et al.
About the Lead Author
Neil FitzGerald has recently founded Longtop International (www.longtopinternational.com), a global sourcing firm specializing in Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Reporting solutions for firms around the globe. With major onshore offices in Canada and the U.S., and almost 700 offshore engineers in China, Longtop can provide world-class reporting and BI solutions and content creation for unbeatable value to clients around the world. Before founding Longtop, Neil combined his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and his MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario with his more than 8 years of experience at Business Objects in a variety of senior roles to help provide information solutions to Fortune 500 companies across North America. He has cumulatively spent more than 11 years in the Information Delivery domain, and is available for onsite or remote consulting. Neil can be contacted at nfitzgerald@longtop.com.
About the Contributing Authors
James Edkins is a senior presales consultant for Business Objects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a post graduate diploma in marketing management. He has been in the information technology sector for more than 11 years and has experience working with Fortune 500 companies in an ERP, product development, and business intelligence capacity.
Annette Jonker has worked as a consultant helping customers implement Business Objects since 1995. During this time, she has had the privilege of working for Business Objects for six years, starting as an Associate Consultant and working her way up to Regional Resource Manager. Annette left Business Objects in 2003 and partnered with Monica Allen to start a consulting firm, Innovative Business Solutions, LLC (www.ibsllcusa.com) where she continues to help customers deploy Business Objects throughout their organizations. When not working, sleeping or eating, Annette spends her time training for triathlons.
Michael Voloshko is a senior pre-sales consultant for the financial services team at Business Objects. Michael has been with Business Objects for six years and is based in New York City.
Neil FitzGerald
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Neil FitzGerald is an entrepreneur who has successfully started or contributed to multiple consulting companies in the IT consulting domain. Neil combined his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and his MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario with his more than 8 years of experience at Business Objects in a variety of senior roles to help provide information solutions to Fortune 500 companies across North America. He has spent more than 13 years in the information delivery domain and is available for onsite or remote consulting to companies large and small. Neil can be contacted at neil_fitzgerald@hotmail.com.
About the Contributing Authors
Bob Coates has worked for Business Objects, an SAP company (through the Crystal Decisions and Business Objects acquisitions), for more than 11 years. While there he worked in technical support, global services, and sales consulting. Presently Bob is a principal sales consultant working on the SAP Synergy Team—a branch of the Strategic Technology Group focused on the top 100 SAP customers. Bob would like to thank his wife Amanda for her infinite patience and support.
Ryan Goodman is the founder of Centigon Solutions Inc. As a previous technical evangelist and sales consultant at Infommersion and then Business Objects, Ryan has implemented hundreds of Xcelsius projects spanning more than 4 years. His interactive data visualization and design background coupled with his business insight and technical aptitude have made him one of the top Xcelsius experts in the world. Ryan continues to push the envelope and evangelize Xcelsius on his blog: www.ryangoodman.net/blog.
Michael Voloshko is a principal solutions architect for the financial services vertical at Business Objects, an SAP company.