Leadership Team
Richard Hearn, Co-Founder, Managing Director
Richard Hearn is an innovative entrepreneur having successfully built companies in the Software, Consulting and IT 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 two Hot100 and three Inc500/5000 awards. Mr. Hearn is a founding member of Crown Partners, and in his role as 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. 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, Co-Founder, President Professional Services
Mark Kennedy is an entrepreneur with a multi-faceted career spanning high technology, energy, power systems, process manufacturing, and computer hardware and enterprise software. Prior to Crown, he performed in various roles as consultant, sales and executive to launch emerging services firms. He is a founding member of Crown Partners and in his role of Director of Sales and Marketing is responsible for driving the top-line growth of the firm. His leadership is infused with a passion for excellence in every customer, partner and employee relationship. Mr. Kennedy's uncompromising vision and motivational leadership style has been critical to the historical growth at Crown and the shaping of the organization to scale for future performance. He is a graduate of Bucknell University, has been a tournament class golfer and is active in professional organizations.
Barry Besecker, Partner, Director Software Product Management
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 performed as Chief Information Officer in an emerging company where he expanded his expertise to include web and internet design. His role at Crown began as a managing architect for major customer implementations in the Pharmaceutical and Energy industries. In his current position as Chief Engineer for Crown Partners, he leverages his experience to direct the design and development of Crown Buldoser and SiteBuilder products. 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, including the prestigious Mensa organization.
Chris Torkelson, Director Professional Services Sales
Chris Torkelson has over 20 years of experience in Business and IT solution delivery. Mr. Torkelson started his career the IT department of a Fortune 100 Financial Services company where he managed a major contracts management system before moving to the Corporate Planning department where he managed a business and IT portfolio of technology investments totaling over $250 million. In various Consulting roles ranging from Strategic Planning to business solution sales, Mr. Torkelson has focused on helping clients get the most out of their IT investments, including the build out of IT Strategy Departments and the creation of IT Centers of Excellence across Content Management, Integration/Middleware and Records Management. Mr. Torkelson joined Crown in 2006 and is responsible for continuing to advance Crown’s ability to provide world-class business solutions to its customers. Mr. Torkelson holds an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Marquette University.
Elaine Price, Partner, Director Strategic Alliances and Channels
Elaine is a successful and energetic entrepreneur. Throughout her extensive career in enterprise computing, she has served as the CEO and founder of five successful companies. As Director Strategic Marketing and Channels for Crown Partners, Elaine is responsible for establishing and evolving the company's strategic vision through product marketing and corporate branding. Elaine's 20+ year career includes senior management positions with leading high technology companies like Digital Equipment Corporation, where she was responsible for the global deployment of enterprise solutions in support of regulated industries. Elaine's extensive corporate background enabled her to develop the practical knowledge required to successfully create and manage multiple international startup companies from concept to sustained and profitable growth. Elaine founded Phoenix Systems Integration; its German sister company, Phoenix Systems Integration (Deutschland) GmbH; and CYA Technologies, Platform Dynamics US , Platform Dynamics Deutschland GmbH. Elaine's visionary abilities have earned her international recognition. She is a sought-after speaker, and a frequent expert commentator for members of the media on topics including Content Management, Business Continuity, Secure Collaboration, Backup and Recovery, and Entrepreneurial Expertise. Customers, partners, the press and industry analysts alike value her perspectives and opinions.
Kevin Adkisson, Partner, Director Software Product Sales
Kevin Adkisson is the Director of Software Sales, Crown Partners, 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.
Kathryn Kendell, Director Marketing
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.
Malcolm Bliss, Partner, Director Software Products
Malcolm Bliss is Director of Crown’s Software Products Division. For over 20 years he has provided solutions for complex business and technology problems in leadership positions at EMC and Documentum, Renaissance Solutions Group, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Siemens-Nixdorf. Mr. Bliss joined Crown as Director Software in 2005 to build the pioneering software team into a mature organization that is expected to generate the majority of the company’s revenue over time. He is responsible for the commercialization of all of Crown software products and actively participates in industry events and customer projects to define product direction and identify emerging requirements for new solutions. Mr. Bliss holds degrees from Union College in Schenectady NY and New York University. More recently he has completed a program of study at Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge MA, and engaged in other studies at Suffolk University in Boston MA. Mr. Bliss is a member of the Institute for Internal Auditors.
Rick Macartney, Director Strategic Services
Rick Macartney brings over 20 years of experience in the design, engineering and implementation of database and content management systems in the Aerospace, Pharmaceutical and Financial Services industries. Mr. Macartney joined Crown in 2006 to develop and expand the Strategic Services offerings to bridge our client’s business imperatives with technical solutions. Prior to joining Crown, Mr. Macartney served as the Director of Knowledge Management at Cerner where he led the development of Cerner’s intranet, extranet and overall content management strategy, in addition to managing Cerner’s educational hosting operations and data center. Since 1992, Mr. Macartney’s career has been focused on the delivery of content management systems, holding positions from Consultant to Managing Director in firms specializing in Documentum content management systems development and delivery. Mr. Macartney holds a BS degree from Pennsylvania State University in Computer Science and an MS in Industrial Engineer.
Brad Gingrich, Director Enterprise Performance Management Solutions
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.
Lynn Fraas, Director Document Processing Solutions
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.
Guy Sulzberger, Partner, Director Critical Communications Solutions
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 WCM and Enterprise Marketing 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.