2012 Top Tech Exec Honorees

http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/digitaleditions/ss_toptech2012/

San Diego Magazine and Cox Business congratulate the finalists, honorees and special-award winners

from the 2012 Top Tech Exec event. This year’s program spotlighted 232 fi nalists, all leaders in

technology who were nominated by their peers. Ten of the nominated Top Tech Execs were recognized

as honorees, and three special awards acknowledged technology innovation, lifetime achievement and

excellence in business. All of these forward-thinking individuals were honored on May 17, 2012, at the

Paddock at the Del Mar Fairgrounds during the annual event hosted by San Diego Magazine. Since 2008,

Cox Business has lauded the talented IT innovators in our local community who have the vision to take

risks and serve as technological pioneers to enhance the growth of their organizations.

Charitable Organization | RICH COPPA VP of Infrastructure and Facilities & CIO The Arc of San Diego

With 25 years of IT expertise, Coppa has greatly contributed to the growth and profi tability of The Arc

of San Diego. He’s redesigned the data infrastructure, brought all 22 locations online and converted the

case-management paper system into a cutting-edge electronic system. When Coppa first arrived, The

Arc of San Diego had one PC and a $10 million budget. Today, the $34 million organization operates

smoothly largely because of his innovation and technological implementations.

Education | EMILY DEERE Executive Director, IT Applications, Administrative Computing and

Telecommunications University of California, San Diego

Deere has played a key role in transforming the IT services and client support at UCSD. She has managd

all major application development for fi nancial, academic, telecom, research and external affairs

applications for the central IT office. She has launched multiple collaborative projects between UC

campuses, saving millions of dollars, and helped launch a system-wide shared technology services unit.

Her department has received multiple Larry Sautter Awards for IT excellence.

Private Large | RAM PATRACHARI VP of Information Technology Viejas Enterprises

Patrachari excels at implementing and managing highly scalable information systems across a diverse

portfolio. Viejas has won myriad awards over the years, much to the credit of Patrachari and his team.

Under his leadership, the operations at the Tribal Education Center were automated on an iPad

infrastructure, affording opportunities for the Viejas band of Kumeyaay youth to achieve higher levels of

education and learn their native language.

Public Small | CHUCK PHILLIPS Chief Technology Officer - Digitaria

Phillips and his team played a key role in Digitaria’s significant 60 percent growth in 2011. A creative

thinker and technology pioneer, Phillips has helped define a new breed of digital agencies. In addition to

securing bluechip clients like PETCO, Rolex and Discover America, Digitaria created the life-saving and

award-winning LRA Crisis Tracker website and mobile app for its human rights partner, Invisible

Children, to help protect villagers in central Africa from Joseph Kony and his guerrilla army.

Private Small | GREGORY MAGARIL CIO and VP of Technology, Ceatus Media Group

Magaril manages all software development and IT infrastructure for Ceatus Media Group and has

provided outstanding results in all areas of responsibility. Upon joining Ceatus, he established a

complete software development process virtually from the ground up, delivering tools that allow the

company to operate more efficiently and acquire new business opportunities. His technology solutions

have played a vital strategic role in the growth of the company.

Nonprofit | HEATHER MOSHIER EVP, Information Technology - San Diego County Credit Union

Moshier’s 16-year tenure of IT leadership has given SDCCU an outstanding market presence in

innovation. More than 2,340 projects were completed in 2011 under Moshier’s supervision, and she was

awarded the title of Information Technology Executive of the Year by Credit Union Times. SDCCU also

received the Cybersecurity Award thanks to her team’s diligent work. Moshier is currently serving as

chair for the CUNA Technology Council.

Education | CHARLOTTE KLOCK Senior IT Executive Director, Chief Information Security & Privacy

Officer - University of California, San Diego

Klock and her team provide IT infrastructure support for the entire UCSD campus including areas such as

network, security, data management and enterprise technical support. The network infrastructure built

under her outstanding leadership has helped scientists, engineers and clinicians manage the ever-

increasing data, and through her robust networking environments, research data can be built and

shared across the globe. She also managed to reduce costs and promote efficient use of technology

throughout the campus.

Private Medium | CHRISTOPHER STASZAK Chief Technology Officer - Semantic Research, Inc.

A company founder and member of the Senior Executive Team, Staszak has actively participated in all

growth aspects of Semantic Research, a key player in providing software and cutting-edge data analysis.

Staszak’s implementations and processes have positioned the company to become the dominant player

in the big-data, intelligence and law enforcement fields.

Public Large | MARK ZECCA, PH.D. Chief Information Officer - Nuvasive

Zecca has enriched the IT division at Nuvasive on myriad levels, employing technologies and cutting-

edge innovation to enhance the growth and reputation of the company. As the first CIO in Nuvasive’s

12-year history, he has brought leadership, tools and a vision for technology to reach the company’s

goal of becoming a billion-dollar start-up and leader in the industry.

Lifetime Achievement Award | BRIAN K. BAKER VP of Information Technology - Qualcomm

For more than 21 years, Baker has evolved and triumphed with Qualcomm from its start-up days,

playing a key role in the company’s success. Baker has a strong reputation for developing exceptional

infrastructure support for the company, along with excelling as a leader with a laser-sharp focus on

empowering his team. As VP of IT, Global Infrastructure, Engineering Tools & Services, Baker is

responsible for the worldwide management and implementation of the company’s information

technology infrastructure and operations, along with providing direct external operations and e-

commerce solutions to Qualcomm’s various business divisions and their customers. He is an authentic

and dedicated IT visionary with a great ability to navigate, infl uence and adapt to the ever-changing

technology landscape.

Cox Business Exemplary Award | JESSIE DALY Executive Director of Information Technology - Isis

Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

With more than 25 years in the IT fi eld, Daly has a wealth of experience including application design and

development, program management, infrastructure and data center design, and voice, data and

network systems implementation. She stands out in her fi eld for her ability to quickly assimilate

information, visualize the interdependencies of complex projects and engineer solutions. She also

exhibits great expertise in her capacity to design and deliver a breadth of mission-critical projects, on

time and on budget. She is a natural leader with a keen facility to recognize and mentor exceptional

talent. As Executive Director of IT, her many innovations have materially contributed to the success of

Isis Pharmaceuticals and, ultimately, to the mission of bringing new drugs to market to help treat people

in need.

Technology Innovation Award | TERADATA CORPORATION

Teradata is the leading analytic data solutions company focused on integrated data warehousing, big

data analytics and business applications. Their powerful technologies and innovative products empower

businesses to use data as a competitive advantage. Teradata Labs enables Teradata to maintain and

expand its leadership role in the data analytics space, making it one of the largest and fastest-growing

companies in the San Diego area and a leading employer for technologists wanting to drive innovation.

Teradata is a global leader in the competitive data analytics market against giant rivals such as IBM and

Oracle. The thriving company continues to provide customers with transformational database

technology to empower businesses to make the best decisions possible. Scott Gnau is the President of

Teradata Corporation.

This article appears in the June 2012 issue of San Diego Magazine