COMPANY

Management Bios

Meet the management team and learn how their expertise and passion are helping our customers and partners achieve their operational objectives by changing the way work gets done.

Chief Executive Officer

Edward Peters is the Chief Executive Officer of OpenConnect Systems based in Dallas, Texas, where he sets the company's strategic direction to enhance market growth and business value. Mr. Peters is the co-author of the forthcoming book, The Paid-for Option, which describes how to use actionable intelligence to ‘stop guessing’ and ‘start knowing’ about the true cost of inefficient (and ineffective) business processes. The book is essential reading for every leader in post-meltdown global economy.  

A seasoned technology executive, Mr. Peters has been responsible for guiding several organizations to market leadership positions and creating value for shareholders. He led the LBO (with Golden Gate Capital) of DataDirect Technologies (spin-off from MERANT) and its subsequent sale to Progress Software (PRGS). He has also held sr. executive positions with Progress Software, Cerebellum Software and INTERSOLV, where he led the data connectivity business unit to become the leading ISV in the data access middleware market.

A recognized business leader, Mr. Peters is special visiting professor and chairman of the OpenConnect research chair in Business Process Discovery and Analytics at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He also serves on the board of a number of organizations and companies, including Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurs at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and the Computer & Communication Industry Association. Mr. Peters has also received numerous awards recognizing his leadership including the 2004 Maryland Technology Council, Entrepreneur of the Year, IBM/GUIDE International President's Award, the R/A/D Award for Excellence in Repository-Based Application Development and a Lehigh University Williams Prize. He was also an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist in both 2003 & 2004.

Mr. Peters holds a Bachelor of Arts in government and a Master of Science in industrial engineering from Lehigh University. He has also attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Management Program at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Brockenbush serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for OpenConnect. Mr. Brockenbush is responsible for the formulation and execution of the Company's operating plans, customer support, investor relations, support contract revenue and administrative functions.

Mr. Brockenbush came to OpenConnect from Blue Wave Systems, a developer of carrier class digital signal processing (DSP) hardware and software products for the telecommunications industry, where he served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Blue Wave became the industry’s largest independent developer of high-density DSP products. Prior to BWSI, Mr. Brockenbush held various management roles at Interphase and Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Brockenbush holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Chief Technology Officer

As President and Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Burris is responsible for the overall management of OpenConnect as well as its technology vision and strategy. Mr. Burris joined OpenConnect in 1990 and has held a variety of research and product development roles, most recently as Vice President, Research and Development. During Mr. Burris' tenure at OpenConnect, he has been instrumental in the development of the architecture for the company's industry leading products used by thousands of companies worldwide. Prior to joining OpenConnect, Mr. Burris served as Vice President of Technical Services for Smartech Systems, Inc. Previously, he held a variety of development positions, including Vice President of Research and Development at Mtech.

Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Services

As Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Services, Mr.  Estrada is responsible for marketing strategy and client services to support and enhance the company's growth worldwide.

Prior to joining OpenConnect , Estrada was SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at i2.  In his twelve years at i2, Estrada served in a variety of leadership roles, including senior vice president of Global Services Operations, managing i2's services business including customer satisfaction, quality and service capacity and global customer solutions management. He also previously led i2’s Consumer Industries group and was responsible for all aspects related to i2’s Consumer Industries customers. Prior to i2, Estrada was senior manager of Supply Chain Strategy at Ernst & Young LLP, and spent more than five years at Procter & Gamble in various roles in sales and manufacturing. 

Estrada received his degree from the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in business administration in marketing and operations management.

Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing

As Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, Mr. Moulas is responsible for expanding market presence by developing strategic alliances with key industry players and channel partners. He is also responsible for worldwide marketing execution, encompassing, marketing communications, sales support and analyst relations. Mr. Moulas has served in various senior management roles at OpenConnect, including Vice President of North American Sales.

Prior to OpenConnect, Mr. Moulas served as Vice President of North American Sales for epicRealm, Inc., a content delivery network service provider. Previously, Mr. Moulas was a Sales Director and General Manager for Fujitsu-ICL, responsible for setting and executing North American sales strategy. Prior to Fujitsu-ICL, Mr. Moulas held senior sales and operational management positions with PharmAssist, Inc and Copeland Drugs, Inc.

Mr. Moulas holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Auburn University and attended Edwin L Cox School of Business Executive and Management Development program at SMU.

Vice President Europe

Alexander Narings joined OpenConnect in April 2006 as Vice President, Europe. He heads up European business development with responsibility for all direct and indirect sales throughout the region. OpenConnect’s key markets in Europe include Germany, France, the UK, Austria and Switzerland. Narings has over 25 years’ experience in international sales for IT firms, including 20 years in the software industry alone.

Prior to joining OpenConnect, Narings was Country Manager Central Europe/Nordic at Global Exchange Services. Further highlights include positions as Vice President, Field Operations Central/Southern Europe at Agile Software and Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Enterprise Data Connectivity at Intersolv/Merant. He was also managing director of Intersolv/Merant’s German operations for over six years. Earlier, he held a number of management positions in sales and marketing at the German subsidiary of Informix Software (now part of IBM).

Vice President, Healthcare Solutions

As Vice President Healthcare Insurance Solutions, Mr. Sires is responsible for further expanding OpenConnect’s presence among healthcare insurance organizations.   Mr. Sires has been instrumental developing OpenConnect’s strategy and presence with healthcare insurance organizations.  Specifically he has helped OpenConnect clients improve operational efficiency in claims processing, auditing, and membership and enrollment practices.  Mr. Sires joined OpenConnect in 1994 as senior sales executive and in 2004 became Director, Strategic Account Sales.  Mr. Sires has over 25 years experience in the information technology sector and has previously held senior level sales and marketing positions with Tricord Systems, Sequent and Altos Computer Systems.

Vice President Telecommunication Solutions

Mr. Webster is an Award-Winning entrepreneur and telecommunications executive with over 20 years experience in the telecommunications, cable television, and broadband industries. Prior to joining OpenConnect, Mr. Webster was Founder and President of Telecom Optimization Partners, a leading telecommunications consulting and expense management firm. He has also held senior-level sales, marketing, operations and executive management positions with a variety of leading telecommunications service providers in the U.S. and Europe including CEO at Priority Telecom , Regional V.P. & General Manager at Time Warner Communications (now tw telecom), Vice President & General Manager at Teleport Communications Group (acquired by AT&T), and General Manager of Valley Network Partnership.

Mr. Webster holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources Management from Michigan State University.

Director, Human Resources & Administrative Services

Susanne O’Dea serves as Director, Human Resources & Administrative Services, and is responsible for establishing, administering and effectively communicating sound policies, rules and practices that treat employees with dignity and equality while maintaining company compliance with employment and labor laws and corporate directives.

Ms. O’Dea has more than 20 years direct experience in Human Resources leading teams and managing operating functions for companies such as Philips Information Systems Company, a Division of North American Philips Corporation. Ms O’Dea joined OpenConnect in 1990. During her tenure with the Company Ms. O’Dea has served in various Human Resource roles leading to her promotion to Director of Human Resources in 1996.