Speaker profiles

 

Alex Adamopoulos

CEO, Emergn Corporation

Alex Adamopoulos is a veteran of the IT industry with over 20 years of experience in global services organizations. His career has involved leading high growth services organizations into their next stage of development and building them into global profit centers. Adamopoulos has been successful in defining and developing practical strategies, knowledge and intellectual capital and best practices across several key IT service areas including global sourcing and delivery models, Agile methodologies, information management consulting, global market expansion and operational models.

Adamopoulos has worked with and for several global multi-national companies in the enterprise space and the service provider industry including extensive experience with startup organizations and venture capital firms.

He is a recognized and published author and speaker on related topics.

 

Michael Anobile

Managing Director, LISA

An international businessman with over 25 years experience in the IT sector, Michael Anobile received a Bachelors of Science degree in communications at Syracuse University, and participated in the Masters degree program in political communications at the University of Maryland.

After relocating his family to Switzerland in 1980 to become European Training Manager for Exxon Office Systems, he subsequently held a number of European and Swiss management positions in the IT and language-technology industries, focusing on global business development and marketing.

A founding member of LISA, and the Managing Director from its inception, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Association including outreach programs to other standards organizations (E.g., ISO Category A liaison member, IdeAlliance, Unicode, Openi18N, W3C, OASIS, etc.) and government agencies (E.g., US Department of Commerce, the European Union's Directorate General for Translation along with various Asian, Canadian and European language technology and national standards and trade bodies) as well as its international forums, training programs and industry marketing & public relations projects.

 

Sergey Belov

Delivery Director, Exigen Services

Sergey Belov currently works as a Delivery Director for Exigen Services in St. Petersburg, Russia. His main interests include agile methodologies, social networks, and test-driven development. Prior to joining Exigen Services he worked for Quest Software, St. Petersburg.

 

Aviram Eisenberg

CEO, Ignite

Aviram Eisenberg, B. Sc. in Computer Science from The Technion, Israel, is the CEO of Ignite and the leader of the R&D managers forum in Israel. Aviram known to lead professionally the offshore development in Israel and is a popular lecturer on the subject.

Using his vast experience in outsourcing and specifically in off shoring, Aviram developed a unique approach to software development outsourcing, named Milestone-Based Pricing model tm.

Previous to launching Ignite, Aviram served as the Chief Architect for MIND CTI (NASDAQ: MNDO) where he lead MIND's architecture group, and was in charge of defining MIND’s next-generation billing solutions. In MIND, Aviram designed and managed software projects for strategic customers like Vodafone and Hutchison,

Aviram was in charge of the development of a global onsite-offshore delivery model that was realized from the experience of establishing a 200 people offshore operation by MIND.

 

Massimo Ghislandi

Global Marketing Initiatives Manager, SDL Trados Technologies

Massimo Ghislandi was named marketing initiatives manager for SDL Trados Technologies. A native of Italy, Massimo is a business administration graduate of Bocconi University, Milano, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. With over nine years of business-to-business marketing experience, Massimo has held positions within product marketing management and marketing communications departments at various large international corporations, including Avery Dennison and ITT Industries. With an area of expertise in terminology management software tools, he is now managing the worldwide marketing activities for SDL Trados Technologies.

 

Yuriy Hnatyuk

Manager, Operation Office, Symantec Corporation

Yuriy Hnatyuk currently works at Symantec Corporation, Internationalization team. He manages EMEA team and is a member of the Global Operation Team which drives department global operations. Yuriy has both technical and business education.

Yuriy was born in Ukraine where he received Computer Science degree and started his career in as a software developer. In 2000 he went to The Netherlands to work on a research program at Technical University of Eindhoven. There he studied user center design concepts and have applied newly gained knowledge working for Philips Medical Systems, Usability team. In 2002, after completing the research program and receiving a doctorate title Yuriy moved to Warsaw, Poland where he started his journey with Symantec Shared Engineering Services (SES) department. He worked at QA, led business outsourcing projects in Eastern Europe, work as a Localization Program Manager, managed local teams, and led global process improvement initiatives. Working at Symantec Yuriy gained knowledge and experience in project and operation management, process redesign, coaching and leadership. In 2007 he completed EMBA program at University of Minnesota, USA.

Besides that, Yuriy likes to spend free time with his family and friends, read “The Economist”, jogging, play squash and travel to new places .

 

Joseph Hsu

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, The Symbio Group

Joseph Hsu is Chairman of Symbio Investment Holdings Company and was Chairman and CEO of the Symbio Group from 1994 to 2007. Prior to founding Symbio in 1994, he was Executive Vice President of IISI, an IBM JV. He joined the NeoTech Development Corporation (NDC) in 1987, a 100% IBM-funded software and embedded system development company in Taiwan. NDC was the first in Greater China to focus on offshore software development directly with the US clients. NDC developed many of IBM's products, including Net Management and Banking Transaction Security System. Mr. Hsu received his Master's degree in Econometrics from New York University and his Bachelor's degree in Economics from National Taiwan University. He is also on the Board of Directors for a number of software and technology companies in the USA and China.

 

Michael Kemmann

Managing Director, ADAPT Localization Services

Michael Kemmann is Managing Director and owner of ADAPT Localization Services in Bonn, Germany, a localization service provider specialising in the fields of Life Sciences and IT / Telecommunications.

Involved in localization since 1996, he has worked in various roles as Senior Editor, translator, localizer and consultant, working (partly on site) for several large software, telecommunication and financial corporations before founding ADAPT.

At ADAPT, Michael is responsible for the company's strategies for offering reliable and compliant solutions for clients in the highly regulated, safety-related Life Sciences environment.

He holds a Master's degree in German and English literature from Bonn university, and is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) and The Institute of Localisation Professionals (TILP), among others.

 

Arcady Khotin

Managing Director, Ardin Software

Russian entrepreneur with 14+ years of running successful ISO9001 - certified software development, consulting and testing outsourcing and IT Recruiting businesses with offices in Russia, US and Finland. Customer-oriented, ROI-conscious, solutions-driven. Special focus on development and implementation of business strategy that produce breakthrough results in sales, efficiency, and market competitiveness using offshore, nearshore and on-site models. Active participant in software associations. Cross-culture relations specialist, networker, rainmaker.

 

Mark Kofman

CEO, Programeter

Mark Kofman is an enterpreneur, the co-founder and CEO of Programeter, a business intelligence company targeting software development managers. Prior to Programeter, mr. Kofman has been working in national and international software development projects ran by leading Estonian and Russian ICT companies and co-founded mobile services startup.

 

Fulvio Marfoni

Global Consumer Localisation Strategies, Hewlett-Packard

Fulvio is a dynamic Senior Program Manager with a strong record of achievement, combining skills in diverse areas of organizational development, group/staff leadership, program development and project management, building partnerships and community relations, internally and externally.

Experienced in the different areas of Content generation, On-line content deployment and On-line Customer Support, with a profound knowledge of global localization strategies.

 

Ashley Maroney

Sales and Marketing Executive, Language Technology Centre

Ashley Maroney is the Sales and Marketing Executive of Agile Web Solutions Ltd in London, the independent software company which was created after the restructuring of LTC in April 2009. Ashley has over 8 years’ experience as a sales and marketing consultant in banking/investments, media and professional services. Ashley joined LTC from an online accountancy solutions provider where he successfully developed a new client welcome process, significantly contributed to the implementation of a new client portal and led the business development team. Driven by a passion for delivering optimum business solutions, Ashley is working with LTC/Agile Web Solution clients to achieve maximum return on investment and customer satisfaction.

 

Kenneth McKethan

Software Development Project Manager, IBM

Kenneth (Sandy) McKethan, Jr. is currently a software development project manager with IBM based at Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, having completed 10 years as a globalization project manager in IBM’s Tivoli division. His 30+ year career as a foreign language professional also includes: translation, interpreting, recruiting sales, marketing, international business development, vendor management. McKethan currently has two patents filed and two issued by the USPTO. These include “Method and System to Gauge and Control Project Churn.”

He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP©) and a German-government certified technical interpreter and translator (Staatlich geprüfter Dolmetscher und Übersetzer für die englische Sprache [Technik]). Major languages are German and Russian. Sandy is a licensed glider pilot and holds the rank of Lt Col in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol).

 

Dmitry Molodyk

Production Manager, Janus Worldwide

Graduated from the Moscow State University, philological department. In 1999 came to the Janus translation agency where he started his career as a translator and editor and was rapidly promoted to project manager. Successfully handled large-scale software localization projects for Hewlett-Packard, Invensys and SAP. Has a perfect command of English and German, is an expert at working with Translation Memory systems and Computer Aided Translation tools.

Works at Janus from the company start-up day.

 

Mika Pehkonen

Documentation and Localization Manager, F-Secure

Mika Pehkonen is the documentation and localization manager at F-Secure, a fast-growing Finnish developer of antivirus and intrusion prevention software. Mika, a trained translator and technical writer, has over ten years' experience in localization and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

 

Nikolay Puntikov

President Delivery, Exigen Services

Coinciding with Russia's dramatic move toward privatization in 1991, Nick Puntikov founded StarSoft Development Labs, one of Russia's seminal private software engineering firms. During the next 15 years as CEO of StarSoft he developed the company into a premier outsourcing software services provider catering to clients in Europe and North America.

In 2007, StarSoft merged with Exigen Services to become a leading force in the IT outsourcing space in Central and Eastern Europe and a next-generation application outsourcing provider. In Exigen Services, Puntikov is responsible for managing the global delivery organization, encompassing 2000 developers from ten delivery centers across six countries, including China.

Puntikov is an outspoken advocate of both the domestic and international portions of the Russian IT services industry. Since 2003, he has served on the Board of the Russian National Association of Software Developers (RUSSOFT).

An internationally recognized expert in his field, Puntikov has spoken at many conferences in North America, Europe and Japan, and is referenced frequently in the press on topics such as software outsourcing, software localization, and knowledge management.

Puntikov holds a Master of Science degree from the St. Petersburg State University in Russia, where he currently resides. In parallel with work, he defended in 2007 his Ph.D. thesis on the subject of formal modeling of software project life cycles.

 

Signe Rirdance

EuroTermBank Director, Tilde

Mrs. Signe Rirdance is a true professional of the language industry, with over 10 years of management experience in localization, technical writing, terminology and translation. As the Director of EuroTermBank, a recently launched multilingual terminology portal, she is in charge of developing a new business line in Tilde, the leading Baltic IT company specializing in language technologies, multilingual and Internet software, and localization.

Prior to this, Mrs. Rirdance developed Tilde’s localization business from a single project to a prosperous business line with offices in 3 countries. Later, she returned to Tilde on part-time basis as a quality management consultant, establishing comprehensive quality procedures and processes across Tilde’s localization department.

In parallel, she held the position of Director, Localization, Documentation and Training, in Exigen Latvia, the software development center of the global Exigen Group, headquartered in San Francisco, US. While at Exigen Latvia, she set up and directed the production cycles and teams for localization, technical writing, and training of Exigen products.

As a language professional, she has been involved in a variety of linguistic projects, such as the development of Microsoft Style Guide and terminology for Latvian, and numerous translation, validation and editing assignments, including translation of novels into Latvian. She volunteers as a guest-lecturer on translation stylistics and localization at the University of Latvia.

Mrs. Signe Rirdance is a member of the ICT Committee of Terminology Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. She has completed master’s degree in Business Administration, as well as bachelor’s degrees in English Linguistics (University of Latvia) and Political Science (University of Wisconsin).

 

Lorcan Ryan

Researcher, University of Limerick

Lorcan Ryan is currently undertaking a PhD research project in the University of Limerick. His undergraduate degree is in Business Studies, and he followed this with an MA in Technical Communication; both of which he also achieved through the University of Limerick.

Lorcan has worked in the biomedical (Stryker Howmedica), business information (Kompass) and internet service provider (Google) industries, and has two years experience working with Alchemy Software Development, as Strategic Accounts Manager. He also lectured localization modules in the University of Limerick, and worked as a localization trainer for TILP, before beginning his PhD studies in 2009.

 

Dale Schultz

Globalization Test Architect, IBM

Dale Schultz is the Globalization Test Architect in the IBM Globalization Leadership Team and has been involved in globalization software for 18 years. He has worked in South Africa, Germany and the USA.

When he is not delving into subjects such as code pages, time zones and globalization test issues he can be found working on his model train layout, taking photographs, making biltong or camping with mosquitoes.

 

Paula Shannon

CSO, SVP and General Manager, Lionbridge

Paula Shannon manages Lionbridge’s global sales forces and account management teams. As Co-General Manager of the Localization Business, she drives new services and sustainable solutions, develops strategic accounts, and ensures the continued delivery of innovation and execution excellence to a broad range of Global 1000 customers. Shannon joined Lionbridge in 1999 as Vice President of Internet Alliances and assumed additional responsibilities in 2001. Prior to joining Lionbridge, Shannon was the Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of International Sales for Alpnet, Inc., now SDL. She has more than 22 years of experience in the industry, including 10 years in senior roles with Berlitz International in California, Washington, D.C., and Canada, where she drove global accounts and managed a North American sales team. Shannon is fluent in English, French, and Dutch, and functional in German, Spanish, and Russian. Educated in the US and Belgium, she holds a B.A. in Russian and German with a minor in Linguistics from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

 

Anton Soldatov

Senior Software Engineer, ITI Ltd.

Anton Soldatov began to work at ITI Ltd. in 2005 as software localizer. After a short period of time he switched to software development and maintenance. He worked on a company's terminology management system and a set of tools for a more convenient and rapid access to it. Besides, he took part in development of internal QA framework, a family of integrated applications serving different tasks, from initial localization project registration to final checks on translated files. In 2008, he significantly improved linguistic core of the QA framework. He became Senior Software Engineer in 2009. Now he's responsible for maintenance of currently released products and conceptual design of new applications for localization process.

Besides, he's interested in Slavic and Scandinavian languages and computational linguistics.

 

Andres Teder

Head of Business Development, Proekspert

Andres is a technology professional, consultant and entrepreneur with more than 7 years of practical hands-on experience in the software industry. Systems he has worked with range from back-end e-banking to mobile handset applications.

He holds a MSc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Tartu.

Andres's special interest fields are mobility, mobile applications, M2M and embedded technologies. His other great interest besides technology is entrepreneurship. He has been involved as a co-founder in two startup companies in the area of mobile computing.

 

Dr. Guntis Urtans

General Manager Baltics, Exigen Services

Mr. Guntis Urtans, in his role as Exigen Services General Manager, Baltics, is responsible for Exigen Services business throughout the Baltic States, where he has succeeded in expanding Exigen Services operations and achieving a leader position.

Having more than 25 years of IT experience, he has been involved in sales and marketing activities, management of multinational distributed engineering operations across Eastern Europe, project management, and product development. Mr. Urtans has a strong focus on software quality; under his leadership, Exigen Latvia operations achieved a CMMI Level 5 assessment - and was one of the first companies in Eastern Europe to do that.

Prior to his career in private business, Mr. Urtans worked at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia, as a researcher and has published several papers on software testing.

Since October 2005, he has served as a board member of the Latvian IT Cluster and the Latvian Software Testing Quality Board.

Mr. Urtans holds a doctoral degree in computer science.

 

Andrzej Zydroń

CTO, XML-INTL

Andrzej Zydroń was born in England. Educated in France he started working in IT in 1976. His experience has covered all aspects of computing, with in depth knowledge of Software Engineering, SGML, XML, encoding methodologies and translation memory. Highlights of his career include:

* The design and architecture of the European Patent Office patent data capture system for Xerox Business Services.

* The design and architecture of the Xerox Language Services XTM translation memory system in 1996.

* Author of XML and SGML filters for SDL International's SDLX Translation Suite.

* Assisting the Oxford University Press, the British Council and Oxford University in work on the New Dictionary of the National Biography.

Andrzej Zydroń is a member of the LISA OSCAR Steering Committee. He is the technical architect and editor of the GILT Metrics proposed specification suite, as well as editor of the proposed TBX Link specification. Zydroń also sits on the OASIS technical committees for Translation Web Services, XLIFF and XLIFF segmentation. He is also a W3C invited expert sitting on the W3C ITS technical committee.

As CTO for XML-Intl, he is currently developing the next generation of XML-based text memory systems to reduce authoring and translation costs for documentation. Zydroń is fluent in English, Polish and French.