Team
Monty Kalsi is the Chairman and CEO of cumulusIQ, which he co-founded with his wife in 2008. cumulusIQ has launched a Patent pending On-Demand Knowledge Marketplace platform to be the leading global provider of Knowledge as a ServiceSM (KaaS).
Monty is a veteran of enterprise software services market with over 15 years of experience in the industry. Prior to cumulusIQ, Monty was the President of a SAP IT consulting company Consarete Technologies that he co-founded in 2006. Monty led the strategic growth of this young consulting organization by imparting superior training and learning to its consultants with the philosophy for excellence in every consulting engagement. The company achieved profitability in 6 months from inception and built strong customer relationships.
Monty sets the overall vision and strategic direction for the company. Monty is currently also responsible for the R&D, product roadmap and strategy in line with company's strategic goals to be the leading global provider of knowledge in the cloud. Monty holds an MBA from University of Ballarat and a BE from Bangalore University. Monty lives in Bethlehem, PA with his wife Dolly and three daughters Angelica, Rhea and Nikita.
David Thornbury is the SVP of Sales at cumulusIQ. Prior to joining cumulusIQ, David has been providing interim sales, marketing and leadership expertise through Momentum Advisory Services, a consulting company that he founded in 2008. Prior to that, David was a VP of Sales for a Customer Experience Management software solution company, Tealeaf, where he grew sales in his region 93%. Prior to that, he was the VP Worldwide Direct and Channel Sales for an enterprise e-mail security solution company, Voltage Security, where he transacted with some of the largest companies in the world including Wal-Mart, The BBC, Lloyds, et al. Before that, David spent more than five years with BEA Systems as a Senior Director of Sales leading a team of 15 sales individuals responsible for $37M in revenue, where he earned Achievers Club honors each year.
Having spent 10 years as a respected sales leader, and 15 years as an award-winning, quota carrying independent contributor, David understands intimately what it takes to prospect, build relationships and close complex business solutions. David has done countless direct enterprise deals with Fortune 500 companies and has vast experience selling indirectly through VARs, Distributors and Systems Integrators.
David has a passion for sales leadership and exemplifies a lead by example style. He is the consummate competitor and resourceful in accomplishing his objectives. Demonstrating his enthusiasm for sales and sales leadership, in his "spare time" he has managed to author two books: Sales Silver Bullets and Leadership Silver Bullets. He resides in Valley Forge, PA with his wife, Marybeth, and son, Aidan.
Marianne Chester is the Chief Operating Officer at cumulusIQ. She manages business operations including customer support, business development, and human resources.
Previously, Marianne served as president and CEO of mEnterprise Solutions, LLC, a company specializing in providing expert advice to business owners and managers to solve the challenges created by the evolution, transition and integration of people, process and technology. She also served as vice president of Global Information Services at Andrew Corporation where she led the enterprise-wide SOX compliance effort and has been responsible for a number of international acquisitions and has held executive leadership positions with AT&T, Celiant Corporation, Frito Lay, Lucent Technologies, Texas Instruments, and VTech. She has several start-ups under her belt.
Marianne currently serves on the Leadership Pocono Board of Directors and is the Treasurer and chairs the Mentor Committee. She is on the Board of Directors for United Way of Monroe County and is Fundraising Campaign Chair for Commercial Trades Division. She is the president of Advisory Board of Directors for Catholic Social Services, is on the Ambassidor's Board for Pocono Medical Center and is on the finance committee for her parish counsel. She was named the leadership committee for Wall Street West (WSW); WIRED workforce development initiative. She also participates in a College Collaborative to ensure a qualified 21st century work force. She is a member of PA STEM, responsible for organizing regional support with the goal of promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education in the region.
Marianne has a passion for leadership, community and volunteerism as exemplified by her community involvement. She is the consummate volunteer and is resourceful in balancing career, work and community. She resides in Stroudsburg, PA with her husband, Rick and son, Ryan with Torey and Christy who are on their own.
Demir Barlas is the VP of Marketing and PR at cumulusIQ. Prior to joining cumulusIQ Demir was the Chief Site Editor of SearchSAP.com a division of TechTarget. Demir brings over a decade of experience as a journalist, editor, analyst, and marketer in the B2B software space, with companies ranging from Line56 Media to Aberdeen Group. In all of Demir's roles, he has championed the right of companies, particularly SMBs, to enjoy the fruits of the B2C revolution: social networking, user-created media, transparency, and low-cost software.
At cumulusIQ, Demir articulates the value proposition of finding, consuming, and pricing services in the cloud. Demir believes that the enterprise software services space is ready to accommodate a bazaar (Web 2.0) model alongside a cathedral (Big 5) model, and helps services customers to understand how this transition will impact their businesses and budgets.
Demir is, with Jon Reed, co-author of the SAP Consultant Handbook 2009. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from UCLA.
George Papaioannou is the VP of Finance at cumulusIQ. George Papaioannou has 15 years of experience in developing, analyzing, evaluating and executing business models, from an investment as well as an operational perspective.
George worked on Wall Street for a total of eight years, analyzing investment opportunities and positioning them with institutional investors. As a research analyst for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, he covered the media & entertainment sector. While at DLJ, George played a central role in more than two dozen public offerings and M&A transactions worth a total of over $3 billion. As product manager for Thomas Weisel Partners, George oversaw all aspects of the equity research department's daily product output. He collaborated with the firm's research analysts to develop thematic investment ideas and position them with appropriate investors. George was a member of TWP's Research Review Committee, which reviewed and approved stock rating changes.
As a management consultant for IBM Global Services, George specialized in the development and execution of Internet strategies for Global 2000 media companies. At online music retailer CDNOW, he formulated a strategy and business model for selling digital downloads. Most recently, George was director of business development for Clique Communications, a provider of Web-based video communication technologies. At Clique, he was responsible for developing commercial applications for the technologies, finding new business opportunities and forging strategic partnerships.
George serves as a Mentor for the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia University. He earned his BA from Cornell University and his MBA from Columbia Business School.
Shivani Gulati is the Program Director of Research and Development at cumulusIQ. At cumulusIQ she leads product development iterations and manages development partner relationships. Prior to joining cumulusIQ, Shivani was the Lead System architect at Siemens Ltd. At Siemens Shivani has successfully handled many R&D projects and continuously excelled with recognition and merit awards for her exemplary performance.
Prior to that Shivani was the development lead at Samsung Electronics where she lead a team of developers to build creative and unique applications for the mobile devices for the world's leading mobile manufacturer. Shivani holds Masters in Computer Science from Punjab University.
