SIIA Senior Staff
Kenneth Wasch
President
Wasch's involvement in SIIA is based on both personal and professional interests. His long-standing interest in computers and software, coupled with the industry's need for a central trade association, led him to establish the Software Publishers Association (SPA) in 1984 with an initial group of 25 software firms. Wasch has led the association from its infancy to its merger with the Information Industry Association in January 1999, resulting in the formation of SIIA.
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Karen Billings
Vice President, Education Division
Karen Billings has over 30 years of experience in the education technology industry with positions in management, development, marketing, sales, and classroom teaching. At SIIA she drives the association's work with its 140 member companies for whom educational publishing is a primary business. Prior to SIIA, Billings, was Vice President, Major Business Initiatives for bigchalk Inc, where she drove relationships with major industry partners to respond to new business opportunities and Vice President and General Manager of its MediaSeek Division. She worked at Microsoft Corporation, managing K-12 Strategic Relations and at Claris Corporation, where she ran the Worldwide K-12 and Higher Education Marketing Programs. She served as Director of Sales at Logo Computer Systems, Inc. and as an Executive Editor in the School Division at Houghton-Mifflin Company.
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Mark Bohannon
General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Public Policy
Mr. Bohannon is responsible for the legal and public policy agenda of the principal trade association of the digital code and content industry. His work in areas such as intellectual property, ecommerce, and the Internet, includes not only North America, but also Europe and the Pacific Rim. Prior to joining SIIA, Mr. Bohannon was a senior official of the U.S. Department of Commerce where he served as Chief Counsel for Technology and Counsellor to the Under Secretary. During his tenure, he was integrally involved in a wide range of technology development, intellectual property, trade, global legal framework, ecommerce and domain name policy areas.
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Rhianna Collier
Director, Software Division
Rhianna Collier is Director of the Software Division for the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). In her role, she assists software companies in strengthening the collective voice of the industry globally; identifying and addressing common challenges facing the industry; and developing the strategic relationships vital to competing and succeeding in today's marketplace. Prior to SIIA, Rhianna was Assistant Vice President for Scottish Development International, Scotland’s Economic Development Agency. At SDI, Rhianna played a pivotal sales role with an ambassadorial slant, promoting and representing Scotland in key sectors such as software, creative industries and energy. She developed business growth strategies, coordinated cross-geography initiatives and established key partnerships for Scottish and US companies.
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John Crosby
Vice President, Corporate Communications
John Crosby leads the planning, implementation and measurement of SIIA's external communications, online/social media strategies, research, and the CODiE Awards. He brings more than 17 years of experience in communications, marketing and public policy, along with a deep knowledge of association management and technology practices.
John previously served as chief marketing officer at the Special Libraries Association, where he also led their government relations and public relations programs. In between stints at SLA, John managed marketing programs for investigative and intelligence research services at LexisNexis.
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Tom Davin
Managing Director, Financial and Information Services Division (FISD)
Tom Davin is Managing Director, Financial Information Services Division (FISD) for the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). FISD is the global, neutral forum for the financial information industry with a diverse membership that includes major market data vendors, exchanges, technology providers, and the financial institutions that utilize financial data products. Tom works closely with FISD members to identify major issues and seek opportunities to bring the financial information industry together to discuss and resolve those issues. FISD conducts regular membership events in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and hosts the biennial World Financial Information Conference – the premiere global industry conference for financial information professionals.
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Eric Fredell
Vice President, Membership
Eric Fredell oversees SIIA’s membership department, including member renewals and new member recruitment. He joined SIIA in 2000, initially running SIIA’s Global Division before taking his current position in 2002.
Prior to joining SIIA, Eric spent 10 years working for the U.S. government in the international trade and business development areas, including positions with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Electronic Commerce Task Force and the Environmental Technologies Exports Office, as well as the U.S. Department of State's Office of Mexican Affairs.
Eric has Masters' degrees in Political Science and in International Affairs, both from the University of California at San Diego and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Ed Keating
Vice President, Content Division
Ed Keating is Vice President of the Content Division for the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Keating has over 15 years of experience in the information industry as both an internal manager and a consultant. He has led marketing, product management and sales organizations at both startup and established information companies. His work to enhance product processes and organizational effectiveness has helped numerous companies enter unfamiliar markets and launch new products. Prior to joining SIIA, Keating was a Vice President at Easton Consultants where he was a member of the Financial & Information Services practice. While there he worked on a variety of assignments for both large and small information industry clients.
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Keith Kupferschmid
Vice President, Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement
Mr. Kupferschmid is responsible for working directly with SIIA's Intellectual Property Committee to establish SIIA positions and moving the SIIA agenda on issues relating to intellectual property. He also supervises the Association's Anti-Piracy programs. Prior to joining SIIA, Mr. Kupferschmid was an attorney with the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner where he advised clients on all matters relating to copyright and copyright-related protection, including client counseling, opinion drafting, license negotiations, and litigation. Before that, Mr. Kupferschmid was an intellectual property attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), where he was responsible for international and legislative patent and copyright issues. During his time at the PTO, Mr. Kupferschmid worked extensively on bilateral and multilateral intellectual property issues, was responsible for formulating and advocating the Administration's policy relating to intellectual property and the Internet and represented the U.S. Government as a lead negotiator at the Diplomatic Conference on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights Questions that adopted the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonogram Treaties in December 1996.
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Brian Rosenberg
Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Brian Rosenberg leads the development and implementation of sales and marketing strategies for all SIIA conferences and programs, and is responsible for cross-industry outreach on behalf of the association. He oversees event marketing programs, sponsorship negotiation and sales activity, and event management and logistics. Brian also provides program support across SIIA’s Content, Education, and Software divisions.
Brian has twenty years of experience in conference and special event production, program development, and marketing for associations and businesses. For details on current SIIA sponsorship opportunities, please visit siia.net/sponsorship/.
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Other Key Staff
Scott Bain
Legislative Counsel
Mr. Bain manages and conducts the litigation of the SIIA, trade association of the U.S. software and digital publishing industries, on behalf of the association and its member companies. Mr. Bain formerly was a Partner at the firm of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC, and also Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America. He has litigated a wide variety of IP cases, including the notable copyright case of Lowry's Reports, Inc. v. Legg Mason, Inc. yielding one of the largest statutory damage awards in history, and the patent case of NTP v. Research in Motion, Ltd. (the "blackberry case"). Mr. Bain also is co-author of the 2005 book "Copyright Law in the Digital World: Basics, Law and Policy" and many other IP publications, and is Chair of the ABA International Task Force on Piracy. A former software engineer, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree. He received his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California-Berkeley in 1997, and following law school, clerked for the Honorable Randall R. Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
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