Crown Partners Leadership Team
Richard Hearn, CEO & Managing Director
Richard Hearn is an innovative entrepreneur having successfully built companies in the Software and IT Consulting industry. His early career included program management, engineering and organizational management roles at Procter and Gamble before advancing into founding positions with several emerging firms. Companies under his leadership have gained national recognition for growth and innovation including: Software Magazine's "Software 500" fastest growing private/public Software company for 2008 & 2009; Entrepreneur Magazine's "Hot 100" company for fastest growing emerging business for 2005 & 2006; Dayton Business Journal's "Top 100" and "Top 25" fastest growing company in Dayton for 2008 & 2009; and Inc. Magazine's "Software 500/5000" fastest growing private company for 2006, 2007 & 2008. Mr. Hearn is a founding member of Crown Partners, and in his role as CEO and Managing Director is responsible for establishing organizational vision, setting the pace with innovative strategies and focused leadership, and managing the operational aspects of the business. His reputation for excellence in cross-functional organizational management, executing business process and driving technology transformations has launched regular invitations to speak on topics of entrepreneurship, innovation and business growth. Most recently Richard was recognized by the Dayton Business Journal as one of the Top ”40 under 40” for accomplishment and contribution to his community as well as recognized in 2007, 2008, & 2009 as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Mr. Hearn has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue University, a Masters in Business Administration from The Ohio State University, and is active on many civic, corporate and charity boards.
Mark Kennedy, President
Mark Kennedy is a passionate entrepreneur who provides great energy, leadership and vision powering Crown’s innovative hybrid software-services business model. Mark is a founding member of Crown and excels at client service and has served as the steward of Crown’s revenue generating activities. Mark’s role as President encompasses combined P&L responsibility and the efficient allocation of human and financial capital for each of Crown’s four business units. Mark is a recognized enterprise content management industry expert, is a frequent conference speaker and sits on the EMC Partner Advisory Board which provides strategic direction for the EMC software portfolio of content management products. Prior to founding Crown, Mr. Kennedy served in executive, sales and consulting capacities for Fortune 500 and emerging technology companies. Mark earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Bucknell University and received executive education at the Harvard Business School. He is married with four children, has been a tournament class golfer and is active on numerous corporate and civic boards.
Barry Besecker, VP Web and Marketing Practice
Barry Besecker joined Crown in 2002 with an impressive combination of business and technical credentials in content and business process management applications. His career encompasses consulting and management roles at Ernst & Young and KPMG where he conducted global implementations of Documentum and SAP. Mr. Besecker was the Chief Information Officer in an emerging company where he expanded his expertise to include web and internet design. In his current position as Vice President of Crown’s WaM (Web and Marketing) business for Crown Partners, he leverages his experience to drive WaM revenue to the Software and Consulting divisions. Additionally, the genius of Crown’s Hybrid strategy is the brain child of Barry. His ability merge technical acumen with business know-how is unparalleled and his work has been instrumental in Crown’s recognition by the industry for excellence and growth. Mr. Besecker holds a degree in Mathematics from Wright State University, has numerous professional certifications and memberships.
Brad Gingrich, VP EPM/BI Practice
Mr. Gingrich is an entrepreneur who has focused his career on business intelligence and enterprise performance management solutions. His 19 year career includes leadership positions in financial systems development, product management, management consulting, and business development for respected companies such as LexisNexis, Reynolds & Reynolds, and Ernst & Young among others. He has been able to use his background in ERP solutions, EPM solutions, as well as product management to lead the successful deployment of multiple Oracle|Hyperion client solutions. Prior to joining Crown Partners, Mr. Gingrich founded and led Essential Analytics through three years of triple digit average revenue growth. Essential Analytics was acquired by Crown Partners in 2007. Mr. Gingrich now leads the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Solutions business unit for Crown partners. He is responsible for establishing the portfolio of Business Intelligence / Performance Management services, products, and solutions. Mr. Gingrich holds a BS degree from the University of Dayton in Management Information Systems (MIS) as well as a Master in Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies.
Guy Sulzberger, VP Mid-Market Sales
Guy Sulzberger is a seasoned consultant with a unique background. His career started as 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force leading testing efforts at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. As a Project Management Professional (PMP), Mr. Sulzberger transitioned from managing the “black box” responsible for dropping nuclear warheads out of the F-117 Stealth Fighter to a career in enterprise content management. His 10-year career has included driving new business relationships on Wall Street and pioneering the sale of Crown’s original software products. He currently leads Crown’s expanding dominance in the delivery of world class Enterprise Content Management solutions. Mr. Sulzberger graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and later went on to earn a Masters in Business Administration from The Ohio State University. Guy lives with his wife and kids in Chicago...a mile from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
Malcolm Bliss, VP ETL Practice & VP ECM Practice
Mr. Bliss is Vice President of Crown's Extract Transform and Load (ETL) Practice and Vice President of Crown’s Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Practice. For over 25 years he has advised clients who lead their industries, and directed operations providing solutions for complex business and technology problems. He has held leadership positions at EMC and Documentum, Renaissance Solutions Group, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Siemens-Nixdorf. Upon joining Crown in 2005, Mr. Bliss established the Software Product Division within Crown and developed Crown’s software products into a unique value-add for Crown clients. He has subsequently established Crown’s ETL professional services practice to maximize the value Crown delivers to clients using deep ETL strategy, technology, and execution capability. As Vice President of the ECM practice, Mr. Bliss has sharpend focus on proven, high-imact solutions to maximize the value Crown provides to clients. Mr. Bliss is an author of numerous papers, and a veteran speaker at industry events. He holds degrees from Union College in Schenectady NY and New York University. More recently he has conducted a research program at Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge MA, and is currently affiliated with the Sawyer School of Busisness at Suffolk University in Boston MA.
Kathryn Kendell, VP Marketing & Alliances
Kathryn Kendell has over 20 years experience in B2B and B2C technical marketing with Fortune 500 companies including General Electric, Lexis-Nexis and NCR. Kathryn joined Crown as the Director of Marketing focusing on brand transformation and strategic marketing. She has been a business owner as well as a business leader, and her entrepreneurial spirit and customer focus has been a key driver of her career success. Kathryn has been recognized for marketing excellence by the American Marketing Association, the Legal Marketing Association and the American Advertising Federation. Kathryn has an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication with a minor in Consumer Behavioral Psychology and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University. She is certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt with competency in DMAIC methodology. She is active in assisting small businesses develop new product and service offerings and participates in several charitable organizations.
Kevin Adkisson, VP Sales
Kevin Adkisson is the Director of Software Sales for Crown Partners, LLC. In that position he has driven the success of Crown's flagship web content application, SiteBuilder. Kevin was a scholarship athlete at Notre Dame University and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1994. Prior to joining Crown Partners Mr. Adkisson was a leading salesman for Oracle Corporation, where he was the top earner for Oracle's governmental solution team. He then spent time at Documentum and Fujitsu Consulting furthering his career in the Enterprise Content Management market place. Kevin has recently focused on Web Content Management solutions. With a track record of highly successful business in ECM and WCM, Kevin brings world class knowledge and experience to Crown Partners.
Lynn Fraas, VP Practice Operations
Lynn Fraas brings a multi-faceted business and technology background to her role at Crown Partners. She has held leadership positions in both business and technically oriented roles and has extensive experience helping clients leverage enterprise class systems to achieve sustainable business transformations. Her background includes expertise in Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Information Management and Business Process Reengineering. Prior to joining Crown Ms. Fraas served as SVP, Client Delivery at Emporia, a provider of Saas and On-shore Outsourcing services for Human Resources, COO of Doculabs, an ECM consulting firm, and as the Director of Worldwide Compensation, Benefits and HR Administration for Safety-Kleen Corp a then Fortune 500 Environmental Services firm. Ms. Fraas is active in the Content Management Industry and currently serves on the AIIM Board of Directors as the Vice Chair / Chair Elect. She is also is a director serving on the Board of Corporate America Family Credit Union. Ms. Fraas holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.
