SIIA Senior Staff

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Ken WaschKen 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.



Keith KupferschmidKeith Kupferschmid
General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & 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.


Tom DavinTom Davin
Senior Vice President and 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.

 

Brian RosenbergBrian 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/.

Tom MeldrumTom Meldrum
Vice President, Finance and Administration

In addition to serving as the Chief Financial Officer and managing all Accounting and Finance functions, Tom oversees the IT, HR, Facilities, Event Registration, Data Maintenance and general administration and office operations functions. He works with the President and Division Heads to prepare the annual budget for Board approval, prepares periodic financial reports. He manages the relationships with the external auditors, financial institutions and landlord. Tom has over 30 years of experience in public and private accounting, financial management and general business management. He first joined the staff of SPA/SIIA in 1995. He holds a BA in Mathematics, an MBA and was originally licensed as a CPA in Florida.

While pursuing his civilian career, Tom also served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy and Naval Reserve. Line positions held on a variety of ships included Missile Officer,  Weapons Officer and Operations Officer. Staff positions held included Senior System Analyst for the Naval Military Personnel Command (NMPC)and Senior Auditor on the Staff of the Navy Auditor General. He also took a one-year voluntary recall to active duty to serve as Manager of the Military Data Branch of NMPC. Reserve unit leadership/management positions included  Executive Officer and Commanding Officer. Tom retired with the rank of Captain after 26 years of service.


Mark MacCarthyMark MacCarthy
Vice President, Public Policy

Mark MacCarthy directs SIIA's public policy initiatives in the areas of intellectual property enforcement, information privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the promotion of educational technology. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses in information privacy and tech policy in the Communication, Culture, and Technology Program, and courses in political philosophy in their Philosophy Department. His previous public policy experience includes senior positions with Visa, Inc., the Wexler Walker Group and Capital Cities/ABC and the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a Ph.D in philosophy from Indiana University and an MA in economics from the University of Notre Dame.



Karen Billings
Vice President, Education Division

As Vice President of SIIA's Education Division, Dr. Billings drives strategic direction, programs, and initiatives for the 180 company members focused on providing technology products and services to the K-12 and postsecondary markets. She has 45 years of experience in the industry and in K-12 and postsecondary classrooms. She has authored four books and numerous articles for education journals, and is a frequent speaker at education conferences.



Rhianna CollierRhianna Collier
Vice President, Software Division

Rhianna Collier 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.



Eric FredellEric 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.



Kathy Greenler SextonKathy Greenler Sexton
Vice President and General Manager, Content Division

Kathy Greenler Sexton is a dynamic, strategic and hands-on executive with deep experience serving Information, Internet and Media companies. After working in broadcast television and international marketing roles, she was a founding member, lead marketer and publisher for the web-based search engine pioneer AltaVista. She has also general-managed or marketed industry-leading online companies focused on news, small business information and general research including: ZoomInfo.com, BLR, Individual.com, Office.com and HighBeam Research. She has a BA in communications from Boston College.



Mike HettingerMike Hettinger
Vice President, Public Sector Innovation Group

Mike Hettinger is Vice President for the Public Sector Innovation Group at SIIA. Hettinger most recently served as Executive Director overseeing Strategic Planning and Market Development in Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector Practice, where he was responsible for firm-wide strategic business planning, federal marketing, and external relations. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Hettinger was the staff director of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance and Accountability. Hettinger also has an extensive background in public affairs, having served as a Public Policy Counselor at Patton Boggs LLP, where he oversaw large-scale lobbying and public affairs campaigns. Prior to joining Patton Boggs, Hettinger was Chief of Staff to Representative Tom Davis of Virginia.



David LeDucDavid LeDuc
Senior Director of Public Policy

David represents the Association before Congress, the Administration and other policymakers across a number of key ICT public policy issues, including e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy. He has been instrumental in helping to advance the software and digital content industries, including many major policy objectives back to the late 1990s.



Mark SchneidermanMark Schneiderman
Senior Director of Education Policy

Mark Schneiderman represents SIIA's members before policy makers and education leaders on the government programs, funding and regulations that impact technology at all levels of education. Schneiderman works with SIIA members and other education stakeholders to identify educational trends and needs, formulate a vision for technology and related policies, address industry and market challenges, and advocate for enabling legislation and government programs at the federal and state levels. In so doing, he has built a variety of strategic partnerships and managed SIIA leadership initiatives to address key barriers to the enhanced use of digital learning. He also helps education providers understand the impact of public policies and regulations on their customers so they can better serve educational needs. Prior to joining SIIA, Schneiderman was Legislative Associate for the Council of Chief State School Officers, where he represented the public officials heading each state's department of education. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP from Georgetown University. He serves on the executive board of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET), and he previously served on boards of the KIPP DC/Key Academy charter school and the Committee for Education Funding (CEF).