Meet The 2019 Champions For IBM i
February 6, 2019 Alex Woodie
It’s a new year, which means a new crop of champions has emerged from IBM. More than 600 souls can call themselves IBM Champions this year, but only 64 identify as IBM Champions for Power Systems. We whittled away the AIX and Linux experts to leave you with the folks who will lead the IBM i charge in 2019.
IBM does not have a specific category for IBM i Champions. Big Blue breaks out its System z leaders, along with champion categories for Data & Analytics, Cloud, Collaboration Solutions, Storage, Watson IoT, Blockchain, and Security.
For the Champion program, IBM lumps the IBM i folks in with their Linux and AIX brethren who share the Power Systems platform. Because the IBM i platform is unique and the IBM i community is, in large part, separate from AIX and Linux, IT Jungle works to figure out which of the IBM Champions for Power Systems are there because of their work on IBM i.
Here are the 12 new IBM Champions for Power Systems who are involved with the IBM i server and the IBM i community:
Larry Bolhuis
Bolhuis holds the title of Chief i-entist at Frankeni Technology Consulting in Middleville, Michigan. Bolhuis has been working on the IBM midrange platform since the early 1980s, starting with S/34.
Bastien Boudot de la Motte
Boudot de la Motte is a business unit manager for hybrid IT solutions at SCC France. He works with a variety of operating systems on Power, including IBM i and AIX.
Nathanaël Bonnet
Bonnet is an IBM i expert at Gaia, an IT consultancy based in France. Bonnet is also the president of COMMON France.
Steve Bradshaw
Bradshaw is the founder of at Rowton IT Solutions, an IBM business partner in the UK that provides IBM i software and services. Bradshaw also writes a regular feature for PowerWire.eu.
David Brault
Brault is a product marketing manager with LANSA, the Chicago, Illinois IBM i development tool maker that was just bought by Idera. Brault has been at LANSA more than 20 years.
Charles Guarino
Guarino is the president of Central Park Data, an IBM i consultancy in New York City. Guarino is an expert on Rational Developer for IBM i (RDi) and a sought-after speaker on the IBM i speaking circuit.
Josh Hall
Hall is a consultant with Seiden Group and a 2018 “Fresh Faces” member. The South Dakota resident also launched a user group called HUGi.
Michael Karasienski
Michael Karasienski is an IBM i supervisor at Carhartt, a $600-million apparel company based in Dearborn, Michigan. Karasienski was featured in an October 2017 story in IBM Systems Magazine about Carhartt’s server migration.
Niels Liisberg
Liisberg is a chief software architect at System and Method, an IBM business partner based in Hørsholm, Denmark, that works extensively with the IBM i platform.
Jesper Hemmet Omer
Omer is an IT manager with HT Bendix A/S, a Danish wholesaler of furniture and kitchen parts. He’s also the president of the national IBM i-focused user group COMMON Denmark.
Stephanie Rabbani
Rabbani is a senior consultant with Seiden Group, an IBM i consulting group based near New York City. Rabbani was named one of the “Fresh Faces” for IBM i in 2017.
Robin Tatam
Tatam is the director of security technologies for Help Systems, the IBM i software vendor based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Tatam is an IBM certified consultant and has more than 20 years of experience with the IBM i and predecessor platforms.
These new IBM Champions for Power Systems join a healthy returning class. Here are the 24 IBM Champions for Power Systems from 2018 who work primarily in the IBM i field and are IBM Champions once again in 2019:
Liam Allan, open source RPG developer via Works of Barry and an original “Fresh Faces” member from 2017
Torbjörn Appehl, founder of IBM i Competence in Stockholm, Sweden
Jim Buck, the founder of Impower Technologies in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Koen Decorte, owner of IBM i consultancy CD Invest based in Belgium
Roberto De Pedrini, is an IBM i trainer at FAQ400, an IBM i training company based in Italy.
Shrirang “Ranga” Deshpande of COMMON Europe in Belgium
Kim Greene, an IBM i Lotus Domino expert and principal at Kim Greene Consulting
Susan Gantner, a founder of PARTNER400 in Mississauga, Canada
Bartlomiej Grabowski, the IBM power principal support specialist at DHL IT Services in Prague, Czech Republic
Midori Hosomi, a manager at iGUAZU, an IBM business partner based in Japan
Tom Huntington, vice president of technical solutions for Help Systems
Scott Klement, a consultant with Profound Logic who’s based in Wisconsin
Richie Palma, IBM Power Systems Solution Consultant with iTech Solutions Group
Christian Massé, a teacher with VOLUBIS, an IBM business partner based in France
Peter Massiello, the founder of iTech Solutions Group in Danbury, Connecticut
Jon Paris, a founder of PARTNER400
Michael Pavlak, a solutions architect with Fresche Solutions who’s based in Illinois.
Trevor Perry, chief strategist at Fresche Solutions
Steven Pitcher, systems engineer at iTech Solutions Group who’s based in Nova Scotia, Canada
Kody Robinson, a developer at Arkansas Electrical Cooperative Corporation and an original member of the 2017 “Fresh Faces”
Alan Seiden, principal of Seiden Group
Paul Tuohy, author of the popular “iTalk with Tuohy” feature on IBM Systems Magazine
Laura Ubelhor, the principal at Consultech Services in Detroit, Michigan
Carol Woodbury, vice president of global security services at HelpSystems
Congratulations to all 36 IBM i Champions (technically, the IBM Champions for Power Systems, with a specialty in IBM i). You can read more about this year’s class of champions here.
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