ABOUT QUEST > BOARD OF DIRECTORS > DIRECTORS BIOS
President
Steven D. McDowell
Chief Information Officer, Holiday Retirement Corp.
Steve McDowell is the 2007-2008 president for Quest International Users Group. He is the chief information officer for Holiday Retirement Corp., the largest owner and operator of retirement housing in the world. Holiday and its affiliates manage more than 290 retirement facilities located in 44 states in the United States, six provinces in Canada, and properties in the United Kingdom and France.
As CIO for Holiday, McDowell is responsible for all aspects of information technology in the corporation, which includes the JD Edwards ERP system, all data center infrastructure, application development, end user support and the project management office.
Prior to joining the Quest Board of Directors, McDowell served on the Quest Conference Planning Committee, which works with the Quest staff to plan Quest’s conferences. He previously has served the board as director of education, director of vendor relations, and executive vice president.
McDowell received a BS in computer systems from City University in Renton, Wash. He has more than 25 years of IT experience. He currently resides in Salem, Ore., with his wife, Cammy, and his three sons, Dillon, Denny and Kelly.
Executive Vice President
Roger Parks
CIO/VP Information Technology, J.R. Simplot Company
Roger Parks is the executive vice president for Quest. A leader in the information technology industry, Parks is the chief information officer and vice president of IT for J.R. Simplot Company. Based in Boise, Idaho, the J.R. Simplot Company is a privately held food and agribusiness corporation. Simplot employs approximately 13,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico and Australia. The company’s annual sales are approximately $4.0 billion, derived principally from food, fertilizer, turf and horticultural, cattle feeding and other enterprises related to agribusiness.
Parks' duties include executive management of all information technology resources and systems worldwide for the J.R. Simplot Company. This includes the Corporate Data Center and Information Technology organization in Boise, Idaho, and numerous other data centers and information technology organizations around the world.
Parks is published in several industry trade journals, periodicals and in a couple of books recently published dealing with industry leadership strategies. He also is a recognized speaker a many industry conferences, CIO conferences and UCLA’s Andersen School of Management.
Parks graduated from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, with a degree in Computer Science. He currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Cyndi. His children are Roger II, Dru, Samantha and Jonathan.
Treasurer
John A. Matelski
Chief Information Officer, Gwinnett County, Ga.
John Matelski has been a member of the Quest Board of Directors since 2002. Formerly, Matelski was the Quest president, director of technology, director of SIGs and executive vice president. Matelski also is presiding chair of the International Oracle Users Council.
In September 1997, Matelski accepted an appointment from Mayor Glenda E. Hood of the City of Orlando to the position of Deputy Chief Information Officer for the City. In this position, he was responsible for all Information Systems' functions servicing the City. In 2003 he was also given the responsibility to manage IT security for the city. In April of 2008 Matelski accepted a position with Gwinnett County IT Services Department as the Director of Information Technology Services. He is also responsible for the management of polices and strategic direction with an emphasis on customer service and cost effectiveness.
Matelski graduated summa cum laude with two degrees from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (B.S. Management Information Systems, M.B.A. College of Business). He currently resides with his wife, Mary K, and children Jamison and Keenan.
At-Large Officer
Mark O. Federle, PE, PhD, CPC
Professor of Construction Engineering and Management, Marquette University
Mark Federle is an at-large officer for Quest. A long-time construction engineering professional, Federle is currently the McShane Professor of Construction Engineering and Management for Marquette University. Previously he was the chief information officer for The Weitz Company. Founded in 1855, Weitz has grown to become the 21st largest general building contractor in the United States. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Weitz has 17 offices in eight states and forecasts volume of $1.5 billion in contracts for 2007.
Federle had been with Weitz for more than eight years before moving to Marquette University in April of 2008. During his tenure, the company had made significant investments in technology, including ERP, Imaging, SAN and CRM. Prior to joining The Weitz Company, Federle was the Professor-in-Charge of Construction Engineering program at Iowa State University, where he taught for nine years. He has been widely published in leadership, management and technology areas related to construction. Federle was awarded The Career Achievement Award by Rose-Hulman in 2005.
Federle currently resides in Ames, Iowa, with his wife, Michele, and three children, Sarah, Jackson and Braeden.
At-Large Officer
Cheryl Pierce
Project Manager, Amcor Sunclipse NA
Throughout her career, Cheryl Pierce has been very involved in the user groups, currently serving her second term as president of the Southern California User Group with previous tenure as president of this group from 1997 to 2002. In 2002, she was also elected to the Board of Directors for Quest where she is serving her third and final term.
Pierce is the project manager at Amcor Sunclipse NA. Sunclipse is headquartered in Southern California and supports one of the nation’s top global packaging companies – Kent H Landsberg (KHL). KHL is a distributor with over 217 plants in 34 countries selling an assortment of paper, packaging materials, shipping supplies and janitorial products as well as stock and custom corrugated with revenues exceeding $8 billion USD.
Pierce's current role with Sunclipse is Project Manager and Business Analyst supporting the JD Edwards financial applications and all third party interfaced products for JD Edwards. She is part of the project team which is overseeing the company’s migration from JD Edwards World to EnterpriseOne. As part of those responsibilities, she manages multiple projects and provides ongoing upgrade projects and support for JD Edwards World and EnterpriseOne financial and distribution modules, in addition to providing system administration duties in support of EnterpriseOne.
Pierce is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton. She currently resides in Fountain Valley, Calif., with her husband, Andy, daughter, Justine, and son, Michael.
Dave Richards
Chief Information Officer, Pacific Steel & Recycling
Dave Richards is the immediate past president of Quest International Users Group. Richards has been a member of the Quest Board of Directors since 2002, and accepted the office of president in June 2006. Richards previously served as executive vice president, treasurer, director of conferences and director of vendor relations.
A long-time JD Edwards user, Richards is the chief information officer for Pacific Steel & Recycling, a company with more than 600 employees and annual revenues greater than $250 million. Pacific Steel & Recycling is located in the Intermountain Northwest and is the region's largest steel service center and scrap metals recycler.
A 26-year employee of Pacific Steel & Recycling, Richards' current role is to guide the company’s strategic direction for information technology. His previous work includes serving as the company's treasurer, where he was responsible for both the financial and computer sides of the business. Richards also served as project manager of the company's implementation of JD Edwards OneWorld ERP system.
Richards, a CPA, graduated from Montana State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He currently lives in Great Falls, Mont., with his wife, Rebecca; son, Nick; and daughter Keira.
Shawn Latimer
Manager, Business Systems Effectiveness, Baxter Canada
Shawn Latimer is the Manager of Applications Support for Baxter Canada.
Every day worldwide, Baxter products and services help treat thousands of people who have some of the most complex conditions -- from hemophilia to cancer and immune disorders to kidney disease.
Latimer has held various positions of increasing authority with Baxter. As the Manager of Applications Support for Baxter Canada, he is responsible for providing a consistent production readiness of over 75 applications and ensuring proficiency in the use of Baxter Canada’s enterprise applications, including JD Edwards, Siebel and AS400.
Prior to joining the Quest Board of Directors in August 2004, Latimer was involved in user group efforts. He served as a conference planning committee member of the first JD Edwards user conference in Canada, and he served in various leadership roles for the Eastern Canadian User Group (ECRUG).
He currently resides in Everett, Ontario, Canada, with his wife, Kerry, and son, Adam.
Richard A. Beers
Vice President: Global Enterprise Systems, Bausch and Lomb
As Vice President: Global Enterprise Systems, Rick is accountable for the global roll-out and support of Bausch and Lomb’s enterprise systems. He joined B&L in October 2005 after a 32 year career with Corning Incorporated, with management experience evenly split in manufacturing, logistics and information technology.
Rick’s blend of operational and IT skills give him a unique view of the practical and value-add potential of information technology within the manufacturing industry. He is a frequent speaker on Operational IT topics and also serves on the corporate advisory board of Agistics Incorporated and the CPG Advisory Board at Oracle
Edward Gillis
Senior Architect, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance
As a senior architect for Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance of Hartford, Conn., Edward Gillis is responsible for enterprise-wide application architecture and application strategic planning. Gillis has extensive experience with PeopleSoft Enterprise products -- as far back as implementing PS Financials (General Ledger) v2.x at a major insurance company -- and has experience implementing and supporting PeopleSoft Financials (GL, AM, AR, AP, Billing, Purchasing, Contracts, Project Costing and Expenses); PeopleSoft EPM (Budgeting); PeopleSoft HRMS; and PeopleSoft AppConnect (Enterprise Portal). He has a B.S. in accounting from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. concentration in Information Systems Management from the University of Hartford.
Gillis has been a member of the Board of Directors for the PeopleSoft Southern New England Users Group (SNUG) since May 2001, and is currently the SNUG Treasurer and Membership Coordinator. His goal as a Quest board member is to help provide an independent customer voice to Oracle, helping ensure customers using any of Oracle's product lines (JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, or Oracle) are heard. In addition, Gillis' expertise is instrumental in helping Quest broaden its scope beyond JD Edwards products and customers.
Elizabeth Goins
Systems Analyst, School District of Manatee County
Beth Goins is systems analyst for the School District of Manatee County in Bradenton, Fla., where she has been an analyst since 1993. Her duties include the design and implementation of information systems related to the finance, A/P, A/R, purchasing, warehouse/inventory, construction/job cost, fixed assets and and HR/Payroll systems.
Prior to joining the Quest board of directors, Goins began participating, and continues to participate, in the Government SIG, the World Strategy Council (WSC), and the JD Edwards World User Group (WUG). She also has given several presentations and wrote the white paper for encumbrances in JD Edwards software covering issues in the EnterpriseOne and JD Edwards World product lines.
Goins looks forward to providing insight into the networking and technology needs of the World community as Quest continues to grow as a user organization. She would like to help define user group roles and responsibilities within the user group community, all the while educating members on how to maximize their membership investment in Quest. She has a particular interest in pursuing issue tracking using the Quest enhancement process and communication tools for use among members.
Goins is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in computing. She and her husband, Doug, live in Bradenton, Fla., with their son, Kyle, and daughter, Kathryn.
Darrell T. Hawkes Jr.
Senior Business Systems Analyst, Turner Industries Group, LLC
Darrell Hawkes is an IT project manager and manager of fabrication systems for Turner Industries Group in Paris, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La. Hawkes has been with Turner Industries for eight years in various roles increasing in responsibility. He is responsible for working as interface between the IT department and all levels of Fabrication Division Management. Ultimately, Darrell is tasked with evaluating the needs of Turner’s internal and external clients, developing solutions for those needs, and supporting or improving Fabrication Business processes.
Prior to joining the Quest board of directors, Hawkes was an active member of Quest for more than four years, attending multiple conferences and serving as president of the Industrial Manufacturing SIG. His goals as a Quest board member are continuing efforts to bridge the recently acquired JD Edwards and PeopleSoft customer bases with Oracle so Quest members can continue their focus on collaboration and shared value. Hawkes also hopes to add the perspectives he has gained through industry and user group service and apply his analytical skills to help move Quest into the future.
Hawkes is a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He resides in Paris, Texas, with his wife, Dee, two daughters, Nichole and Michayla, and son, Samuel.
Stanton Jones
TPI
Stanton Jones is the Director of Information Technology Services at TPI, the world’s largest sourcing advisory firm. In his role, Stanton is responsible for global IT including Enterprise applications, Architecture, Infrastructure, Desktop, Service Desk and Internal Program Management of cross-functional technology initiatives. As a mid-market PeopleSoft customer, Stanton brings a unique perspective to the ERP experience and is passionate about deriving increased value from ERP investments.
Prior to Stanton’s role on the Quest Board, he was a key team member of both the Fusion Applications Communications Profiling Team and the Fusion Road Mapping Team within the Product Development Committee of the International Oracle Users Council.
Stanton looks forward to developing and deepening relationships within Quest and Oracle so that all customers can share in and gain value from the user group experience.
A graduate of The University of Texas, Stanton also holds a Masters degree in Information Systems from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. Stanton resides in Spring, Texas with his wife Constanza, and two children, Meredith and Lucas.
Robert Lieberman
Centro Properties Group
Robert Lieberman is the senior vice president and chief information officer for Centro Properties Group (formerly New Plan Excel Realty Trust). Headquartered in New York City, Centro is the fifth largest real estate company in the US. Centro focuses on the ownership and management of over 700 community and neighborhood shopping centers encompassing more than 110 million square feet of retail space.
Lieberman was directly responsible for his company's selection and implementation of the JD Edwards Enterprise One suite of applications. His other duties include executive management of all information technology resources and systems, as well as establishing corporate direction for strategic partners worldwide.
Lieberman graduated from Ramapo College in New Jersey with a degree in Accounting and is a certified public accountant. He currently resides in Hopatcong, New Jersey, with his wife, Lori. Bob and Lori have two children, Brian and Alex.
Amanda McWilliams
Director of Treasury and Credit, Alliance Beverage Distributing/Glazers
Amanda McWilliams is the director of treasury and credit with Alliance Beverage Distributing in Phoenix, Ariz. Her primary responsibility is with the company’s banking/treasury management, which includes the management of corporate charge accounts, monthly tracking & reconciliation of cash positions and asset accounts management. She trains and supports a team of seven, responsible for all collections, cash transactions, direct banking and accounting.
Prior to joining the Quest board of directors, McWilliams volunteered her time working on Quest conferences as an education committee member for the 2004 Quest West Conference and by working with local user groups at the 2004 Quest Global Conference. She has served multiple positions with the Cactus League User Group, including past President and Treasurer.
As a Quest board member, McWilliams wants to reinforce Quest's stability as a resource for all members to rely on through restructuring of JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and now Oracle. She believes that stability, combined with the versatility of Quest’s offerings, will result in the continued support every user needs and has come to expect.
Sue Shaw
Senior Staff Systems Analyst, Shell Canada Ltd.
Sue Shaw is an IT Architect at Shell Canada Ltd., where she is a CNC JD Edwards EnterpriseOne technical specialist. Shell Canada has one of the most complex JD Edwards implementations, running both EnterpriseOne and World. A long-time employee of Shell Canada, her expertise in JD Edwards has led to requests for her work in other Shell companies, such as Shell Argentina and Shell South Africa.
Shaw has been involved with Quest for quite some time. She began participating in the Technology SIG in 2001 and eventually became president. She moved on to lead the PeopleSoft Technology Product User Group. Shaw has also been involved with COLLABORATE education committees, the IOUC Support Quality council and the IOUC Product Development Committee.
Shaw's goal as a Quest board member is to promote Quest's benefits to Oracle by clearly communicating that end users have the most valuable input for the vendor, particularly for future products such as Fusion. She feels it would be beneficial for both customers and Oracle to strengthen relationships with user groups.
Executive Director
DeLaine Bender
Vice President, IMG Associations
DeLaine Bender is the executive director of Quest. A seasoned association executive, Bender is a vice president in IMG's Association Resources division (formerly Host Communications, Inc.). Bender joined HOST Communications in 1999.
As executive director of Quest, Bender is the primary liaison for the Quest Board of Directors and membership. She oversees all of Quest’s day-to-day operations and leads a staff focused on executing the Quest board's strategic vision and ultimately fulfilling the Quest mission.
Bender is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in journalism/mass communications. Bender and her husband, Rick, live in Lexington and have five children: Robert, Jenna, Jordan, Lauren and Olivia.
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