Speakers

(This page will be updated periodically with new speakers.)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jeff Havens
Founder & President, The Jeff Havens Company
Jeff Havens is not your typical business growth expert. His uncanny ability to provide actionable answers to today’s business challenges in an undeniably entertaining and impactful way has put him in front of over 1,000 eager audiences across North America and Asia. Delivering well-researched and relevant business insight is something a lot of keynote speakers do, but combining that with the entertainment value of a comedy show is not. Engaging, charismatic, and full of energy, Jeff Havens is the only business growth expert who provides serious solutions in a seriously funny way.
But even more than that, Jeff makes things easy. All of us are constantly being asked to do more with less, so the last thing you need is someone to tell you how difficult your challenges are. Jeff has a unique ability to simplify seemingly complex problems in a way that will provide you with a fresh perspective, one that runs counter to the conventional wisdom of the business world. He’ll show you that we’re not actually creating a completely new type of person every 15 years, that being innovative is not something only a few special people know how to do, and that both exceptional leadership and exceptional customer experiences are built on surprisingly slender foundations. You will leave Jeff’s keynote refreshed, relaxed, happy, and more confident than ever that you are prepared for the road ahead.
INSPIRE PRESENTERS

Hunter Allen

CEO & Founder, Cervion Systems

Hunter Allen is the Founder & CEO of Cervion Systems, a POS reseller with offices in New York, Philadelphia, and Southeast Florida. Hunter is as excited today about the innovation and change in our industry as he was when he started his business 22 years ago. Through the years, Hunter has experienced several different economic & business cycles, had the honor of earning an Inc. 500 Award (#223), and the privilege of many industry, vendor, and customer recognitions. Today his business, Cervion Systems, is a pioneer of the As A Service model, expanding into new territories and new products, and looking forward to the future. The RSPA has been an invaluable resource that has directly benefited the growth and success of Hunter's business. He considers many of the members to have been invaluable mentors to him, sharing their experiences and providing support without asking for anything in return. Hunter welcomes the opportunity to give back to an organization that has given him so much.

Murray Bartholome

Business Operations Senior Manager, NCR

Murray Bartholome found his niche in the POS business in 1993 when he accepted a position with Burgauer Business Machines, a cash register company founded in 1943. Murray worked in sales but soon moved into professional services when the company took on Aloha POS for restaurants in 1994. He installed and supported Aloha installations until 1997 when he took over as President and Owner of the company, then known as Midwest POS Solutions, Inc. Recently, Midwest POS was acquired by NCR and is now part of their Local Office network. The company continues to focus on providing POS, along with other technology products and services, to the hospitality vertical market while Murray works on strategic projects for NCR as a Business Operations Senior Manager. Murray also enjoys spending time with his wife and three children at the lake in Indiana, snow skiing in Colorado, and has a passion for all things automobile.

Lance Bell

President and CEO, ServingIntel

Lance Bell is the President and CEO of ServingIntel, a technology company that creates software solutions for the senior living, hospital, and hospitality industries. ServingIntel has provided solutions to the hospitality industry since 1997, evolving from a value-added reseller to an independent software vendor, to a managed service and software provider. Lance and his wife Lori are co-authors of the book The Marriage You Do Not Deserve.

Suzanne Davis

SVP Business Development, Shift4

Suzanne Davis is SVP of Business Development at Shift4 Payments. She resides in her mountain town of Durango, Colorado, and loves the outdoor life. Shift4 Payments powers the top point-of-sale and software providers across numerous verticals, including Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Lodging, Gaming, Retail and e-Commerce. Having recently acquired major point of sale companies including Restaurant Manager, Future POS and Positouch, Suzanne travels the country working with the reseller community developing strategies to compete in today’s competitive market.

Andrew Faulkner

Chief Executive Officer, Staley Technologies

Andrew Faulkner serves as the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Staley Technologies headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Before purchasing Staley Technologies, Andrew owned and operated Advanced POS Solutions (APS) in Little Rock, AR. Andrew’s partnership with NCR propelled APS to be one of the fastest-growing VARs within NCR’s channel. APS has merged with Staley Technologies, under the Staley Technologies name, and now has offices in Atlanta, Orlando, Columbus, and Los Angeles in addition to their Arkansas presence. Staley Technologies has over 250 employees throughout the U.S. doing technology deployment for Fortune 500 companies, as well as providing POS and total technology solutions to local markets where its offices are. Staley Technologies partners with its national customers in rolling out and supporting cutting edge technology and strives to find ways to scale that new technology in a way that its local market clients can afford and use it.

Mark Fraker

Vice President of Marketing, BlueStar

As Vice President of Marketing, Mark Fraker leads the company’s global marketing strategies including BlueStar’s VARCOM program. He is responsible for the integrated strategy and development of BlueStar’s advertising, public relations, channel product marketing, marketing intelligence and research, creative services and direct marketing content, along with vendor relationship management and marketing. Since joining BlueStar in 1999, Mr. Fraker has led the company in developing into a solutions-based distributor with such initiatives as the VARCOM business-development program. ISV Connect and AppwareSolutions for end-user demand solutions. Mr. Fraker has over 30 years of marketing and business management experience including time as a business owner for numerous hospitality and retail businesses. Prior to BlueStar, Mr. Fraker was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for several Point-of-Sale ISVs, providing solutions throughout the Americas. Mr. Fraker is a member of BlueStar’s Executive Team and serves on the BlueStar Board of Directors. He also serves as the past- Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Retail Solutions Providers Association. Mr. Fraker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Albion College.

David Gosman

Global Segment Manager of Hospitality, HP Retail POS Division

David Gosman is a New York native that has been involved in the point of sale and retail technology industries for 25 years. During his studies earning Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, David was coding the award-winning Cash Register Express and Restaurant Pro Express point of software packages. Post-graduation, he took on roles of Product Management and Business Development and eventually became co-owner and Chief Executive Officer of pcAmerica in 2004. After several years of successful growth, pcAmerica was sold to Heartland Payment Systems. David now serves as the Global Segment Manager of Hospitality for HP’s Retail POS Division. In his spare time, you can typically find David by his grill or on the trail - or attending one of many school events in his position as an elected School Board member.

Brad Holaway

President and CEO, NexTouch

Brad Holaway is the President and CEO of NexTouch, a restaurant point-of-sale reseller located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Brad has worked in the industry for 36 years.  His father and grandfather owned and operated cash register businesses in Arizona. Brad grew up tearing apart old cash registers and removing the tills from the cash drawers, hoping to find a long-lost dollar bill jammed inside. Brad has been involved with RSPA for 3 decades and served as Chairman from 2009-2010.  In 2018, Brad graduated from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus with an MSc degree in Digital Currency. When Brad’s is not studying the latest practical applications of blockchain technology, he’s on a trail in the McDowell Mountains, perfecting his off-road unicycling.

Jeremy Julian

COO, Custom Business Solutions, Inc.

Jeremy literally grew up in the Restaurant Technology Industry. His family is the founders of Custom Business Solutions, Inc. and Jeremy’s early school vacations were spent soldering components for restaurant customers. Twenty-plus years later and Jeremy is COO for CBS, in charge of the implementation of technology systems for CBS customers. It’s fair to say that Jeremy is very much in touch with the challenges and issues facing restaurant operators in the area of technology systems. Outside of CBS, Jeremy and his wife Michelle are the busy parents of two boys and two girls. The family’s youngest son was adopted from Uganda. Four kids, youth sports, church and many other activities mean non-stop action at the Julian household. Jeremy is a big fan of baseball and soccer. Eight years ago, on a dare he completed a first marathon and has not stopped running since with more than ten half-marathons completed. When not running marathons or cheering on the kids in sports, Jeremy enjoys cooking and watching Food Network.

John Kirk
President & CEO, RSPA
John Kirk has spent the last 20 years directly serving customers and channel partners in SMB. John served as a General Manager while leading one of the premier Local Offices at Micros. He later led The Americas Distribution channel for Radiant from 2005 to 2011. John continued in the same leadership position for four years following the acquisition of Radiant by NCR in 2011. In this role, John was responsible for serving a large channel team and community along with a critical mass of NCR owned local offices.  As President and CEO of the RSPA, John brings passion, conviction, and support, for every member. He believes it is a privilege to serve the RSPA and to follow so many that have contributed to the Association since 1948. He sees the RSPA as a low cost, high value “strength coach” to SMB.

Matt Kramer

President, DCRS Solutions

Matt Kramer is the President of DCRS Solutions, now a 3rd generation principle in the business. After graduating from the University of Missouri – Columbia with a degree in Personal Finance, Matt started his career as a financial advisor. Matt’s career with DCRS started in March of 2001. From 2001 to 2009, Matt’s focus was solely in hospitality and retail sales. In April of 2009, Matt became a principle in the business by purchasing the shares held by Mike Kramer. From 2009 to 2016 Matt remained focused in sales as well as overseeing the implementation side of the business. In December of 2016, Matt purchased the remaining shares held by Steve Kramer and now oversees all day to day activities of the company.

Dave Menton
VP Sales & Member Strength Coach, RSPA
Dave Menton has worked his entire career in the Hospitality Industry and spent the last 19 years in the POS Industry working for both resellers and vendors including MICROS and Radiant/NCR. He has been involved in technical, operations, service, and sales management roles. Over the most recent eitht years, he supported and managed the NCR Aloha channel as a Regional Sales Manager and the North American Hospitality Channel Leader. His experience managing both locally owned channel offices as well as the reseller community has allowed him to focus on what he believes is most important, supporting the growth and development of strong channel partners through leveraging best practices in the community.

Mike Monocello

Co-founder, DevPro Journal and XaaS Journal

Mike Monocello has been in the channel or writing about it for two decades. He is the co-founder of XaaS Journal, a new online publication dedicated to educating solution providers on how to evaluate and adopt new sources of recurring revenue, while streamlining operations and reducing expenses. He is also the co-founder of DevPro Journal, an online publication focused on inspirational and actionable thought leadership content to assist software developer leaders in growing a profitable, sustainable, and fulfilling business. Prior to these endeavors, Mike was editor-in-chief of Business Solutions magazine.

Andre Nataf

SVP, Point of Sale, Heartland

Andre Nataf, Senior Vice President for Heartland Point of Sale, a Global Payments company, was the SVP of Business Development/Sales prior at Digital Dining when Heartland acquired the restaurant focused POS ISV. Nataf attended the University of Denver majoring in HRM/Finance and worked his way through college in management for a large restaurant group. Upon graduating from school, Nataf began opening his own restaurants. During his 30 plus year career, he has held many executive and ownership positions for bar & restaurant, credit card, and POS companies as well as owning a leading POS reseller dealership for 10 years that he eventually sold to investors. Nataf is considered an expert in restaurant and retail technology, as well as sales and channel distribution of this technology, having spoken, taught, been quoted and written articles on these topics.

Mike Nicholson

Principal and COO, POSitive Technology

For the last 20 years, Mike has been focused on the retail technology industry. For the first 10 of those years, he focused as Value Added Reseller (VAR) in the retail sector. Mike led his organization to be the world’s largest reseller of Microsoft’s point of sales solutions. Having worked with thousands of retailers across the small and mid-market sector during that time afforded Mike the opportunity to review customers’ needs and desires beyond the original software offerings. From the beginning, POSitive Technology was enhancing the software developed by others to meet the needs of the end user. In the early 2000s, along with his partner Brett Bennett, Mike and POSitive Technology set out to enable their customers' visions on more modern cloud-based technologies. Today, POSitive Technology features OpSuite, a retail operations and point-of-sale solution engineered to meet customers’ desires on modern technology platforms. Mike has worked closely with customers and stakeholders to bring the OpSuite solution to more than 3,000 locations, including 50 of the top 100 sports arenas in the United States as well as retail franchises and independent business owners.

Chelsey Paulson, PHR

Director, Human Resources, North Country Business Products, Inc.

Chelsey Paulson is the Director of Human Resources at North Country Business Products (NCBP) where she began her career in 2006. She received her degree in Communications with a minor in Leadership from the University of Minnesota. Chelsey focuses her time on the culture, aligning the people strategy with the business strategy, coaching and developing leaders, and hiring/retaining the right people for NCBP. Chelsey believes to make any of her focus areas a reality, clear and consistent communication and transparency need to happen to first gain trust, and then traction.  Chelsey was instrumental in implementing EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) to NCBP and through EOS she has seen, time and time again, that what gets focused on gets results. Chelsey has served on RSPA Committees for 10 years, the RSPA board for 5 years and is the currently enjoying her term as the Chair of the Board.

Anthony Presley

Chief Products Officer, TRUNO

Anthony Presley is the Chief Products Officer of TRUNO, a retail solution provider. He and his very diverse team work with retailers and software providers of all sizes and shapes around the world to craft their own “True North” for their business based on technology, personnel, cultural and budgetary constraints. Over the last 20 years, Anthony’s worked in a variety of industries and with a wide range of technologies. His experience includes large publicly traded companies and small startups, mainframes and legacy monolithic applications, modern web services and machine learning platforms. He’s even written and published a book on Obamacare, helping TRUNO’s retail clients navigate sticky labor management issues while trying to stay compliant with government regulations. Outside of TRUNO, Anthony and his wife Stephanie are busy trying to deal with their recent empty nest, as both boys have fled to college to pursue their dreams – one is a budding entrepreneur and the other an NCAA athlete. In his free time he mentors entrepreneurs and small business founders through several programs at Texas Tech University.

Jim Roddy

VP Marketing, RSPA

Jim Roddy is Vice President of Marketing for the RSPA, where he leads the association’s content efforts and provides business coaching to members. Jim has been active in the POS channel since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, three years as a VAR/ISV Business Advisor for Vantiv/Worldpay, six years as a Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) board member, and one term as RSPA Chairman of the Board. Jim is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences and is the author of the book Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer.

Linda Sudderth

North America Sales Manager, Epson America

Linda Sudderth is North America Sales Manager for Epson America, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. In her role, Mrs. Sudderth has responsibility for the strategy and direction of the OEM, VAR & ISV Channels for the Business Systems Division, focused on Retail, Hospitality and Financial markets in North America. Linda has been employed by Epson for over 22 years in a variety and scope of channel management roles. Linda has over 25 years of experience in the Retail & Hospitality industries from a manufacturing and solution sales perspective and has a volume of experience negotiating global contracts.

Matthew Swanson

VP Operations, NCBP

Matthew Swanson is the Vice President of Operations at North Country Business Products (NCBP).  Prior to joining NCBP in 2008, Matt worked with MICROS Systems with their Leisure and Entertainment team.  He received his B.S. in Business Administration and went on to complete his Master of Project Mangement (MPM) from Penn State University, as well as multiple professional and technical certifications.  Over his career, Matt has worked with some of the largest operators in the hospitality and grocery industries, is passionate about helping them design and implement POS and technology solutions that help achieve their goals and has presented at multiple conferences and seminars on related topics.  He has held several roles at NCBP and has focused on the design and implementation of their Project Management Office as well as numerous process improvement, operational excellence and strategic technology initiatives.

Nathan Sweaney
Security Advisor, RSPA
Nathan Sweaney works as a Senior Security Consultant with Secure Ideas and serves as the RSPA's Security Advisor. As a consultant, he performs penetration tests, training, and general security consulting. Prior to this role, he worked at Tulsa Cash Register to build security controls into the installation process and develop a suite of security service offerings. Nathan has a considerable amount of experience with point-of-sale environments and managing compliance regulations such as PCI. He has excelled at finding practical and operationally feasible approaches for businesses to mitigate threats and minimize compliance obligations. Nathan has performed a wide range of trainings, briefings, and presentations both publicly and for clients on a wide range of security topics. He has spoken publicly at security conferences including BSidesLV, the FBI’s Information Warfare Summit, ASIS International, and at reseller focused shows such as RetailNow, Inspire, and VARTECH.

Jennifer Trichel

General Manager, NCR

Jennifer Trichel has been a part of the Hospitality POS business for over 20 years. She got a taste for the industry during her college years while working in the restaurant business. After completing her Business Management degree from Baylor University, she began working as a trainer and educator for Aloha Technologies in 1998. Jennifer had the privilege to work with the Aloha Channel in different capacities including technical management and sales management for 12 years with Aloha and Radiant. Jennifer took on a General Manager role in 2010 for the Dallas Fort Worth market with Radiant Systems. NCR acquired Radiant 9 months later and continued to invest and grow the Local Office model around the world to expand on what was proving successful in the DFW area. Jennifer likes to follow a “lead by example” mentality when it comes to working with her team(s). She has found that individuals have a tendency to want to be successful when you surround them with like-minded people that share a similar passion.

Kalon Welch

Co-Owner and acting Executive Vice President of Business Development, FastSensor

Kalon Welch is the Co-Owner and acting Executive Vice President of Business Development for FastSensor where he drives the global business expansion through reseller and technology integration partnerships along with driving all sales and go to market functions. After graduating from UCLA with honors in Business Economics and Accounting, Kalon started his career as an IT strategy consultant with Andersen Consulting/Accenture driving communications/high tech and retail thought leadership in the days of dot com. He then worked within the Omnicom network for over 15 years driving retail and technology partnerships with Best Buy, Walmart and over 30 other major retailers along with driving business development globally for his agency and within the network at large. Kalon then co-founded and successfully exited a mobile handset manufacturing business before launching FastSensor in the US and beyond.