IHL Group - Analysts

Principal

Greg Buzek Greg Buzek is the Founder and President of IHL Consulting Group. Noted by RIS News as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Retail, he has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from The Ohio State University, and 20 years of experience in market analysis, business planning, product development, and consulting with Fortune 500 companies. He is frequently quoted in RIS News, Executive Technology, CIO Information Network, Information Week, Supermarket News, Retails Systems Reseller, Kiosk Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post and has been used as a retail technology analyst on NBC Nightly News, CBS News, and CNBC. In addition Greg has been a guest lecturer for the Wharton School of Business' Global Consulting Practicum and at Belmont University. Before starting IHL, Greg worked with NCR Corporation and Sensormatic Electronics as a marketing and development executive on hardware, software, and electronic security products for the Retail Industry.

Lee Holman In addition to an MBA from Pepperdine University and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Lee brings over 27 years of sales, product development, engineering and management experience in the field of high technology. Lee has been involved in numerous projects ranging from high speed printers to defense department technologies used in the F-16 and B-1 aircraft, nuclear submarines and other systems. Lee has authored many retail industry reports, including market studies on Retail POS Terminals, POS Printers, Self-Checkout Systems, Self-Service Kiosks, as well as many informal papers on topics such as Supply Chain, RFID, Data Warehousing, Warehouse Management, and CRM technlogies. Lee has been quoted by CBS MarketWatch, The Washington Times, USA Today, RIS News and Executive Technology, among others.

Sean M. Alexander Sean Alexander brings over ten years of operational experience to IHL Consulting Group. Prior to joining IHL, Sean spent four years on active duty in the United States Coast Guard where he participated in Counter-Narcotic and Alien Migration Interdiction operations. He was the Operations Petty Officer aboard a patrol boat in Key West, FL, and he deployed to the Caribbean, Eastern Pacific, and Mediterranean regions during his tour of duty. He has held positions at Marriott Hotels and Starbucks Coffee Company. Additionally, Sean spent three years as an instructor at a Juvenile Court operated alternative school. Sean has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management and Human Relations from Trevecca Nazarene University. Within IHL, Sean is involved in the production of our POS Terminal Market Studies as well as overseeing the development and production of the Sophia Data Service.

Jerry Sheldon In addition to having a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, Jerry also has an MBA from the University of Miami with a specialty in Marketing and Marketing Research. He brings 16 years of business experience in engineering and management through assignments with Pratt Whitney - United Technologies, Georgia Tech School of Mathematics, and Milliken & Company. Jerry is our resident rocket scientist. In his previous employment he was managing a stress testing laboratory on the Space Shuttle engines. In the field of retail technology, Jerry has researched and authored analyst reports on Price Optimization, POS Software Systems, Printers, and Workforce Management Solutions. Jerry also provides the development expertise and analytics that go into our Retailer Technology Data Service Sophia and our Retail and CPG IT Spend models. Jerry has been quoted by The Atlanta Journal Constitution, RIS News, Hospitality Upgrade, BusinessWeek and Retail Technology Quarterly, among others.

Partners and Analysts

RSR Research Retail Systems Research (RSR) provides insight into business and technology challenges facing the retail industry ecosystem, and thought leadership and advice on navigating these challenges for specific companies and the industry at large. We cover all things retail: from store operations, to merchandise optimization, through cross-channel and multi-channel issues and private label management. From benchmark reports on the state of the industry, to analysis of breaking news, we turn data into easily digestible information. All our research is available for reading free to qualified retailers and their business partners. Click Here for More Information.

Dan Grady Dan Grady has spent his professional career developing and deploying store technology solutions. He has spent the past three years as CEO and Consulting Principal of C-CORE working with multiple retailers and technology organizations on process management, program management and technology implementations. Prior to forming C-CORE, he worked at A&P for 15 years as VP of Business Process Integration and as Director of Project Implementation. He was responsible for developing and deploying retail technology initiatives, feasibility studies, detailed integrated process design, RFI's and RFP's, solution provider evaluation and selection, business case development and strategic outsourcing. Prior to A&P, Dan was a store manager for First National Supermarkets (FINAST - now part of AHOLD). Dan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Central Connecticut State University.

Frank Urbaniak Frank Urbaniak has over 25 years experience in retail store automation and grocery operations and has spent the past three years as President and Consulting Principal of C-CORE. Prior to joining C-CORE, he spent time with Kyrus (now Agilysis) as a Consulting Principal working with major North American retailers on various store and host technology projects. Prior to working with Kyrus, he was Vice President of Store Automation at A&P for 6 years, reporting to the COO, and Vice President of Program Management. Frank has been responsible for the successful deployment of POS and store technology applications including labor scheduling, DSD, computer-based training, ESL's, self-checkout, scale management, ordering and loyalty programs. He began his career with Wakefern ShopRite, a retailer owned co-op, working in all store management positions up to District Manager, and was involved in the startup and deployment of early generations of scanning systems and back office applications. Frank has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Lafayette College.

Merasys Merasys is the architect around IHL's Sophia Data Service. The Merasys Vision revolves around not only redefining the way we look at data we already have but also brings to light data streams previously left untouched. This radical new look into processing data will bring discernment never before possible into the lives and business we touch. It is our goal to change not only the way you look at life but also the manor in which you interact with it.

Cathy Hotka and Associates Cathy Hotka & Associates is retail's only marketing and communications firm focused solely on retail technology decision-makers. We connect people who want to get closer to retail CIOs. We work closely with those CIOs, and with technology firms, magazines, associations and analysts to create results.