A world-renowned American author, publisher, lecturer, and IT consultant, who is the industry’s foremost expert on simplifying IT – and making it work. In a ‘technology-solves-all-problems-world’, Mr. Kern challenges industry leaders to build a competitive IT organization by re-focusing resources, rather than re-building infrastructures. His focus is on the people, organization structure and process issues, which allow organizations to maximize the ability of IT to create business value and enables the integration of IT into the business as a strategic partner.

Mr. Kern’s extensive industry background serves as the foundation for his best-selling series of books published by Prentice Hall. As executive editor of the Harris Kern Enterprise Computing Institute, he has brought together the industry’s leading minds to publish “how-to” textbooks on the critical issues the IT industry faces. The series includes titles such as: IT Production Services, IT Services, IT Organization, IT Systems Management, High Availability, CIO Wisdom, Managing IT as an Investment, among others. Mr. Kern’s career has brought him in contact with the best and brightest of the IT industry.

Mr. Kern is also an American motivational speaker, peak performance expert, and self-discipline mentor. He is the author of DISCIPLINE: Six Steps To Unleashing Your Hidden Potential and DISCIPLINE: Training The Mind To Manage Your Life Mr. Kern has designed the first Discipline Mentoring Program to help IT professionals excel in their career and their personal life.

Published Works

• IT People: Doing More with less
• IT Production Services
• Managing IT as an Investment: Partnering for Success
• IT Organization:Building A Worldclass Organization
• Building The New Enterprise:People, Processes And Technology
• Managing The New Enterprise
• Networking The New Enterprise
• Rightsizing The New Enterprise
• DISCIPLINE: Training The Mind To Manage Your Life
• DISCIPLINE: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Hidden Potential
• DISCIPLINE: Mentoring Children For Success

Robert E. (Bob) Matthews is a Senior IT Consultant for Sun Microsystems and has provided IT process, organization and staffing guidance to numerous fortune 500 companies in the finance, transportation, telecommunications, manufacturing and services industries. Bob’s background as a Senior Vice President of Information Technology, Senior Vice President Operations and General Auditor gives him a unique perspective from “both sides of the desk”. He is a co-author of IT Services: Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing, published as a part of the Harris Kern Institute series of technology books.

Published Works

• IT Services: Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking, & Marketing

Anthony F. Tardugno is currently Vice President of the ICON Service Center in Bluewater Information Convergence Inc. He has over 16 years experience in Information system technology, operations, planning, distribution,customer service systems; business process reengineering, and process/product technology.

Published Works

• IT Services: Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking, & Marketing

Mr. Lane brings more than 20 years of in-depth experience to his role at Symantec. Prior to joining Symantec, Dean was CIO at Allied-Signal, Morton Thiokol, Plantronics and Masters Institute of Technology. Additionally he has been a consultant for Ernst & Young, AT&T Global Information Systems and Gartner Group. Dean has been a company officer and line manager with P&L responsibility, managed strategic direction and infrastructure, day-to-day operational workflows, budgets ranging from $7 million to $70 million, direct reports of up to 12 managers, and 550 associates. Dean currently serves on the advisory board of Bridgestream, Inc., is a member of Executive World, the Project Management Institute, and APICS.

Published Works

• CIO Wisdom: Best Practices from Silicon Valley’s Leading IT Experts