Keynote Speaker
Craig Johnson is responsible for understanding market requirements, driving product enhancements, and delivering new IBM i product offerings. Craig has led the introduction of many technologies on the System i platform including Linux, AIX, and most recently PHP and MySQL. Prior to joining the product management team, Craig was team leader in the AS/400 Competitive Marketing department and has held numerous technical and management positions at IBM.

Jon Paris is a Senior Consultant at Partner400, an iSeries education company located in Ontario, Canada. Jon has been involved in the data processing industry for over 30 years, with a career spanning from operations to compiler design. He spent 12 years with IBM’s Toronto Lab and played a major role in the definition of the new RPG IV language and in promoting its use with IBM Business Partners and users.

Susan Gantner is a Senior Consultant at Partner400, an iSeries education company located in Ontario, Canada. Her career has spanned over 25 years in the field of application development. Susan joined IBM in 1985 and worked in the labs until 1999. She left IBM to focus on teaching and consulting, with a primary emphasis on enabling customers to take advantage of the latest programming and database technologies on the AS/400 and iSeries.

George Farr George Farr joined the IBM Toronto Lab in 1985 and has worked with the RPG development team, System i languages architecture and planning team, Visual Development organization as Compile team leader, and is now Visual RPG development manager. He is a frequent and popular speaker at industry events.

Bruce Vining is President of Bruce Vining Services, an IBM business partner specializing in IBM System i software services. At IBM he supported the System/38, worked in the Rochester labs, then joined the AS/400 System Design Control Group in 1992 where he was responsible for the design and implementation of system APIs and exit points. Bruce is a frequent speaker and the author of the bestselling book “IBM System i APIs at Work.”

Al Grega is responsible for managing the WebSphere product portfolio on the IBM System i platform Worldwide. Previously he was the Director of Product Marketing at LANSA USA, and before that he was an IBMer for 24 years with experience in OS development, services, marketing, and sales. Al has also taught at the State University of New York at Farmingdale and is currently on the Strategic Education Team for Web Application Development at COMMON.

Joe Pluta is the President of Pluta Brothers Design, Inc. located in Palatine, Illinois. Pluta Brothers Design specializes in extending and enhancing IBM midrange legacy systems using the latest technologies. Joe has written several books on Web-related topics for MCPress Online as well as various iSeries-related mailing lists. He is also a frequent speaker on all things iSeries.

Larry Bolhuis is a partner at Arbor Solutions, Inc., an IBM business partner in Grand Rapids, MI. He began working on IBM midrange equipment with the S/34 and S/36 in 1984 and the AS/400 with its introduction in 1988. Larry currently holds more than 30 IBM AS/400 and iSeries Certifications, including IBM Certified Systems Expert in LPAR, Linux, Windows Integration, and Technical Solutions.

Kevin Forsythe is a Consultant and lead instructor for DMC Consulting in Toledo, Ohio. He has more than 20 years of experience with IBM midrange systems in programming, analysis, consulting, and instruction. Kevin currently develops up-to-date courseware, speaks regularly at conferences and user group meetings, has written numerous iSeries articles, and authored the best-selling book “SQL for eServer i5 and iSeries.”

Paul Holm is an iSeries WebSphere and Java specialist at PlanetJ Corporation in San Diego, CA. He is a former IBM-Rochester WebSphere, Java, and DB2 developer/consultant. Paul specializes in helping iSeries RPG shops develop Web-based applications. He is currently a lead architect for the “WOW” product, which is Query/400 and DFU for WebSphere (aka WebSphere on steroids).

Kevin Mort is a Solutions Architect with the Midmarket Group f IBM VAD Arrow Electronics, where he is responsible for developing solutions including virtualization, collaboration, and other business systems computing technologies. His certifications include System i Solutions Design, Implementation, LPAR, and Domino Administration. Gene Cobb is a DB2 for i technology specialist in the IBM i ERP Development team where he helps IBM i developers with IBM DB2 Web Query for System i, database modernization, and other topics. He’s been with IBM for over 20 years, with 10 years spent in the IBM STG Lab Services group (formerly the CTC) where he assisted IBM midrange customers with application design and development using RPG, DB2 for i5/OS, IBM CallPath/400, and IBM Lotus Domino.