Andy Youniss co-founded Rocket Software in 1990 and continues to be the company's main driving force. Andy successfully established and actively manages Rocket's largest OEM partnerships and is guiding the company's growth through technology investments, acquisitions, new product lines, and strategic partnerships. Prior to founding Rocket Software, Andy was the development manager for DB View Inc., a software company specializing in DB2 database tools. Previously, he was a programmer/analyst at American Management Systems, and was also a project development consultant. Andy holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Johan Magnusson Gedda co-founded Rocket Software and is actively involved in the company's financial management and business strategy. In addition to his involvement with Rocket, Johan was a partner with the Vitol Group of Companies, a privately held Swiss trading partnership. Prior to Vitol, Johan held a number of management positions in the software industry, including serving as President of Roadshow International Inc., a $12 million supply chain management company. He also served in the role of division and country manager for Systems Center Inc., a $130 million provider of systems software and services. Prior to joining Systems Center, Johan was Chief Operating Officer of DB View Inc., a provider of DB2 tools that he helped build and sell to Systems Center. Johan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Matt Kelley joined Rocket Software shortly after its founding in 1990. Matt plays a key role in software development for Rocket's business intelligence products. Prior to Rocket, Matt worked in software development for Bolt, Beranek and Newman, a network software company. Between March and December of 2000, he was Vice President, Research and Development for Peritus Software Services. Matt returned to Rocket in January 2001. Matt holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Troy Heindel joined Rocket in April 2002. Troy came to Rocket Software with a wealth of experience fostering growth in technology companies. He began his career at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as a Space Shuttle flight controller. Prior to joining Rocket, he was CIO for Regus Business Centre, a global $1 billion real estate and technology services business. Prior to Regus, he was CIO and Vice President of Support Services for Gensym Corporation. Troy also served as CIO and Vice President of Technical Operations for Agillion, an application service provider. Troy holds a B.S. in Computational and Applied Mathematics from the University of Connecticut and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Houston.
Brian Agle joined Rocket in February 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Rocket, he was Senior Vice President and CFO for Activant Solutions Inc., a $400 million software company. Brian also served as Vice President and CFO for Global Field Operations at Novell Inc., and was a member of the worldwide management team. During his tenure with Novell he was responsible for a $1 billion global business and headed up financial organizations in North America and Asia. Prior to joining Novell, he began his career with Ernst & Young. Brian holds B.S. and MAcc degrees from Brigham Young University.
Andre den Haan joined Rocket in May 2007. Andre has more than 18 years of experience in the IT market, including software development, project implementation and product management. Prior to joining Rocket, he was a member of the original group of employees that established Seagull Software in 1990. As Seagull Software's Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, Andre developed strategic product plans, established detailed product specifications, and managed the delivery of products to market. Prior to establishing Seagull Software, he was a senior technologist for Holland Automation International. Andre holds a B.I.T. degree from the Haagse Hogeschool in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Ron Bleakney joined Rocket in January of 2009. Ron has a proven track record in the high technology and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining our company, Ron was General Manager, America for Radvision (NASDAQ:RVSN), a provider of hardware and software solutions for unified video and voice applications over IP and 3G networks. From December 2002 until December 2005, Ron served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Brooktrout Technology where he managed OEM, service provider and channel enterprise activities. Prior thereto and from 1999, Ron served as President of Surf Communications Solutions, Inc., where he established the company"s presence in the North American market. Prior thereto, he spent nine years at NMS Communications, Inc., where he held senior level sales and marketing positions. Ron holds a BSBA degree and an MBA degree, both from Boston College.
Keith McInish joined Rocket in May 2007. Keith has 28 years' experience in IT, with over 13 years’ experience leading professional services organizations within the software industry. Prior to joining Rocket, Keith served as Vice President of Professional Services for Seagull Software, Americas and Asia-Pacific. In previous roles, Keith served as the Vice President and Site Director for Exodus Communications, Vice President of Sales and Chief Quality Officer at Xcelerate Corporation and as Vice President of Professional Services at Synon Corporation. He has a demonstrated track record of building successful organizations through recruiting and developing top talent, focusing on service delivery and quality, partnering with the sales organization and relentlessly focusing on profitability.
Simon Caddick joined Rocket in October 2009. Simon has worked in the IT field for 25 years, and has worked with U2 technology for 18 years. After various roles in technology in the UK in both the private and public sectors, in 1997 Simon crossed the Atlantic and joined UniData, Inc. (based in Denver, Colorado). Prior to joining Rocket, Simon served as the Senior Manager of Worldwide Technical Support for U2 products with IBM for nine years. Simon graduated from the University of Manchester in the UK and did graduate studies in Computation at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
Karen joined Rocket in December of 2006. She brings to the management team over 20 years of extensive domestic and international HR expertise gained through her experiences at companies such as Teradyne, Zoom Technologies and Shooshanian Engineering Associates. Her knowledge base of employee relations, performance management, policy development, benefits, compensation, staffing/recruiting, training, acquisition integration, and compliance are critical to the exponential demands of Rocket's global workforce of over 700 employees. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Emmanuel College of Boston, Massachusetts.
Peter joined Rocket Software in December of 2003. He manages Rocket's legal department whose responsibilities include contracts, corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation, and mergers & acquisitions. He previously worked for three years in the legal department at Wind River Systems (acquired by Intel Corporation in 2009). Peter holds a joint B.A. in Rhetoric and in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from the McGill University Faculty of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a member of the American Bar Association.
Mike Beasley is an advisor to Rocket Software. Mike is currently CEO of Legenta Inc. Mike joined IBM in 1971 where his career centered on software and hardware engineering management. Among his many professional achievements, Mike initiated the formation of Icing Software (an independent business unit of IBM) in 1992, of which he was appointed Chief Operating Officer. Mike is also active in education, and for eleven years was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program serving 60,000 California youth. Mike holds an S.M. in Management Technology from the MIT Sloan School, and a B.S. in Data Processing Technology from Weber State University.
