
Director of Operations at iReality Group USA, Inc. and in this position he was
responsible for all aspects of company operations, including capacity planning,
forecasting, financial management, project oversight, and organizational
management for IRG’s Internet integration projects. Mr. Freeman directed all
resource management, staffing, and outsourcing of over 70 consultants to client
projects of over $3 million in revenue.
Prior to joining IRG, Mr. Freeman was an Associate Director of Cambridge
Technology Partners, a custom client/server and application systems integrator.
He directed the operations and sales for the technical training division within
the company. During which time, the training center had a $1 million dollar
revenue run rate. Additionally, Mr. Freeman provided multi-tier, object
oriented, and client/server instruction to Fortune 100 clients, including
General Electric and M&M/Mars. Mr. Freeman also co-architected solutions
for Cigna, Ryder Systems, and Beckman Coulter.
Prior to Cambridge Technology Partners, Mr. Freeman served as a Technical Team
Lead and Project Manager with Systems Consulting Group. He also became a
Microsoft Certified Trainer, Certified Sybase Instructor, and a Certified
Logicworks Instructor.
Mr. Freeman received a degree in Management Information Systems from Florida
State University.
Email: kfreeman@northridge.com
David Tangren - Business Applications Practice Director
Dave Tangren is the Business Applications Practice Director at Northridge
Systems. Dave oversees and coordinates projects, pre-sales, customer
relations, and best practices for business intelligence and collaboration
solutions based on the Microsoft platform. Mr. Tangren has extensive experience
in building business intelligence solutions for large and small companies
around the United States, and is leveraging this experience at Northridge
Systems to bring the Microsoft business intelligence product suite to the
Georgia market.
Dave's business intelligence background includes work for companies such as Coca
Cola, MBNA, the Army/Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and the US Navy. Prior
to the emergence of Microsoft Analysis Services and the MS Business
Intelligence suite, Dave designed and built BI solutions for the Oracle Express
OLAP product suite. Dave also spent a stint as an web/application developer in
MS .NET and SQL Server for an Atlanta firm, Transport4.
Mr. Tangren has a bachelor's degree in General Business from the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, where he graduated with honors Summa cum Laude. Dave
started his consulting career as a temp working for First Tennessee Bank in
college, where he built a database for First Tennessee Bank's Estate division.
Ever since, he has leveraged his business knowledge and technical experience
gained on-the-job to develop soup-to-nuts BI applications that closely fit the
needs of his clients.
Email: dtangren@northridge.com
Dottie Hodges – VP of Quality and Standards, Nonprofit Practice Director
Dottie Hodges leads the Nonprofit services arm for the Northridge Interactive
division of Northridge Systems. In this role, Ms. Hodges is responsible for
providing leadership and strategic direction for nonprofit clients in the areas
of online fundraising and advocacy, marketing, and user experience.
Prior to Northridge Interactive, Ms. Hodges was cofounder and Vice President of
Beaconfire Consulting, a Washington DC-based firm focused solely on Internet
strategy and Web site development for nonprofit organizations. Ms. Hodges also
served as practice manager within Commerce One’s Global Nonprofit Services
division. Ms. Hodges has worked with over 60 nonprofit clients including the
ACLU, Heifer International, Conservation International, Easter Seals, and World
Wildlife Fund.
Dottie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in
Environmental Studies, and has worked for several leading environmental
nonprofits. She recently served as a master trainer for the ePhilanthropy
foundation, as well as many speaking engagements on Web usability and site
audit methodology.
Email: dhodges@northridge.com
Brian Bradley – Vice President, Strategic Accounts & Partnerships
Brian Bradley is Vice President of Strategic Accounts & Partnerships with
Northridge Systems, a Microsoft Gold Certified Systems Integrator. In his
role, Mr. Bradley is focused on managing and enhancing Northridge’s partnership
with Microsoft, as well as building new relationships with Strategic Client
Accounts.
Mr. Bradley has an extensive business development background with over 14 years
experience selling into Fortune 1000 and mid-market accounts. Prior to
joining Northridge, Mr. Bradley was responsible for helping build up the
Southeastern office of Levi, Ray & Shoup (LRS) in the Microsoft Managed
Partner Program. Earlier in Mr. Bradley’s career, he worked with Paul
DiModica to launch the first second stage IT incubator in the United States,
E4Speed, which was a fully funded subsidiary of a $700 million public firm,
Renaissance Worldwide. Mr. Bradley also briefly ran his own consulting
practice, The Graylock Group.
Mr. Bradley is a member of numerous organizations including Technology
Association of Georgia (TAG), Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, TechLINKS and
others. Mr. Bradley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from
Southern Illinois - Carbondale University.
Email: bbradley@northridge.com
Tor Gundersen – Creative Director
Tor
Gundersen serves as Creative Director for the Northridge Interactive business
unit at Northridge Systems. In this role, Mr. Gundersen is responsible for all
aspects of the creative delivery process and for leading a team of highly
talented designers. Tor provides core leadership in the area of successfully
blending design and technology ensuring goal driven results for our clients. In
his time with Northridge, Mr. Gundersen has led successful client engagements
for major accounts including Atlanta Gas Light, Peracon, Harry Norman Realtors,
Modem Media, and many others.
Prior to joining Northridge Systems, Tor had successful tenures at several
leading design and marketing agencies in the Atlanta area. Clients he has
worked for in the past include: Cartoon Network , ACOG (Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games), USOC (United States Olympic Committee), IOC (International
Olympic Committee), Randstad, Shaw Industries, CLAUS.COM, JC Penney, Powertel,
Georgia Power, Interliant, Kimberly-Clark Healthcare, Coca-Cola, Delta
Airlines, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, MedAssets and Chik-Fil-A.
Mr. Gundersen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design and an
Associate degree in Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
With a career that started in print and includes over a decade of web and
interactive media experience, Tor has a highly valuable blend of traditional
and new media expertise allowing clients to successfully utilize all available
channels.
Career highlights include:
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Launched first Peachbowl website sponsored by Chik-Fil-A
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Helped Stokholm, Sweden in their bid for the 2004 Olympic Games.
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Part of the branding team for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
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Customized the SAP interface for Kimberly-Clark that has been nationally
recognized by InternetWeek magazine and Web Techniques magazine.
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Cartoon Network: Toonerville Sluggers kids area at Turner Stadium, Smash!
Tennis program for kids, World Cup Soccer Marketing/Promotional Artwork,
Merchandise hauler design for NASCAR race car.
Email: tgundersen@northridge.com
Holly Nicholson – Director of Human Resources
As Director of Human Resources, Holly Nicholson is focused on
the company’s biggest asset, our people. Her mission is to attract, develop and
retain outstanding talent for Northridge Systems, and provide them with the
knowledge and work environment to perform at their best. In this role, Holly is
responsible for setting the strategic direction for HR policies and procedures
relating to all phases of personnel activity including: benefits
administration, organizational development, performance management, regulatory
compliance, and employee relations.
Holly has ten years of sales, project management, and recruiting/HR experience
working for companies such as Inacom Information Systems, e^deltacom, and
BellSouth, Inc. Ms. Nicholson was a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of
the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and served as the Director
of Operations. She is currently a member of WIT (Women in Technology), TAG
(Technology Association of Georgia) and SHRM (Society of Human Resources).
Holly holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Georgia.
Email: hnicholson@northridge.com