Online Casino Groundswell » About Us » Our Leadership

Our Leadership

 

Darren Sartison
Partner

President

Darren Sartison has been a successful leader and entrepreneur in Calgary’s IT community for well over a decade. He is responsible for business development for new customers and for retaining existing customers. Darren also works hard to find the right partners (both locally and internationally) to service our clients.

Darren has a proven ability to lead through broad-based competencies. He has played an integral role in Groundswell’s growth, leading teams to determine automation and streamlining points. Darren has provided strategic direction, developing change management plans focused on people, training and process requirements, while acting as an advisor to the steering committee, project sponsor and business managers. Darren has been widely recognized for his strength as a business leader. Most recently, he was named a Leader of Tomorrow in Business in Calgary magazine, and in 2011, was named a finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

The growth and success of Groundswell is based on the philosophy that Darren embodies. It’s one of professionalism, integrity and ethics.

 

Morgan Arndt
Partner

Chief Operations Officer

Morgan Arndt brings 20 years of diverse hands-on experience in sales, business development and management to his role as COO of Groundswell.

Since Groundswell’s inception in 2001, Morgan has been integral in leading the organization’s strategic direction and extraordinary growth. He has developed strong relationships with several big players in western Canada’s IT market, enabling him to play a key role in Groundswell’s partner development and client relations. Prior to founding Groundswell, Morgan focused on the IT recruitment industry, successfully building numerous firms into industry-leading organizations, including Questus Recruitment and Conduit, which he also founded with Groundswell’s president, Darren Sartison.

Morgan has been widely recognized for his strength as a business leader. Most recently, he was named a Leader of Tomorrow in Business in Calgary magazine, and in 2011, was named a finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Morgan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta.

 

Ivaylo Guenov
Partner

Chief Technology Officer

Ivaylo Guenov is an experienced technology leader with a broad background in strategy, business development and implementation leadership. He has served as an IT executive advisor to several Fortune 500 North American companies and has developed consulting practices for companies such as Carlson and Deloitte Consulting.


Prior to Groundswell, Ivaylo was a founding partner in a number of successful start-ups: Capability Alignment Professionals, Telispark, Concord, LogicalFactor and others. He has led software product development and client implementation teams across North America and Europe.  He brings strong leadership skills to identify technology value drivers, align implementations to client priorities and drive successful delivery. Ivaylo specializes in modern implementation methodologies and system design techniques, including Rational Unified Process, Agile Delivery Processes and Patterns.

 

Jose Herrera
Partner

Chief Architect

Jose Herrera possesses over 28 years of experience in Management Consulting and has provided his knowledge and leadership to over 65 technology related engagements in the last 15 years. He has the ability to work in multiple projects simultaneously and has positioned himself as a key resource for different technology-related projects in North America with a proven track record of success, thought leadership and high quality deliverables.

Jose has been interviewed on television and radio, and by various universities on his views on different Information Systems and Technology disciplines. He has led the creation of Centers of Excellence and other strategic initiatives for Fortune 500 corporations while defining and establishing custom world-class methodologies, and has written multiple articles related to Strategy, Governance and Enterprise Integration.

Jose is an exclusive Council Member at the Gerson Lehrman Group, and is currently in the process of writing a book in which he will share his experiences as a leading management consultant.

Specialties: Management Consulting, Strategy, Architecture, Enterprise Integration, Technology, Project Management, Project Leadership, Business Processes."

 

Adrian Hull
Partner
Vice President, BC Operations

Adrian Hull has over 15 years of experience in business and Project Management. Since joining our team in 2013, Adrian has drawn upon his diverse background to foster strategic business partnerships and expand Groundswell’s footprint in the British Columbia marketplace.

Adrian is widely recognized for successfully managing complex projects across a wide range of industries including the Healthcare, Energy and Information/Technology sectors. A number of these projects have included some of Canada’s largest IT initiatives such as the TELUS Imagine Mega-Project.

In addition to providing business oversight, Adrian ensures Groundswell remains a leader in the industry for service standards with our existing British Columbia clients.

Adrian has a degree from Simon Fraser University in Economics with a specialization in Finance and Resource Management.

In addition, his certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Oracle Database Administrator and Developer(OCP) provides him with a foundation of knowledge which assists in understanding complex challenges with an ability to communicate solutions with clarity to a broad range of stakeholders with simplicity.

It is Adrian’s belief in the power of the team that energizes him to continue to pursue excellence. Recognizing, valuing and leveraging everyone’s strengths while providing an environment to excel are what embodies Adrian’s key to success.

 

Roger Couvillon
Vice President, Service Operations

Roger Couvillon hails from Windsor, Ontario but has been a resident of Calgary, Alberta since 1998. He brings 28 years of experience to Groundswell and as Vice President, Service Operations and is responsible for service delivery to all of Groundswell’s clients, recruiting and resourcing, service excellence, and Groundswell’s management practice.

Roger has been a thought leader in the area of Support & Maintenance and worked closely with Dr. Peter Thompson as an advisor and editor on the books, Maximizing IT Value through Operational Excellence and The SMART Methodology™ - Solution Management and Request Tracking. Roger developed and delivered a course on Support & Maintenance best practices for the University of Calgary, a course which was later picked up by Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.

Roger has successfully implemented and consulted on the implementation of the best practices, processes, tools and maturity model he helped develop at numerous organizations around North America with excellent results. Most clients reported double digit cost savings and/or double, sometimes triple digit efficiency gains.

 

Marianne Divjak
Vice President, Corporate Services

Marianne Divjak has been working with Groundswell Group since 2011, and has played a key role within the organization through a significant period of growth. She brings 20 years of experience working with IT consulting firms and is responsible for Corporate Services at Groundswell. As the company continues to grow, Marianne works closely with Groundswell's leadership team to build process and policies in the various areas of HR, Recruitment, Finance, Marketing and IT. She is a leader when it comes to supporting and implementing the overall strategic plan of Groundswell. She and her team focus on the operational strategy that embraces the company's vision and corporate objectives, and build policies and procedures that enables the organization to meet its plan.

Prior to Groundswell, Marianne worked with RIS Resource Information Systems Inc. and was responsible for the operational support of the company's Applications Support and Maintenance (ASM) services and solutions. The company was sold with an employee base of 575 employees and contractors. Marianne is also a key member in bringing a non-profit organization that offers educational programing to women across Canada.

 

Dan McCleary
Vice President, Practice and Project Delivery

As VP, Practice and Project Delivery at Groundswell, Dan McCleary is responsible for driving an integrated vision for high-value, innovative service offerings. Dan oversees our Practices and works closely with Sales and Service Delivery to deliver successful solutions for our customers.

Dan has been consulting for over 15 years and has played many roles throughout his IT consulting career. He has worked as an advisor, project manager and technical lead for many companies ranging in size from small, family-run, through to international enterprises in Oil and Gas, Utilities and Agriculture. He has run and been involved in projects dealing with stakeholders in over 10 countries, and sometimes all on one project. Dan has been involved with many types of projects including custom development, packaged software development, ERP, content management & publishing and document management. In 2013/14, he was part of the board that set up the first chapter in Western Canada for the Association of Change Management Professionals.

Dan believes it's important to support the communities in which we work. In his recent past, he created and ran a national Social Responsibility Task Force which provided a framework to support both the corporation and employees getting involved in the community.

Dan is part owner in a local rock climbing gym, active as a coach in the U8 soccer league in Northwest Calgary, an avid skier and snowboarder and recently discovered an enjoyment of downhill mountain biking.

 

John Krpan
Director, USA Operations

As Director of USA Operations, John Krpan is leading the charge on expanding Groundswell’s footprint in the United States. Based in Seattle, WA, John works with Groundswell’s senior leadership team to shape and guide our business objectives and execute on building relationships with new and existing clients. John is a Certified Management Professional with 30 years of progressive experience that spans both consulting and operating roles at the senior executive level. This blend of experience enables John to act as an effective conduit between the worlds of consulting, business operations and information technology.

John is recognized for strong leadership, effective vision/growth strategies and successful implementation of corporate business plans. His in-depth experience as a buyer and seller of solutions also provides John with an understanding of the nuances that drive the multitude of perspectives in these complex relationships.

John has served in the capacity of CIO, CEO, and COO of both business and IT-related organizations. These roles have allowed John practical experience in Eastern Europe, the United States, Canada and the U.K. His diverse background within a multitude of industries, as well as his “hands on” experience, enables John to consistently and successfully implement solutions that transform companies’ approach to market, stability and revenue growth. These solutions move beyond theory and rhetoric. They match best practices of industry with the needs of the business without the bias that is too often part of IT solutions.

He has been a contributing author to CIO magazine, the Globe and Mail and the Financial Post, and often speaks to audiences on the topic of IT rejuvenation. John enjoys spending time with his family and has various interests. He is an avid car enthusiast, skier, boater and he paints in oils when time permits.

 

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