Keynotes

Insight, Perspectives and Strategies for Understanding, Employing and
Educating the Next Generation
Eric Chester
Founder & President
Generation Why

Ready or not, here comes Generation Why: 68 million Americans born between 1980 and 1994. With over 40 million 16-24 year olds currently employed, the future clearly belongs to those healthcare companies and organizations that understand and can connect with Generation Why. They do not see things like you do, and they cannot be recruited, trained, managed, and motivated using the same strategies and methods. This exciting and revealing presentation will give you an in-depth look at Generation Why and help you understand what they value and how they approach the workplace. You'll then learn specific strategies for working with Generation Why, giving you a decided advantage over your competitors.

About Eric Chester
Since 1986, Eric Chester has been speaking to, and working with Generation Why youth. He has personally addressed more than two million teenagers, co-authored nine books for teens, and is dialed-in to the mindset of this burgeoning generation. He frequently appears on national media (Good Morning America, MSNBC, FoxNews, CNN, ABC News 20/20, etc.) and has been interviewed by major publications (Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Workforce Magazine) to provide insight and perspective to business leaders and concerned adults. Eric is the founder & President of Generation Why, Inc., a training and consulting firm helping leading companies and organizations recruit, train, manage, motivate, and retain the very best of this new generation. His client list includes McDonald’s, Applebee’s, Dairy Queen, Harley-Davidson, Universal Studios Theme Parks, Wells Fargo, and Toys-R-Us. He is the author of two highly acclaimed business books: EMPLOYING GENERATION WHY - Understanding, Managing, and Motivating Your New Workforce (Tucker House Books, 2002) and GETTING THEM TO GIVE A DAMN – How to Get Your Front Line to Care About Your Bottom Line” (Dearborn 2005).

 

Moving from Break/Fix to Breakthrough Customer Success
Denise Rundle
General Manager, Global Consumer Support
Microsoft

How does Microsoft support hundreds of consumer products and millions of customers while keeping corporate accountants happy at the same time? Denise Rundle, General Manager of Microsoft’s Global Consumer Support, shares real-life examples of the sometimes absurd requirements of consumer support. Learn the details of how Microsoft ramps up support for planned—and sometimes unplanned—events such as product launches (like Halo3 and Vista), and for holiday spikes each year. Denise also shares her vision of the future of consumer support.

About Denise Rundle
Denise Rundle is general manager of the Global Consumer Support organization within Microsoft’s Services Division. She is responsible for supporting worldwide consumers who use Microsoft’s online services (MSN, WindowsLive, OfficeLive, adCenter), entertainment and devices (Xbox, Zune, and specialized applications and devices), Office, Windows Client, and PC Health products and services. Denise leads the global consumer support strategy for all Microsoft products through the Consumer Support Business Leadership Team. She has a passion for helping Microsoft’s consumer customers be successful with Microsoft products and for using the voice of the customer to drive product improvement. Since joining Microsoft in 1990, Denise has managed the PSS Online Support business, the community strategy, and several different service delivery organizations. Before joining Microsoft, she worked in a consulting firm helping to deploy support solutions built with Microsoft products. Denise has an undergraduate degree in speech communications, journalism, and public relations and is a mean poker player.

 

End-to-End Solution Operations for Reliable Application Support
Andreas Graesser
Vice President, Active Global Support
SAP America

Your IT support organization must manage complex solutions with efficiency and high quality while controlling the cost of operations. Optimizing operations requires implementing standardized solution operations and gaining skills in technical core competencies, such as root-cause analysis, change control and management, business process integration and automation, and technical upgrade management. Learn how the Run SAP methodology can help you optimize operations by supporting these tasks and skills. This presentation details aspects of the methodology such as SAP standards for solution operations, best practices, training programs, and the technical integration components. Hear about proven techniques for using the Run SAP methodology to manage your solution operations end-to-end and lower your total cost of operations.

About Andreas Graesser
Andreas Graesser is vice president of SAP Active Global Support and global program lead of SAP End-to-End Solution Operations. Andreas joined SAP and its Service and Support Organization in 1996. Based in Germany for the first 4 years, Andreas moved to the United States in 2000, building and leading the Active Global Support organization in the Americas for a few years. Later he established and delivered global programs and services such as the IT Strategy Service and the Engineering Architect Program. In this capacity, he served many of SAP’s Global Alliance accounts in the Americas and Europe.

 

Achieving Service Excellence
Mary Cay Kosten
Senior Vice President, Global Customer Services
Sun Microsystems

In this session, Mary Cay provides valuable insight into the journey Sun undertook to achieve the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Service and Support (CTSS) award for an outstanding customer service experience and certification of Excellence in Service Operations from the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA). Hear the inside story of how Sun conducted its year-long journey and what was learned along the way.

About Mary Cay Kosten
Mary Cay Kosten leads the Sun Microsystems Global Customer Services organization, which is responsible for providing services to Sun customers and employees in over 160 countries worldwide. Prior to her current role, Mary Cay was vice president of Customer Services Americas, where she oversaw service delivery in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Mary Cay has held a series of leadership positions in services since joining Sun in 1995. She is a 2006 recipient of the prestigious Silicon Valley YWCA Tribute to Women (TWIN) award and holds a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. She lives in Colorado.

 

2008 Support Technology Trends: Profiles of Innovation
John Ragsdale
VP Research
SSPA

Technical support operations rely heavily on technology to streamline processes and cut costs, and SSPA member adoption of CRM, multi-channel support, remote support tools, knowledgebases, and other tools are very high. In this session, hear from the SSPA’s vice president of research, John Ragsdale, what the SSPA member technology spending trends are for 2008 and what application areas are seeing the highest levels of interest and adoption. Also, Ragsdale will present the Spring 2008 Recognized Innovator Awards for innovation in root cause analysis, Voice of the Customer, and application usability.

About John Ragsdale
John Ragsdale is vice president of research for the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA), where he is responsible for driving the association’s highly regarded content and research agenda, delivering insightful, thought-leadership research and analysis on the most pressing business issues facing technology services leaders. John has an extensive understanding of the technology and vendor landscape for IT services. He leverages those insights to help guide SSPA members in making informed technology, business and investment decisions. Prior to joining the SSPA, John was Vice President and research Director for Forrester Research.

 

SSPA Industry Update
Stephen Smith
Executive Director
SSPA

During the opening keynote, attendees will hear from SSPA Executive Director Stephen Smith about the latest support industry trends and how they are affecting SSPA members.   Stephen will also share important updates on SSPA member programs and best practices for how companies can leverage SSPA and its extensive resources to drive improvements in support operations and the end customer experience.

About Stephen Smith
Steve Smith has championed innovation and change throughout an impressive 17-year career spanning several industries. Most recently, Smith is credited for leading IBM’s On Demand Business Transformation strategy globally for 30,000+ Business Consulting Services employees. During his time at IBM, Smith also developed and launched their Component Business Model offering to global customers, and led services strategy for IBM’s Business Performance Transformation Services—IBM’s strategic initiative to move into high-value, high-growth areas.

Previously, Smith gained accolades for leading the successful operational transformation for the customer care operations of one of the largest telecommunications providers in North America. In addition, Smith had the opportunity to demonstrate leadership not only in diverse industries and billion-dollar corporations, but in small and medium-sized companies as well. Smith helped build one of the largest independent Lotus Notes consulting and software businesses which was later sold to Ernst & Young, and continuing along the entrepreneurial track, Smith co-founded and acted as the COO of Encadia, which was sold to Mainspring, and later, to IBM.

Smith holds the position of SSPA’s Executive Director to further develop SSPA’s unique vision for the future of support, and build the vital resources and networks that will help members transform the support industry.

Smith, a Wharton MBA, lives in Westlake Village, Ca with his wife and 2 children.

Joint Closing Session
Thomas Lah
Executive Director
TPSA

Thomas Lah and Stephen Smith will be discussing the latest research in services convergence in the technology industry.  The presentation will cover the latest insights into organizational reporting structures and the convergence happening across professional services, technology support, field services, education and managed services.  

About Thomas Lah
Thomas Lah co-founded and currently serves as the Executive Director for the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA).

Since 1996, Thomas Lah has helped a broad range of companies establish or improve their professional services organizations. Prior to TPSA, as founder and principal of Thomas Lah, Ltd. he became known worldwide for his incisive analysis, strategic thinking, and creative solutions. His recent books include Mastering Professional Services (Professional Services Press, 2005), and Building Professional Services: The Sirens' Song (Prentice Hall, 2002). Mastering Professional Services (Professional Services Press, 2005), is the first complete guide to designing a viable services strategy that complements a broader company portfolio. Building Professional Services: The Sirens' Song (Prentice Hall, 2002), has been adopted by technology companies throughout the world, including China’s Lenovo, which acquired IBM’s PC business in early 2005.

In 2004, he was invited to Zhejiang University in China to lecture on the topic of building professional services. In his earlier career, he was Director of Solutions Engineering at Silicon Graphics. Previously, he worked with several other companies in related roles, including Director of Solutions Engineering, Business Development Director, Regional Sales Director, and Senior I/T Development Manager.

He received an undergraduate degree in Information Systems and holds an MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.