SMG - Who We Are - Executive Team



	Andy Fromm President/CEO Andy has extensive experience in assessing the service models of some of the largest retail and restaurant chains in the country. His work includes customer satisfaction tracking, performance and motivation, employee satisfaction, customer service systems (process maps) and employee selection. Andy lent his service expertise to the creation and development of two books, The Ten Commandments of Business and How to Break Them by Bill Fromm and The Real Heroes of Business and Not a CEO Among Them, by Bill Fromm and Leonard Schlesinger. Before founding SMG, Andy was a consultant with American Management Systems (AMS). Andy graduated with distinction from Boston University and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Outside of work, he is a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and serves on the board of the Kansas City Zoo.


	Bill Fromm Co-Founder, Senior Consultant A nationally known expert in strategic planning and customer service, Bill co-founded SMG and created the marketing firm Barkley Evergreen & Partners. Bill’s client roster represents retail, fast food, business-to-business, franchise operations, telecommunications products and automotive aftermarket. Bill was named Inc. Magazine’s Regional Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995. He is the author of two books on customer service, The Ten Commandments of Business and How To Break Them and The Real Heroes of Business and Not a CEO Among Them, co-authored with Leonard Schlesinger. Bill has appeared on both the Today Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show and was featured on a segment produced by CBS’ 48 Hours on customer service. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.


	Mary Widmer Chief Strategic Officer Mary is responsible for resource planning, forecasting and all financial aspects of the company. She also directs SMG’s strategic Human Resource initiatives and leads the company’s administrative team. Prior to joining SMG as Chief Strategic Officer, Mary was a partner in a CPA firm where she provided management, tax and accounting consulting to a variety of businesses including SMG. Mary earned her accounting degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She maintains her CPA accreditation.


	Mark Hunter Chief Client Officer Since joining SMG in 1997, Mark has worked with a broad spectrum of clients in the retail, service, casual dining and quick-service restaurant industries. Mark has been intimately involved in developing customer satisfaction programs at international companies such as Applebee’s, Hallmark Cards, Kmart Corporation, Border’s Books, H&R Block and Burger King among others. As Chief Client Officer, Mark lends his experience and expertise to all of SMG’s clients. Mark graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University where he was awarded the Harvard College Scholarship for outstanding academic achievement.


	Joe Cardador Chief Research Officer As Chief Research Officer, Joe ensures that the research methodology and statistical analyses provided by SMG adhere to the highest professional standards. He earned both his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and his MBA from Colorado State University. In addition to 10 years of research and consulting work, Joe has taught courses on testing and measurement, organizational behavior, and industrial psychology. Joe is a member of several professional organizations including the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the American Marketing Association, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research.


	Dennis Ehrich Chief Information Officer Dennis Ehrich leads the Information Technology team including all programming, infrastructure, and development activities. His fourteen years of Information Technology experience span the disciplines of operations, project management, application development and process improvement initiatives. Prior to his current position, Dennis worked at Accenture in the financial services consulting practice and as Director of Information Technology at H&R Block. Dennis holds a BS in Economics from Denison University and an MBA from University of Missouri - Kansas City.


	Nan Russell Vice President Nan Russell uses her 25 years of marketing research experience to focus on the measurement and improvement of customer satisfaction for a broad spectrum of international clients. Prior to joining SMG, Nan spent 20 years based in Washington, DC supporting international clients in a range of industries including multi-unit foodservice and retail organizations. She began her career researching everything from irons in Mexico to tractors in the Congo with Market Facts’ International Strategy Group. Nan received a BBA from Notre Dame and has completed all but her dissertation for a PhD in international communications.


	Joel Vaslow Vice President, Client Services As Vice President of Client Services, Joel is responsible for ensuring the delivery of a consistent and high level of service to SMG clients. Prior to joining SMG in 2006, Joel led organizational research and process improvement projects for Sprint Nextel, FedEx, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Energy. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from Tulane University. Joel has presented at numerous conferences and has co-authored articles in several organizational research publications.


	Jack Mackey Vice President, Sales & Marketing Jack Mackey speaks on service improvement strategies nationwide and has consulted with organizations such as MasterCard, Bombardier, the American Culinary Federation and the International Customer Service Association. He co-authored The Total Customer Service System and The Manager’s Role as Coach. Jack studied Business Administration at the University of Arizona and Quantitative Analysis at Syracuse University. He is a volunteer leader with Toastmasters International and Past President of the American Society for Training & Development Kansas City Chapter. Jack produces SMG’s annual Service Management Forum for senior executives in the multi-unit environment.


	Charles Aeh Vice President, Business Development Charles manages business development for the western United States region as well as third-party strategic alliances and business partnership opportunities for SMG. With more than 10 years of sales, marketing, and business development experience for Fortune 500 client loyalty and service-improvement programs, his accomplishments include helping to launch a comprehensive customer care program for BMW of North America LLC. The program was a major success, measured by the steady improvement of BMW placement from 19th to 2nd place in J.D. Power’s CSI rankings for automotive customer service. Charles earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with honors from the University of Phoenix.


	Cindy Wetmore Vice President, Customer Measurement As a former SMG client for many years, Cindy has deep experience in performance improvement programs and customer satisfaction initiatives. She joined SMG following 20 years with Hallmark Cards, Inc., where she managed the customer satisfaction measurement program for the nationwide network of Gold Crown stores. Cindy’s career as a retail executive included three years with Hallmark International-UK, where she started a performance improvement network for independent card shop owners in England, Ireland and Scotland. Cindy holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and is co-author of The Brass Tacks Manager.


	Kirk Michelson Vice President, National Accounts Kirk Michelson holds a MBA in Marketing from DePaul University and a Masters in Education from the University of Illinois. He has spent the past 25 years in the research practice areas of satisfaction and loyalty. In his consulting role as VP National Accounts, Kirk re-engineers effective customer experience management initiatives for major corporations. He has worked with clients such as: Sears, Wendy’s International, United Airlines and Bank of America.


	Brett Brende Measurement Practice Leader Since joining SMG in November of 2001, Brett has worked with some of the most well-known multi-unit restaurant and retail brands such as Applebees, TGIFridays, Burger King, and Payless ShoeSource. Prior to joining SMG, Brett worked in the human resources arena, helping various companies create talent-based environments around the globe. In this position, Brett had extensive client interaction in the hospitality, retail and QSR industries, working with such clients as the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, Ann Taylor, and Harman’s Management, KFC’s largest franchisee. Brett has an MBA from the University of Iowa and a B.S. in Mathematics from South Dakota State University.