Keynote Addresses
OPENING KEYNOTES
Michael S. Irizarry, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, U.S. CellularWednesday, June 15
9:15 a.m.
That means it drives U.S. Cellular executive vice president and Chief Technology Officer Mike Irizarry. Irizarry is one of those rare but perhaps trend-setting leaders who manages both the network and IT direction for his company, taking on the roles of CTO and CIO. He will speak from this vantage point on industry trends and challenges in continuing to enhance the customer experience.
About Mike S. Irizarry:
Mike S. Irizarry, who joined U.S. Cellular in February 2002, oversees the company's information systems and technology as well as all of the company's technological operations including wireless towers, network build-outs for new markets, network operations and technological advancements.
Irizarry and his team are responsible for U.S. Cellular's ongoing expansion of advanced CDMA-based technologies and 3G Mobile Broadband, which enables the company to offer a variety of service enhancements to customers and to ensure exceptional call quality and clarity for U.S. Cellular's customers. U.S. Cellular's commitment to continuous network improvement is an important factor in the company's award-winning customer service.
Prior to joining U.S. Cellular, Irizarry held executive positions with Verizon, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Paging Network, Inc., and Motorola. A senior member of the I.E.E.E. and its communications and computer societies, Irizarry earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cleveland Technical College, a master of science in information management, an MBA from the International School of Information Management, and a doctorate in Communications Technology from Capella University's School of Business and Technology. He is also a graduate of University of Chicago's executive management program. Irizarry lives in Barrington, Ill., with his wife and their four children.
Wednesday, June 15
9:45 a.m.
Harold Teets will extend that people connection to his keynote address at B/OSS Live! by sharing his experiences helping to create an energy efficient operation, a back office that supports a leader in managed services and business Ethernet and a company recognized for its ability to collect, interpret, and react to customer feedback. Teets will share his experiences as both a technology and information leader at one of the industry’s most successful competitive carriers and as a member of the Technical Advisory Council in the Office of Engineering and Technology at the FCC.
About Harold Teets:
Harold W. Teets was appointed Senior Vice President-Information and Network Technologies for tw telecom in 2006. Mr. Teets oversees the company's Information Technology, Network Technology and Technology Operations groups, which support the corporate network engineering, technology assessment, systems development, systems operations, billing management, revenue assurance, network management systems development and network management systems. Prior to joining the company, he was Chief Technology Officer at Xspedius Communications. Mr. Teets has held executive level technology leadership roles with several industry leading companies including AT&T Canada, MCI, Brooks Fiber, Conversent Communications, Looking Glass Networks and MFS. Mr. Teets earned his BS degree in Computer Science from LaSalle University.
CLOSING KEYNOTES
Scott Rice, Vice President, Care and Billing Services, Sprint NextelFriday, June 17
12 p.m.
Scott Rice will discuss how Sprint has used its BSS infrastructure to support recovery and competitiveness in the marketplace. He also will discuss the challenges maintaining one’s place in the value and revenue chains in the emerging 4G environment replete with third-party applications and over-the-top content.
About Scott Rice:
Scott Rice, Vice President, Customer and Billing Services for Sprint, is the executive owner of consolidated managed services operations supporting the primary customer management environment. In this role, he oversees customer billing strategy and operations, including bill production outsourced to DST Output. He has been with Sprint (previously Nextel) for over 9 years and in the telecommunications industry since 1983. Scott is a frequent industry speaker and is a member of the CIO Forum and the Amdocs Technology Advisory Council.
Friday, June 17
12:30 p.m.
You can’t forget the human equation for solving your business and operations challenges. During the 2 ½days of this conference, attendees will hear a lot of valuable information about technology. But managers are still left with helping their people cope with constant change and increasing demands on their time and skills. Something has to give, but it shouldn’t be your business. Al Kurtze will discuss how best to manage, encourage and support the people who make the business happen.
About Al Kurtze:
Al Kurtze is the business development executive for telecom media networks at Capgemini. He has 45 years of industry experience in all areas of operations, marketing/sales and corporate development. He has been a senior operating officer with profit and loss responsibility for a large cellular operator, a large local exchange telephone operator and a large cable television multiple system operator. He has served on the boards of directors of publicly traded and privately held companies. Kurtze has substantial experience in corporate strategic planning, technology planning and implementation and operational execution. He has been involved in early deployments of technology such as digital switching, fiber optic transmission, cellular telephony and digital cellular.
PERSONALIZATION SUMMIT KEYNOTES
Robert H. Riordan, Executive Vice President and Director of Corporate Development, NsightThursday, June 16
3:15 p.m.
The promise is already being realized by courageous and inventive service providers. Green Bay’s Nsight has leveraged policy management tools and network assets to create and deliver personalized services to its Midwest customers. After sharing his experiences with and vision for personalization, Nsight’s Rob Riordan will join a panel of experts led by Yankee Group Vice President Susan McNeice to discuss the many ways personalization can be achieved through content and apps, but also through customer care and segmentation. The panel will discuss today’s realities and tomorrow’s horizons for personalization.
About Robert H. Riordan:
Robert H. Riordan, executive vice president and director of corporate development for Nsight, is a dynamic speaker and lively commentator on emerging technologies in the telecommunications world. In his role he looks six months to six years ahead of where the company is today.
When Robert is not working on mergers, acquiring new markets and spectrum or interfacing with investment bankers, he spends much time researching potential technologies and their role at Nsight. Through his studies of Mobile IP, for example, Nsight became the first company in the US to provide the service.
This knowledge combined with his 30 years of telecom experience allows Robert to speak on a number of subjects. As a Competent Toastmaster, he has traveled the globe through speaking engagements during the last ten years. Past topics include Wireless: Friend or Foe, Wireless Internet Futures, and National Issues from a Small Company Perspective. In addition to various state telecommunications meetings, Robert has spoken on behalf of the Wireless Communications Association, Broadband Wireless Forum, OPASTCO, Telecoms and IT Brand Building and Development Forum in London, UK the Broadband Fixed Wireless Access World Congress in Rome, Italy, Femtocells Asia and Femtocells World Summit just to name a few.
Thursday, June 16
4:30 p.m.
Turning vision to reality will take innovation at the network, software and policy level, but it also will require the proper strategic framework for managing and sharing data. Cox’ Brett Brock has a vision for this framework and will present that vision before joining an expert panel led by Analysys Mason’s Patrick Kelly to delve into ways of making personalization all it can be. This panel will discuss the tools and technologies for delivering on the concept of the segment of one.
About Brett Brock:
Brock’s primary focus is on value-added voice service development. He provides architectural recommendations and guidance for Cox Digital Telephony and Cox Wireless. He is a networking and services guru with the heart and instincts of a back-office problem solver. He is active in the Cable Interest Group at the TM Forum.
Brock is also actively investigating migration strategies for Cox Digital Telephony and new service delivery frameworks for Cox's converged services strategy. Brett's communications career began with Nortel in 2000 in their Global Services division as a team member and team leader working in Europe, Asia, and South America performing AIN system installations, commissioning, upgrades, conversions and reconfigurations. Afterwards, he moved into the area of data deployment and integration, deploying Mobile Positioning Centers for T-Mobile, Nextel-Motorola (now Sprint), and Cingular (now AT&T). In addition to MPC deployments Brett also performed Verification Office and Drive Testing support at T-Mobile and Nextel-Motorola. Following the completion of the MPC roll-outs within the US mobile market, Brett began focusing on the Nortel Succession System network deployments and Nortel DMS to CS2K carrier migrations. In 2005, Cox hired him as their Nortel SME and Unified Communications Engineer.
