Management Team
Stuart Cohen, Chief Executive Officer
Stuart Cohen is CEO of Collaborative Software Initiative and a member of the Board of Directors. He founded CSI in 2007, after serving as CEO at Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a non-profit organization tasked to accelerate the adoption of Linux. OSDL merged with the Free Standards Group to form the Linux Foundation.
Prior to his post at OSDL, Mr. Cohen was vice president at RadiSys Corporation, where his responsibilities included sales, marketing and developing strategic partnerships with leading companies in the technology industry. Before RadiSys, Mr. Cohen was vice president of worldwide marketing and a corporate officer at InFocus Corporation. Earlier, Mr. Cohen spent 17 years with IBM, where he first held senior positions in the US Sales & Marketing Division, and later in the IBM Personal Computer Company and Networking Division. He spent his final six years at IBM with worldwide responsibility for marketing and with business development teams reporting to him in the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia and China. Mr. Cohen holds a B.S. in Quantitative Business Analysis from Arizona State University.
Lori Williams-Peters, Corporate Development Officer
Ms. Lori Williams-Peters oversees new business opportunities and client operations at Collaborative Software Initiative. She is responsible for the company's revenue generation efforts as well as the day-to-day operations of the company's client-relations activities: marketing, partnering, sales, services and support.
Lori Williams-Peters has held a number of leadership positions in the high technology industry over the last 26 years. Prior to CSI, Lori Williams-Peters provided executive-level business guidance to early stage startups throughout the US. She spent 4 years as the Director of Sales, West, Novell, leading the Fortune 1000 and government teams. Prior to that, she was the Vice President of Sales, North America, SAGA, managing both direct and indirect sales teams. Lori Williams-Peters started her career with IBM, spending 15 years in a variety of national and worldwide sales, marketing and business development positions. Lori Williams-Peters graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in engineering from UCLA.
Mark Gardiner, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Mark Gardiner is the chief financial officer at Collaborative Software Initiative. He has 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive and financial/business advisor in a broad range of industries.
Mark Gardiner recently completed three years as President and CEO of Octavian Scientific, Inc. Octavian is commercializing new technology in semiconductor manufacturing, funded by $10 million in venture capital and debt financing. Prior to Octavian, Mark Gardiner served numerous clients in a 20+ year consulting career - spearheading more than $10 billion of debt and equity financing. Recent projects include serving as business advisor to the Oregon Health and Science University for the River Campus/South Waterfront project - a $2+ billion bio-technology, academic, clinical, housing and commercial mixed use development. Currently, he is a director of three technology-related companies, has managed major technology development projects, served as systems engineer on NASA contracts, and designed a number of electronics products. Mark Gardiner has been a leader on numerous public and civic boards, currently including the six-member Oregon Investment Council, which oversees the $60+ billion portfolio for Oregon's public pension and trust funds. From 1979 to 1985, Mark Gardiner was City Economist, Budget Officer and ultimately CFO/CAO of a $700 million-budget public corporation - the City of Portland, Oregon - with a tenure spanning the terms of four mayors. Prior to joining the City, he served as a consulting utility economist. Gardiner earned a B.S. in Economics from Portland State University.
Mike Herrick, Vice President of Products
Mr. Mike Herrick is the Vice President of Products for Collaborative Software Initiative. He is the leader of the Collaborative Software Initiative software products. Mike is responsible for CSI Core Teams, product development, product management, and technical support.
Mike Herrick has a broad background in enterprise software with management and individual contributor experience from software companies (eXcelon, Mentor Graphics, and IsisWorks), consulting firms (Andersen Consulting and C-bridge Internet Solutions), and IT development and operations (Liberty Mutual). Mike graduated with a BS in Management Information Systems from the University of Dayton.
