Lindsay Chason
Events Committee Chair
Transportation Planning & Solutions - The Home Depot
BS Mgt 2005 - Georgia Tech
events@gtbn.org
Lindsay Chason leads a number of projects for the Transportation Planning & Solutions team at company headquarters for The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States. Ms. Chason is responsible for investigating areas of opportunity for The Home Depot’s supply chain and its direct to customer transportation initiatives. Most recently Ms. Chason led discovery and development efforts to implement online, real-time order tracking for special orders, appliance deliveries, and store-to-customer deliveries. These solutions were implemented in more than 1,900 stores across the United States and continue to provide valuable information to Home Depot customers, associates, and corporate partners alike.
Prior to her time at The Home Depot, Ms. Chason worked for the United States Department of State, the Economic Development Institute at Georgia Tech, Limited Brands, and Recall Corporation. Her knowledge and experience stretches from retail operations, to information management, to trade negations and beyond. Recruited to the Institute as a President’s Scholar, Ms. Chason received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Georgia Tech, with a minor in Spanish, and a certificate in Language for Business and Technology. Ms. Chason enjoys staying active in the Atlanta community through the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, KaBoom!, Habitat for Humanity, and The Home Depot Women’s Link.
Mark Josephson
Associate General Manager - ISP Sports
BA 1997 - Lenoir-Rhyne College
MA 1998 - Northwestern State
Mark has over five years tenure with ISP Sports selling corporate sponsorships in athletics. He attended college to educate himself specifically about sports administration in order to pursue it as a career. Mark helped to start the ISP partnership at the University of Houston in May of 2002 with a total of 15 corporate partners. Upon his promotion to Georgia Tech in July of 2006, ISP Sports grew our corporate partnership base to over 75 companies. In 2004 he was recognized as ISP Sports’ President’s Cup winner, the highest award ISP has to recognize its best salesperson.
Michelle (Swindell) Berryman
Principal, CEO - Echo Visualization, LLC
BSID 1993 - Georgia Tech
MS 2000 - Georgia Tech
Michelle Berryman is an award-winning designer and a founding Principal in the firm, Echo Visualization, LLC (EchoViz) in Atlanta, Georgia. Her design portfolio includes exhibits, events, interiors, consumer products and user interfaces for software, consumer, medical and industrial products. She has an extensive background in user experience. Michelle has worked with clients like Cooper Lighting, Philips, Sunbeam, Milliken, Hamilton-Beach, McKesson, Medtronic, Nike, Siemens and OPW to extend their brand and build meaningful customer experiences. Michelle has been very active with the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) since 1993. She currently serves as President of the national organization. Michelle also maintains memberships in SIGCHI and UPA. In 2005, Michelle was named one of the “10 Innovators You Should Know” by Deep magazine in the March/April “Southern by Design Issue”. In 2006, Michelle was a nominee in the Small/Medium Enterprise category for the “Woman of the Year in Technology” award given by the Women in Technology (WIT) Atlanta chapter. Michelle has been a juror for several prestigious design competitions including the IDSA/Businessweek International Design Excellence Awards, The Taiwan Design Center’s prestigious Taiwan International Design Competition, The Marksman Design Award in the Netherlands and The Microsoft Next-Gen Design Competition. Additionally, Michelle has been a featured speaker at several conferences including the IDSA National Conference, the IDSA National Education Conference, the International Home and Housewares Show, the Taiwan International Design Forum and the Design Connections Conference at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Ryan Lahm
Membership Committee Chair
Sales Analyst - Hewitt Associates
BS ISyE 2002 - Georgia Tech
membership@gtbn.org
Ryan Lahm has worked at for Hewitt Associates, a human resource consulting and outsourcing firm, for over six years. In his current position of Sales Analyst in the Consulting Sales and Accounts group, Ryan focuses on facilitating the sales process by developing and providing business analytics as well as researching and profiling current and potential clients. Prior to that, he served as a Quality Assurance Analyst and Set-Up Configuration Analyst, delivering Hewitt’s outsourced benefits solution.
A Georgia Tech grad, Ryan earned a degree in Industrial Engineering in 2002. While at Tech, he joined the FASET Orientation Program, was an Orientation Leader and sat on the FASET Cabinet. In addition, he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity (LCA) and served as Assistant Recruitment Chair for two years and as Recruitment Chairman for a year.
Since graduation, Ryan has continued his involvement on campus. During his three years (2005 – 2008) as Chapter Advisor for LCA, he helped to expand leadership initiatives within the chapter, boosted the chapter’s membership and assisted with general chapter management. Ryan has been a member of the LCA House Corporation since 2005 and is currently serving as Secretary, overseeing the management of the chapter’s facilities.
In his spare time, Ryan enjoys playing golf, tennis, ultimate frisbee and watching movies.
Adam Tichelaar
Technology Committee Chair
NPD Strategies
BS CompE 2000 - Georgia Tech
MBA 2006 - Georgia Tech
technology@gtbn.org
Adam Tichelaar is an avid entrepreneur and technology enthusiast. He currently owns and operates NPD Strategies focusing on new product development for early stage technology start-ups. He has served as the Technology Director for PH2 Solutions, a small software start-up that delivers emissions-related diagnostic and vehicle readiness solutions to the automobile industry. Prior to PH2 Solutions, Mr. Tichelaar worked as a Research Engineer with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) where he helped develop hardware and software solutions to enhance aircraft survivability in military warfare environments. In addition, Mr. Tichelaar worked as a software consultant for McCall Technology, helping develop an enterprise wide document management system for use in medical facilities.
Adam received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech in May of 2000 and after several years in the software consulting industry returned to Georgia Tech as a research faculty member with GTRI. Shortly thereafter he enrolled in the Georgia Tech College of Management graduate program and served as the Vice-President of the Graduate Women in Business, the Social Chair of the Graduate Students in Management, and the Chair of the Faculty Liaison Committee. Mr. Tichelaar received his Masters of Business Administration from Georgia Tech in 2006 specializing in product development, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Adam currently lives in Inman Park and is an avid soccer enthusiast. He can be found playing soccer during his weekday lunch breaks at the Georgia Tech intramural fields with fellow alumni, faculty, and students or watching English Premier League games at the Brewhouse in Little Five Points on weekends.
Jennifer Toeppner
Sales and Business Consulting
IE - State University of New York - Buffalo
MS MOT 1999 - Georgia Tech
Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Ms. Toeppner obtained her Industrial Engineering degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. As a Sales Engineer in Upstate NY, Toeppner sold material handling equipment to various manufacturing and Fortune 100 companies. There, she saw everything from consumer goods to electronics to pharmaceuticals produced. She was hired by one of her customers to manage three automotive production lines at ITT Automotive in Rochester, NY in a union shop environment.
In July of 1996, Toeppner relocated to Atlanta to work for Lucent Technologies. There, she managed multi-million dollar manufacturing expansion projects and served as a subject matter expert in material handling. As Sales Manager, Toeppner was responsible for the company’s largest customer and 50 % of the company’s fiber-optic apparatus sales. While at Lucent, Toeppner completed her Master of Science in Management of Technology through Georgia Tech’s Executive program.
After the birth of her daughter in 2002, Toeppner switched gears and joined up with Impact Media Solutions, a startup company founded by a fellow Tech grad. As Vice President of Partnership Development, she helped the company grow its customer base over 400% and expand into 4 new markets. Toeppner remains a minority owner and advisor of Impact Media.
Most recently, Toeppner was responsible for over $100M in sales as Western Regional Sales Manager at Southwire Company, headquartered in Carrollton, GA.
Mary Beth Lake
Associate Broker, GRI - Harry Norman, Realtors.
ID 2004 - Georgia Tech
Mary Beth Lake graduated from Georgia Tech in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design. With her business and marketing skills in mind, she made the decision to become a Realtor shortly after graduation and has not looked back, even during these current turbulent times. Helping people realize their real estate goals has become her passion. In 2005 she was named Harry Norman Realtor's Northwest Buckhead Office Rookie of the Year. She has consistently been a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors' Million Dollar Club and is a founding member of Harry Norman Realtor's Young Realtor's Council. She completed her GRI designation in July of 2008, was named 'Realtor on the Rise' by Real Estate Magazine this past August and closed the year by obtaining her Associate Broker License in December. Currently Mary Beth leads the Harry Norman, Realtors Senior Marketing Consultant Executive Council and is a Georgia Association of Realtors State Director representing the Atlanta Board of Realtors. Eighty percent of Mary Beth's clients to date have been first-time home buyers or sellers and nearly 70% of Mary Beth's business is related to personal relationships formed at Georgia Tech and her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega.
Carl M. Davis, III
Shareholder - Baker Donelson
BIE 1976 - Georgia Tech
JD - 1983 - Emory University
Carl worked his way through Georgia Tech as a co-op student and practiced as an engineer computer programmer with a Southeast utility engineering firm. In 1980, Carl entered Emory School of Law and continued to work as an engineer. After graduation in 1983, he joined Arnold, White & Durkee in Houston , Texas before returning to Atlanta in 1987. His law practice focuses on intellectual property law (patent s , trademarks , copyrights , and trade secrets ), including evaluation of inventions, preparation of patent applications directed to inventions, clearing and registering trademarks , and litigation involving patents and trademarks. In 2000, Carl’s firm merged with Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, where he continues to practice intellectual property law.
Michael Ramsey
Consultant - Accenture
MGT 2005 - Georgia Tech
Mike Ramsey has been a consultant within Accenture's Communications practice since the beginning of 2006. Mike specializes in deployment strategy for new products, processes, and applications being launched by cable and telecommunication companies. His work has sent him to client locations in eighteen states for on site training and deployment related activities. Mike graduated from Georgia Tech in the Fall of 2005 with a Management degree and certificate in Finance. His campus activities included participation in a social fraternity and serving as a host within the "Connect with Tech" program. Outside of the Georgia Tech Business Network, he is also a member of the Junior Committee for the Shepherd Center's annual Derby Day benefit event. Mike's hobbies include backpacking, outdoor sports, and finding excuses for tailgating prior to almost any type of sporting event.
Emeritus Board Members and Past Presidents
Heather Shankwiler
2008 Past President
Product Manager: Healthcare, Life Sciences & Public Sector - Engage, Inc.
BA 1994 - Emory University
MSM/MBA 1999 - Georgia Tech
Heather Shankwiler is currently the Product Manager (Healthcare, Life Sciences & Public Sector) for Engage, Incorporated, a managed services and software development company. Prior to her start with Engage, she worked with RelayHealth as a Sr. Project Manager and as the Southeast Director for a software development and media asset management company in the broadcast and entertainment space. She is currently a full faculty member of University of Phoenix teaching undergraduate and graduate business courses in eBusiness, Project Management, Organizational Behavior and Marketing. In her spare time, she aids start-up companies with developing process, organizational and market plans.
Heather spent a number of years honing her skills in the consulting world with Ernst & Young, Deloitte Consulting and her own consulting firm shortly after completing her MBA. Her projects focused on areas such as healthcare, supply chain and financial services sectors, project management, execution, strategy and operations. She also has extensive experience with crisis management/emergency response, computer training and delivery, and entrepreneurial ventures.
Ms. Shankwiler earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Spanish at Emory University and completed her Masters of Science in Management/MBA at the College of Management at Georgia Tech. Ms. Shankwiler, her husband, Kevin (College of Architecture, Industrial Design Program - Visiting Professor; Advanced Wood Products Lab joint appointment), and son currently reside in West Atlanta.
Alec Sedki
Attorney - Pankey & Horlock, LLC
BS Civil Engineering 1998 - Georgia Tech
JD (UGA 2002)
Alec Sedki is a partner with the firm of Pankey & Horlock, LLC and has been practicing civil litigation in Atlanta since 2002. With a focus on general business litigation, he handles cases which include mortgage fraud, lender financing disputes, construction and contractual disputes and has significant experience with real estate based issues, such as quiet title actions. His clients have a global reach and are faced with legal issues in many states. He has successfully represented those clients before state and federal courts across the country.
Mr. Sedki is involved in the community by volunteering his time with local charities and organizations. A native of Atlanta , Mr. Sedki is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. He received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.
Drew Bolton
Director of Investments - New Technology Partners, LLC
IE 1999 - Georgia Tech
MBA 2006 - University of Texas - Austin
Drew is responsible for sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities for New Technology Partners, LLC, an Atlanta-based private equity group. NTP makes equity investments of $1-10 million in profitable southeastern-based companies. Rather than focus on specific industries, NTP seeks characteristics that include product-based revenues of $5-30 million, $1-3 million EBITDA, and defensible market positions – often represented by proprietary characteristics. NTP will invest in traditional “old economy” or tangible technology (e.g. no software or Internet) businesses.
Earlier in his career, Drew was a consulting manager for Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ: MANH), a world-wide leader in supply-chain solutions. Drew’s Manhattan experience included domestic and international sales support, design, project management, training, and implementation of warehouse management systems for companies ranging in size from $50 million to $32 billion in revenue. He worked across a variety of industries including apparel, pharmaceutical, third-party logistics, consumer packaged goods, retail, and industrial manufacturing.
Drew is a third-generation Yellow Jacket and one of 10 family members to have graduated from Georgia Tech. In addition to holding a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Tech, Drew has an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Drew is the co-president of his alumni class and serves on the MBA Alumni Advisory Board for the McCombs School of Business. Drew’s hobbies include exercise, adventure travel, photography, camping, sailing, SCUBA diving, and maintaining Spanish fluency.
Weslee Knapp
President and Owner - Keller Knapp, Inc.
ISyE 1998 - Georgia Tech
Weslee is the owner of Keller Knapp, a full service real estate brokerage. Additionally, he works on small developments and manages strip centers through the urban areas of Metro Atlanta. His last 7 years have been focused on growing a successful brokerage and managing development projects with a goal of revitalizing urban areas, creating higher density housing, and increasing streetscape. Investment projects have included commercial, residential, rental and raw land properties throughout Atlanta . Weslee is also a LEAD Atlanta graduate, Honorary Board member of the Special Olympics, and he currently is running for Atlanta City Council Post 2 At Large.
For more information or if you are interested in applying to become a GTBN Board Member, please contact John Hightower at president@gtbn.org.
