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Management Team

Rich Julius, Chairman

With over fifteen years experience in digital communication, user interface design, localization, and information architecture, Rich Julius is one of the foremost experts in the design of corporate web sites, portals, and web-based applications. His specialty is designing usability into web interfaces while adhering to principles of goal-focused design, where user goals are placed in perspective against key business goals.

Rich has defined information architecture and localization strategies for some of the world's leading Silicon Valley technology companies, including Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, Harmonic Inc., Seagate Technologies, and Verizon.

Currently VP of Interactive Technology at Crimson Consulting Group, Rich has held a number of executive management and senior technical positions, including Director of Product Marketing at Netblue, Information Architect at Marketing Solutions Software (MS2), Director of Marketing and Director of Consulting Engineering at Perspecta, Director of Knowledge Systems at Informix Software, Director of User Assistance at Oracle Corporation, and Project Manager at PeopleSoft.

Rich sits on the board of AllEire Ltd., the Irish eBusiness community web portal he founded, whose EireBiz.com property received European Union grant funding in 2005-06.

Founder of UC Berkeley Extension's Technical Communication program in 1995, Rich taught Digital Communication and Information Architecture courses for UCBE for over five years. He also served for three years as President of the Berkeley chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. Rich holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan, where he later served on the faculty of the Department of English before his career in Silicon Valley high-tech.


Chester M. Regen PhD, President & CTO

A seasoned web application architect, technology analyst, and scientist, Chester has extensive database design and web development expertise and over 25 years of programming experience.

Based in our Oakland lab, Chester designed the portal application architecture for the Applied Materials iMarketing intranet, the global extranet for Harmonic Inc., and has delivered web-based solutions for Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, McAfee Security, Seagate Technologies, and dozens of other Specific Impulse clients worldwide.

Chester was previously Senior Product Manager for Media Asset and Content Management with Informix Software. Prior to Informix, Chester served for six years as product manager, worldwide marketing manager, and product support supervisor for Bio-Rad Laboratories.

In 1986 Chester founded UMANS, a company that designed and built systems for biomedical research.  Chester supported UMANS installations on three continents before selling the product to Bio-Rad in 1991. Chester holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a BA in Physics and Integrated Science from Northwestern University.

Adjunct Consultants

Elaine Burke, Principal Consulting Engineer

Elaine Burke has over eighteen years experience as a software developer, most recently as a J2EE developer with the WebLogic application server and with LDAP. She was previously with CAM Systems, following their acquisition of eMadison, where she served as principal software engineer. Elaine also served for three years as Staff Software Engineer at KLA-Tencor, where she developed defect tracking systems in C++ using CORBA and data analysis tools using Java.

Prior to KLA, Elaine served as Staff Software Engineer at Netscape, working with the core security group to develop security strategies for key application components. She has also served in senior positions at Wonderware, developing manufacturing tracking systems in C++, and for eight years at Measurex (USA and Ireland), developing a range of manufacturing systems. She holds a BS and an MS degree in Computer Science from University College Cork, Ireland.

Margo Hays, Principal Information Architect

Margo Hays has over ten years of web design and information architecture experience. In 1995 she served as Art Director for The WeLL, one of the first and most famous online communities. She them went on to Organic Online, one of the top ten web design firms of the late 1990s, where she served as information architect until taking a position as information architect for Bank of America.

In 1999, Margo expanded her information architecture reach at the highly-regarded eBusiness consulting firm, Scient Corporation, where she served as a Director of Customer Experience Architecture. There, Margo directed customer experience for the first stage of Buy.com’s redesign, including content strategy, information architecture, visual design, and user interface design. She also led the information architecture and customer experience initiatives at Wells Fargo Bank.

In 2001, Margo became a Manager of Information Architecture at Walmart.com, where she defined the customer experience strategy. Since 2003 she has served as an interaction design and user experience consultant for companies that include Glam Media, Hartle Media, and Electronic Arts.

Margo has a degree in Studio Art and English Literature from St. Olaf College, in addition to postgraduate coursework in Multimedia Studies from the SF State Multimedia Studies Program and Graphic Design at Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Molly Wright Steenson, Principal Information Architect

Molly Wright Steenson is an information architect, design researcher and mobile and Web strategist. With 12 years Web experience and 14 years online community experience, she has been a pioneer in developing interactive user experiences.

As Manager of Online Services for Reuters Health in 1995, she created Reuters’ first news-delivering website. At Netscape in 1996, she produced the very first web portal, Netscape Destinations (later to become Netcenter, launched the People and Yellow Pages sections, and managed the Search page, at that time the second most hit page on the Internet. She built and ran Netscape’s Web Building channel in 1999. She was also the first employee at Electric Minds, the groundbreaking online community.

Molly joined Scient Corporation in 1999 as a content strategist and customer experience architect. She opened the Munich office and led content strategy efforts for Europe and Asia. In 2001, Molly became the Director of User Experience for Liquid Thinking’s Chicago operation, where she led the redesign of Wrigley.com.

As associate professor at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy, a graduate design institute, Molly led the Connected Communities research group. She continues this research in a masters degree at the Yale School of Architecture, where she focuses on mobile technology and the urban context. She speaks and publishes frequently on issues of information architecture, media, urbanism, and design.

Advisory Board

Karen O'Brien

Karen is a Partner and Senior Strategist with Crimson Consulting Group, where her primary focus is in developing viable interactive product and service strategies, and designing the strategic, marketing and organizational requirements to achieve competitive advantage. She has over 15 years of strategy and marketing experience at the corporate and agency level. Karen’s experience includes designing global web strategies for companies such as Symantec, HP, Kodak, Cisco, Seagate, Sun, Verio/NTT and Yamaha.

For nine years, Karen has been involved in building consumer and enterprise portals. These include groundbreaking online community, The Well, in 1996, and such portals as Match.com and Ebates.com, with several million registered users. Previously, Karen was Director of e-Business Strategy Consulting for Grant Thornton. There, Karen led diverse, large interactive projects for Fortune 500 companies, rock bands, CPG as well as media and manufacturing companies.

Prior to Grant Thornton, Karen was VP of Sales and Marketing at an interactive agency where she worked on over 70 web projects and online strategy for clients as diverse as Nortel Networks, Match.com, Deutsche Bank, Woolworths and Visa International. Karen is a guest professor in the EMBA Program, Ottawa University in Hong Kong (teaching e-Business and High-Tech Entrepreneurship).

Kenneth Feldman, JD

Mr. Feldman is a seasoned intellectual property attorney and litigator with over fifteen years experience. He has extensive Federal Court experience in New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan, and Colorado. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Michigan and a JD from Rutgers Law School. Mr. Feldman was in private practice in midtown Manhattan for over ten years, and presently has a varied practice on both coasts through Feldman Law Group.

Derek Burke

Mr. Burke is the Sales Director of EireBusiness International (Domona Ltd.) and serves as business consultant and principal account manager for Specific Impulse operations in Ireland. Mr. Burke has a proven sales and business background, and has served in several fields both in retail and IT sectors for over 10 years. He specialises in launching and marketing new products and services using the Web.

Richard Yien

Mr. Yien is President of R2K Inc., a worldwide IT consulting firm headquartered in New York City. Mr. Yien has over twenty years of industry experience with particular expertise in systems architecture, data communications, computer graphics, document imaging, and workflow automation. Prior to founding R2K, Mr. Yien was Director of Software Development at Wang Software and Sigma Imaging Systems, where he led the development of its production imaging and workflow products. At AT&T Bell Laboratories, Mr. Yien developed advanced network monitoring systems and services for which he has received many awards. Mr. Yien consults today on leveraging advanced systems in the workplace with emphasis on network-based solutions. He has a dual BA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS from Rutgers University, is an AIIM Laureate of Electronic Document Image Management, and holds two U.S. patents.

 
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