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.
Brian Agle
Chief Financial Officer
Brian Agle joined Rocket Software in 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.
Ron Bleakney
Vice President, Worldwide Sales
Ron Bleakney joined Rocket Software in 2009 and manages worldwide direct and ISV sales. Ron has a proven track record in the high technology and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining Rocket, Ron was General Manager, Americas, for Radvision, a provider of hardware and software solutions for unified video and voice applications over IP and 3G networks. Ron previously served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Brooktrout Technology where he managed OEM, service provider, and channel enterprise activities. Ron has also held senior management positions Surf Communications Solutions and NMS Communications. Ron holds a BSBA degree and an M.B.A. degree, both from Boston College.
Ari Buchler
Vice President and General Counsel
Ari Buchler joined Rocket Software in 2012 and leads Rocket’s legal and compliance team. Prior to Rocket, he worked as an advisor to emerging companies in the healthcare technology and IT industries. From 1999 until 2010, Ari was a member of the executive team of Phase Forward, most recently serving as SVP, Legal and Regulatory Services. He helped lead the company from a venture-backed startup to a publicly traded industry leader with over $210 million in revenue and more than 900 employees in 8 countries until its sale to Oracle Corporation in 2010. Prior to Phase Forward, Ari worked in the legal department of Cahners Business Information (now Reed Business Information) and at Skadden Arps LLP focusing on M&A and corporate finance. Ari holds a law degree from Columbia University School of Law and a BA degree from Hunter College.
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.
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.
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.
Matt Kelley
Vice President and General Manager, M204 Business Area
Matt Kelley joined Rocket Software shortly after its founding in 1990 and is the leader of Rocket’s M204 business area. Prior to Rocket, Matt worked in software development at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, a network software company. Between March and December 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.
Karen Player
Vice President, Human Resources
Karen Player joined Rocket Software in 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 of employee relations, performance management, policy development, benefits, compensation, staffing/recruiting, training, acquisition integration, and compliance is critical to the exponential demands of Rocket's global workforce of over 900 employees. Karen holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts.
Peter Richardson
Vice President and General Manager, Business Intelligence and Analytics Business Unit
Peter Richardson joined Rocket Software in 2000 and is the leader of Rocket’s Business Intelligence and Analytics business unit. Prior to joining Rocket, he served as the Director of Engineering at SystemSoft where he co-invented a self-healing technology that was widely shipped by PC OEMs before its acquisition by Microsoft in early 2000. Peter also has worked as a software consultant, playing a lead role in the development and deployment of enterprise software in the banking and retailing industries. Peter is a former Naval Officer and holds a B.S. degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Naval Engineering College in Plymouth, England, and an M.B.A. degree in Finance from Boston College.
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.
