Avanade

Jeremy Palenchar is a Senior Infrastructure Architect at Avanade, Inc. where he focuses on Directory Services and Identity Management. Jeremy is responsible for the planning, design, and implementation of Directory Service and Identity Management solutions for Avanade's Fortune 500 clients. Jeremy is CISSP and MCSE certified and holds a Batchelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University. He lives and works in sunny, downtown, Seattle.

As senior vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, S. Somasegar leads the teams responsible for providing tools and developer platform technologies targeted at developers, designers and teams involved in software development. This includes the Microsoft .NET developer platform that provides a consistent programming model spanning client, Web, server, device and services platform, Silverlight, the Visual Studio family of products, and Expression Studio. Somasegar is also responsible for the Web server platform including Internet Information Services (IIS), Media Server and Commerce Server. His team also owns MSDN and TechNet online properties to enable a deep connection with the developer and IT professional audience. In addition, Somasegar oversees the Microsoft India Development Center (IDC) in Hyderabad, India, and the Microsoft Canada Development Center (MCDC) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Somasegar joined Microsoft in 1989, and worked on eight different operating system releases before heading up the Developer Division. Before joining Microsoft, Somasegar was a graduate student in computer engineering at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He holds a master's degree in computer engineering from Louisiana State University, USA and a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from Guindy Engineering College, Anna University, Chennai, India. In November 2006, Somasegar was awarded an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) by Anna University, India. In February 2008, he was awarded the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award. Somasegar and his wife have two daughters. He frequently shares his thoughts via his blog, http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar.

Robert Frerichs is Accenture's chief risk officer, responsible for managing Accenture's overall business risk, including contract risk. As such, he is deeply involved in the significant aspects of the company's financial, business and contract management. He chairs the company's Capital Committee and Merger & Acquisition Committee and is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Prior to being appointed to his current position in September 2004, Mr. Frerichs was chief operating officer of Accenture's Communication & High Tech operating group. From August 2001 to November 2003 he was managing partner of the initial market maker team within the Communication & High Tech operating group, responsible for identifying, structuring and closing major client opportunities. Other leadership roles Mr. Frerichs has held within that operating group include global managing partner of the Electronics & High Tech operating unit and managing partner of the US Aerospace & Defense operating unit. During his 31 years with Accenture he also served as the managing partner of the Asia Pacific operating units for both our Products and Resources operating groups. Mr. Frerichs was a member of Accenture's board of directors prior to the company's initial public offering in July 2001 and also served on the company's strategic planning teams during key periods over the past 17 years. He was involved in the creation of Avanade, a technology company Accenture formed with Microsoft, and currently serves as chairman of Avanade's board of directors. A certified public accountant and certified at the fellow level in manufacturing, Mr. Frerichs joined Accenture in 1976 and became a partner in 1986. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science engineering and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Illinois.

Karl-Heinz Floether is group chief executive—Systems Integration, Technology & Delivery, with responsibility for all of Accenture's systems integration, technology, quality and delivery capabilities, including its Global Delivery Network, which consists of more than 40 delivery centers on five continents serving clients on a global basis. A member of Accenture's board of directors from June 2001 to February 2004, Mr. Floether serves on the company's Executive Leadership Team. Prior to being appointed to his current position in May 2005, Mr. Floether was group chief executive of Accenture's Financial Services operating group, a role he assumed in December 1999. Mr. Floether has spent the majority of his career in the company's Financial Services operating group, focusing mainly on large and complex business transformation and systems integration projects. Prior to serving as group chief executive—Financial Services, Mr. Floether was responsible for the Financial Services practice in Continental Europe and served as Accenture's country managing director for Germany. Mr. Floether's other leadership positions have included managing partner for consulting in West Europe and regional industry director for Financial Services in West Europe. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Avanade Inc. Mr. Floether joined Accenture in 1979 and became a partner in 1990. He holds a master's degree in business administration from Hamburg University.