Team Bios

Lori Bocklund, Founder and President (Download PDF Bio)

Lori is a widely recognized and respected expert in contact center strategy, technology and operations. She brings her thoughtful and insightful expertise to each client engagement, creating custom project approaches that serve clients' needs and solve real business challenges. Lori has the background and experience to not only develop the vision and strategy (and communicate it in a practical, results-focused way), but she also ensures the structure and framework deliver value each and every time. That's why so many people come back for repeat engagements, read her publications, and come to hear her speak at industry events around the world. They trust her and her unbiased, real-world knowledge of a wide range of contact center technologies.

Lori founded Strategic Contact in 2004 after spending nearly two decades in the contact center industry and working as a consultant for many years. She's attracted a team of other like-minded, bright, results-focused consultants. Together, it is the people, the processes and their collective technology expertise that contribute to the company's ever-growing best practices library.

Lori's no-nonsense style and extensive knowledge of technologies and processes is highly coveted in the industry. Clients have sought her help on a variety of projects, including these types of engagements: Developing call center and technology strategies with associated business cases to address client business objectives; Leading clients through reengineering and redesign projects that included process change, organizational redesign, change management, and technology acquisition and implementation; Helping build contact centers from the ground up to support new companies or new business initiatives; Assessing existing operations and technology environments against best practices and then developing actionable recommendations for process changes, new management practices, and organizational change (including choosing an outsourcer); Developing requirements and helping clients select and implement the best technologies to meet their needs (ACD, CRM, CTI, IVR, QM, WFM); and Serving as an expert witness in patent lawsuits in the contact center technology industry.

Lori has also co-authored the highly applauded book, Call Center Technology Demystified, along with many papers, toolkits, and a highly rated training course on call center technology planning and design. She's a frequent columnist and contributor in industry publications such as SearchCRM and Customer Management Insight, and has presented at conferences around the globe such as ICMI ACCE/Knowledge Exchange, CC Demo, LOMA, ComNet, Purdue Call Center Campus, ICCM, DMA, MTA and others.

Lori received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University, and her Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University. She also holds certification in Change Management with Prosci. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and enjoys the challenge (and accomplishment) of a strenuous bicycle ride or cross-country skiing or snowshoeing adventure.

Brian brings a unique and highly valued combination of strategy, process, and financial experience to contact center consulting. He shows clients how technology can add strategic value and how to best synchronize contact center decisions with corporate strategy. His background in strategic and operational planning helps clients fully grasp all aspects of business analysis in order to provide the necessary information for decision makers.

Brian has 20 years of experience in organizational management and an additional ten years in contact center consulting. He has also held positions in executive management in start-up companies and in multi-million dollar corporations. He joined Strategic Contact in 2006 after being President of Primary Matters, Inc. where he was directly involved in the design, development, application and support of an activity-based planning and analysis tool for contact centers. Brian provided all customer training and support to the contact centers using the planning and analysis tool, as well as completing consulting projects within contact centers focusing on process-driven analysis.

With deep expertise in process-driven analysis, Brian has helped clients on a wide-range of projects, including: Determining total-cost-of-ownership and ROI for business and technology initiatives; Designing IT projects to optimize business benefits; Defining requirements, selecting technologies, and providing project management for implementation; Projecting accurate, detailed budgets and resource (headcount and system) requirements; viewing detailed forecasts of labor requirements and hiring; Examining the impact of re-designing business processes; and Benchmarking organizational best practices and generalize across the organization for efficiency.

He has authored several key financial planning models used by Fortune 50 companies in the design of next generation 800 networks, in corporate business plans, and as sales tools. He has also authored several articles and white papers and speaks at customer support conferences on using process analysis to understand resource requirement projections, the impact of technology on productivity, technology requirements, selection, and strategy, building business cases and producing ROI on technology and process changes.

Brian has an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Harvard University and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois. Brian is a retired U.S. Navy Commander. He lives in Watkinsville, Georgia where, when he is home, he tries to keep up with his family's school, church and music activities.

Matt's 24 years of experience working in the telecommunications and call center industries are brought to every strategy, technology, and operations project. Clients applaud his deep expertise creating and delivering solutions that address the relevant and pressing challenges they face in the contact center today. Matt's unbiased approach helps them navigate through the hype of many strategies and technologies.

Matt brings a diverse background in call center product and industry knowledge, and application design consulting for voice and call center solutions. Prior to joining the Strategic Contact team in 2005, he was a manager of call center services and collaborative products for a major service provider, with a focus on next generation IP Contact Centers, including hosted solutions.

He has also played an integral role in developing call center solution offerings, evaluating vendors and products, creating service offerings, and delivering call center solutions to the marketplace. Matt has held positions in the areas of sales planning, quality management, product development, sales consulting, and operations, including implementation and support.

Clients tap Matt's expertise on a wide variety of projects. A few of his most recent engagements involved helping a Fortune 100 company transform their customer interactions through technology, process, and organizational change; Delivering a network based (hosted) contact center product concept for a major service provider; Designing, developing and rolling out network based IVR product and services; Helping business customers design call center applications to effectively route callers to the best available resource; Creating and delivering training to field sales and customers on call center capabilities and services; Developing and staffing a 24 x 7 call center support team; and Creating a process improvement process that standardized IVR implementations that resulted in a decrease in work errors to less than 1% and met customer delivery dates 99% of the time.

Matt has a B.S. in Computer Science from Mount Union College and he has a Six Sigma Green Belt. He lives in Overland Park, Kansas and when he's not on a plane coming to/from client sites, you'll find him enjoying sports and woodworking, or watching his daughters' dance performances with his wife.

Mike is a proven strategist and consultant with 23 years of contact center experience. His clients benefit greatly from his extensive operations management and technology expertise.

Previously, Mike served as VP and Operations Leader for two large financial services firms where he was responsible for multi-site contact centers and supporting operations. In these roles, Mike and his team owned all aspects of the contact center vision, planning, production operations, and change management. As a result of his leadership, talents, and initiatives, the contact centers delivered very high service levels and award-winning customer satisfaction as measured by external industry firms, achieving the #1 position for over eight years.

The majority of Mike's career has focused on consulting and managing client projects, with an emphasis on contact centers and improving customer interaction through optimized processes, best practices, and enabling technology. For example, Mike has been instrumental in a wide variety of client projects, including: Developing plans and business cases, and successfully implementing all primary contact center technologies including CRM, ACD, IVR, CTI, QM, WFM and related systems integration projects; Developing and implementing large scale, enterprise business resiliency programs to support Y2K and the post 9/11 business environments; Managing and implementing large client consulting projects in vertical industries (including financial services, insurance, utilities, manufacturing, consumer products, healthcare and others) from strategy through technology procurement and oversight of implementation planning; Assisting clients with the development of self-service strategies to support the contact center; and Managing supplier interaction on behalf of contact center clients with all major industry leaders such as Avaya, Aspect, IBM, IEX, and many others.

Mike has a B.S. in Business Administration from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is a certified 6 Sigma Green Belt. He lives in Holden, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys the challenge of perfecting his photography skills, snow skiing, and traveling with his family.

Steve is a highly regarded contact center operations professional with the unique ability to see the big picture and apply innovative solutions that drive valued and measurable results for clients. His 26 years of operations experience come from a wide variety of markets, including Airline and Hotel Reservations, Telecommunications, Insurance, Catalog and Retail Sales, Wireless Telecommunications and Data.

Steve has successfully planned and directed a comprehensive range of domestic and international operations including contact center startups, consolidations, outsourced management, labor contracts and multi-center networks ranging in size from 50 to 7,500 employees.

A sampling of his recent accomplishments includes: Consolidating call center operations for four companies and 12 centers into one virtual operation; Developing and implementing dashboard reporting at the representative, center and enterprise level providing immediate performance feedback on service and financial reporting; Implementing a network workforce management system consolidating three legacy systems in 12 autonomous centers into one virtual operation; and Developing a consolidated call handling group, routing and capacity plan providing the ability for inter-company centers to cross-utilize resources to reduce outsourcing and operating costs.

Steve's international expertise is continually in demand. For example, he has conducted feasibility studies regarding data and telecommunications systems and costs for regional service centers in India and South America, as well as completed a project implementation plan for a regional service center in Dubai, UAE. He has opened a reservations center in Singapore offering toll free service to seven Asian countries, implemented new telecom systems and networks in Brussels, London, Toronto, Mexico City, Singapore and Sydney, as well as developed North American and International Disaster Recovery plans for a major Hotel and Hospitality Company's Reservation Sales Offices.

Steve has completed studies in Cultural Anthropology at University of Northern Colorado, International Relations and Philosophy at Arizona State University, and African Political and Cultural Development at University of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. Steve's pastimes include reading, travel, and having a great dinner with a few close friends.

Kelli brings deep experience in many of the most critical areas of the contact center -- customer service, technology management, operations management, and project management. Because of her 10+ years in the field, Kelli's clients benefit from her expertise architecting high-level strategies as well as her innovative, practical approach to getting the projects successfully completed.

Previously, Kelli spent time managing complex software implementation projects for state and local governments. In this role, she was intimately involved in the design, development, implementation and support of enterprise technology solutions. She also served in various roles for a growing organization where she was responsible for defining requirements and developing procedures that helped her build a call center from the ground up. No small task, this new call center provided software support for election officials across 10 states.

Her recent experience includes assisting clients in the areas of call center solution planning, evaluating vendors and products, implementing best practices, and defining project phases and tasks. Kelli's unique combination of technical, business, and interpersonal skills allows her to provide expertise in many phases of call center projects, including planning, implementation, and overall project management.

Kelli received her MBA from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette University, and a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) as well as a PMP (Project Management Professional) and has received Change Management Certification from Prosci. When she's not helping clients solve problems, you can find her in Vancouver, Washington hiking, cross-country skiing, cycling, or reading.

Lori is an enthusiastic contact center leader. She is certified with CIAC as a Contact Center Management Consultant (CCMC) and with Prosci in Change Management methodologies and tools. She brings a unique blend of strategy, team development and focus on customer experience with revenue generation. She understands and is able to show clients how technology is an enabler to help achieve results. Her primary focus is on contact center people, processes and the training needed to help them accomplish their strategic goals with the help of technology and sound business processes.

Lori has over 20 years experience in leading sales, customer service and technical support teams in both the USA and in Europe. She has experience in the publishing, healthcare, training, retail, manufacturing and high-tech industries, which is applicable to clients in all industries. She takes over mediocre or new teams and puts into place the people, processes and technology to make those teams great within their company and industry. Lori has experience in identifying and developing third party vendor results and in outsourcing domestically and offshore. She thrives on leading teams to greatness in customer experience and revenue generation. Lori combines process streamlining with technology implementation, training and staff career development.

Lori's results in team change management and converting a service team to a profit center are available in ÒA Cut Above the RestÓ an article that can be found in CCMR, February 2006. At ACCE 2006, she presented ÒA Service to Sales Success StoryÓ a case study on leading team change and revenue development. She is a yearly speaker at NWSP on topics such as Offshore Outsourcing, Performance Optimization and Team Development.

She graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture. She lives in Oregon where she tries to keep up with her family's school activities while being an active member of World Vision's Portland Women of Vision chapter, Board member of NW Support Professionals and OSU Library Advisory Council and an active volunteer at Haystack Rock Marine Garden in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Bill Bush offers clients deep expertise in all facets of contact center strategy, operations, and technology enablement. He brings his 20+ years experience leading contact center teams and managing technology re-engineering projects to every engagement. His hands-on experience in call center and technical support operations, combined with a background in technology, enable him to understand the link between business needs and technology solutions.

Bill has had pivotal roles in contact centers of many sizes, verticals, and technology levels in positions as varied as Project Manager - Strategy & Tools, Vice President - Client Services, and Product Line Manager - Contact Center. In these roles he has not only developed product roadmaps for customer contact solutions, but also built customer support and training programs, led initiatives in technology analysis and implementation, as well as developed new "best practices" via business process re-engineering and process analysis.

In addition to his experience, Bill brings a refreshing, thoughtful, and unbiased approach to his client engagements. Knowing the most effective solutions require a 360 degree view, Bill provides clients with vendor-neutral consulting solutions that positively impact the bottom line, provide a deep and wide experience skill set, and guide clients to solutions that maximize their contact center investments in people and technology.

A highly regarded industry expert with a reputation for delivering process and technology solutions that provide significant and measurable results, Bill has written numerous newsletters, articles, and white papers. He has also delivered several webinars and spoken at industry conferences on topics such as "Managing Complex Contact Center Technology Projects," "Contact Center Technology Strategies," and "IP Migration Strategies."

Bill studied Psychology and Business at the State University of New York at Oswego, and has obtained certifications in project management (PMP from PMI), Help Desk Management (HDI), and numerous certifications from top-tier technology vendors. When not consulting, Bill enjoys traveling with his wife, playing "fetch" (endlessly) with his Chocolate Lab, and writing screenplays. He also enjoys all sports, including snorkeling, running the Colorado Relay each year, and playing golf (badly).