Our Team

Dr. Jay April, Chief Development Officer
Dr. Marco Better, Director of Custom Solutions
Ms. Candy Brinkman, Director of Product Development
Ms. Buddie, Director of Goodwill (DOG)

Ms. Britta Eckhardt, Software Engineer

Mr. Craig Fournier, Senior Software Engineer

Dr. Fred Glover, Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Dr. James P. Kelly, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Dr. Gary Kochenberger, Senior Research Associate
Dr. Manuel Laguna, Senior Research Associate
Mr. Joshua Snyder, Software Engineer
Dr. Ben Thengvall, Optimization Architect
Ms. Anna Warner, Business Manager

Mr. Brian Wilkerson, Vice President
Mr. Terry Wubbena, Director of Software Development

Dr. Jay April, Chief Development Officer of OptTek Systems, Inc. holds bachelors degrees in philosophy and aeronautical engineering, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration (emphasis in operations research and economics). Dr. April has held several executive positions including VP of Business Development and CIO of EG&G subsidiaries, and Director of Business Development at Unisys Corporation. He also held the position of Professor at Colorado State University, heading the Laboratory of Information Sciences in Agriculture. (Back to top)

Dr. Marco Better is the Director of Custom Solutions of OptTek Systems, Inc. He obtained his Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Leeds School of Business of the University of Colorado at Boulder.  He holds a B.S. in industrial engineering and an M.B.A.  Dr. Better has over 15 years of professional work experience in the automobile, banking, and telecommunications industries, both in the US and in Latin America.  His current interests lie in the application of optimization and data mining technology to solve complex problems in industry. (Back to top)

Ms. Candy Brinkman is the Director of Product Development of OptTek Systems, Inc. and is responsible for the design and development of new products. She holds a bachelors degree in mathematics and has 25 years of experience designing and implementing user interfaces. Ms. Brinkman has worked for several start-up companies and as an independent software consultant to several large corporations. (Back to top)

Ms. Buddie is the Director of Goodwill (DOG). Buddie is responsible for promoting goodwill within the professional staff and with visitors to our location. Buddie brings a lot of enthusiasm and excitement (and hair) to the office. (Back to top)

Ms. Britta Eckhardt is a Software Engineer of OptTek Systems, Inc. She holds a bachelors degree in Computer Science from Colorado State University, with a Minor in Mathematics. Prior to joining OptTek, she was a software engineer with Hewlett-Packard. (Back to top)

Mr. Craig Fournier is a Senior Software Engineer of OptTek Systems, Inc. He has 20 years experience in software development for both large enterprises and software startup companies.  His areas of expertise are Java, client/server development, BIRT Reports, and Google Web Toolkit (GWT). He likes to spend time with his family, bike, swim, ski and run in his spare time.  He likes Indian food and speaks fluent Nepali. (Back to top)

Dr. Fred Glover is the Chief Technology Officer in charge of algorithmic design and strategic planning initiatives. Dr. Glover is a leading figure in the field of metaheuristics, whose name he coined in the 1980s – an area that is now the subject of numerous books and international conferences, focusing on the development of models and methods enabling the solution of complex nonlinear and combinatorial problems that lie beyond the ability of classical optimization procedures.  He also serves as the MediaOne Chaired Professor in Systems Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor of the University of Colorado System. He has authored or co-authored more than three hundred fifty published articles and eight books in the fields of mathematical optimization, computer science and artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on practical applications in industry and government. Dr. Glover is the recipient of the distinguished von Neumann Theory Prize, an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, and has received numerous other awards and honorary fellowships, including those from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the NATO Division of Scientific Affairs, the Institute of Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), the U.S. Defense Communications Agency (DCA), the Energy Research Institute (ERI), the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Alpha Iota Delta, and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science. (Back to top)

Dr. James P. Kelly, CEO of OptTek Systems, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of the business. He was an Associate Professor in the College of Business at the University of Colorado. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in engineering and a Ph.D. in mathematics. Dr. Kelly has authored or co-authored numerous published articles and books in the fields of optimization, disclosure limitation, computer science and artificial intelligence. His interests focus on the use of state-of-the-art optimization techniques for providing competitive advantages in engineering and business. (Back to top)

Dr. Gary Kochenberger is a Senior Research Associate of OptTek Systems, Inc. He is also Professor in the School of Business of the University of Colorado at Denver. He earned a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder (1970) where he also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Kochenberger’s academic specialty centers on building, testing, and implementing algorithms for solving resource allocation problems that rise in both the private and public sectors. In recent years, his focus has been on problems of a combinatorial nature as commonly found in logistical management, human resource management, operations management, and related areas. He has published four books and more than fifty research papers in top journals in his field. (Back to top)

Dr. Manuel Laguna is a Senior Research Associate of OptTek Systems, Inc. He is Professor of Operations Management in the Leeds School of Business of the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received masters and doctoral degrees in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has done extensive research in the interface between computer science, artificial intelligence and operations research to develop solution methods for problems in areas such as logistics and supply chain, routing and network design in telecommunications, combinatorial optimization on graphs, and optimization of simulations. His research has appeared in numerous academic-journal articles and books. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Heuristics and is in the international advisory board of the Journal of the Operational Research Society. (Back to top)

Mr. Joshua Snyder is a Software Engineer of OptTek Systems, Inc. He holds a bachelors degree in Mathematics and Information Systems from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to joining OptTek, he worked on his masters degree with courses in Foundations of Constraint Processing, Artificial Intelligence, and Real Time Systems. (Back to top)

Dr. Ben Thengvall is an Optimization Architect of OptTek Systems, Inc. He earned his M.S.E. and Ph.D. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining OptTek, he was an Operations Research Scientist at Navitaire, Inc., a leading operations research technology firm serving the airline industry. His primary interests have been in mathematical modeling and scheduling. He manages the activities in OptTek’s office in Omaha, Nebraska providing support for USSTRATCOM. (Back to top)

Ms. Anna Warner is the Business Manager of OptTek Systems, Inc. She is responsible for all accounting, government contract administration, and human resource functions at OptTek. Ms. Warner has over 25 years of office experience. (Back to top)

Mr. Brian Wilkerson is a Vice President at OptTek responsible for their services in workforce planning and economic development planning. His educational background includes a Masters Degree in Urban & Regional Planning from University of Colorado and a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to OptTek, he was the Global Practice Director for Talent Management at Watson Wyatt Worldwide. His previous experience includes senior management roles at corporations such as Andersen Consulting and Level 3 Communications, as well as experience in the non-profit sector in international development and governmental affairs. He was also the co-founder and CEO of WisdomNet, a Strategy and Human Capital firm focused on delivering cutting-edge consulting and technology solutions. WisdomNet was the developer of the leading I-TMS software for integrated Talent Management and the Workforce Impact tool for advanced workforce planning and analytics. WisdomNet was acquired by Watson Wyatt in 2007. Mr. Wilkerson speaks extensively on a range of topics such as business strategy, workforce planning, innovation, and talent management for organizations such as The Conference Board, the Human Capital Institute, the Human Resource Planning Society and others. (Back to top)

Mr. Terry Wubbena is the Director of Software Development of OptTek Systems, Inc. and is responsible for software design and development. He holds a bachelors degree in computer science from Iowa State University and earned a masters degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in 1981. Mr. Wubbena has over 25 years of experience and has worked as an independent software consultant to large corporations and was a software engineer for AT&T Bell Laboratories. He brings to our software team leadership skills in operating systems, programming languages, databases, GUI’s and the Internet. (Back to top)