Robert Ralston is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BSD Group. Robert executes the overall strategic vision of the company with a special emphasis on BSD’s sales and the development of its strategic partnerships. Robert’s executive leadership is responsible for BSD’s consistent growth in sales and revenue. Robert has 16 plus years of experience in the software, web development, and client-service industries. He was instrumental in building BSD Group’s strategic partnership with IBM and has helped to establish the organization as an IBM Premier Business Partner. He has held prominent executive and sales positions at ITIC, Inc.; a Denver based Software Development Company. He developed and ran the company’s professional services organization and helped get the company to a position to where it was acquired by Modis (NYSE:MPS). Post merger, Robert became the Director of Operations for Idea Integration’s Global Services Organization, where he was responsible for a $20M organization.

In addition, Robert has extensive experience working face-to-face with clients and he has a solid track record as a trusted advisor in supporting and meeting client goals. Robert is also a highly-decorated sales professional and has earned top-level sales awards while working at Spherion (NYSE: SPF) and Pro Staff Solutions.

Robert is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in Political Science.

Matt Thomas | Co-founder, Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

Matt Thomas is the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of BSD Group Inc. He is a highly motivated and enthusiastic entrepreneur who is proud to have built BSD Group from a two person office with his colleague to the leading software development IBM partner that is BSD Group Inc.

His background includes attending Colorado School of Mines, Golden Colorado with the highly regarded Boettcher Foundation, and the IBM Watson Scholarships. He obtained his MS with honors in computer information systems from Regis University with an emphasis in Object-Oriented technology. He infuses BSD Group with whole-hearted dedication to clients’ needs and a deep understanding and drive to deliver excellence in IT governance, load testing, tuning, root cause analysis, OO/AD, ITIL, CCMI, and Rational Unified Process driven project management.

Kurt Shymanski | Vice President of Product Solutions

Kurt Shymanski is the Vice President of product solutions for the BSD Group. In this role, he is responsible for service delivery, technical direction, and the company’s product development strategy. Kurt is a highly experienced software and systems architect who has performed and led nearly every role in the design and development process of an IT project. He has 10 years of experience with consulting, management, and working with packaged product development. Prior to joining the BSD Group team, Kurt worked with Hitachi Consulting managing the development of custom and complex solutions for several Fortune 500 aerospace, communications, and energy companies. He also developed his project management expertise designing custom Web solutions as a senior consultant at Xpedior. Kurt holds a degree from Missouri State and a Masters from the University of Colorado.

Mills Ripley | Vice President of Business Development

Mills Ripley is the VP of business development for BSD Group, leading the organization’s management team in the development and implementation of sales and partner strategies across all channels. Prior to joining BSD, Mills was a leading force in the sales divisions of several premier software companies, including Appistry, Inc. and the IBM Software Group. At IBM, Mills was a technical sales manager for the company’s Rational software brand. At Rational, he served in both technical and management positions, until their acquisition by IBM in 2003. Mills has more than 20 years of experience in IT management and software and application development with prominent positions at Xerox, Perot Systems, and Digital Equipment Corporation. Mills applies his extensive technical and management knowledge to help clients evaluate the scope of their projects to meet goals for time and budget. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Regis University.

Eli Shuster | Director of SCM Services

Eli Shuster is the Director of SCM Services for the BSD Group.  In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of Software Configuration Management services within BSD.  His industry experience includes more than 10 solid years of configuration management coupled with the IBM Rational product brand, as well as software development experience on multiple platforms.  Mr. Shuster has gained the respect of the clients that he has managed as well as key individuals within the IBM Rational product group.  He is well known for his in-depth knowledge of the IBM Rational product brand, as well as his flexibility to understand small and large clients alike.  During his time at the BSD group, Eli has provided guidance to BSD and its clients in the communication, energy, film, health, government, public, and private sectors. Prior to joining the BSD Group team, Eli worked as an independent senior level configuration manager for multiple fortune 500 companies as well as multiple IBM sponsored projects.   He holds a Bachelors of Computer Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a minor in Mathematics and Bio Chemistry.

Jennifer Lyons | Recruiting Manager

Jennifer Lyons is the recruiting manager for BSD Group. In this position she manages and directs the recruiting process to ensure exceptional customer service, timeliness, and quality. She has developed the recruiting team process in the areas of effective sourcing, interviewing, and assessing candidate skills. She partners with the sales team to identify clients’ personnel resource needs for various projects. Taking into account a client’s project dimensions and requirements such as time and budget, she skillfully matches BSD Group employees according to each candidate’s vertical industry experience, technology skill set, certifications, and more.

Prior to her position at BSD, Jennifer was a Quality Assurance (QA) software engineer for a successful telecom company. There Jennifer created test plans, tracked product defects, and coordinated with multiple engineering groups. Ultimately she developed a technical and business-level understanding of software development, which she applies everyday when working with multiple BSD Group client requests. Jennifer has also worked in social services, helping to protect children and investigate potential family issues in homes. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services and an Associate degree in Computer Science.