VITESSE - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Founder
• Leader
• Managing Director
• President

Jim has developed a unique and highly successful approach to Knowledge Management Consulting. His understanding of Knowledge Management concepts and the associated change management and technology issues are among the deepest and most comprehensive in the world. Today, Jim Kochan is a global thought leader within KM, most recently designing and implementing world-class KM operations within the oil & gas industry. He led every phase from vision to roll-out of the world class Conoco Phillips corporate KM process, built around collaborative communities, and still contributes to its ongoing success. The "Knowledge Sharing Program" at Conoco Phillips is now considered the most successful KM process in the industry and is bench marked by many organizations from many industries. This success has led to other major oil companies and joint ventures to seek Jim's expertise to help them build similar success stories. Jim Kochan's approach to KM focuses on measuring business impact and use of innovative tools & approaches. His clients have obtained maximum business value from their knowledge management processes and systems. Previously, Jim Kochan built and led the E&Y European Center for Business Knowledge in Paris, France to duplicate in Europe the successes he'd built in the United States. ​He has achieved similar success at PricewaterhouseCoopers (London), Fujitsu Corporation (Dallas) and Deloitte & Touche (Washington, DC and Cleveland). While he was building and managing large, global KM implementations within these firms, Jim also provided KM consulting services to several well-known organizations in the US and in Europe. They include: BMW (Germany), Shell Oil (US and UK), British Petroleum (UK), Ford Motor Corporations (US and UK), Michelin (France), Eli Lilly (Germany), and Hewlett Packard (US). Jim is a much sought-after speaker. He has lectured widely on the subject of Knowledge Management in both the US and Europe and is noted for his "real world" approach to this often excessively academic and misunderstood subject.

Job Titles:

• IT Project Manager
• KM Specialist
• Knowledge Sharing & IT Project Manager

Marilyn Hanson has Twenty-Seven years of experience in marketing, sales, communications, program development, facilitation, training and project management. Her early career began with a fortune 500 company winning National Honors in Sales which led to further accomplishments. Over a decade of experience within a global corporation combined with excellent organizational skills provided a solid platform for self-employment while raising a family. Keeping within the corporate environment, Marilyn joined Vitesse Solutions in 2010 as a Content Manager. Within the Knowledge Sharing Department of an American multinational corporation, she successfully project managed a SharePoint migration of 137 customized sites delivering quality, timeliness, efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Marilyn is efficient in managing and monitoring website maintenance, updates and customization implementations. She serves as the key contact for content management requests, assists clients in accessing knowledge management tools and resources, facilitates process and technical training and consults clients in the Knowledge Sharing process. As a KM Specialist, Marilyn works with core teams to build global Knowledge Sharing networks and coaches leaders on governance principles. She also works closely with the client to communicate cohesive messages and guidance on proper implementation of Knowledge Management. She is a determined achiever with the ability to blend fresh ideas with analytical and technical work requirements to meet department and corporate goals.

Job Titles:

• Principal
• Technical Advisor
• Principal & Technical Architect

Mr. Kruger is the SharePoint Solutions Architect and Technology Team Lead for the following projects: Mark Kruger has over 10+ years' experience in graphical user interface (GUI) web design, web development and web solutions architecture. He specializes in Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies and is a five-time Microsoft SharePoint MVP* (Most Valuable Professional), a world-wide award and recognition program given to those select few who are active technical community leaders, have demonstrated practical expertise and display a willingness to share their knowledge with peers.

Job Titles:

• Organizational Transformation Leader

Marla Ilona is an Organizational Transformation Leader skilled in Facilitation, Team-building, Communication, Training and HRM, and Program Design and Management. She is a seasoned international and multi-lingual facilitator who helps business managers make strategic business and technology plans, and successfully implement them. Marla is skilled at diagnosing barriers to change and helping leaders overcome them. Marla has 25 years of experience in consulting, facilitation, marketing, and business development in the US, Japan, and Europe. She was a Managing Consultant with Gemini Consulting, leading or involved in large organizational change programs in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and South Africa. As a Principal Consultant with Forrester Research, Marla continued to lead international consulting engagements while publishing articles on leadership, facilitation, communication, and human resource management. Currently with Vitesse Solutions, she applies her change management skills to worldwide implementations of Knowledge Management. She facilitates Core Teams to build strong global Knowledge Networks and coaches Network Leaders on facilitation and KM governance principles. Marla also works with Corporate Communication managers to design and implement effective messaging in mixed-media communication programs that include webinars, townhall fairs, "happenings", print media, journalistic storytelling, video and audio components. As a personal hobby she hosts a bi-weekly podcast with a listening audience of 3000 (and growing). Marla graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Languages and Literature. She did graduate work in Communication at New York University and completed an intensive graduate business program at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and Sorbonne University in Paris. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish and is based in Houston, Texas.

Job Titles:

• Developer

Job Titles:

• Developer
• SharePoint Developer

Job Titles:

• Principal
• Project Leader

Job Titles:

• Knowledge Management

Sandra Davenport began her 19-year career in knowledge management with Ernst & Young, in the firm's Center for Business Knowledge, helping client services professionals leverage the firm's Knowledge Management tools to speed delivery of solutions to their clients. While at E&Y, she worked with the firm's international offices to help them establish their intellectual property collection and reuse practices. Sandra left E&Y to join an independent software vendor, whose products helped organizations build expert systems to support their customer contact centers. Sandra's roles as consultant a and project manager saw her coordinate the various resources required to implement the vendor's products at many high-profile clients, including Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) and Reuters News Service. Sandra spent five years in the manufacturing sector, where she utilized her extensive experience directing the knowledge management initiatives for a multi-national materials company headquartered in France. After receiving her Juris Doctorate in May 2007, Sandra studied and consulted in the areas of Electronic Discovery and Evidence, document collection as it relates to major litigation, as well as small knowledge management initiatives for solo practitioners.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Change Management Team

Job Titles:

• Member of the Change Management Team
• Principal
• Project Leader

Dr. Wilmot began consulting for Vitesse Solutions in 2004, and since 2011 has been partnering with our firm to lead strategic client engagements--including those at winners of the coveted Global MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award. His focus is on building-out and sustaining mature knowledge networks while managing client engagement teams. Tim brings 17 years of knowledge management (KM) experience to Vitesse Solutions' clients. He began his career working for Jim Kochan developing knowledge networks as a manager at Ernst & Young, LLP's Center for Business Knowledge. Tim not only helped that firm's consulting service lines to become world-class with KM, but also developed KM capacities for the firm's clients as a consultant to Royal Dutch Shell, Michelin, Coca-Cola and Eli Lilly. In the 2001, Tim founded The Collaboration Company and since then he has consulted to numerous public, private and nonprofit organizations.