Leadership

Executive Team

Ron Schoenherr

Ron Schoenherr

President & Chief Executive Officer

Ron Schoenherr is a sales and marketing veteran with more than 20 years of management experience in the IT industry. As President & CEO of XCEND Group, Ron oversees all aspects of the company’s business operations, strategic direction, and overall growth. Ron co-founded XCEND Group in 2005 as a start-up consulting firm dedicated to helping customers reduce their IT operational costs through the implementation of enterprise systems management solutions. Under Ron’s leadership, XCEND realized a three-year growth rate of over 1200%, earning XCEND the rank of 139th on Inc. Magazines 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies. At XCEND, Ron has been instrumental in the development of the vision and go-to-market strategy for MetriX – Business Intelligence for IT, a suite of end-to-end solutions for increasing the effectiveness of IT. Ron recognized the need for IT organizations to apply the same principles of Business Intelligence to IT operations. The first solution in the suite, MetriX Real-time Dashboard, was released in 2009 and provides clients with visibility into operational and strategic Key Performance Indicators that help deliver on the promise of aligning IT with business. Prior to starting XCEND, Ron worked for Altiris, a leader in the IT Lifecycle Management industry, where he developed and executed sales and marketing strategies that continuously exceeded revenue and quota goals. His efforts resulted in several sales achievement awards, including Account Manager of the Year in 2002.  His career path has also included significant sales and marketing contributions to industry leaders Compaq Computer Corporation, Allied Telesyn, Hayes Microcomputer Products, and Inacomp Computer Centers. Ron attended Western Michigan University, majoring in Business Administration.
 

Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson

Chief Operating Officer

Bill Johnson came to XCEND Group in 2006 with solid experience in business operations, organizational development, financial analysis, and strategic planning. As Chief Operating Officer, Bill oversees all aspects of XCEND’s operations and financial management, including finance, accounting, budget development, and strategic planning. In his tenure with XCEND, he has helped the company implement financial strategies that have established it as one of the fastest-growing IT companies in the U.S. Bill also serves as Vice President of Consulting Services for XCENSION, a subsidiary of XCEND Group that provides financial management and business process consulting for entrepreneurial and high-growth organizations. Most recently, Bill held several roles within Mazzoni & Sons/Breeze Freeze, including Director of Organizational Development and Controller. In addition to overseeing daily business operations, Bill made significant contributions to the company’s sales revenues and overall productivity. He has also worked as a Financial Analyst for Growth Management Solutions, a CFO group specializing in consulting & financial assistance for small businesses, and as a business consultant for an international non-profit organization. Bill earned his Masters in Business Administration from Northwood University, and also holds a BA in Business Administration from Alma College.
 

Francis Sherk

Francis Sherk

Vice President of Technical Services

In his role as Vice President of Technical Services, Francis Sherk is responsible for the strategic direction, daily operations, and overall profitability of XCEND’s solution-oriented consulting group. Francis brings to XCEND more than 15 years of experience in project management, systems integration, client support, and strategic process improvement, as well as the implementation and support of large-scale IT lifecycle management solutions. He has worked previously within XCEND as Director of Technology Services, where he was responsible for developing the company’s post-sales support methodology and various project management initiatives. Prior to joining XCEND Group in 2005, Francis served as a Senior Systems Engineer for Metaldyne Inc., where he managed the design, implementation, and operations of enterprise-wide technical solutions. His leadership efforts at Metaldyne resulted in the post-merger integration of disparate computing systems across 38 global locations. Francis began his professional career in IT at National TechTeam, where he quickly developed expertise in technical management, system and network administration, team leadership, project management, and executive support, as well as earning several company awards for superior customer service.
 

Michael Brummel

Michael Brummel

Vice President of Application Development

Michael Brummel brings extensive analytical and problem solving skills honed over years of global consulting experience to XCEND as the Vice President of Application Development. Michael is an accomplished developer of custom and commercially available products in the market today. With hands-on manufacturing & business skills as well as consulting experience for an array of industry verticals, Michael brings a proven record of process improvement through product enablement, software development and effective project management. In his current capacity, Michael serves as the project manager and lead software architect for all application development and workflow projects at XCEND including the MetriX Real-Time Dashboard solution and Service Automation Suite.  Michael also provides 2nd level and developer support for all of XCEND’s field consulting team, increasing the value of XCEND’s professional services.  As a certified database administrator, project manager, programmer and Altiris enterprise architect, Michael is uniquely qualified to support a wide range of internal and customer projects from conception to completion. Prior to joining XCEND in 2007, Michael founded and managed a successful and highly respected consulting firm specializing in custom application development and professional services surrounding asset life cycle management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for customers ranging from small businesses to global enterprises around the world. Michael attended Davenport College of Business, majoring in mathematics.

Board of Advisors

Steve Frietas

Managing Director SBB Capital Partners, LLC

Steve is a Partner in the SBB Capital Partners investment banking firm and a successful entrepreneur with a long history in Information Technology.  During his 21-year career with Accenture, Steve was the architect of multiple large complex technology solutions for his clients, including Microsoft, Motorola, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, Daimler-Benz, Bank America, Delta Airlines and multiple other banking, automotive and utility industry customers.  These skills earned him a Partnership in the Firm and the rewards of being one of the founding partners of Accenture. Steve retired from Accenture following the IPO and served as the Process Information Officer of General Motors Corporations, Global Sales, Service and Marketing Operations from 2001 – 2004.  In this role, he managed approximately 30% the global operations and technology footprint for GM, achieving dramatic cost reductions and service improvements through consolidation and outsourcing.  Steve went on to lead the structuring and negotiating of some of the largest IT contracts ever signed during a brief careers with IBM and Booz Allen Hamilton. In 2007, Steve left corporate life to manage his own portfolio of service businesses and has completed several corporate turn-arounds and start-ups in addition to his investment and merchant banking activities.
 

Cal Killen

Former Vice President at IBM & Unisys

Cal started his career with IBM and over 25 years held numerous hardware and software development roles, most recently as vice president of Development, Global Industries Solutions Centers. In that role, Cal had direct responsibility for 20 industry solution units such as banking, telecommunications and healthcare as well as 2,500 project managers, architects and engineers throughout the world. In the late 90s, Cal served as Executive VP of Software Development for Vignette, an internet company specializing in content management software. In 2001, Cal moved to Unisys Corporation as the VP of Solutions Development, responsible for various corporate programs including software development, global sourcing, product management, Six Sigma, and the NEC-Unisys partnership. Cal also managed the CIO office which set the standards across the company for software architecture and processes. In 2006, Cal retired from corporate life to pursue new business startups in Glen Arbor, Michigan.  Three years ago, Cal and his team launched an online company that tutors high school students across the world via the Internet.  In his spare time, Cal enjoys woodworking, playing percussion in the Traverse City concert bands, and flying a Cherokee 180 airplane.