Our People
At ICOMM Consulting, our staff are our most valuable resource. Our people come from a diverse background within the telecommunications industry. We've been end-users, Carrier sales reps, and almost all of us have been help desk persons at one time or another. It's this experience that sets us apart. ICOMM's Senior Consultants are members of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants (STC). The STC is an international organization of independent telecommunications and information technology consultants who serve clients in business and government. STC members adhere to strict professional standards and a rigorous code of ethics.
Tom Garvey
Chairman
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1010 Office
708.434.1110 Direct FAX
tgarvey@icommconsulting.com
Tom is Chairman and majority owner of ICOMM Consulting, Inc. With over 20 years in the industry, he has worked with Fortune 500 companies and a variety of mid-size and small corporations, governmental organizations, associations and not-for-profit groups. Since joining ICOMM in 1989, Tom has managed projects involving network services contracts and implementations, PBX/ACD/Voicemail system selections and implementations, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) implementations, Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) applications, computer system conversions, and technology planning.
Prior to joining ICOMM, Tom held account management and sales management positions with Sprint Corporation.
Tom is a member of the ICOMM Management Team, and is a member of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants (STC).
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James B. Price
President
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1011 Office
708.434.1111 Direct FAX
jprice@icommconsulting.com
Jim was promoted to President of ICOMM Consulting in December, 2006. Jim joined ICOMM in September 1999. Jim focuses his practice on helping clients better understand, select and manage next-generation telephony systems technologies (such as Computer-Telephony Integration, Server-based and Network-based PBX technologies and collaboration and messaging technologies) and next-generation network technologies (such as Voice over IP, next-generation WAN/LAN technologies such as MPLS, Metro Ethernet, wireless Ethernet and other mobile wireless and cellular services). He works in conjunction with each of ICOMM's primary practice areas providing support, knowledge and training to clients as well as to ICOMM's staff.
Jim has participated in many large voice-and-data services contracts, system RFP projects, and system and network implementations which have helped our clients save money and helped them better utilize their technology investments.
Jim is the lead member of the ICOMM Management Team, and also acts as ICOMM’s Technology Director.
Jim had formerly been a Systems Officer at one of the largest banks in Chicago, where he served in a variety of roles including Windows NT and Novell Netware Server Support, Manager of LAN Administration, and Help Desk Manager. Prior to his banking experience, Jim was the MIS Director of a Chicago-based law firm that specializes in Technology Law. Jim attended DePaul University in Chicago, where his studies included Political Science and English Literature.
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Raymond Pearson
Vice President, Telecom Management Services
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1044 Office
708.434.1144 Direct FAX
rpearson@icommconsulting.com
Ray has been in the telecommunications consulting industry for over 10 years. During Ray's tenure at ICOMM, he has provided a variety of services for our clients including management of outsourcing teams for large clients, long distance services contract negotiations, lines and services audits, management of phone system selection and implementation, RFP creation, WAN design and rollout, and general consulting.
Ray is knowledgeable in most major legacy telephony systems, new flagship VoIP systems, hybrid and key systems and major RBOC voice service offerings such as Centrex. Ray's knowledge in telephony solutions goes beyond typical "book smarts". Ray's experience in managing implementation projects has given him the entire picture regarding these solutions. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of the solutions and is able to address potential pitfalls prior to implementation. Maintaining these solutions via our outsourcing clients has also given Ray visibility to the "end-user" experience and he is able to use that knowledge to ask appropriate questions prior to system selection.
While originally specializing in voice, Ray has had increasing experience over the past 5 years involving WAN/LAN and VoIP technologies and the carrier services related to them (i.e. MPLS). As convergence has become an increasing reality, Ray has embraced the new technologies for the promises they deliver but is also in tune with their inherent weaknesses and the challenges they create.
Ray is a managing partner at ICOMM and is the team lead for our Telecom Management practice area. Ray is also a member of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants (STC).
Ray graduated from Ball State University's Center for Information and Communication Sciences, earning a Master of Science degree in 1995. He also earned his Telecommunications Bachelor of Science degree from Ball State, in 1994.
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Mei Wah Kessler
Vice President, Telecom Expense Management Services
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1013 Office
708.434.1113 Direct FAX
mkessler@icommconsulting.comm
Mei Wah joined ICOMM in February 2001. She has taken the lead in developing and expanding ICOMM's Telecom Expense Management Services practice area. As the TEM Manager she works closely with our clients on complex expense audit and invoice processing engagements.
In addition, Mei Wah is also a member of our development team, as the primary source of user requirements for database development and application design for our Telecom Management Application suite. Mei Wah is also a member of the ICOMM Management Team.
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Michael Allen
Senior Developer
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1018 Office
708.434.1118 Direct FAX
mallen@icommconsulting.com
Michael joined ICOMM in October 2006 as a member of the ICOMM Development team specializing in automated data import, storage, and retrieval. His background includes database development for financial quantitative analysis and benefits consulting.
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Pam Anderson
Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1015 Office
708.434.1115 Direct FAX
panderson@icommconsulting.com
Pam joined ICOMM in May 2004 and is a member of the Cost Management team specializing in Invoice Processing and Validation Services (IVPS). She also works directly with ICOMM's audit staff on CSR review, invoice consolidation and reporting.
Pam has been involved in the Telecom industry for five years. Prior to joining ICOMM, Pam worked for Metamor Technologies as a consultant, outsourced at several different clients, including three Fortune 500 clients. Experience includes Avaya Definity and Prologix PBX Administration. Her project management experience includes the centralization of telecom invoice processing of a $7.5M annual operating budget.
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Frank Balester
Senior Developer
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1012 Office
708.434.1112 Direct FAX
fbalester@icommconsulting.com
Frank is a Senior Developer at ICOMM, performing a variety of tasks that include database development and administration, internet/intranet/extranet application work, and VRU data analysis.
Frank has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, with an emphasis on Computer Science and C language programming. Before joining ICOMM, Frank worked at a large telecommunications company creating database-driven web applications for their global intranet.
Some of the tools that Frank works with include SQL Server, Visual Basic .NET and ASP.NET.
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Mike Benson
Senior Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1019 Office
708.434.1119 Direct FAX
mbenson@icommconsulting.com
Mike came to ICOMM Consulting, Inc. with 15 years of experience in telecommunications. He started his career as a sales representative for a Ameritech authorized distributor selling to a variety of customers some of which included large municipal government campuses, multi-state enterprises and school districts.
Mike spent 7 years with a Nortel authorized distributor. Mike started as an Account Representative and then move on to become a Project Manager in both new system installations and moves, adds and changes departments.
In 2000 Mike joined McKesson outsourcing as the Telecommunications manager for a large hospital in Chicago. Mike and his team were responsible for reducing the telecommunication services costs by over 50% and at the same time greatly improving the efficiency of existing telecommunication systems.
Mike is currently supporting a Fortune 500 client in their IP telephony rollout and the ongoing 1st and 2nd level support of those systems.
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Joseph DeMarco
Senior Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1028 Office
708.434.1128 Direct FAX
jdemarco@icommconsulting.com
Joe is currently assigned to multiple large banking call centers planning, implementing, and supporting the PBX/ACD environment. He is the primary support for a Meridian 81C PBX, Meridian Mail, Meridian MAX, ACD/CCR applications and also assists in the support of VRU/IVR applications.
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Michael Fitzgibbon
Senior Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1032 Office
708.434.1132 Direct FAX
mfitzgibbon@icommconsulting.com
Mike has more than 10 years experience in the telecommunications industry. A Ball State University graduate, Mike worked for both Ameritech Cellular and AT&T Wireless before joining ICOMM in November 1998.
Mike currently is a Senior Analyst. Mike’s skills include Telecom Expense Management (TEM), including invoice management, contract analysis and compliance, and voice and data sizing recommendations; Project Management and Resource Management; and Client Relationship Management.
Mike recently led a Telecomm Audit Project for a large retailer with over 1200 sites. The audit included analysis of Customer Service Record information, assessment of contract compliance, right-sizing of telecommunication needs, and removal of third-party and thrifty billing. Mike acted as a client liaison with Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) to obtain back credits for billing discrepancies, to place disconnect orders, and used in-house TMA suite to verify credits were processed and incorrect billing was rectified. Mike supported ongoing Invoice Verification and Processing Services (IVPS) to ensure no billing errors.
Mike is experienced in Project Management and Customer Liaison. For a Fortune 500 client, Mike managed the transition from existing key systems to enhanced Cisco IP for 400+ sites. This project included ordering PRI’s for each location, managing the cut over from POTS Services to PRI Services on go-live weekends, ordering disconnection of unneeded POTS services, and reviewing invoices to ensure unneeded services were removed. Mike provided Level 1 support to the sites after their transition to the new system.
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Brian Foster
Consultant
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1031 Office
708.434.1131 Direct FAX
bfoster@icommconsulting.com
Brian has been in the telecommunications business for 10 years. Starting at Ameritech as a general customer service representative, within a short time Brian helped design and implement the Business Account Group for cellular accounts. Brian has also worked at MCI/Worldcom as a senior service representative and 800 translations technician. During that time Brian was assigned to the corporate team in charge of design, testing and implementation of new systems for the user community.
Brian's role at ICOMM includes managing telephone system modifications and installations for a Fortune 500 company.
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Evan Garvey
Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1042 Office
708.434.1142 Direct FAX
egarvey@icommconsulting.com
Evan Garvey joined ICOMM in January of 2000 as a pioneering member of the Cost Management/Audit Team. He is known for his attention to detail and analytical skills. He also has an Associates Degree in Applied Science in Computer Networking.
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Dan Swanda
Development Manager
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1025 Office
708.434.1125 Direct FAX
dswanda@icommconsulting.com
Dan Swanda joined ICOMM in
April 1998. With 10 years of Call Center PBX
support and 6 years of .NET programming
experience, Dan manages our team of developers
who are tasked with development of the Telecom
Management Application suite. As Co-architect
of TMA, he works closely with Developers and End
Users to develop new and exciting features.
Most notably, Dan authored the initial
iterations of the TMA ACH payment and EDI
billing processes and is primary person
responsible for TMA to Client AP system
integrations.
Dan’s skill set includes IIS, ASP.NET, VB.net, Microsoft T- SQL, CSS, Crystal Reports, and JavaScript.
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Angela Terry
Client Relationship Manager
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1023 Office
708.434.1123 Direct FAX
aterry@icommconsulting.com
Angela has over 10 years experience in the IT/Telecom Industry. Prior to working for ICOMM, Angela was an IT analyst for a global E-solutions provider where she acquired her MCSE in the Microsoft NT platform. Originally starting at ICOMM as an analyst 7 years ago, Angela is now a Client Relationship Manager for a support engagement of a Fortune 500 client. As this client's liaison, she is responsible for ensuring that the day to day support needs of this customer's Cisco VOIP network are effectively communicated to the TMS team and that project deliverables are met and expectations are exceeded for approximately 460 locations nationwide.
Her responsibilities include the diagnosing and troubleshooting of a variety of end user performance related problems and the realtime monitoring and support of the WAN network environment (in excess of 1300 circuits). As a project manager, she is tasked with the provisioning and installation of LEC services (PRIs/POTS), design and implementation of system programming based on specifications, and updating of database records for ongoing support. She is knowledgeable in several telephony platforms including Lucent Definity, Nortel MICS/CICS/BCM/Option 11, and Cisco Call Manager as well as voicemail systems, Avaya Audix, Centigram, and Nortel Call Pilot.
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Diane Topczewski
Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1021 Office
708.434.1121 Direct FAX
dtopczewski@icommconsulting.com
Diane began her career with Montgomery Ward, where she started as an assistant to a merchandiser in the Midwest region. Afterwards she was promoted to data control supervisory positions in the Midwest and eastern regions, eventually returning to the corporate office in Chicago as the Data Control Operations Manger of all four merchandising regions. Her responsibilities were overseeing company wide inventories, troubleshooting, and opening and closing of stores.
Prior to joining ICOMM, Diane spent nine years as an analyst for a consulting firm. Her responsibilities included supporting mainframe, network and telephony systems.
Diane's responsibilities at ICOMM include managing phone system selection and implementation projects for a large banking client.
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Karyn Vasquez
Vice President, Interactive Voice Technologies
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1026 Office
708.434.1126 Direct FAX
kvasquez@icommconsulting.com
Karyn began her career at Wickes Lumber's corporate headquarters, where she started as a computer operator and was quickly promoted to Sr. Network Specialist. During her six-year relationship with Wickes, she was responsible for everything from 2nd-level help desk troubleshooting to disaster recovery planning.
Prior to joining ICOMM, Karyn spent 11 years working for Harris Bank where she managed projects involving recommendations, implementations and continued support for ACD, VRU, PBX and CTI equipment. Her other duties at Harris included overseeing data and voice configurations for new construction sites.
Karyn continues to utilize her skills at ICOMM by providing project management and support for ACD, VRU and CTI implementations.
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Carly Wenzel
Analyst
830 North Boulevard
Oak Park, IL 60301
708.434.1016 Office
708.434.1116 Direct FAX
cwenzel@icommconsulting.com
Carly rejoined ICOMM in April 2007 and is a member of the Cost Management Team. She also works directly with Invoice Processing and Validation Services (IVPS) and as part of ICOMM's audit staff on CSR review, invoice consolidation and reporting.
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