Rocket Executive Team

Andy Youniss

President and Chief Executive Officer

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.

Andre den Haan

Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

Andre den Haan joined Rocket Software in 2007 and manages Rocket’s global information technology infrastructure. 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.

Sam Elias

Vice President and General Manager, Application Development, Integration, and Modernization Business Unit

Sam Elias joined Rocket Software in 2007 and is the leader of Rocket's Application, Development, Integration and Modernization business unit. Prior to joining Rocket, Sam spent 11 years with Seagull Software where he successfully led a global sales team as the Senior Vice President and General Manager ISV and Director of Corporate Sales in North and South America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Sam started his professional career at IBM where he spent 10 successful years as a Software Engineer, Sales Engineer, Marketing Representative, and Marketing Manager specializing in software sales. Sam holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Malone College and an M.S. in Computer Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Claudia Franco

Vice President and General Manager, Database Tools

Claudia Franco joined Rocket Software in 2012 and is the leader of Rocket’s Database Tools business area. Claudia has over 14 years of experience in IT, including leadership roles in engineering, research, management, and business operations. Prior to joining Rocket, Claudia was a senior manager at IBM in the Information Management brand of the Software Group division. Claudia holds a B.S. degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Davis.

Johan Magnusson Gedda

Director, Co-Founder

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. Johan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. degree from the Harvard Business School.

P. Gary Gregory

Vice President and General Manager, M204 Business Area

Gary Gregory joined Rocket Software in 2012 to run the M204 business area, where he oversees a product that he has been involved with for more than 40 years. He graduated with one of the first computer science degrees awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gary spent 10 years as the Chief Computer Scientist at Computer Corporation of America, which developed the Model 204 database, and was later acquired by Rocket Software. He was a charter member of the ANSI X3H2 committee, which standardized database languages. In 1984 Gary joined Progress Software and two years later founded Sirius Software, where he remained as president until joining Rocket.

Marcus Hatfield

Vice President, Corporate Development

Marcus Hatfield joined Rocket Software in 2011 and leads Rocket’s Corporate Development team. Prior to Rocket, he launched the corporate development team at Pegasystems, where he served in a leadership role for eight years. While at Pegasystems, he executed the company’s largest acquisition in history and managed a successful global, cross-functional integration effort. He also served as an advisor on corporate strategy, helping to shape corporate goals and identify and launch new business initiatives. He also managed several operational teams including helping to re-engineer the company’s sales strategy. Prior to Pegasystems, he served as a technology investment banker for emerging growth companies. Marcus holds a B.S. degree in Management Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo.

Richard Morgan

Vice President, Human Resources

Dick Morgan has worked in the human resources profession for over 25 years. Early in his career he was an initial member of the HR team at Lotus Development Corporation. From 2004 until 2013 Dick worked for Dassault Systemes, a global leader in 3D design software, first as VP HR at SolidWorks and more recently VP HR for Dassault Systemes Americas Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Tufts University.

Bob Potter

Vice President and General Manager, Business Intelligence/Analytics Business Unit

Bob Potter joined Rocket Software in 2013 and leads Rocket’s Business Intelligence/Analytics business unit. Prior to joining Rocket, Bob ran business development for QlikTech and was also co-founder and CEO of Expressor, which was acquired by QlikTech in 2012. Previously, Bob was CEO of data warehousing software company Kalido, EVP of Business Operations of IONA Technologies, and SVP of Sales and Services at Object Design. Bob has spent 33 years in the software industry with start-ups, mid-size and large public companies and serves on the board of directors at Hamilton Thorne Biosciences and Thorne Diagnostics. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Providence College and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Rhode Island.

Roy Sanford

Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer

Roy Sanford joined Rocket Software in 2012 and is responsible for the company's Sales, Marketing, Partners, and Professional Services organization. Roy was previously at Stratus Technologies as Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to Stratus, he held a number of senior executive positions during his 14-year tenure at EMC Corporation, most recently as vice president coordinating the company’s entry into the software-as-a-service (SaaS) business. His career reflects 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, product management, business development, strategic alliances, and general management, involving both hardware and software application solutions. Roy holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an MS degree in Operations Research from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS degree in Applied Mathematics from Drexel University.

Susie Siegesmund

Vice President and General Manager, U2 Business Area

Susie Siegesmund joined Rocket Software in 2009 and is the leader of Rocket’s U2 business area. Susie has a long history with both UniData and UniVerse database servers and tools (from UniData to Ardent Software to Informix to IBM) and the thousands of customers and partners worldwide that depend on UniData and UniVerse to run their businesses. With over 25 years of experience in data processing, Susie holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Denver and a B.S. degree in psychology from St. Lawrence University.

Bryan Smith

Vice President R&D and Chief Technology Officer

Bryan Smith joined Rocket Software in 2011 and manages all aspects of Rocket’s R&D organization and operations. Bryan has over 20 years of experience in software development. Prior to joining Rocket, Bryan was an IBM Distinguished Engineer in the Information Management division of the IBM Software Group, where he held various engineering, management, and customer-facing roles. He served as a division technical intellectual property lead, represented IBM on the Transaction Processing Council (TPC benchmarks), published numerous articles in information management publications, and was appointed an Association for Computing Machinery Distinguished Engineer in 2009. Bryan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from the California State University, at Pomona and Chico.

Brian Starr

Vice President and General Manager, Storage, Networks, and Compliance Business Unit

Brian Starr joined Rocket Software in 2011 and is the leader of Rocket’s Storage, Networks, and Compliance business unit. Brian also acts as Vice President, IBM Tivoli Partnership for Rocket. Prior to joining Rocket, Brian built and managed the storage software z/OS business for IBM Tivoli, and previously managed the DB2 tools business for IBM Information Management. He has managed many aspects of the IBM storage software business in the IBM Systems & Technology Group in the past. Brian holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Ohio State University.

Paul Walsh

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Paul Walsh has nearly 20 years of experience in finance and accounting. Prior to joining Rocket, he served as CFO at Silicon Laboratories; previously he held various operational, finance, controller, and management roles at PerkinElmer, Teradyne and Analog Devices. He serves on the board of directors of Nitero, an early-stage semiconductor company based in Austin, and previously served on the board of Grande Communications & Rio Holdings, a provider of cable, Internet and phone services. Walsh received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine and an MBA from Boston University.

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