TechPoint celebrates tech ‘rockstars’ who don’t often get the limelight

TechPoint recognized the Tech 25 Class of 2016 during a unique event at The Crane Bay in downtown Indianapolis on Aug. 5. The Tech 25 is a prestigious selection of twenty-five individuals who are critical and exceptional performers helping to grow our community’s tech and tech-enabled companies, but who — not being the CEO or other top executives — don’t get celebrated publicly as often as they deserve.

Read why the Tech 25 winners were nominated below. See photos from the event on Facebook.

Mike Langellier, president and CEO of TechPoint, said “The talented team members at our area companies are the life-blood of our tech community. And inside each of those companies are exceptional people doing exceptional things, but who, not being executives, don’t as often get the limelight — until now. We created the Tech 25 to celebrate the rockstars who develop, market, sell and support the products and services that enable our companies to grow and ultimately strengthen our state’s economy.”

Tech 25 winners represent a wide range of roles within tech companies, such as software developers, financial analysts, marketing directors and product managers. Executives could only nominate one team member for the Tech 25 Class of 2016, and a total of 57 Indiana technology companies participated in the nomination process this year.

Winners were selected from three main role categories, reinforcing the core roles that building product and building revenue play: 10 in tech product/R&D, 8 in sales/marketing, and 7 in “other.” In addition to being star performers at their companies, winners are committed team players who build others up through mentoring, volunteering and positive example and are committed to contributing to the broader tech community.

Nick Badgett

Senior Director, Global Marketing
Return Path

“Nick is a brilliant leader with an innate ability to build highly successful teams that are not only functional, but truly outperform and innovate. He brings a determined focus and appetite for success to everything he does, but kindness and collaboration are always at the core. If you’re lucky, you’ll encounter a few colleagues over the course of your career who carry a calmness and confidence that inspire those around them. Nick is one of those people. He is well on his way to becoming a future Chief Marketing Officer.” ~ Daniel Incandela, Sr. Vice President, Global Marketing, Return Path

Christian Beck

Principal Design Partner
Innovatemap

“In order for Indianapolis to carve its own innovation story as a technology and software hub, it takes people like Christian to write it. At Innovatemap, he challenges the status quo, unveils blind spots and solves the right problems. For him, the unknown is simply an opportunity to research and find a solution. It fuels his insatiable curiosity and informs his innovative expertise. He is a visionary designer committed to what he’s always wanted to do – pioneering technology and innovation to impact the future of Indy.” ~ Mike Reynolds CEO, Executive Product Partner, Innovatemap

Jill Casey

Marketing Manager
Renaissance Electronic Services

“In her short time at Renaissance, Jill engineered significant improvements in the marketing department. She’s taken five fragmented brands and helped to develop a framework for our brand architecture that is cohesive, scalable, and meaningful. She exemplifies the persistence and drive that have made this company successful; I am confident in her ability to not only support our growth but to help us continue to reinvent ourselves as a leader in dental technology solutions and a valuable member of Indiana’s tech landscape.” ~ Erick Joseph, President, Renaissance Electronic Services

Grant Dawson

VP, Information Technology
T2 Systems

“Grant has grown tremendously in his 9 years with T2 and has been a major contributor to T2’s growth. He started in a technical role as an individual contributor and has risen through the ranks to Manager, Director, and recently VP as a result of continuously demonstrating leadership for his team. From the smallest technical detail, to the enterprise-wide initiatives, Grant dives in, takes ownership, and helps us win as a team.” ~ Elise Crowder, Director, Human Resources, T2 Systems

Brian Deyo

Head of Employee Engagement Research
Bluebridge

“Brian has worked his way into the fabric of our local tech community and has contributed meaningfully to its upward trajectory. As Head of Employee Engagement Research, he was tasked with developing a new analytics product, including accounting for the marketing and pricing strategy for the product. Through the course of his work, Brian helped author a book with Wiley Publishing on Employee Engagement and has already forged a reputation as a credible thought leader in the employee engagement space.” ~ Todd Richardson, Chief People Officer, Bluebridge

Dave Duke

VP Customer Success
Sigstr

“Dave is a catalyst behind the energy, empathy, and curiosity that has fueled Sigstr’s growth. He knows that a customer’s journey can start in a million different ways and strives to ensure that it never ends. From building relationships during the sales process to gathering customer feedback on our product, Dave wakes up every day asking what else he can do to bring value and help our customers win. The best leaders in a high-growth company are those who are willing to take time to pass along what makes them great.” ~ Dan Hanrahan, President Sigstr

Andy Falkenstein

Director of Product Management
Geofeedia

“Andy is a product and company leader who demonstrates the unusual balance of technical and business skills that repeatedly results in getting industry-leading products to market. Over the past few years, Andy has graduated from top individual contributor to a star mentor, coach and manager of successful product managers at both ExactTarget/Salesforce and Geofeedia. And I fully expect Andy to continue his strong trajectory as a product and industry leader here in Indiana and beyond.” ~ Amy Condle, Director, Marketing, Geofeedia

Ryan Feiock

Manager, Tech Solutions
PAN – Performance Asset Management

“Ryan has been a catalyst for change during his nine years at PAN. Always looking for improvement and efficiencies, Ryan has led many initiatives that have improved the productivity, quality, and throughput for PAN software development teams. When Ryan arrived, software development processes were all manual processes. Within six months, those processes were fully automated and with the automation increased the software development productivity and quality significantly while eliminating time consuming manual processes.” ~ Jim Holm, CEO, PAN – Performance Asset Management

Tyler Foxworthy

Chief Scientist
DemandJump

“Tyler is an acclaimed mathematician and data scientist. He is drawn to hard problems, in equal measure for the challenge and the aesthetics of an elegant solution. Tyler leads a team of data scientists and engineers in developing artificially intelligent systems to conquer the biggest problems in digital marketing using a novel mixture of graph theory, algebraic topology and cutting edge machine learning techniques. A dedicated researcher at heart, he regularly presents his work at international scientific conferences.” ~ Christopher Day, CEO, DemandJump

Adam Gillaspie

Director of Development
PactSafe

“Adam Gillaspie is a one-of-a-kind talent in the world of technology. He’s historically educated in Fine Arts, graphic design, AND engineering. His work ethic, ability to handle ambiguity, and just general awareness and expertise in so many disciplines make him irreplaceable wherever he goes. He has functioned as the only UX designer, developer, and architect that the company has—rebuilding the entire interface, Javascript library, and overall architecture that powers the cloud-based application today.” ~ Eric Prugh, COO & Co-founder, PactSafe

Samantha Haddad-Foster

Director of Talent
Octiv

“Samantha joined Octiv as our first employee focused on HR and talent programs, and what she has accomplished as an army of one over her tenure is unprecedented. She is committed to providing an exceptional employee and candidate experience, serves as an advocate for our local tech community, and has taken personal interest in networking heavily to give back to her peers within the talent community. On top of all of that, she is providing strong female leadership in an industry that desperately needs it.” ~ Dustin Sapp, CEO, Octiv

Kristen Hamerstadt

Director of marketing
SmarterHQ

“Since her start as Director of Marketing of SmarterHQ in 2015, Kristen has been consistently rated as one of the best managers in the company. Between her tenacious energy and can-do attitude, Kristen has armed our team with the ability to better attain new clients and continue our growth and success. Kristen deserves Tech25 recognition because she has helped refocus our messaging, made it possible to foster new relationships and has been tirelessly committed to the betterment the company and the city of Indianapolis.” ~ Michael Osborne, CEO & President, SmarterHQ

John Henry

Manager, Customer Development
Vennli

“We first experienced John as likely the most impactful intern we have ever had–and that is an accomplishment–and then fortunately we were able to hire him to organize, train, and launch our Customer Success Organizations. Despite offers from around the country post MBA, he made the decision to stay and make his home in South Bend. We’re very happy he did. John’s next 4-5 years are committed to building Vennli and serving in his role as Customer Delight Maestro and Strategic Guiding Light.” ~ Gary Gigot, Co-Founder, CEO, Vennli

Adam Hoeksema

Director, Loan Programs
Flagship Enterprise Center

“Adam Hoeksema, Director of Loan Programs, believes that technology should be at the very core of the microloan program. His leadership and vision have produced software solutions that have allowed the Flagship lending program to scale rapidly while responding to customer, stake holder and regulatory needs. In addition to his work at the Flagship, Adam is the Co-Founder of ProjectionHub, a SaaS web application that helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for business plans, loan applications, and investors.” ~ Charles Staley, President and CEO, Flagship Enterprise Center

Corey Kime

Director of Client Experience
Lesson.ly

“Corey takes time out of his day to help anyone and everyone on an individual basis. Many people come to him for questions and advice because of the way he listens wholeheartedly and offers advice that’s backed by love. If anyone makes a mistake, he’s the first person to listen to their reasoning and offer a way to help them learn and grow. Everyone leaves a conversation with him with a smile on their face and a boost of confidence. The Client Experience Team and Lesson.ly would not be where they are at today without him.” ~ Mitch Causey, Director of Marketing, Lesson.ly

Josh Knox

Service Delivery Manager
Diverse Tech Services

“One year ago, Josh Knox made the life-changing decision to transition from being a private school IT teacher to an MSP service delivery manager. Since day one, his positive devotion, charisma and passion to succeed have impacted an already successful IT firm with amazing results. Josh has a continuous improvement mindset that creates new value, direction and objectives throughout the organization daily. Keep your eye on Josh as he will be one of the future industry leaders within the Information Technology arena.” ~ Rodney Peerman, Chief Technology Officer, Diverse Tech Services

Michael Moskalick

Sales Manager
Cimcor

“As an integral part of the team, Mike’s performance and dedication is not only strategic in nature, but also resourceful, and consistently focused on our growth objectives and strong desire for customer satisfaction. His proclivity within many vertical markets has propelled Cimcor, its product sales revenue, and brand forward. Mike’s commitment to the company, the corporate mission, and loyal customers is immeasurable.” ~ Jacqueline von Ogden, Director of Marketing & Communications, Cimcor

Amy Oviedo

VP People Operations
Kinney Group

“Amy Oviedo, VP of People Operations at Kinney Group, Inc., is one of our most influential leaders. Amy’s desire to put her fingerprint on a growing organization that focuses on people and culture as its primary differentiator attracted her to KGI in October, 2012. Three primary dimensions have earned her tremendous respect amongst colleagues and in the community: her steadiness, her ability for team play, and having a progressive outlook for managing our number one resource – people. We could not do this without her!” ~ Sarah Nelms, Chief Financial Officer, Kinney Group

Steve Pruden

Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships
Appirio

“Steve Pruden, has been a part of Appirio’s DNA even before the company established an office in Indiana. Steve is largely responsible for Appirio’s presence in the city altogether; he led the sight selection, co-founded, and currently leads Indianapolis operations, growing the team from four to 180 in less than four years. But Steve did more than just convince Appirio’s founders that Indy was the perfect environment in which a global tech consultancy could thrive; he has personally contributed to the thriving tech scene.” ~ Elizabeth Friedland, Director of Communications, Appirio

Dan Rigsby

Principal Software Architect
Angie’s List

“Dan has been instrumental in bringing some of the best design thinking within Angie’s List into the technology side of things. He makes design exciting for engineers. Dan’s tech knowledge is rivaled only by his passion for volunteering. He teaches a coding program at two Indianapolis-area schools to elementary-age kids who might not otherwise be exposed to computer science. Dan can often be found speaking at a local college or conference, and acts as the “face of Angie’s List” at such events and more.” ~ Darin Brown, Chief Technology Officer, Angie’s List

Ian Runyon

Director of Solutions
MOBI

“Ian Runyon started his MOBI journey almost five years ago and has done more for MOBI than any of us ever imagined. Over the last 20 years, I’ve found very few technical engineers with an “all-star” skill-set: sales focus, leadership skills and product vision. Ian hits it out of the park on all three. Ian continues to be our Solutions Architect “closer” and plays a significant role in all of our major wins. Most importantly, Ian is a key contributor to our culture leading through his work ethic, commitment and mentorship.” ~ Scott Kraege, Co-founder & CEO, MOBI

Alex Smith

Director of Business Development
SteadyServ Technologies

“After joining SteadyServ in 2015, Alex quickly established himself as a proactive sales leader with a head for quantitative strategy and performance. He has reduced our sales cycle, increased reach and activation rates by double digits and is managing outbound sales and marketing activities from where he began in central Indiana to now across North America and the UK. Alex has quickly moved to be one of the most relied upon and trusted employees at SteadyServ who will continue to see upward mobility within the company.” ~ Steve Hershberger, CEO, SteadyServ Technologies

Jessica Stephenson

VP of Marketing & Talent
ExactHire

“Jessica personifies the term “initiative”, as she regularly takes it upon herself to do the things needed in a smaller organization to ensure success, even when those things don’t fall within her scope of responsibility. She has been an integral part of the overall growth and success of ExactHire for nearly seven years, beginning with leading our Client Services area. Overall, Jessica’s diverse array of talents and willingness to take on new challenges make her a tremendous asset for ExactHire and our clients.” ~ Harlan Schafir, Chief Visionary Officer, ExactHire

Ashley Walsh

Director of Marketing
Formstack

“Sometimes in life you meet wonderful people who have a high impact on your team – they are the people that drop on the ground in an organization and make immediate impact. Ashley is a tremendous asset to Formstack and the Indy tech scene. As the Director of Marketing, she has helped build a world-class marketing team as she has a strong ability to hear what’s happening, organize a plan around overcoming the problem, and moving a team toward that goal. She has a strong bias toward results and getting things done.” ~ Chris Byers, CEO, Formstack

Noelle Webster-Milam

Lead Experience Architect
SEP

“Noelle is an Indiana success story, graduating from IUPUI’s HCI school, and working at MillerWhite and Angie’s List as a Senior UI/UX Designer. As the Lead UX Architect, she has had an enormous impact on our company from her instrumental work helping us transform from an engineering company to a product development company, by delivering innovative and delightful user experiences to the products we build. Because of Noelle, our teams have become passionate about intuitive designs and understanding the user experience.” ~ Traci Dossett, Chief Operating Officer, SEP