Meet The Founders
Toolkit Contributors
Jeff Davis has been an IT professional for over 20 years, with experience working and consulting for law firms, hospitals, and financial institutions. He was an editor-in-chief for The Cobb Group, the world’s leading publisher of software-specific “how-to” journals. He wrote “Stump Jeff” for ZDNet’s Help Channel and was editor-in-chief of the Support and Training Republics for the original TechRepublic.com. Jeff moonlights as a stand-up comedian and is the reigning fastest typist in Kentucky.
Prior to starting MDE in 2000 Mike Sisco was a successful IT manager and CIO for over 20 years. His management responsibilities gave him a unique opportunity to work with hundreds of IT managers and their organizations plus he has led the IT due diligence and assimilation of more than 40 company acquisitions.Mike’s company has a single mission of, “helping IT managers of the world achieve more success”. To accomplish this he has written 14 books and over 500 articles on IT management, published an IT Manager Toolkit and the 20 Minute IT Manager eLearning program, and delivers classroom and online training for IT managers around the world. Thousands of IT managers use Mike’s practical IT manager resources. In 2005 he combined forces with Belmont University to create the IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC), the first certification for IT managers to focus on the importance for the IT organization to deliver business value. Learn more at http://itmanagerstore.com.
Management
Jon has worked in the publishing industry for over 29 years, 25 of those years in management and the most recent 15 years in executive management. Over those years he has participated in 5 startup publishing businesses including the most recent two online. His latest venture was the co-founding and product marketing management of ITBusinessEdge.com which sold in 2011 to QuinStreet, a publicly held media company. Prior to that, Jon served as Vice President of Membership for TechRepublic.com which was purchased by CNET.com in 2001 and is now a property of CBS Interactive. Additional roles in his past include VP of Circulation for The Cobb Group which was acquired by Ziff Davis Publishing during his tenure and Director of Circulation for the San Diego Business Journal in the mid 1980’s. Jon’s diverse skill set includes audience development, online product management, revenue modeling, both print and email direct marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, people management and executive management.
Mark Crane
Co-Founder Mark is a winner of the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award — the most prestigious business award given to entrepreneurs in the U.S. Since the day Mark purchased a TI994/A Home Computer while attending Purdue University, he was hooked. He fell in love with the personal computer–and with the tools that allowed technology enthusiasts and professionals to maximize their impact. Upon graduating with an Engineering Degree, Mark returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky and joined the IT Department at PNC Bank where his team deployed and managed one of the country’s first distributed computing networks. The following year, Mark met entrepreneur Doug Cobb and joined The Cobb Group‚ a tech startup offering the IT industry books, newsletters, and other products. Over the next 11 years, Mark worked closely with Doug to grow that company into a publishing giant–they became the world’s largest publisher of monthly tips, techniques, and tools for IT professionals. In his roles as Editor-in-Chief, VP of Marketing, and ultimately Publisher, Mark developed a large and diverse network of people in IT ranging from product experts that write contributing articles to Product Managers at virtually all major software publishers, including Microsoft, Sun, and Apple. Mark continues to work‚ hands on with his products, and he enjoys talking with customers to learn both how he can improve existing tools as well as which new products his customers want.
Vik is the co-founder of a number of high-tech companies such as Backupify, a leading backup provider for cloud-based data , GlowTouch Technologies, a two-time Inc. 500 software and services company with 900+ employees, and Scalable Ventures, a technology startup investment firm. He is presently serving as the Executive Vice President of Venture Development for Nucleus – Kentucky’s Life Science and Innovation Center, where he is leading a number of commercialization initiatives for the University of Louisville Foundation. From 2001 to 2010, he was a Managing Director of the Enterprise Corp in Louisville, where he managed a portfolio of over 100 client companies and helped them raise $120 million. Prior to the Enterprise Corp, he worked as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at bCatalyst, an early-stage business incubator. He started his career working as a consultant for GE Appliances where he was a founding member of their Internet team. Vik holds a B.S. degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering (major in Computer Engineering) from Virginia Tech.
