Alicia Hoekstra | Partner (Sales) / Vice President

Mary Lou Weiss | Partner (Marketing) / Vice President of Operations

Naren Thota | Partner (Resources) / Practice Manager (Business Intelligence)

David Caradonna | Partner / Solution Architect (ITIL)

Randy Giefer | Partner and Founder / Solution Architect (Security)

Alicia Hoekstra of Solution Beacon has over 20 years of experience with information technology, including more than 14 years working with, implementing, upgrading, and supporting Oracle s E-Business Suite of Applications in commercial and public sectors.

Prior to joining Solution Beacon, Alicia worked in a variety of management and delivery roles in industry and consulting, including Senior Manager with BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting), Vice President of Consulting for Computer Systems Authority, Director of Information Systems & Services for SpectraVision, IT Manager for Dal-Tile, and Management Consulting Manager with Ernst & Young.

Alicia also served on the international OAUG Board of Directors for three years as well as actively participating in the establishment and leadership of local and regional user groups and sitting on the International Oracle Users Council (IOUC) representing OAUG. She co-founded the South Central Oracle Applications Users Group (SCOAUG) and Dallas Oracle Users Group (DOUG) Applications SIG in 1993, and continues to serve as Chair of SCOAUG, as well as leading the international OAUG Education Committee.

Alicia frequently speaks and writes on a number of Oracle Applications implementation and upgrade topics at local, regional, and international user group meetings and conferences in addition to working directly with clients to scope, manage, and successfully execute their Oracle Applications initiatives.

In addition to providing strategic consulting services to Solution Beacon clients and overseeing the Financial Accounting activities as CFO, Alicia serves as President and Chief Executive Officer and oversees the Sales Division as well as advising the Services Division on successful delivery of services and subject matter support of the Sales activities.

Mary Lou Weiss - Partner (Marketing) / COO and Director of Operations

Mary Lou Weiss of Solution Beacon is part owner of Solution Beacon and oversees the back office processes of the organization. She has more than 20 years experience with Oracle database administration and application development. Mary Lou is active in the Oracle Application Users Group. She serves on the Technology and eLearning committees as well as volunteers as webmaster and list administrator for multiple Oracle User Groups websites and list servers.

 Mary Lou was a vice-president of IT with the computer consulting company Computer Systems Authority from 1995 to 2001. From 1975 to 1996 Mary Lou worked in the Geochemical Research and Development department of Shell Oil where she assisted in the development of the Source and Migration Oracle database for geochemical data.

Mary Lou serves as Chief Operating Officer of Solution Beacon and directly oversees the Marketing Division of Solution Beacon.

Naren Thota - Partner (Resources) / Practice Manager (Business Intelligence)

Naren Thota of Solution Beacon has over 12 years of experience in packaged software implementation, Oracle Application development and Data Warehousing.

Naren provides solid technical experience while serving in the capacities of Systems Engineer, Oracle Financial and Manufacturing technical specialist, Application Development team lead, Project lead and as a Solution Architect in implementing packaged Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence solutions for Oracle E-Business customers.

Prior to joining Solution Beacon, Naren worked as a senior technical consultant for Computer Systems Authority and later owned and operated a Dallas based consulting company, Infosemantics Inc. providing services in Oracle related technologies.

Naren is also very active in the Oracle User community and currents serves as a Co-Chair of Applications Forum for Dallas Oracle Users Group (DOUG).

Naren holds an M.S. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Naren is a Practice Manager for Business Intelligence and oversees the Resources Division of Solution Beacon.

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David Caradonna - Partner (Operations)/CFO / Solution Architect (ITIL)

David Caradonna has more than 20 years experience in the information technology industry, including more than 12 years of IT leadership, 7 years of International experience and 17 years of Enterprise Operations and Infrastructure Management.

David has held several cross-functional IT lifecycle functions in a variety of industries and holds considerable experience managing IT initiatives requiring critical planning and flawless implementation. In the early stages of his career, David consulted as a Database Administrator and Project Manager and was put in charge of key initiatives such as Disaster and Recovery implementations. He conducted most of his consulting in the European Banking industry.

David joined Quantum Corp in the Silicon Valley where he was quickly promoted to Senior Manager and led the data center operations and ERP support teams. David then co-founded a successful services company where he instituted industry best practices and delivered ERP operations services to mid-market enterprises and divisions of large multinational companies. David pursued this venture as the Director of Global Services at Navisite Inc. after a merger of both companies.

David conducts strategic consulting engagements for Solution Beacon. David is a Solution Architect and oversees the Operations Division of Solution Beacon.

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Randy Giefer - Founder / Solution Architect (Security)

Randy Giefer, partner and founder of Solution Beacon, has over 23 years of practical business experience in the Information Technology and systems integration arena, with experience in the Federal and local Government, Higher Education, energy, airline, mortgage banking, and automotive manufacturing industries. This business experience is coupled with over 10 years of experience in the implementation and administration of Oracle Financial (Commercial and Federal/Public Sector), COTS/GOTS, and Manufacturing software applications in the role of an Applications Database Administrator, Systems Architect and Security Architect. In addition to his Oracle Applications and Security experience, Randy has over 14 additional years of Oracle database development and administration. His project experience includes systems architecture, database architecture, security architecture, installation, upgrades, performance tuning, development, testing, database administration and production systems management. He is active in the Oracle community and is recognized as an industry expert, presenting at Oracle and OAUG conferences and workshops as well as chairing the OAUG SysAdmin SIG. He is also a co-author of a published book   Installing, Upgrading & Maintaining Oracle 11i . In addition to his technical background, he has successfully performed management positions at prior companies, including Team Lead, Project Manager, Implementation Manager, Data Center Manager, Practice Director(s), and Services V.P. Randy serves as a Solutions Architect, Principal Consulting, and Project Manager for Solution Beacon.

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