Supporting Open Source Software for Education
John Robinson is a widely recognized visionary in Higher Education. For more than 35 years John has been serving colleges and universities worldwide with innovative software technology. Having previously worked his magic with three companies, Information Associates, The Robinson Group (TRG), and SCT (Thync), John launched The rSmart Group in 2002 with Anthony Potts and Chris Coppola. His true passion is developing software solutions for educational institutions that allow them to better serve their students, faculty and community.
John began his career in 1960 at IBM in Sales and Marketing to the education marketplace in New York City and Rochester, NY. In 1968 John founded Information Associates (IA) to develop the first Student, Finance, HR, and Advancement software for higher education. Since that time John has started, developed, and sold companies to: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (WEC), MSA, Dun & Bradstreet, USA Group and SunGard SCT.
John received a B.A. in Economics from Colgate University and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for A.T. Still University of Health Sciences.
Prior to founding rSmart in 2002, Chris spent more than a decade as an entrepreneur designing, engineering and managing the development of e-learning solutions for colleges and universities.
Chris’ career is dedicated to fostering sustainable open source communities in education. He founded rSmart to fulfill this mission. rSmart co-founded the open source portfolio and Kuali initiatives, and was a founding commercial affiliate with Sakai. Chris has helped build these communities into robust and sustainable organizations, and rSmart’s comprehensive services and support have enabled widespread adoption of open source solutions by all types and sizes of institutions.
Aside from leading rSmart, Chris serves the Kuali Foundation as a member of the Financial Systems Board, the Rice board, and as the Kuali Rice Application Roadmap Committee Chair. He is an ex-officio member of the Student board, and has previously served on the Sakai Foundation board, most recently as Vice Chair.
Chris writes and speaks internationally about community source development, open education, and the growing global movement to effectively tap into the power of communities to solve problems and produce goods and services.
As CTO of The rSmart Group, Tony has the enviable position of leading an incredible team of developers. From lead developer on OSP 1.5 to architect and development manager on the Kuali Financial System project, Tony's work on open source projects has spanned many fronts. In addition to technical work, Tony also is responsible for the IT organization within rSmart. In that regard, Tony is moving the company toward more effective use of open source applications that better meet our needs than proprietary alternatives.
Prior to co-founding The rSmart Group, Tony graduated from Arizona State University with a technology degree focused on interactive computer graphics. After graduation, Tony went on to write seven computer books on subjects ranging from Java development to 3D graphics. He was hired by his publisher (Coriolis Books) to edit their programming magazine (Visual Developer) as well as run their IT department which included creating their first web presence. Beginning in 1996, Tony and Chris shared the same career path of entrepreneurship. Following the transition of their company to SCT, Tony created a strong technical team to deliver advanced solutions built upon the innovative ideas of the think tank.
Tom provides rSmart with more than a decade of financial and business development expertise leading the company's relationship with investors and the VC community as well as building the global rSmart Partner Channel. He has helped the company carve out a unique niche with its ability to execute on a new business model for delivering technology and eLearning applications to educational institutions.
Tom brings extensive experience in the management and growth of start-up companies. Most recently Tom was Co-Founder of Integration Consulting Group, Inc. which offers innovative enterprise data integration and compliance solutions to Fortune 1000 clients worldwide. From 1998 to 2002 he was a Fund Manager for Manschot Opportunity Fund LP, an international venture capital fund. Prior to his experience at Manschot, Tom was a Business Revitalization Leader and marketing director for Rural/Metro Corporation.
Tom earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Willamette University and his B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University.
A 26-year veteran of the technology industry, Kevin comes to NetPro with a strong history of sales and marketing leadership, as well as software operations, strategy, fundraising and mergers and acquisitions expertise. Prior to joining NetPro, Hickey served as the President & CEO of Apriva, Inc.and Homebid.com, leading both companies to acquisition by industry leaders. Kevin spent six years as President & COO at Viasoft, Inc., where he helped grow company revenues from $18 million to $83 million and assisted in a successful initial and subsequent public offering prior to its sale. Hickey started his high-tech career at IBM, serving for 12 years in several key marketing and executive business management roles. He currently serves on the board of directors/advisory council of Shea Commercial, the Fiesta Bowl, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arizona, and NetPro. Kevin graduated from Niagara University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Mr. Timothy "Tim" Curtis Louis is married to Amy Hagan Louis and has four children; Henrietta (13), Madeline (10), Curt (8) and Clark (3). Tim Louis has spent the last twelve years in venture capital as the principle of Desert Capital Investments, LLC. Mr. Louis has financed several successful ventures including Frye-Louis Capital Management, Mobility Electronics, The Schirf Brewing Company, True Gravity Enterprises, Integration Consulting Group (ICG), rSmart, Titus Cycles, Inc and CLV, Inc. Tim has served as a board member of companies such as Johnson Polymer, Inc (an affiliate company of S.C. Johnson Wax) and non-profits such as A.T. Still University, Desert Voices Oral Learning Center, and The Phoenix Art Museum. He has been an owner/director of Frye-Louis Capital Management, Inc., a high net worth family asset management firm based in Chicago. The firm was sold to Credit Suisse Private Bank in 2002. Mr. Louis is an active member of The Phoenix Thunderbirds. He has served as their Little Chief (Vice President) and is currently Tournament Chairman of the 2008 FBR Open. Tim is the Maitre (President) of the Phoenix Chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux. He has enjoyed collecting modern art since 1985 and is an avid collector/drinker of Bordeaux wines. He is a golf enthusiast and is also passionate about mountain biking and road biking. Tim has run two marathons (3:52 best time) and competed in several duathlons, triathlons, x-terra triathlons and road and mountain bike races. Tim also likes fly fishing, hiking, water skiing and snow skiing. Mr. Louis has a BS in Communication Disorders and an MA in Audiology and Hearing Impairment from Northwestern University, and an MBA in Financial Management and Markets from ASU.
Mr. Olsen has served as Chairman of the Board of Borland Software since August 2006 and as a director since February 2005. Since 2004, Mr. Olsen has been a private investor. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Olsen served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Business Objects, a provider of business intelligence solutions. Before joining Business Objects, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Marimba, Inc., a provider of Internet infrastructure management solutions, from July 2000 to October 2000. From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Olsen served as president of the Design Realization Group of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Before joining Cadence in 1993, Mr. Olsen held the position of partner, Strategic Services, at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Olsen holds a Master of Science degree in Management Science from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.