meet the executive team

Reid French, Chief Executive Officer, leads the Applied Systems team. He is responsible for the company's overall business strategy and operational execution. He also plays a prominent role in developing and fostering relationships in the Applied Systems community. French came to Applied Systems in 2011, after serving as chief operating officer at Intergraph Corporation, a global company at the forefront of geospatial and computer-aided design software. In seven years at Intergraph, French was instrumental in growing revenue by 60 percent, to $840 million from company operations in more than 50 countries. Before Intergraph, French was chief operating officer in North America for Solution 6 Group Ltd., Australia's largest software company. Early in his career, he was a strategic planner for the Walt Disney Company, and he managed investment banking transactions in the technology sector for Robinson Humphrey. French holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C.; and a master's in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He sits on the board of directors for Applied Systems, Gemcom International and the Lovett School in Atlanta.

Mark P. Layden, Chief Operating Officer, oversees the multi-faceted Applied Systems Technology Division. A technology industry veteran, Layden came to Applied Systems from Fair Isaac Corporation, the decision management solutions company, where he was vice president and general manager of Products and Innovation. Layden earned his bachelor's degree in Economics at Harvard University. His experience includes senior management positions at TempoSoft SA, based in Boulogne, France; SAP AG in Waldorf, Germany; and Chicago-based Campbell Software Inc., a company he co-founded.

Colleen E. Mikuce, Chief Financial Officer, directs the operation of all financial and administrative functions at Applied Systems. A company employee since 1985, Mikuce has served as senior vice president and controller, executive vice president of finance and administration, and management representative to the board of directors.

Ian Hoffman, Chief Marketing Officer, directs all branding, marketing and communications strategy for Applied Systems. A software industry veteran, Hoffman brought more than two decades of results-oriented, international marketing experience when he arrived at Applied Systems in 2011. He developed his expertise in strategic planning, brand development and integrated marketing and communications functions at global software companies including Intergraph Corporation, an organization at the forefront of geospatial and computer-aided design software. As senior vice president of Marketing, Hoffman was part of the Intergraph management team whose organizational transformation efforts contributed to growing revenue by 60 percent, to $840 million from company operations in more than 50 countries. Prior to Intergraph, Hoffman was vice president of Global Marketing at Solution 6 Holdings, the largest software company in Australia; and vice president of Marketing at Novient, a major provider of software for professional services automation. Hoffman holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University.

James R. White, Executive Vice President of Sales, brought more than 20 years' experience in enterprise software sales and service to Applied Systems when he joined the company in September 2007. White has held senior management positions with enterprise software companies including Pilot Software (currently SAP), Portal Software (currently Oracle), and ManageSoft Corporation. During his first year, White built a Corporate Account Management and Strategic Service Team responsible for enhancing customer relationships and expanding Applied Systems solutions to the corporate user community.

Bob Falk, Senior Vice President of Technology, heads the Applied Systems division that includes Product Development and Quality Assurance. Falk came to Applied Systems with more than 25 years' technology experience in a number of industries, including insurance, banking, manufacturing and digital media. He led the development organizations at SAP-AG, AutoDesk, Internet Systems, and Kraft, Inc., delivering numerous commercial software products to the marketplace. As CTO at Siteras Technologies, Falk led the development of an enterprise-class, web-based service that allows insurance companies to electronically settle claim transactions. Falk is the primary inventor of the patents for that service, which was sold to Arbitration Forums, Inc. and is now used by all major property & casualty carriers in the United States.

Kristin Hackney, Senior Vice President of Services, leads the Applied Systems organization that delivers enterprise, implementation, education and technical services. She is the former vice president of Worldwide Enterprise Solutions & Services for Chicago-based SPSS Inc., the leading global provider of predictive analytics software and solutions. Hackney drove the strategic transformation of SPSS from a tools/technology-focused vendor to a respected provider of enterprise solutions, building and leading the company’s global predictive analytics solutions business. In a previous role at SPSS, Hackney served as vice president of Worldwide Education Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

Ryan Hobbs, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, is responsible for business strategy as well as merger and acquisition activities at Applied Systems. Hobbs previously had a similar role at Intergraph Corporation, a global company that develops geospatial and engineering software. There, he led efforts related to strategic planning, acquisitions, divestitures and other key corporate initiatives. Prior to working at Intergraph, Hobbs held management positions at Witness Systems, a provider of software for customer relationship management. He began his career in investment banking focused on the technology sector, working at J.P. Morgan and Raymond James. Hobbs holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Engineering Science from Vanderbilt University and a master's in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Jeffrey D. Purdy, Senior Vice President of Sales, Primary Accounts, directs the Applied Systems teams responsible for primary sales in the United States and Canada. Purdy began his Applied Systems career in the company's Canada operations in 1989. In 1993, he was named president of Applied Systems Canada, assuming responsibility for Canada product development, sales, implementation and customer support. In 2002, Purdy relocated to Applied Systems' U.S. headquarters as vice president of Diamond Implementation and Account Services, departments within the carrier division then operated by the company. Purdy has been in charge of primary sales since 2004.

David H. Whitley, Senior Vice President of Development, leads the Product Development and Quality Assurance teams for Applied Systems. Whitley previously was responsible for global product development activities for the Security, Government and Infrastructure division at Intergraph Corporation, providing mission-critical software for various industries including public safety, defense, intelligence, utilities, transportation and communications. Prior to Intergraph, Whitley was vice president of engineering at Solution 6 Holdings, the largest software company in Australia. He began his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), where he worked in the technology competency center, delivering custom application solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Whitley holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Kathleen J. Cox, AAI, Vice President of Product Management, leads the teams that design all Applied Systems product offerings. In addition, Cox instructs classes for Applied Systems employees studying INS, the series in general insurance offered by the American Institute for CPCU and the Insurance Institute of America. The institutes have recognized Cox with the Outstanding Course Leader Award, signifying exemplary results and outstanding service to her students and her profession. Cox began working at a Pennsylvania agency in 1985, gaining experience in all facets of agency operation. At Applied Systems since 1999, Cox has been client ambassador, primary sales consultant, corporate sales engineer and product manager. She is currently completing her own course work for the CPCU designation.

Dave DeGroot, Vice President of Technical Services, oversees operations that address clients' data migration, integration and infrastructure needs. Since his start at Applied Systems as a data conversion programmer in 1989, DeGroot has worked in TAM and Vision development, Data Configurations, Product Management and Internal Applications. DeGroot holds a Purdue (Indiana) University bachelor's degree in information systems and computer programming, as well as a certificate in general insurance and Microsoft certification in Solutions Framework, Application Development.

Doug Johnston, Vice President of Partner Relations & Product Innovation, heads the Applied Systems department that offers products and services to insurance companies and maintains partnerships with industry organizations. When Johnston joined Applied Systems in 1985, his experience and knowledge of insurance and operations had prepared him to take a leading role in designing and developing agency management systems, comparative rating software, insurance company systems and agency-company interface. In 1999, Johnston was Applied Systems' envoy in leading the way for the industry to embrace IVANS Transformation Station^SM and its Internet-based Web services for real-time transactions. Johnston is among the industry's most stalwart advocates of ACORD XML and the Web Services movement.

Kathy R. Lattz, Vice President of Client Service, Primary Market & Education Services, directs the Applied Systems division that provides client services including system implementation and client training. Lattz started at Applied Systems in 1989. Moving up the Customer Support ranks, she prepared and created internal processes and education. In 2002, Lattz took on management of personnel for all agency products. She was named vice president of Product Management in 2006, and she held that position until she assumed her current role October 2010.

Timothy A. Sander, Vice President of Cloud Services, is responsible for overseeing the operation of Applied Systems online agency and broker management systems as well as all other cloud solutions, including Microsoft® Hosted Exchange. Sander also directs the selection and operation of data centers for the Applied Systems online environment. He helped engineer the company's focus on developing and implementing cloud-based solutions, overseeing the first Applied Systems clients brought online in October 2000, and managing cloud operations since then to keep pace with the explosive growth of agents and brokers using cloud-based applications. Sander began his Applied Systems career in 1987. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business with a concentration in Information Systems.

Gregory Shiple, AIS, Vice President of Customer Support, heads the division that services clients' technical support needs in the United States and Canada. Shiple began his Applied Systems career as a programmer in 1986. In the early '90s, he was among the developers responsible for products including fax@vantage®, ConneXion®, PocketTAM® and Vision Custom Forms. Shiple helped develop and promote agency-carrier communication through WARP technologies, which formed the basis for IVANS® Transformation Station^sm. Before he assumed his current role in 2007, Shiple was responsible for data conversion development and systems development.

Ronald (Buck) Stimson, Vice President of Development, oversees technical development for all Applied Systems products. Stimson started at Applied Systems in May 1992. He worked briefly on TAM development before moving to development for The Agency Manager® Vision Series™, where he built that system's initial activity system. Stimson managed Vision development for five years before becoming manager of business application development. He assumed his current position in September 2006.