Bios

Steve Heckler

Steve brings 35 years of executive management experience to his consulting practice including key management roles with IBM, Activision, Bank of America, Lorimar Telepictures, PacTel Cellular (Air Touch), Health Net, Sony Pictures Entertainment and TVN Entertainment including 16 years as a CIO. Steve received an award from IBM for Outstanding People Management.

Steve is a strong leader who understands the relationship between I.T. and the business and is extremely effective in working with senior management in improving this relationship. He is skilled in leading, mentoring and improving effectiveness in large to small sized companies across multiple industries on a global scale as required.

Steve is currently a member of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA), Los angeles Chapter, where he served as President for 2007 and 2008. He is also the Membership Chair for the Southern California Society for Information Management (SCSIM) where he has served on 9 boards over 15 years, including the role of chairman. Steve has also been associated with the Westside Center for Independent Living (WCIL) where he served as a board member and chairman for 3 years on their Computer Training Project and was recognized by WCIL as the Businessman of the Year. Steve has been a mentor at Women in Technology International (WITI).  Steve is on the Foundation Board of the ACLU Southern California affiliate.

Steve holds a BSEE from City College of New York and an MSOR (Operations Research) and an MBA in Marketing from New York University.  Steve is a graduate of the Professional Coaching and Mentoring program from Cal State University, Long Beach.  Steve is a Board Certified Coach.  Steve is also certified to administer the Zenger Folkman 360 Extraordinary Leader instrument and is a distributor of DISC products for TTI.

Betty LaMarr

Betty LaMarr is an Executive Coach and Diversity Consultant working with senior executives nationally and internationally to help identify and assess developmental opportunities for organizations and individuals.

Betty is someone who gets breakthrough results with her clients. Working with leaders who are focused on revenue generation and customer satisfaction, she is intuitive and not afraid to ask the difficult questions. She dares you to find your true priorities set strategies to meet stretch goals and watch the accelerated change.

For the past ten years she has provided consulting services to such organizations as: Amgen, Fuji Film, Lockheed Martin, Xilinx, Southern California Edison (SCE), Westfield Group, Russell Investments, Union Bank, U.S. Bank and others.

Betty’s many years in business are distinguished by significant accomplishments in a wide range of senior positions. She has served as the Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for a South African telecommunications company, Executive Vice President of an Orange County IT Consulting firm, Global Alliance Executive for a Boston-based technology integration firm and Director of Business Development for a worldwide diversity consulting firm.

She has taught marketing at both the college and university levels. With such diverse experience her clients find her an excellent resource and mentor. She has managed profit and loss responsibility for $100M and more than 100 employees in diverse disciplines. She continues to run two successful companies and knows first-hand the excitement and challenges that business leaders’ face.

Betty received her MBA from the Pepperdine University School of Business after earning a BS in Marketing from California State University, Los Angeles. Betty is certified as a coach by the International Coach Federation and served as Past-President and national board member of the Professional Coaches and Mentor’s Association.

Leslie Quiroga

Leslie brings over 20 years experience implementing and managing Information Technology solutions. She is a talented and accomplished business leader with a successful track record implementing solutions with positive impact on business success and growth.

Leslie’s areas of expertise include:

• I.T. Strategy and Architecture
• Applications Development
• Internet and E-Commerce
• Data Warehouse/Database
• Administration
• Project and Staff Management
• Vendor and Contract Management
• Financial Management
• Quality Assurance
• Business Executive/Technical Interface

Prior to starting her own consulting practice, she held key positions with Cantor and Company, Security Pacific, Lorimar Telepictures, AirTouch Cellular and Health Net, including over eight years in senior leadership roles.

While at Health Net, she worked closely with the CIO to implement leadership and mentorship programs for I.T. She currently partners with a team of highly experienced technology professionals providing strategic guidance and implementation support to small and large businesses. Leslie has led numerous I.T. assessments, project and capacity planning, and business process redesign efforts.

Leslie is well known for her focus on customer satisfaction and her ability to build strong business partnerships. Over the years, Leslie has consistently delivered high quality solutions to her clients by creating team environments where people are trusted and motivated to strive for excellence.

Leslie holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Kansas, an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, and a certificate in Project Management and Systems Planning from UCLA. She is a member of the National Association of Women in Business, and the Project Management Institute.

Janet Murry

Janet has more than 25 years experience with information technology from both IT and business perspectives. Her IT management roles include application development, internal consulting and account management at First Interstate Services Company, McKesson and EDS – where she began her career as a systems engineer. She also headed alternative delivery, including electronic banking, at First Interstate Bancorp. Her consulting clients include United Airlines, Union Bank of California, New Energy Ventures, Treasury Services Corporation (now part of Oracle), Countrywide Bank and a number of smaller and start-up companies.

Janet has extensive experience in developing and implementing business strategies in complex environments. She is skilled in client relations, project management and business process design. Her strength is bridging stakeholders from new idea through development and execution. She is known for leadership, people development and getting results.

Janet has a BA in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley. She has served on the boards of Star System, Inc and Pulse EFT. She also serves as president of the board of the South Bay Center for Counseling.

Ruth Simeon

Ruth M. Simeon has over twenty years of experience as a senior corporate manager, nonprofit executive and consultant in a variety of industries. Her Organizational Development and management expertise assists companies in making major shifts in business strategy and practices. These shifts positively affect the performance and capability of executives, managers and teams, building diversity of leadership, increased visibility and career development particularly of underrepresented talent.

Her business’s best practice corporate mentoring programs have been utilized by many Fortune 500 companies as a way to develop leaders especially women and people of color, increase retention, build competencies and expand business knowledge. Some of the clients and employers who have utilized Ms. Simeon’s expertise include Cities of Ventura, Los Angeles, Inglewood and Long Beach, Torrance Memorial, St. Joseph’s Medical Centers, Managed Health Net, Raytheon, Southern California Edison, Los Angeles County, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Quest Diagnostics, Sony, Mazda, North American Operations, State Farm Insurance, Gilead Sciences, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Arthur Anderson, Abbott Laboratories, Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities, Peace Over Violence, The Los Angeles Transportation Foundation, LA Marathon and Pan American Games X.

Ms. Simeon has a Masters in Psychology from Pepperdine University (top 1%). As a Hoosier Scholar, she received her B.A. from Indiana University. She completed executive coursework in Finance at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Her advanced certifications include the SPHR, Senior Professional in Human Resources and Senior Certified Professional (SCP) from the HR Certification Institute and Society of Human Resources, respectively. Ms. Simeon is Board Chair for EmpowHer Institute nonprofit, which provides mentors and class curriculum to help middle school girls overcome a 50% dropout rate in disadvantaged communities. The City of Los Angeles gave her a commendation for her work as Workforce Investment Board City Commissioner. She is former Vice President of Crystal Stairs, Executive Director for the California Diversity Council, adjunct professor at Butler University and guest lecturer for the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Southern California.