Management Team
Our team brings you extraordinary expertise and service. As you’ll see from the bios below, the people at KnowledgeAdvisors have been around the training block. They know about knowledge. Let our team become part of your team. Contact Us today for your consultation. (Think you might have what it takes to be part of our team? Explore our Careers page.)
Kent Barnett
Founder, Chairman and CEO
Co-founder and former president of Productivity Point International (PPI), Kent helped grow PPI to over $100 million before it was acquired by Knowledge Universe. Kent has 15 years of training leadership and 9 years of ROI analysis experience. Kent has an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jeffrey Berk
Chief Operating Officer
Jeff led the Benchmarking Group at Andersen prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors and he brings a deep level of expertise in measurement and benchmarking. He is responsible for managing the internal and customer facing operations of the business and formulating strategic solutions. Jeff is a certified public accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University of Chicago.
Rick Graves
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Rick has over 23 years of experience helping clients solve business problems by leveraging innovative technology solutions, with over 15 years of experience in the training and performance improvement industry. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors, he served as a Regional Vice President for Books24x7, a division of SkillSoft, and has also worked for organizations that include PepsiCo, Apple Computer, and Silicon Graphics. Rick is responsible for KnowledgeAdvisors’ sales management and strategy. Rick holds an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Kendall Kerekes
Vice President, Human Capital
Kendall brings over 10 years of Human Resources Executive experience to KnowledgeAdvisors, along with her project management, strategic planning, leadership development, training evaluation, personnel selection/validation, performance assessment/improvement, and change management experience. Having held senior HR positions at Ameriquest and Indymac Bank, her individual practitioner, business project manager, team leader, and Human Resources executive experience brings a real world perspective to measurement methodologies. Kendall earned an MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from California State University of San Bernardino.
Scott Magee
Chief Technology Officer
Scott brings to KnowledgeAdvisors more than 15 years of experience delivering custom solutions in the IT industry. He is responsible for overseeing all facets of information technology and providing critical leadership that helps KnowledgeAdvisors deliver Metrics that Matter® technology to the global marketplace. Previously, Scott was with Concur Technologies and Productivity Point International, where he helped lead IT development and professional services offerings. Scott earned a BS in Economics from the University of Minnesota.
Jeb Metric
Vice President, Product
Jeb brings over 10 years of experience in custom software development, architecture, data warehousing, and application development to KnowledgeAdvisors and is responsible for all facets of Metrics that Matter® application architecture, development, and infrastructure. Jeb earned a BA from the University of Chicago and is currently studying Chinese.
Sara Chizzo
Senior Director, Enterprise Solutions
Sara has more than 20 years of experience in the learning & development and measurement space. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors in 2001, Sara spent 10 years selling enterprise-wide learning solutions to Fortune 500 companies and more recently managed a $10 million sales organization for a professional learning company. Before working in the L&D space, Sara spent seven years as a global business development executive, opening new sales opportunities and partnership in the Asia Pacific region. At KnowledgeAdvisors, Sara is responsible for enterprise sales activities, specifically focusing on some of KnowledgeAdvisors’ most strategic clients on global analytics solutions leveraging the Metrics that Matter® platform. Sara is a frequent speaker at industry events on the value of leveraging measurement solutions and strategies for operation excellence. Sara holds degrees in Japanese and International Business from the University of Minnesota, and she is fluent in Japanese.
R. Scott Doan
Director, Western US
Scott Doan has over 17 years experience helping companies to successfully leverage content and software applications in the consumer and business markets. Over the past 9 years, Scott has provided the leadership necessary to launch enterprise SaaS productivity and performance management solutions with hundreds of Global 2000 companies. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors, Scott was Vice-President, at an institutional VC-backed, behavioral/predictive modeling software company, and has also held senior management positions at Skillsoft, NetLibrary (now OCLC), Information Handling Services and Oregon Software (now Oracle/Sun Microsystems). Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University.
Beth Gantz
Director, Central Region
Beth brings 10 years of technology sales and account management experience to KnowledgeAdvisors. Her experience is in the Human Capital arena, including her work for such organizations as THINQ Learning Solutions and Skillsoft's Books24x7. Beth has worked with small companies and Fortune 500 organizations to implement technology solutions for her clients. Beth's responsibilities at KnowledgeAdvisors include building and managing national strategic partnerships and direct sales in the Midwest. Beth attended Purdue University where she earned a degree in Education with an emphasis on technology.
Debbie Groves
Director, East Region
Debbie has over 13 years of experience in the learning industry, helping clients meet business objectives with solutions that maximize the performance of human capital. She is responsible for KnowledgeAdvisors’ client relationships and business development in the Eastern US region and Canada. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors in 2008, Debbie spent over a decade contributing to the growth of SkillSoft (SmartForce/CBT Systems) as an account executive in the NY Metro area. Her prior roles include responsibility for a mainframe technology training division of an IT consulting firm and corporate fundraising for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Debbie is also a violinist, and holds a degree in Business and Music from the University of Hartford and the Hartt School of Music.
Stuart Halliday
Director, EMEA Region
Stuart Halliday's background is in IT software solutions sales and he brings 10 years of experience having worked with companies from small & medium sized emerging enterprises to blue chip corporations with global presence. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors, Stuart was responsible for harnessing new business opportunities at SkillSoft UK and thrives on the challenges and rewards this offers. He attributes his professional successes at Cisco Systems and latterly SkillSoft UK Ltd to his desire to understand each business’ unique raison d’etre and thereby present the product’s optimal fit; together with his drive to exceed client expectations every time. At KnowledgeAdvisors, Stuart brings notable experience of executive sales transactions in the rapidly developing African markets, as well as within closer European countries. Stuart is a business graduate from the University of Surrey, England, UK.
Patricia Hughes
Director, Southeast Region
Patricia Hughes brings 20 years of executive sales and solution development experience to KnowledgeAdvisors. Patricia’s background includes leveraging cloud-computing and behind the firewall HR and analytic system technologies to meet client-defined enterprise performance goals. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors, Patricia was a founding member in a marketing analytics company and spent 8 years in a Global Business Development role with SkillSoft Corporation, responsible for new business development and long-term management of targeted Fortune 500 corporations. She has held senior business development roles with Cap Gemini and Concentra. At KnowledgeAdvisors, Patricia is responsible for business development, local partner collaboration and industry relationships for the Southeast region. She is a graduate of North Carolina State University, with a degree in Business and Economics.
Vince Penkala
Director, Public Sector
Vince brings over 15 years of solution selling and account management experience to KnowledgeAdvisors. Prior to joining the company, Vince worked with industry leaders including Oracle and SkillSoft Corporation to introduce and institutionalize learning and talent management applications including custom and off-the-shelf eLearning, learner management, learning content management, recruiting, performance management and incentive compensation. At KnowledgeAdvisors, Vince is responsible for developing client relationships and industry partnerships along with strategically managing enterprise learning and human capital analytic initiatives for federal civilian, defense and intelligence organizations, state agencies and institutions of higher education. Vince received his bachelors from Oakland University and a Masters of Instructional Technology from Wayne State University. Go Wings!
Eric Bush
Director, Marketing
Eric has over 22 years in the training and development industry. He has held marketing, pre-sales and technical roles for organizations such as Bank One (now Chase), SmartForce/CBT Systems, and Information Control Corporation. Eric has worked with leading companies like General Electric, Deloitte Consulting, and Xerox to architect unique training solutions. As an enterprise architect for Microsoft solutions, he has worked on highly technical projects including two television game shows. Eric holds a Bachelors and Masters degree from The Ohio State University.
John Mattox
Director of Research
Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors in March 2010, John led training evaluation teams at KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen for nearly 12 years. At KnowledgeAdvisors, John is responsible for mining more than 750 million data points resident in the Metrics That MatterTM system to gain insight for internal and external clients. Insights are gained by using advanced statistical techniques (e.g., ANOVA, regression, structural equation modeling, etc.) and by integrating business data with human capital systems. Academically, he received his undergraduate degree in psychology from The Johns Hopkins University and his doctoral degree in experimental psychology (quantitative and industrial / organizational) from The University of Memphis.
Jeff Grisenthwaite
Sr. Director, Operations
Jeff oversees service and support to Metrics that Matter® customers, helping clients to optimize use of the technology and improve the impact of their workforce. Before coming to KnowledgeAdvisors, he led the development of eLearning, courseware, and customer training programs for DDC Training Services. Jeff earned a BA in English from Kalamazoo College.
Cristina Hall
Director, Client Solutions
Cristina has over 10 years of experience in technology, education, project management, and finance that contributes to her current role as the Director of Client Solutions. Cristina is responsible for optimizing the use of Metrics that Matter for corporate and public sector clients. Experience as a classroom teacher and working as a project manager at companies such as Boeing and May Department Stores has shaped her approach to transforming client needs into effective solutions. Cristina earned her MBA from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO, and is currently completing ROI certification from the ROI Institute.
Katie Wolsfeld
Director, Product Management
Katie has extensive experience in software QA and testing, including six years at CNA insurance and Hartford Life where she managed a team of 50 employees and all onshore and offshore vendor relationships. Prior to that Katie was a manager at Deloitte consulting focusing on financial and manufacturing clients. At KnowledgeAdvisors Katie is responsible for building quality processes and tools that grow Metrics that Matter and ensure customer satisfaction. Katie received her MBA in Management of Information Systems from the University of Notre Dame.
