INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Himesh is the CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Synacor (Nasdaq: SYNC), a trusted technology, services, and revenue partner for over 100 Internet service providers, 1000 publishers, and 4000 enterprise customers around the world.  He has led the turnaround of the business through organic growth and M&A, putting it on track to deliver revenue of over $140M, its third year of growth, and profitability.

Himesh joined Synacor from Comcast where as VP, New Services and Platforms his team incubated and operated a portfolio that spanned video services, cloud services, payment platforms, advertising, next-gen set-top boxes, and digital marketing.

As VP and General Manager and Corporate VP Revenue Development, Himesh led the Broadband business at Charter Communications.  He outperformed the industry in data revenue growth, developed multi-platform video services, drove higher broadband speeds, and launched a rapidly adopted wireless networking service.

Prior, Himesh was the VP and General Manager of AOL Mobile and created a leader in messaging, search, and entertainment products working with carriers and OEM’s around the world. He started his career as an Associate Partner in the Telecom and M&A practices of McKinsey & Company.

Himesh received his MBA from the Wharton School, and his MA in Economics from Temple University. He has received several industry recognitions such as the Cablefax100 list of the most powerful executives in cable and the Most Innovative People in Multiscreen.

NINETEENTH ANNUAL IT AWARDS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Dave Kotch, Vice President & Chief Information Officer, began his career with FMC in 1984.  Since then, he has held various positions within the Information Technology (IT) organization.  Dave was instrumental in leading FMC’s SAP implementation in the late 1990’s and formed FMC’s SAP competency center, which provided support for the SAP systems following the implementation.  In 2002, Dave was promoted to Director of Information Technology and served in that role until he was appointed Chief Information Officer in 2007.

During his tenure as Chief Information Officer, Dave and his organization have helped FMC complete multiple acquisitions and divestitures which transformed FMC into a leading global agricultural chemical company.

Dave is a member of the Mercy Health Systems Board of Directors and its compliance subcommittee.  He is also a member the Chemical Information Technology Center’s CIO organization and the CIO Executive Summit, belongs to various business associations and resides on several boards within his local community.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems with a minor in Economics from King’s College, and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Temple University.

EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL IT AWARDS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Satbir Bedi is Chief Technology Officer of Scholastic Corporation, the global children’s publishing, education and media company. In this role, Bedi shapes Scholastic’s technology strategy, software development, and operations to support business priorities, including the development of digital products, sites, and services that meet the needs of the company’s global educator, parent and child customers. He serves on the Management Executive Committee.

Bedi joined Scholastic in 2012 bringing his experience in technology, publishing and academia to lead the technology transformation at Scholastic. Since joining the company, Bedi has upgraded and reengineered the technology organization to better align the group with business priorities, including eCommerce and digital subscriptions. He moved business applications out of data centers and into the cloud, shifting the company from a high fixed cost infrastructure model to a variable cost model based on usage, thereby allowing Scholastic to scale its infrastructure to flex with peak volume.

Bedi also created a new global technology operations group and transitioned the engineering organization to an agile delivery model, delivering new software features in frequent increments, which enabled the group to respond rapidly to changing market needs. He works with other business leaders on innovative business models, and evaluates and integrates technology centric acquisitions. He continues to improve systems and processes to provide product and customer analytics that will improve marketing and sales to drive revenue growth. Bedi also upgraded the caliber of talent within the division by creating a college associate program attracting millennial talent to engineering positions and recruiting experienced technology leaders.

Prior to joining Scholastic, Satbir Bedi served as Chief Learning Technologies Officer for Pearson International in London, having served Pearson in previous roles as Senior Vice President, Software and Technology Services, and Chief Technology Officer. At Pearson, he helped transform the company into a leader in the educational services industry including building digital services and digital delivery of products. From 1998 to 2004, Bedi was at McGraw-Hill where he held several editorial and technology roles. He was also Publishing Director at Macmillan following six years as Assistant Professor at a University teaching courses in computer and information sciences, management and business strategy.

Satbir Bedi holds a Bachelors in Commerce (Honors) from the University of Delhi and an MS in Computer and Information Sciences from Temple University.

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL IT AWARDS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Rich Brennen leads Spencer Stuart’s North American Information Officer Practice. He has recruited more than 250 chief information officers, including the top information technology executives for many Fortune 500 companies and other internationally renowned organizations.

Throughout his 20-year career at Spencer Stuart, Rich has placed CIOs and other top information technology executives at Allstate, Aon, CBRE, Cigna, Federal Reserve, Hershey Company, Kaiser Permanente, Kroger Company, State Street, TJX (T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods), Walgreens, Walt Disney Company, and many other industry leaders. He also has placed numerous technology executives in board of director roles at clients such as Bob Evans Farms, Dun & Bradstreet, Key Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada and Zebra Technologies.

Recently, Rich led Spencer Stuart’s global Technology, Communications & Media Practice and also spent 10 years as a member of Spencer Stuart’s board of directors. He is a member and the former chairman of the firm’s board of director selection committee, former chairman of the firm’s personnel committee and former chairman of the firm’s information technology committee. He has received the firm’s Lou Rieger Quality Award nine times for his high-quality work for clients.

Rich spent more than 15 years with IBM, where he played a key role in helping to build IBM’s worldwide information technology strategy and planning consulting practice. He also managed IBM’s sales and marketing operations in New Jersey.

Rich holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and an M.B.A. in management from Temple University.

SIXTEENTH ANNUAL IT AWARDS