Ben is a nationally recognized IS Leader (ComputerWorld Premiere 100 2011) and is the founder of TechLife Columbus – a “grassroots tribe” to build connectivity and a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Central Ohio. Ben also writes a blog chronicling the Columbus Tech community – www.techlifeohio.com. He also curator of the Columbus Startup Digest – www.startupdigest.com .

In his professional life Ben Blanquera provides strategic CIO consulting and was most recently the Vice President of Information Services for Progressive Medical, Inc . In this role  Ben was responsible for project/portfolio management, application development and business analysis. Prior to joining Progressive Medical in May 2006 Ben was the Director of the Columbus Technology Council (the predecessor of TechColumbus)  and was instrumental in leading the membership activities that led to increased retention, growth and  sustainability.

Born in the Philippines and raised in New Jersey Ben earned a bachelor’s degree  in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University and a Masters in Organizational development from Bowling Green State University. He is also PMP and six sigma certified.

Ben’s leadership roles span across both privately and publicly held firms. Ben has served as engineering manager for Manville Corporation, technical services manager for Soltech,, business engineering manager for Owens Corning, and Director at Integrex (a business incubator). He has held adjunct faculty position at Franklin University – MBA program and Keller Graduate School, and is a frequent conference speaker in the areas of leadership, project management, social media, and agile development.  In addition to his work responsibilities Ben has served on the boards of Clintonville - Beechwold community resource center, Women for Economic and Leadership Development, and has started several small businesses. He currently serves on the Advisory Council for Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and The GroundWork Group.

Ben resides in Dublin with his wife Sandy and four children Elizabeth, Emily, Allison, and Madison. In his free time Ben is an avid soccer coach/player, marathoner, and duathlon competitor. More info can be found at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/benblanquera.

Srini is an an innovative IT and business leader with a proven track record and extensive experience as a Technologist, General Manager and Consultant in the Technology, Insurance, Banking, Retail, Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical industries. He has worked on global initiatives in several countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, and India.

Srini has had a highly decorated career that includes being named an Elite 8 CIO by Insurance and Technology, one of the top 25 CTOs by Infoworld in 2004, and a top 10 leader in the Insurance Industry by TechDecisions in 2006. When he was at IBM, He was Certified as an IBM IT Architect in 1994 and as an IBM Consultant in 1996. Srini was appointed as an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 1998 and elected to the IBM Academy of Technology in 1999.

He has published articles in the IEEE IT Professional magazine and the IBM Developerworks Web site. He holds one patent and has three others that are going through the review process. He is one of the inventors of IBM’s Patterns for e-business and has written a book on this topic.

Srinivas holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Madras, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Bombay, and a master’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University.

Michael Mah Director of Cutter Consortium's Measurement & Benchmarking practice and Senior Consultant with Cutter's Business Technology Trends & Impacts, Agile Product & Project Management, and Sourcing & Vendor Relationships practices. He's also Managing Partner of QSM Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in software measurement, project estimation, and "in-flight" control for both inhouse and outsourced/offshore development. QSM has developed and maintains one of the largest databases of more than 7,500 completed projects collected worldwide, with productivity statistics and trends on cost, schedule, and quality from more than 500 organizations and 18 countries.

With more than 20 years' experience, Mr. Mah has written extensively and consulted to the world's leading software organizations while collecting data on thousands of projects. His background is in physics, electrical engineering, conflict resolution, and mediation. Mr. Mah's work examines the dynamics of teams under time pressure, and its role in contributing to success and failure. He can be reached at Michael.Mah@qsma.com.

Bart Murphy is the Vice President of Shared Services for The CareWorks Family of Companies. He has over 14 years of management & consulting experience. Prior to joining CareWorks, he was the Vice President of Delivery & Operations at Quick Solutions. Previous to consulting locally, he worked at national consulting companies Covansys (now HP) and AMS (now CGI). Throughout his career, he performed many roles including Delivery Executive, Engagement Manager, Program Manager, Project Manager, Project Lead, Business Analyst, Developer, and Test Analyst. He specializes in Agile delivery execution and management, implementing solutions on a variety of initiatives, from software implementations to business process re-engineering and organizational change. He serves on the board of the Central Ohio Agile Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of Agile practices and principles in project management, software development, quality assurance, and business analysis with an emphasis on solution delivery. Bart graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. He lives in Worthington with his wife, Beth, and two daughters, Riley and Ameila.

Pat Reed (B.S. Psychology and M.B.A.) is senior director of IT Delivery Management Services at Gap Inc. Direct with responsibilities including Agile project management, portfolio management, IT strategic planning, and release management, as well as continuing to evolve enterprise Agile adoption. Pat has a wide range of experiences in leading development and delivery in community mental health, criminal justice, criminal intelligence and entertainment, including fifteen years as Executive Director for Walt Disney Pictures and Television (including Feature Animation) and four years at Universal Studios designing and developing cutting-edge, competitive IT systems. Throughout her extensive career, Pat has leveraged Lean and Agile practices; she balances her corporate life with an active academic career as an adjunct professor and has been teaching for over 30 years at the University of Denver and Woodbury University, where she teaches an Agile development capstone course; and teaches an Agile Management course at the UC Berkeley Extension program.

From kid programmer in 1971 to Forbes cover boy in 2003, "outlier" Richard Sheridan has never shied from challenges, opportunities nor the limelight.  While his focus has always been around technology, his passion is actually process, teamwork and organizational design, with one inordinately popular goal:  the business value of joy!  Sheridan is an avid reader and historian, and his software design and development team at Menlo Innovations didn't invent a new culture, but copied an old one... Edison's Menlo Park New Jersey lab.  Some call it agile, some call it lean... Sheridan and his team call it joyful.  And it produces results... business and otherwise.  Four consecutive Inc. magazine revenue growth awards, invites to the White House, speaking engagements around the nation, numerous articles and culture awards and so much interest they are doing a tour a day of the Menlo Software Factory.

As Managing Partner of Accenture’s Central Ohio office, James Struntz leads a diverse group of professionals providing consulting, systems integration and outsourcing services to Fortune 500 organizations across the region.    He also serves as a member of Accenture’s global insurance leadership team focusing on the property and casualty segment.  In addition, James serves as one of Accenture’s global quality assurance leads, a position from which he directs the audit of large-scale systems transformation programs across Accenture’s five global operating units.

James has 25 years of experience in the IT industry, including the past 18 with Accenture, during which he has amassed significant experience working with senior executives around the globe to achieve measurable business results.  He has profound experience managing all facets of system implementation, including strategic planning and organizational change management.   Prior to joining Accenture, he held various technology services roles at Van Dyne Crotty and at Logicon Strategic and Information Systems, where he supported a variety of United States Air Force avionics programs.

Mr. Struntz is a member of the Ohio Business Roundtable, a partnership of chief executives of the state’s major businesses who are committed to working with public leaders to build a better Ohio.  He also serves on the board of the GroundWork group, a national organization focused on the utilization of technology to strengthen the ability of non-profits to achieve their missions.  He holds a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in management information systems and a master’s of business administration from the University of Dayton.