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Company History
John D. Cosgrove is President of Cosgrove Consulting Group, a division of Cosgrove Computer Systems, Inc., which has been in operation since 1970, first as a sole proprietor then
incorporated in 1981. Originally, the company provided software engineering services primarily to large aerospace and defense clients in the Los Angeles area. Several long term contracts in the utility industry were
included and later forensic engineering became a major focus of
the company.
In 1996, his daughter Denise Cosgrove Bassett joined the company as Executive Vice President. Denise brought additional consulting methodologies and technical
expertise in telecommunications and disaster recovery planning, gained from her years of consulting with the Big 5 and other large, traditional consulting firms.
Cosgrove Consulting Group includes consultants who are drawn to significant projects that require their unique combination of skills and time-tested experience. They are experienced professionals who take a stake in the success of each client project.
We are able to put together teams of highly experienced senior
professionals who are still active in their fields, with access to
both well-established engineering practice and to the latest
technologies, to provide cost-effective consulting services with access to a broad range of skills.
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About Us
Cosgrove Consulting Group prefers the "virtual consultant"
approach to consulting. Its consultants are dispersed throughout
the United States with most in the Western Region. All project
consultants are available to travel in order to provide
flexibility to our clients. |
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John D. Cosgrove,
President
John Cosgrove, PE, CDP, has been a software engineer for over forty years and a self-employed consultant since 1970. His specialties include forensic engineering, project management, software architecture; real-time/critical systems; and hardware/software interfaces. He has extensive experience with aviation computer systems, including development of aircraft navigation systems and communication devices. Recent projects have also involved business continuity and disaster recovery planning for distributed enterprises.Mr. Cosgrove has taught a graduate-level engineering course,
"Engineering the Software Product," for UCLA and Loyola
Marymount in addition to numerous short courses nationwide,
offered by major educational institutions. For several years, he
presented the software engineering portion of the undergraduate
Engineering Ethics course each quarter at UCLA. He has authored
and delivered many papers, articles, and lectures on software
litigation, project management, software business issues, and
computer safety. "Software Engineering and the Law"
was published in the IEEE Computer Society "Software" magazine
May/June 2001. He authored the chapter on "Software Engineering
& Litigation" in the current edition of "Encyclopedia of
Software Engineering" published by John Wiley & Sons.
As a forensic expert, Mr. Cosgrove has worked on numerous cases
involving recovered computer data, computer system failure,
contractual disputes, intellectual property disputes, and other
matters involving computer systems and software.
Mr. Cosgrove received a Master of Engineering degree from UCLA,
and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from
Loyola Marymount University at Los Angeles (now LMU). He is a
California-registered Professional Electrical Engineer, a Life
Senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, member of ACM, American
College of Forensic Examiners (ACFEI), the National Society of
Professional Engineers (NSPE). In 2006 he was named a Fellow of the National
Academy of Forensic Engineers (affiliate of NSPE).
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Denise Cosgrove Bassett, Executive Vice President
Ms. Bassett has twenty five years experience as a
Telecommunications and IT consultant to major corporations,
including several FORTUNE 500 and 1000 companies, and government
agencies throughout the United States and Canada. She defines
business and technological requirements and designs solutions,
provides business recovery planning and risk management, and
creates IT outsourcing solutions comprised of voice, data and
desktop technologies.
As a consultant to American Express, Ms. Bassett has managed
projects in several organizations, including CISO, Data Network
Infrastructure and Infrastructure Security Engineering. For
CISO, Ms. Bassett managed the Security Awareness Training
Program delivered to 90,000 employees and vendors in 9
languages, assisted in several US Federal regulatory and
international audits and managed the Business Impact Analysis
for the Business Continuity Planning governance team. While in
Network Infrastructure, Ms. Bassett managed site migrations to a
new Global Wide Area data network with a scope of 1,700 sites.
For the Network Infrastructure Engineering organization, she
managed global implementations for McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator
and Policy Auditor solutions and Cisco's host-based intrusion
prevention security solution to midrange and end-user computing
systems.
Ms. Bassett participated in a sales effort that resulted in a
5-year outsourcing contract between Qwest and Wells Fargo Bank.
As a result of a merger between Wells Fargo and Norwest Bank,
Ms. Bassett subsequently became the project manager responsible
for converting 1,000 Norwest bank locations to the Wells Fargo
voice outsource model. She also designed and implemented the
Program Management Office (PMO) for the Wells Fargo Bank
outsource engagement.
As a consultant to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Ms. Bassett
coordinated the documentation of technical procedures for
Schwab's IT Storage Management initiatives, which involved HSM,
SMS and Catalog systems. In another project, Ms. Bassett
assisted the Business Continuity planning team in developing a
cold site strategy to back up Schwab's two large computer
centers.
While consulting to USAA, Ms. Bassett participated in several
business continuity planning projects as part of a $121.3M IT
Business Continuity Program. The project scope included the
recovery of the company's entire network capability, supporting
the Home Office Campus's 11,000 employees and all remote U.S.
and European locations, and all communications and desktop
technology required for recovering 2,000 remote USAA users.
As a consultant to Amkor Electronics, a $2 billion
semi-conductor company, Ms. Bassett created the PMO and provided
technical expertise for a multi-million dollar strategic project
to select and implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
system. SAP R/3, Oracle Applications and Baan Triton IV ERP
software systems were evaluated.
As the Manager of Telecommunications Services at Northwestern
Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ms. Bassett managed the hospital's
outsourced telecommunications environment.
She also managed the planning project to define the
telecommunications technology and infrastructure requirements
for Northwestern's new 2,000,000 square foot hospital.
As a Senior Network Consultant for Comdisco Professional
Services, Ms. Bassett managed disaster recovery planning
projects, specifically for voice and data networks of U.S. and
Canadian clients. Typical engagements included: risk/business
impact analysis, network recovery strategy and recovery plan
development, and recovery plan maintenance program development.
As a Manager in Andersen Consulting's (now Accenture) Network
Solutions practice, Ms. Bassett managed engagements in the areas
of voice processing systems design and implementation, voice and
data systems integration, voice and data - wide area network
analysis, strategic reviews, and network organizational studies.
She also developed new client relationships and internal
training programs on enhanced voice processing technologies.
As a Project Manager at EDS Corporation, Ms. Bassett conducted
consulting projects for FORTUNE 1000 clients that included
strategic technology reviews, voice processing systems design
and implementation, and network analysis, design and
implementation. She also promoted professional and leasing
services to Western Region-based accounts.
Ms. Bassett has a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA.
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Peter Alexander Ph.D., Associate
Dr. Alexander has 28 years of development and operations
experience in high technology companies. He has made hands-on
technical contributions to numerous business software application
development efforts. His knowledge and experience extends over
three principal areas: Architecture and design of complex
web-server and client-server business software systems, detailed
design and coding techniques for business software applications,
software project management and development contracts.
Dr. Alexander's detailed programming knowledge encompasses Java,
C, C++, ASP, Python and Visual Basic languages, as well as
assembly language for Intel and 68K microprocessors and real-time
DSP applications. He has also managed programming teams that
created applications for Fujitsu, Hitachi and IBM mainframes. His
networking experience includes TCP/IP router development for
Ethernet LAN's, fiber optic links, and wide area networks.
Dr. Alexander has managed many client-server and web-based ERP
business solutions projects for Financial, Inventory, Order Entry,
Shipping, Supply Chain and Manufacturing core modules. He has
worked on semiconductor manufacturing systems involving yield
prediction and supply chain management using statistical
forecasting. He has direct experience with Oracle 8.05, 8i and 9i
as well as SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 for both
transactional and data warehouse systems.
He has also held responsibilities for internal network operation,
intranet, and public access web server IT functions in several
corporations. In this role he gained a detailed understanding of
security issues such as SSL, user authentication, network
security, firewalls, hacking countermeasures. He is also
knowledgeable about email servers, backup and restore procedures,
and service level agreements for customer-outsourced data in ASP
systems.
Dr. Alexander holds a B.S. degree with 1st Class Honors from the
University of Canterbury, New Zealand, M.S. degree in E. E.
from the University of Illinois (Urbana), and a Ph.D. from MIT,
also in Electrical Engineering. He was awarded a Fulbright
Scholarship for graduate study in the United States in 1965.
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Azita Amini
With over 17 years of technical experience in design and
evaluation of secure applications, devices and services in the
financial industry and ecommerce world. Highlights of her
background follow.-
With KPMG LLP for over 5 years in the Information Risk Advisory
division, focusing on security of Financial Services operations
and eCommerce applications. Performed many SOX 404 audits,
Sas 70s, WebTrusts, SysTrusts, ISO 27001 (formerly known as BS
7799) and TG-3 Audits.
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At Wells Fargo Bank in their retail
banking cryptographic support and services, for over 5 years.
Responsible for secure management of the ban's ATM, POS and
Credit Card operations with regards to the cryptographic data
elements used to protect card holders transaction data.
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At MagTek Inc. for over 7 years, as a
Product Manager and Engineer, in charge of design and
development of a variety of "secure" retail banking
products such as Pin entry devices (PEDs), Teller terminals used
to issue ATM cards, Credit Card/Bank Card readers and encoders,
Check Readers, etc.
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Member of American National Standards
(ANSI) X9F division since 1990 and actively involved in the
development of a number of standards on data security in Retail
Banking such as X9.24, X9.8, X9.49, X9.57, and the TG-3 Audit
Guideline.
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Ms. Amini's CV - (PDF,
96KB)
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Benjamin A. Aminnia, MS, MBA, Associate
Ben Aminnia started his computer career with IBM as a systems engineer and has held various consulting and managerial positions in the IT industry. His roles included management of the SQL Server database department at one of the largest U.S. companies, overseeing a staff of 12 DBAs and database professionals. He has also been President and Database Architect of Pointer Corporation
(www.pointercorp.com) since 1986.
In 1990, long before it was acknowledged as a worldwide phenomenon toward the end of the 20th century, Mr. Aminnia was among the first computer science visionaries to publish an in-depth article about the upcoming Y2K crisis and various methodologies to address its consequences. Shortly afterwards, he wrote a book called Diary of a Successful Computer Consultant.
Ben is currently the president of the Los Angeles SQL Server Professionals Group
(www.sql.la) and a board member of the Los Angeles.Net Developers Group (www.ladotnet.org). He has also been a frequent speaker at various computer user groups and database and technology events.
Additionally, he is the architect and co-developer of the Virtual Information Portal (VIP) System, which is a web-based platform for secure generation, archival, and retrieval of corporate correspondence and letters
(www.vipletters.com).
Mr. Aminnia holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and an MS degree in Computer science (from Arya Mehr University of Technology in Tehran) and also an MBA (from Cal State University Northridge).
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Mr. Aminnia's CV - (PDF,
57.3KB)
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Emanuel R. Baker,
Ph.D.
Emanuel R. Baker, Ph.D., a Principal and co-founder of Process Strategies, Inc., specializes in software and system process management consulting. He has over thirty years of software development, management, and consulting experience. His areas of expertise include software and system development process appraisals, systems engineering, software configuration management, software quality assurance, software test, software standards development, requirements management, as well as training in these disciplines.
Dr. Baker has worked with leading companies and government organizations in the United States and overseas in a diverse number of industries such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, technology, telecommunications, software development, research, and retailing. He has been a consultant in software engineering since 1984. Prior to that, he was Manager of the Product Assurance Department of the Strategic and Information Systems Division of Logicon (now a part of Northrop-Grumman). In that capacity, along with
other duties, he was responsible for the contract to develop the former DoD software quality standard, DoD-STD-2168.
Prior to that, he was employed at TRW (now also a part of Northrop-Grumman). Dr. Baker played an important role in the development of the standards and procedures on the Site Defense Program, a landmark program
for TRW. He was also an Assistant Project Manager for Product Assurance on the BETA Project, an early tactical data fusion project, utilizing extensive amounts of sensors, software, and displays to remotely depict battlefield
conditions.
Prior to joining TRW, Dr. Baker was employed at Aeronutronic (now Loral) as head of the Data Reduction Unit. Prior to that, he was an aerodynamics flight test project engineer at Hughes Aircraft.
Dr. Baker has authored and co-authored a number of papers and articles on software quality, configuration management, and software process assessments, and is the co-author of two books on process management.
Dr. Baker has presented seminars and courses in the US and 10 countries overseas in software engineering, software quality assurance, and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)
Dr. Baker is certified by the SEI as a Lead Appraiser for the Standard CMM Integration (CMMI) Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) for the CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV), CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), and the CMMI for Services (SVC) models and as an instructor for the Introduction to the CMMI course for these models. He is certified by the SEI as a high maturity lead appraiser, permitting him to lead SCAMPI Class A appraisals for organizations seeking a rating at Maturity Level 4 or 5.
He has performed many SCAMPI assessments for a variety of clients, for example, the automotive industry, several large overseas-based multi-national corporations that provide systems and services over a large number of market sectors, and a major U.S. corporation providing systems and services for the federal and private sectors.
Dr. Baker has a B.S.M.E. from New York University and the M.S.M.E. from the University of Southern California. In addition, he holds a M.S. and a Ph.D. in education from the University of Southern California.
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Margaret Chock
Ph.D., Associate
Margaret Chock, PhD, CMC (Certified Management
Consultant), has been Principal of M. I. B. Chock, LLC (formerly
M.I.B. Chock) since 1982, except for a 6-year span spent gaining
experience in the Information Technology departments of a
fast-growing aerospace company, a Fortune 500 consulting company,
and a small research laboratory.
As part of an expert witness team for
three dozen computer systems and information technology related
cases, she has developed tools for fast analysis of large
quantities of data without access to the normal support systems
for that data, and frequently with the wrong data to start
with.
She invented a novel approach to
data base management and data manipulation for multi-modal
images and other types of two- and three-dimensional data. It
provides a very flexible platform for modeling biomedical,
geographic, or other applications where different types of data
interact in complicated ways over a region of interest.
She has conducted research and/or
developed systems or software for applications in biomedicine,
spatial data, pattern recognition, image processing, simulation
and modeling, database management, geographic information
management, facilities management, transportation, utilities,
surveying, mapping, and data warehousing.
She has helped clients through the
full life cycle of developing new computer systems and
procedures to use them: implementation planning, requirements
analysis, technology evaluation, enterprise architecture
analysis, trade-off studies, process analysis, design, and
implementation, systems analysis, design, implementation, test
design, vendor management, project management, small to
multi-enterprise, quality assurance, training, documentation,
maintenance and update.
Dr. Chock has experience in
managing both start-up Information Technology departments and
functional departments in larger information technology
organizations.
At BAE Systems, she managed projects and developed the IT
project management methodology, and served as interim Department
Manager. At Computer Sciences Corp., she helped integrate the
project management methodologies and software portfolios of 11
client sites. At PETNet Pharmaceuticals, she established
the basic Information Technology capabilities and infrastructure
for their research institute, while starting up their image
processing research program.
Earlier consulting activities involved software development,
project management, and the establishment of enterprise-level
Information Technology capabilities.
She maintains active participant in
a number of professional and technical organizations, in order
to stay abreast of the latest business and technical issues and
to find technical specialists and other resources that may be
useful to her clients:
- Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM)
- Association of Information Technology Professionals
- Forensic Expert Witness Association Member, Public Relations Commitee
- Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- Computer Society
- Consultants Network
- Institute of Management
Consultants
President. Southern California Chapter
- Los Angeles Venture Association
- Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
- Southern California Biomedical Council
- Technology Council of Southern California
Dr. Chock holds BA degrees in
Mathematics and Anthropology from University of California,
Santa Barbara, and an MS and PhD. in Computer Science from UCLA.
She is Certified as a Management Consultant by the Institute of
Management Consultants.
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Jeff Drobman, Ph.D., Associate
Dr. Jeff Drobman has over 35 years of industry and academic
experience covering a broad swath of hardware and software
engineering -- having worked in the computer chip industry for
16 years (at AMD, Integrated Device Technology, ComCore/National
Semi and Semtech), along with a 6 year stint in aerospace
(Hughes Aircraft Doctoral Fellow). While providing technical
support for all IC products for customers all across the western
US, Dr. Drobman's chief focus was microprocessors (i8085/8048,
Z80/Z8000, Am2900, MIPS R3000/4000) and their attendant software
development systems and test/integration tools (ICE, logic
analyzers).
Dr. Drobman has a unique perspective on the computer chip
industry, having been involved since the early days of Fairchild
Semi in the mid 1960s (while still in high school), then
observing the founding of Advanced Micro Devices in May 1969,
for whom he later was employed as a field applications engineer
for software and systems. (Dr. Drobman has chronicled the
"genesis" of Silicon Valley in an article plus org chart.)
As manager of applications engineering at IC startup ComCore
Semi, Dr. Drobman developed datasheets, app notes and PowerPoint
presentations for 10/100 Mbps Ethernet (10Base-T/100Base-TX) and
Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) ICs. While marketing manager at
Semtech, Dr. Drobman was responsible for all aspects of a
startup business unit developing a communications IC product
line, including contributing to the business plan and product
definition. The market focus was SONET/SDH low-level devices
(PMDs and PLLs) for key customers of Nortel, Cisco, Lucent and
Alcatel.
Dr. Drobman has started two businesses of his own: Micro ESP,
Inc. (1982-1988) and his current
Dr Jeff Software Company
(founded in 2006). Both of his businesses have developed PC
software products: "I/O Silver(tm)" and "Stock Market
Modeler(tm)". Additionally, he ported a version of "The Home
Accountant(tm)" for Continental Software.
Dr. Drobman has consulted for Cosgrove Consulting over the past
several years, specializing in computer chip/IC product
engineering/reverse engineering and related intellectual
property issues.
Dr. Drobman has taught computer programming, architecture and
logic design courses at UCLA -- most recently as a Lecturer in
Computer Science in 2006. Dr. Drobman also instructed for UCLA
Extension in the Microprocessor Hardware/Software Certificate
program, designing the "Systems" course for that program.
Dr. Drobman has three degrees, all from UCLA:
BS (cum laude) in Engineering 1970
MS in Computer Science 1973
PhD in Computer Science 1980
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Michael R. Elliott, Associate
Michael R. Elliott assists attorneys with litigation
involving complex technology issues. He provides Software
Engineering expertise in the following areas:
* Computer Software
* Unix-based Computer Operating Systems
* Embedded and Real-time Computer Operating Systems
* Web Servers and Web Applications
* Computer Security
* Computer Networking
* Process Control (automation)
* Constrained Computer Systems
* Real-time Software Issues
* Safety Critical Software Systems
* Software Design and Development
* Avionics Software
Having published, presented and taught at the college level,
he is able to break down high technology concepts into
understandable basic language. This ability is particularly
beneficial when serving as a computer forensics expert witness.
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Lynn A. Fraher, CPA, Associate
Ms. Fraher has twenty years experience in management consulting
and public accounting serving primarily the financial services and
technology industries. She has spent most of her career as a
professional services consultant with Big 5 firms. Currently she
consults with a number of clients on financial, marketing and
business development matters.
As the Director of Marketing at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ms. Fraher
directed all marketing services for approximately 2000 consultants
in the West Region Consulting Practice. She was responsible for
events, public relations, collateral, internal communications and
knowledge management. She defined and implemented the marketing
strategy including the recruitment and professional development of
more than 20 professionals.
As a Senior Manager at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Ms.
Fraher managed the financial functions, administrative operations
and marketing services for various components of this
multi-billion dollar global management and technology consulting
firm. She managed multi-million dollar budgets, project and
program planning, and executive level reporting.
At JMB Institutional Realty Corporation, a multi-billion dollar
real estate investment and development corporation, Ms. Fraher was
the Assistant Director of Institutional Financial Reporting. In
this role she managed the accounting, administrative operations,
and financial reporting for six real estate portfolios with over
$500 million in assets.
Ms. Fraher served as the Director of Corporate Accounting for
Equity Group Investments, Inc. She directed the accounting and
administrative operations for a holding company with 50
subsidiaries and over $7 billion in real estate assets.
At Arthur Andersen, Ms. Fraher was a Senior Manager managing all
phases of audit engagements for both public and private companies.
Her clients and experience included the venture capital, real
estate, capital markets, and commercial finance industries. She
consulted on accounting and business issues, SEC and other
regulatory requirements, income tax matters, and internal
controls.
Ms. Fraher has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is a Certified Public Accountant
in Illinois.
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Michael M. Krieger, J.D, Ph.D., Associate
Michael Krieger has practiced high technology business and
intellectual property law for more than 20 years, focusing on
both securing and exploiting clients key IP assets. His practice
includes litigation, but encourages clients to take preventive
steps including patents, trademarks, well-crafted contracts, and
due diligence on their partners. His clients have ranged from
start- ups and non-profit organizations to industry leaders, as
well as the United Nations and international initiatives. He
also serves as an expert in technology litigation, particularly
at the interface of IP and technology.
With degrees in mathematics (B.S., Caltech; Ph.D., UCLA) and law
(UCLA), he spent 15 years on the MIT Mathematics and UCLA
Computer Science faculties and as a Fulbright Scholar (Brazil)
prior to practicing law. This background catalyzed his
involvement in key areas as they emerged, from the Internet
itself, born Arpanet in the UCLA Computer Science Department
(1969), public key encryption (1978), open source software
(1999), and Internet governance (as personal advisor to Internet
pioneer Jon Postel, 1998).
Mr. Krieger has served on the Executive Board of the
Intellectual Property Section of the California Bar, was Chief
Editor of its journal "New Matter," and chairs the Section's
Computer Law Committee. He serves on several non-profit boards
including the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum and the SoCal
Conference on Undergraduate Research. His writings range from
contract guides to reportage of Internet developments. In 1997
he returned to the UCLA faculty to teach a seminar in law and
business issues for UCLA's Computer Science Department graduate
program. He is Of Counsel to the trial/litigation boutique
Willenken Wilson Loh & Lieb llp.
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Raymond Madachy, Ph.D., Associate
Dr. Raymond Madachy has over 25 years of management and
technical experience in software and systems engineering, and is
a recognized expert in software cost estimation and metrics. He
is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern
California in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department,
and Principal of the USC Center for Systems and Software
Engineering. Previously he was Chief Science Officer at the Cost
Xpert Group responsible for the research and development of
software cost estimation and metrics tools, and was Chief
Scientist at C-bridge Institute where he led consulting and
training in software methodologies and economic analysis. Before
that he was manager of the Software Engineering Process Group at
at Litton Guidance and Control Systems achieving SEI CMM Level 4
after being the lead for software metrics, cost estimation and
risk management at Litton Data Systems. He has also served as a
Visiting Scientist with the Software Engineering Institute. His
consulting clients have included Accenture, Blue Cross, Chevron,
Cognizant Technologies, Lucent, Motorola, Northrop-Grumman,
Seagate, Unisys, USAA, Wipro and other Fortune 500 firms.
Dr. Madachy specializes in litigation support and financial
analysis for software systems. He has performed as an expert
witness on software cost, quality and contractual disputes. He
has also led the Cosgrove team on engagements to conduct
business value analysis of software products. These engagements
support mergers, acquisitions and investment analysis.
He has experience in investigating software design/code interllectual property theft, determining the market value of software intellectual property, software project contract performance, and determination of software development "should costs" in support of contract litigation. Methods include forensic software size and quality measurement, use of parametric cost models, productivity analysis, and industry benchmarking within the US ans International. He has testified in depositions.
In addition to his industrial experience he has over 75
publications in the areas of software cost/schedule estimation,
software risk management, process modeling and improvement. He
is a co-author of the book Software Cost Estimation with COCOMO
II and his book Software Process Dynamics be out in late 2007.
He has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from USC,
an M.S. in Systems Science from the University of California,
San Diego and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Dayton. He is a senior member of IEEE, ACM,
INCOSE, Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, serves on the program
committees for the International Forum on COCOMO and
Systems/Software Cost Modeling, the International Conference on
Softwar Process. He has also served on program committees for
several other conferences and and the LA Software Process
Improvement Network (SPIN) steering committee. He is also a
reviewer for several referreed journals including IEEE
Transactions on Software Engineering, Journal of Systems and
Software, IEEE Software and IEEE Computer.
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David Rismann, CFCE, CCFT, Associate
Mr. Rismann has more than eighteen years experience developing software systems and applications. He incorporates a thorough knowledge of information technology with a strong background in the financial and investment fields to provide successful and effective consulting solutions.
Mr. Rismann is also a trained and certified computer forensic
technician.
Mr. Rismann was the Director MIS for Wurts & Associates, a leading west coast investment consulting firm. While there he developed applications for tracking broker/dealer commissions, auditing the accuracy of custodial statements, producing portfolio performance measurement reports, and creating an online investment manager database/search system.
At the Plexus Group, a consulting firm specializing in transaction cost analysis, Mr. Rismann designed and developed a variety of software solutions including a system to convert and store ten-minute interval stock market snapshots, a series of programs designed to streamline the process for importing and analyzing data provided by investment managers, and a report production system for international portfolios.
Prior to working for the Plexus Group, Mr. Rismann was an analyst for Wilshire Associates, where he was responsible for maintaining portions of their Trust Online System (an interface to their TUCS product), and for developing a high-speed data transfer package for their PC-mainframe applications.
David Rismann
Consultants Inc. was established in 1997 but has roots that stretch back more than a decade. What began as a thriving PC VAR/Integrator business eventually blossomed into an information systems consulting firm, catering to the small-to-medium sized businesses.
Mr. Rismann earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, from where he graduated magna cum laude.
After completion of forensic computer examiner training with Key Computer
Services, Mr. Rismann was awarded the Certified Forensic Computer Examiner
designation (CFCE) from IACIS, the International Association of Computer
Investigative Specialists (www.cops.org). Mr.
Rismann has also earned the Advanced Certified Computer Forensic
Technician (CCFT) certification by the High Tech Crime Network (www.htcn.org). |
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Eric Robi, CCE, Associate
Mr. Robi has over 13 years of management experience in the
computer industry.
Mr. Robi served as Senior Project Manager for ASK International,
a leading computer-based-design development firm. While at ASK,
Mr. Robi spearheaded several projects including the development
of a three-CD training program for rental sales agents at Alamo
Rent A Car. He also served as lead designer for computer-based
training applications developed for Western Financial, XP
Systems and HP.
Mr. Robi co-founded a high-tech specialized marketing agency,
Lassoo Interactive, and managed the company for six years. While
at Lassoo, he was responsible for marketing systems and client
strategy. He developed lead generation programs for clients such
as Microsoft Great Plains, IBM, UPS Capital, and Nortel. He
designed some of the first online-based marketing techniques
common today and helped clients implement technology-based
marketing applications.
As President of Federal Forensics Group, a
forensics and consulting practice, Mr. Robi provides computer
forensics and investigative services to a wide variety of
clients including law firms, corporations and individuals. He is
one of the few certified computer examiners who conducts
criminal defense work. He is trained in several forensic
software applications including Encase.
He holds a Bachelors of Art Degree from the University of
Toronto and a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology from
California State University, Los Angeles, where he was awarded
Special Recognition in Graduate Studies for Outstanding Academic
Achievement twice in a row.
He is a Certified Computer Examiner (CCE) granted by the
International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners. He also is
a board member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association. |
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Jerald M. Savin, CPA, FIMC, CMC
Jerald M. Savin is an IT management consultant with over 30 years of IT consulting experience specializing in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. He has been involved in the assessment, selection, implementation, troubleshooting and support of ERP systems including providing expert testimony regarding these systems. His expertise combines information system architecture, scientific training, public accounting and business operations.
He is currently the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Cambridge Technology Consulting Group, Inc., which focuses exclusively on IT Consulting. He began his professional career in the management consulting division of KPMG in 1979 specializing in accounting information systems. Prior to that, he was a Clinical Department Manager for the Cedars Sinai Medical Center and Chief Operating Officer for two medical groups. He grew up in the family food manufacturing business.
His consulting services include:
- Assessment of IT Strategy, Systems and Resources
- Selection, Implementation, Troubleshooting and Litigation Support for ERP Systems
- Design and Development of Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics solutions
- Development and Auditing of IT Internal Control Compliance (SOX/CobiT)
He is a specialist in the
- Structure and Behavior of ERP systems
- Selection of ERP systems
- Implementation of ERP systems
- Troubleshooting ERP systems
- Business aspects of ERP Contracts
- Forensic investigation of ERP failures
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Dr. Stan Stahl, Associate
Dr. Stahl is a pioneer in the field of information security,
having entered the field in 1980. Earlier in his career he secured
teleconferencing at the White House, databases inside Cheyenne
Mountain and the communications network controlling our nuclear
weapons arsenal.
Dr. Stahl excels at helping his clients
develop and implement information security management strategies
consistent with their unique information security
responsibilities, their business realities and their cultural
circumstances. He has that rare gift of being able to describe the
complexities of information security in a way that makes sense to
real-world non-technical business professionals.
Dr. Stahl
has been President of ISSA-LA——the Los Angeles Chapter of the
Information Systems Security Association——since 2008 (ISSA-LA)
and is the creator of the Chapter's It Takes the Village to Secure
the VillageSM program.
He originated the Chapter's
Community Outreach Advisory Board to guide the Chapter's community
activities. Among its more than 25 members are leading attorneys,
accountants, insurance brokers and other business professionals in
the Los Angeles community. Nearly 800 people—a mix of security
and IT professionals, business leaders, law enforcement and
educators—attended the Chapter's annual Information Security
Summit last year.
Dr. Stahl's unusual leadership and
management capabilities was developed through a career filled with
growth, innovation and achievement in the management of technology
and its strategic integration into the organization. He has honed
his craft not only through his extensive experience in the
management of information security but also through his
experiences (i) as COO of an online management education and
training company, (ii) as a strategic management consultant
specializing in business performance, (iii) a software engineer
and research scientist in early secure computing and (iv) as a
mathematics professor.
During the Reagan administration,
Dr. Stahl was invited to serve on a White House Presidential Task
Force to recommend government strategies to better secure
private-sector computer and communications systems. During that
same period he was invited to serve on a National Information
Security Study Group, a joint program of the National Security
Agency and the Department of Commerce designed to determine
national information security needs.
Dr. Stahl speaks
extensively about information security, both at conferences and at
professional or civic associations. Together with David Lam, he
co-authored the cyber security management section of the ASIS
Protection of Assets Manual. He edits the firm's weekly newsletter
——the Cyber Security News of the Week and the Weekend
Vulnerability and Patch Report——which is is emailed to nearly
20,000 people every week.
Dr. Stahl earned his Ph.D. in
mathematics from The University of Michigan and spent nearly 15
years teaching university mathematics. He serves on the Industry
Advisory Boardof the Information Technology Program at USC's
Viterbi School of Engineering and the California Cybersecurity
Task Force convened jointly by the California Governor's Office of
Emergency Services and the California Department of Technology.
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David Sweigert, Associate
Mr. Sweigert present holds the PMP, CISA and CISSP
credentials as well as two Masters degrees; in computer security
and project management. His military experiences in cryptology
allowed him to successfully transistion into the role of a
security architect for "open systems" (see UNIX, LINUX, etc.)
for government and military systems. Between 1985 and 1995 Mr.
Sweigert acquired a great deal of in-depth background and
experience designing secure enterprise-wide query/response
applications and supporting networks.
In 1998 Mr. Sweigert began blending the technical controls
associated with design work with external audit frameworks (such
as AICPA SAS-70, Level I and II) to support trusted third party
(TTP) certification authorities employing public key
infrastructure technology. In 2001 he became the Managing
Director of a Luxembourg based validation authority that was
actively harmonizing cross-border trust policy for the American
Bankers Association and the Luxembourg Bankers Association. He
supported the concept of TTP PKI validation authority frameworks
(2004) while supporting on-going research at Merck, Inc. as part
of the SAFE BioPharma initiative. Both of these validation
frameworks relied upon the use of smart card technology.
Mr. Sweigert has designed secure cross-border authentication
systems that rely on federated identity frameworks (see Security
Assertion Markup Language) on behalf of the RouteOne credit
portal sponsored by General Motors, Ford and Toyota. As security
architect for the RouteOne portal (2002), Mr. Sweigert ensured
compliance with the Graham-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act and the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
His knowledge of legislative, oversight, regulatory and
compliance frameworks to foster increased information technology
(IT) security also encompasses the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (see HIPAA). Mr. Sweigert served on the
work group to harmonize the HIPAA law with implementing agancy
regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS).
A sought after speaker, Mr. Sweigert has served as a member
of the American Bar Association's Information Security Committee
(ISC) since 1999.
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Lina Termanini, Associate
Lina Termanini, brings more than 25 years of experience
working with multinational institutions formulating Business &
IT strategies and managing major initiatives to ensure alignment
with corporate goals and objectives.
Ms. Termanini brings deep expertise in several industry
sectors, including Financial Services, High Tech, Healthcare,
Aerospace, Petrochemical and Government/Public Services. Ms
Termanini has extensive experience in Program Management,
Program Management Office (PMO), Change Management, IT Strategy
and Roadmap Planning, Risk Management and Compliance Assessment.
Ms. Termanini worked as a Senior Program Director for Injazat
(a joint venture between the government of Abu Dhabi and EDS),
where she was responsible for planning and risk management of a
number of IT programs (Systems Integration & Managed Operations)
for the government of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Prior to this engagement,
Ms. Termanini worked as a VP of Operations and Practice Leader
for Atos Origin Middle East managing key IT service lines
including: Security, Infrastructure and Consultancy.
Previously, Ms. Termanini worked as a Senior Advisor at KPMG
Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in New York where
she lead a team of consultants on assignments aimed at
substantially improving operational performance in a number of
business environments. Ms. Termanini managed the external
audits, and Sarbanes Oxley Design & Operational Reviews for
large Financial Institutions including Goldman Sachs, Freddie
Mac, Sallie Mae, Odysee RE. As part of the reviews, Clients’ IT
environments were assessed using established governance
framework (COSO, COBIT, ISO17799). Additionally, Ms. Termanini
managed IT Security Risk Assessment Reviews for large financial
institutions: Visa, NY Federal Home Loans Bank.
Ms. Termanini experience in the aerospace industry included
managing the on-going operations of Rockwell International
Enterprise Management System (ERP) for the B1-B aircraft. Post
aircraft roll-out, Ms. Termanini managed key Air Force
initiatives aimed at planning, capturing, and managing technical
data throughout the life cycle of the aircraft systems.
Prior to Rockwell, Ms. Termanini worked at the headquarters
of Chevron International where she managed their supply chain
and logistics systems.
Languages: English, French, Arabic
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Rocky Termanini,PhD, Associate
Dr. Termanini provides consulting services specializing in
information technology (IT) for the needs of international
businesses, particularly those involved in Middle Eastern
countries. Recent and on-going projects include payment and
security systems for banking and other financial services clients,
which involve architecting upgrades for multi-national business
models and incorporating emerging technologies.
With his recent project experience and lifetime language/cultural
fluency in the Middle East, he provides unique support to the
needs of global businesses involved in those countries. Services
include the analysis/development of business/marketing plans, a
company-wide contingency plan and also include direction of all
aspects of international IT projects from architecture,
application components, security layer, infrastructure and
integration.
Languages: English, French, Arabic, Turkish
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Jill Wilson, BS, QDE, Associate
Jill Wilson, BS, QDE(Questioned Document Examiner), is a leading forensic document examiner and handwriting expert, specializing in the scientfic examination of questioned documents, forged signatures, handwriting analysis and identification, anonymous notes, disguised writing, altered documents, and document authentication.
Ms Wilson is also a computer engineer, knowledgeable in computers and software applications, including document creation and manipulation applications such as Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Reader, and Paint. She is a keenly observant individual with top-notch powers of reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Ms. Wilson was educated and trained at the International School of Forensic Document Examination, studying under the world-renowned forensic document examiner and handwriting expert, Bart Baggett.
Her earlier education and experience includes a B.S. in Computer Engineering from UCLA upon which she spent eight years supporting various large, multiuser computer systems. After that, she managed a technical support group of applications engineers at a privately-held EDA (electronic design automation) company for eight years. She remained in EDA for another 11 years working as a technical writer. |
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Who We Are
