Mike McCranie
V.P. CIO
Thomas & Betts

 

Mike McCranie is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Thomas & Betts based in Memphis. Thomas & Betts is a $2B manufacturer of electrical products used for commercial and industrial construction, industrial plant maintenance, repair and operation, electrical utility distribution, and original equipment manufacturing applications. Prior to joining Thomas & Betts in December 2014, Mike was based in Atlanta and worked with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation for 15 years. While at Kimberly-Clark, Mike served as Divisional CIO for Kimberly-Clark Health Care business and as the Divisional CIO for the Kimberly-Clark Professional business.
 

Mike earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Information Systems Management and Finance from the Georgia College & State University. He is also actively involved in the CIO Executive Council's Pathways Program, and has completed numerous IT leadership programs, including training at the Academy for Leadership Development for Aspiring CIOs.
 

Mike and his wife, Kim, have two children and they reside in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

New Regional Leadership Forum (RLF) Members

Memphis continues our strong participation in RLF in 2015. We again welcome two new members who are currently participating in the program.

Paul Fitzgerald
Computer Systems Engineer 
Buckman International

Paul has served Buckman International in a number of roles since 1996, including Technical Library Assistant, Web Application Developer, and PC Support Specialist. Since 1998, Paul has held the position of Computer Systems Engineer where his responsibilities have included leading and contributing to projects and initiatives related to the design, operation, support, and maintenance of various systems, services, and line of business applications. Paul specializes in and is passionate about Microsoft technologies ranging from traditional on-premises solutions such as Windows Server and Active Directory to modern cloud-based offerings such as Office 365 and its constituent services.
 

Paul holds an Associate of Applied Science degree in Information Technology from Southwest Tennessee Community College and recently began working toward a Bachelor of Science in Business Studies with a concentration in Management of Information Systems from the College of Adult Professional Studies at Christian Brothers University.

Paul was born and raised in Memphis and has lived here his entire life. He married his wife Heather nearly seven years ago and together they have two energetic and imaginative daughters-Taylor, who will turn five in June, and Lauren, who will turn two in April. The entire family enjoys listening to music, watching movies, eating out at restaurants, going on road trips, and anything and everything Disney. The family planned their first Disney vacation this past December and hope to make it an annual family tradition.

Brent Ellis
Enterprise Content Management Engineer
Buckman International
 

Brent joined Buckman in December 2013 as an Enterprise Content Management Engineer, specializing in the strategic design and development of enterprise portal and cloud-based solutions using Microsoft Office 365 and related technologies, including SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive for Business, and Yammer. He spent the previous 7 years as a strategic technology consultant for the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting multiple Department of Defense clients, including the Navy for 4 years in Millington, Tennessee, where he led a team in the IT project management office responsible for executing 100+ projects focusing on business process improvement, electronic forms, workflows, and digital signatures.   He has a broad range of functional and technical experience including project management, business analysis, IT strategy and governance, web design, user experience design, information architecture, and systems engineering.
 

Brent and his wife Ashley have been married for 8 years and have a two children, Hadley, age 4, and John Ross, age 2. Brent is originally from Germantown, Tennessee and currently lives in Southaven, Mississippi. Brent has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis, Tennessee and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Brent enjoys scenic photography, watching good movies and TV series, and spending time with his family.

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Jana Branham

CIO

ACH Food Companies

Dr. Bill Kettinger

US First Lego Robotics at BGCM - Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis

I deeply wish that all of you could hear and feel the excitement in the room as a student gets the Lego robot to move for the first time and see it perform steps that they programmed it to perform.

The room is filled with cheering, gasps, clapping and the "What ifs". They start to make variations in their programs to try different moves. They learn by doing and they feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Using funds the SIM has provided, we have 2 clubs underway:

1. Bernal Smith on Ross Road (Raines and Riverdale area)

   1. 4 sessions (should have been 6 by now but for the ice and snow);

   2. 10 regular attendees;

   3. Vinson Smith is the director and is a strong supporter;

2. Ira Samelson on Isabelle St (Grahamwood and Summer)

   1. 1 session (ice and snow messed up the second)

   2. Have 2 volunteers from the club staff that we are training with the skills and goals;

   3. Had first bot built and running in 1 session;

   4. Kendra Moore is the director and also a strong supporter;

3. Next Club?

   1. Not likely soon unless some volunteers step forward;

   2. Only 2 members of SIM are active so far so they will have to focus on these 2 clubs;

The initial goal is to expose as many of the students as possible to the fun and learning provided by these Lego kits. Then by late May or into June we hope to develop a steady team of 8 to 10 students from each club who wish to delve much deeper and actually form a team for the First Lego League. Early results are very promising.

 US First FRC league in the High Schools

SIM has members active in 2 High Schools - White Station and Collierville. Their bots are built and ready for competition. Please see the attached pictures of the White Station "SpartaBot". This should impression you with the size and complexity of these bots. The boys and girls on each of these teams have done most of the design and construction work and - as of the writing of this article - will be headed off to Atlanta March 25th to compete in that regional competition on Friday and Saturday the 27th and 28th.