Customer Solutions Group is led by a team of visionary professionals dedicated to building CSG into a world leader offering highest levels of technical and analytical expertise, customer-focused solutions, and client-focused service.
Patrick Carter, President
Patrick Carter is the founder of Customer Solutions Group, LLC and is responsible for CSG's overall leadership and vision. His background consists of more than 22 years' experience in customer experience management, direct marketing, analytics, consulting, and executive management.
As a global BPO executive, Patrick led Global Financial Services and Solutions for a billion-dollar customer management/BPO corporation. As a direct marketing executive, he served as president and CEO of TBi, an Omnicom Group, Inc. company, where he was responsible for establishing TBi as a leading provider of database marketing solutions. And in the realm of senior CRM leadership, Patrick has managed CRM consulting practice areas as global managing partner of Scient's Global CRM practice and as senior leader of the CRM practice area within Ernst & Young's Business Intelligence service line.
Patrick's client experience includes Microsoft, Qwest, AT&T Wireless, AT&T, MCI, British Airways, FedEx, Staples, Best Buy, Lloyds TSB, American Airlines, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, CitiGroup, Tyson Foods, Walmart, and others. He is currently a member of the Microsoft Worldwide ISV (Independent Software Vendors) Partner Advisory Council.
Patrick holds dual degrees in Marketing and Management Information Systems from Syracuse University.
Michael McNeill, Senior Vice President
Michael McNeill has more than 25 years of experience establishing, financing, and growing highly successful startups in industries as diverse as communications, construction, and infrastructure. His executive leadership skills and Fortune 500 account relationships have contributed to his achievements not only in starting new businesses but acquiring potentially lucrative operations and ensuring business success despite significant economic and industry challenges. A tenacious, visionary leader with a reputation for business acumen, Michael provides the decisive direction and accountability necessary for the success of any profitable business partnership.
Fernando Cardenas, Chief Architect
In his role as Chief Architect, Fernando Cardenas oversees product and client project solutions at CSG, with an emphasis on IT architecture and software development.
A frequent speaker throughout Colorado on .NET topics such as "Software Architecture for Developers" and "Enterprise Data Access Patterns," Fernando gained extensive management, business development, software development/engineering, and product delivery experience during his years at Boulder-based AppVenture, a custom software development firm he founded in 2005. He is also a former managing partner at Strategic Solutions Group of Boston, where he worked on multiple projects for Massachusetts state agencies. Other clients have included Amazon.com, McDonalds, the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture, Siemens AG and various financial and biotech firms.
Fernando holds a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Chris Stroud, Director, Affiliate Marketing
Chris Stroud has a deep understanding of the dynamic online advertising industry with a special knowledge base in affiliate marketing. Within the past five years he's managed and worked on thousands of campaigns through companies such as ShopAtHome.com, BlazeXchange.com, OfferWeb, and his own agency, I-Wing Media. His clients have included AARP, Tempurpedic, Walmart, and Victoria's Secret. Chris has extensive experience in creative design, IT suppoort and construction, site management, consumer acquisition management and monetization, campaign optimization, program pricing, EPC analysis, affiliate and partner management, and full distribution as well as legal and quality compliance in the $150 billion+ affiliate marketing space.
Kathleen Dollard, Technical Evangelist
Kathleen has been a Microsoft MVP since 1998 and has given hundreds of speeches around the world. She has worked extensively with compositional architectures in relation to specific development platforms. Her experience includes HTML5/Javascript, Silverlight, and WPF in both C# and Visual Basic. She’s interested in making core .NET technologies available to all coders to enable them to write better software faster. Her newest adventures include Windows Azure and SQL Azure. Kathleen is also a long-time advocate of generative techniques and is the author of Code Generation in Microsoft .NET (from Apress). She has published numerous articles on a range of .NET technologies. Kathleen is active in the Northern Colorado .NET SIG, the Denver Visual Studio User Group, and the Northern Colorado Architect's Group.
Bryan Giese, Creative Director
As Creative Director, Bryan Giese applies his skills as an artist, communicator, and technician to ensure all cross-channel applications of each CSG solution present a cohesive, exceptional interface that engages and empowers the customer while presenting a unique, memorable, and highly effective user experience.
Bryan has worked as a graphic designer, art manager, and multimedia designer for companies as diverse as WorldCom, Bullwhackers Casinos in Blackhawk CO, and health promotion/disease prevention communications firm Klein Buendel. At Front Range Community College near Denver, Bryan teaches a game design class and serves on the Multimedia & Graphic Design Advisory Board. His experience ranges from art, game, and activity design and development to 3D illustration and animation. Whether created as part of a public relations, marketing, advertising, or educational project, each of his designs reflects his focus and emphasis on the ever-critical user experience.
Bryan received his degree in graphic design from the University of Maryland.
