Visionary Team


Bill Inmon
Bill Inmon, the founder of Forest Rim Technology, is globally renowned as the "Father of Data Warehousing." With over 60 books and thousands of articles to his name, Bill has been a pivotal voice in big data, business intelligence, and data warehousing. Recognized by Computerworld as one of the "Ten IT People Who Mattered in the Last 40 Years," his insights have shaped the industry for decades.
Dr. Scott Burk
Dr. Scott Burk spearheads ForestRim's sales and strategy, leveraging over 30 years of experience in unlocking business value through data. A 5X author, professor, and data scientist, Scott has held pivotal roles at organizations like TIBCO, Dell, and Overstock.com. His expertise in AI and statistics has seen him serve at Texas A&M, Baylor University, and CUNY. With an MBA, MS in Data Mining, and a PhD in Statistics, Scott's deep technical and academic foundation enriches his innovative approach to data solutions.

Ranjeet Srivastava
Ranjeet Srivastava, a distinguished Chief Architect and Author, has made notable contributions at Oracle and GE. He's co-authored five books and holds four IPs focused on cloud-based data innovations. With over two decades in Enterprise Architecture and Data Science, Ranjeet is not just a leader in technological advancements but also a passionate mentor for the next generation of data enthusiasts.
David Rapien
David Rapien is an Associate Professor-Educator at the University of Cincinnati's Lindner College of Business and an established author with deep expertise in Virtual and Augmented Reality. After delivering a notable TED talk on these innovative technologies, he has been recognized as a leading authority in the field. At Forest Rim Technologies, Dave is not only a partner but also the chief system architect, responsible for the transformation of unstructured text into relational databases.

Dr. Valerie Bartelt
Dr. Valerie Bartelt is an Associate Professor of Information and Technology Management at The University of Tampa's Sykes College of Business. With a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems, she excels in instructional design and qualitative research, bringing an in-depth understanding and a passion for harnessing the power of information in the academic and business arenas.
Wade Walker
Wade Walker fuses strategic vision with the effective management and use of data as as amongst the most valuable assets any business owns, emphasizing the recognition, measurement, management and the ethical exploitation of an organization’s data in business terms. Wade has gained over 25 years strategic consulting experience across 11 countries on 4 continents, spanning the broad data space with extensive architecture, delivery and best practice experience. During his career, Wade has led the technical delivery of the data and analytics backbone for some of the largest international and multinational companies in the world. Today, Wade provides data strategy, advisory and technology delivery services, working with executives and board members, envisioning and executing on long-term data roadmaps.

Wade actively serves on several technology advisory committees in Academics, offers strategy, technology and data consulting through his company Intelligent Data Management Ltd and is Executive Producer and Conference Chair with his company DMC Data Management Conference, which delivers high-value, knowledge-oriented annual data and technology conferences.


Carol Renee
Carol spearheads our organizational strategy with unparalleled expertise. Renowned as a business planning maestro, she enhances performance across all channels and empowers every team member to achieve their objectives seamlessly.
Tony Drake
Tony Drake, PMP, CDIA, is a Director and Program/Project Manager with expertise in the development and implementation of intricate business solutions utilizing mobile and web platforms. With a proven ability to foster cohesive teams and effectively liaise with C-level executives, stakeholders, and clients, Tony consistently ensures project excellence, revitalizing projects that face challenges to ensure their successful fruition and user adoption.
Patty Haines Patty possesses a deep expertise in the data realm, excelling in areas such as data management, quality, architecture, and business intelligence. She adeptly takes on roles ranging from solutions architect and project manager to analyst and mentor, always bridging the gap between data solutions and business needs. Lindy Kresl brings invaluable insights into AI, ethics, and the intersection of technology, data, and risk management. Over the course of her career, she has held various international professional and management positions with renowned companies such as Boeing, Yahoo!, Informatica, and PwC.

In 2013, Lindy established her consultancy, specializing in BI, Data Governance, Enterprise Data Strategy, and AI Business Strategy & Architecture. With over 20 years of fluency in data, particularly in its application to AI modeling, she has played a key role in developing enterprise AI Data Solutions for business strategy, BI/Data Analytics, Enterprise Data Risk Management, and Data Quality Improvement solutions. Lindy's deep understanding of data governance is pivotal in communicating the crucial role data governance plays in machine learning models and their training.