Leo Pellerin
Chair Emeritus | CIO, United Way of CT
Leo is currently the CIO of the United Way of CT, an organization that provides several state funded services that require four diverse call centers. This includes the State of Connecticut’s 2-1-1 call center which is a 24 hour multilingual referral service providing help for those in crisis and in need. 2-1-1 Connecticut is also relied upon by the state as a first responder during disasters which required Leo to develop a strategy to scale up in the event of a natural disaster.
During Leo’s 25 year career in IT, Leo has a long list of experience across the entire IT domain but he specializes in Call Center Implementations, Cybersecurity, Disaster Response, High Availability System Design, Web UI/UX Design, Hybrid Cloud Computing and SAAS Migrations.
Leo was also the past president for the Central CT chapter of SIM and resides on the Pathways to Technology Industry Advisory Board and the State of CT Cyber Security Committee. Leo holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut where he is still actively involved in the basketball and football programs.
Joe Bruhin
Chair | Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President for Breakthru Beverage Group
Joe Bruhin has nearly 30 years as an information technology professional and leader.
Currently, he is Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President for Breakthru Beverage Group, serving on Breakthru’s Executive Leadership Team. Joe is responsible for overseeing the implementation and execution of a holistic IT Strategic Plan, driving Breakthru’s increased focus on digital transformation and developing a world class IT organization.
Prior to this, he was the Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Constellation Brands Inc, responsible for all aspects of people, process, technology and business leadership for Information Technology across the Globe. He directed all aspects of the organization’s information technology activities supporting the organization's overall strategic goals
He is an innovative, top performing Senior Technology Executive with progressive experience identifying and implementing innovative technology to drive growth. His superb academic preparation (MBA), combined with his inherent ability to lead has fostered a reputation as the “go-to” leader for IT strategies, solutions and implementations. Aligning organizations to the right IT strategic imperatives, creating engaged IT teams and empowering both IT and non-IT employees to succeed is a specialty.
He has a passion for new, innovative digital technology solutions. Coupled with his uniquely strong ability to partner with top leaders across global organizations to develop and implement innovative business technology solutions, he has earned the reputation of a truly transformation IT leader who will dependably deliver value to any area of a global business.
Mr. Bruhin has served as Vice President of Information Systems at Diageo, where he developed technology vision, strategy, and business process and systems solutions for the North American business. He served as VP of Global HR Systems where he was responsible for developing and implementing Diageo’s custom Global People Performance Management System, aligning several large global organizations onto a single unified People Performance Management system.
Mr. Bruhin also served the CIO for Diageo’s Australian business in Sydney, Australia, where he created and implemented an IT strategy to transition from legacy applications to state of the art technologies, bringing the technology footprint into alignment with global solutions and creating a high performing IT team.
He serves as Treasurer on the Society for Information Management (SIM) National Board of Directors. SIM is the largest international network of senior IT leaders, consisting of nearly 5,000 members across approximately 40 chapters in the US and Canada. He is a graduate of the SIM Regional Learning Forum (RLF), and a long-standing member of the SIM Advanced Practices Council (APC) which is a CIO think-tank that focuses on research related to emerging and new to world technologies and IT practices.
Mr. Bruhin is a transformational business leader with a track record of creating business value by leading breakthrough performance in IT. He is recognized as a motivational leader and mentor who creates an environment for success, creates high performing teams and inspires technology leadership.
He earned his undergraduate as well as his Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Connecticut.
Joe is the Chapter Representative of the following Chapters: Albany, Central Florida, Detroit, Minnesota, Northeast Ohio, Research Triangle Park, South Florida, Toronto and Western NY.
Rich Hook
Vice Chair | CIO, Penske Corporation
Richard A. Hook is the Chief Information Officer for Penske Corporation and Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG). Penske Corporation is a closely-held, on-highway, diversified transportation services company whose subsidiaries operate in a variety of industry segments, including retail automotive, truck leasing, transportation logistics, transportation component manufacturing and professional motorsports. Penske Corporation manages businesses with consolidated revenues of $39 billion, and employing more than 70,000 people worldwide.
Rich has over 20 years’ experience as an information technology professional and business leader. Prior to being named CIO, Rich was the VP of IT Infrastructure for Penske Automotive Group and before joining Penske in 2009, he held various positions at Arthur Andersen LLP, H&R Block Financial Advisors and Federal-Mogul Corporation.
Rich holds a BBA from Western Michigan University and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Rich is also a member of the Society for Information Management (SIM) Detroit chapter and SIM Advance Practices Council (APC).
Jeff Stovall
Secretary | Chief Information Officer, Abt Associates
Jeff Stovall is the Chief Information Officer at Abt Associates, a global leader in research, evaluation, and program implementation which aims to improve the livelihood of individuals and equity worldwide. Jeff manages core IT solutions and enables operational information exchange across the enterprise in more than 30 countries. Prior to joining Abt, Stovall served as an Industry Executive Director at Oracle Corporation, focusing on cloud enablement in state and local governments. Before Oracle, he was the CIO for the City of Charlotte, NC, for a decade. Jeff received his MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jeff has been a national board member since 2021. He is a founding member and past president of the Charlotte Region SIM Chapter. He initiated the chapter’s Member-In-Transition program in 2016, was co-chair of the 2015 SIMposium, and was named a 2015 SIM Leader of the Year. Jeff is also a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) and has been a member of its membership committee since 2010. Jeff was recognized as the 2022 ITSMF Executive Member of the Year.
John Buccola
Director | Chief Technology Officer for Element 78 Partners
John Buccola serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Element 78 Partners, a nationwide professional services firm primarily supporting private equity and sponsor held companies. He is responsible for technology enablement of the E78 platform and its business units. Prior to E78, Buccola co-founded a technology spend and advisory practice that was ultimately acquired by E78. John has 25 years’ of IT leadership experience with companies backed by KKR, EQT and Cerberus. He is recognized by MIT and Microsoft for his work in advanced analytics. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and technology from the University of La Verne.
Mr. Buccola is a past-Chairperson for SIM Southern California, where he served on the chapter board for nearly two decades. He is one of the founders of our Enclave® program and served as its inaugural Program Chair. He is the Chairperson for the SCSIM Board of Advisors and Board Chairman of Sensor Industries, an IoT-focused startup backed by Wyndham and Qwext.
Susan Malisch
Director | SVP and Chief Information Officer for American Medical Association
Improving the health of the nation is at the core of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) work to enhance the delivery of care and enable physicians and health teams to partner with patients to achieve better health for all. Susan Malisch currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the AMA. In this capacity, Susan leads the enterprise information technology organization and serves as thought leader and senior-most technology officer driving a comprehensive strategic agenda across diverse business units in a federated IT model. Prior to joining the AMA, Susan was Vice President & CIO for Loyola University Chicago, and has extensive operating experience in diverse industries including higher education, telecommunications, professional services, and the high-tech market. Known as an excellent collaborator and problem solver who builds high performing teams with a stellar track record of successful execution and driving for results, Susan frequently contributes in organizational leadership roles beyond IT. She is the recipient of several industry awards including CIO of the Year (2010) in Chicago and Leader of the Year (2016) with SIM National. Susan is a board member for the SIM Chicago Chapter and the SIM National Board of Directors.
Susan has a BSBA in Computer Information Systems from Rockhurst University and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame for Women’s Basketball. She is the proud parent of three sons. Personal interests include basketball, outdoor activities, wine tasting, cooking, and music.
Helen Norris
Director | CIO & VP for Information Technology at Chapman University
Helen Norris is the Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology at Chapman University, where she is responsible for leading the university’s information technology strategy and services, and oversight of the University Library. Ms. Norris joined Chapman in 2014 after holding technology leadership roles at California State University, Sacramento, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Ms. Norris serves on several national non-profit boards. She serves as the board chair of EDUCAUSE, a non-profit whose mission is to advance higher education through the use of information technology. She is a trustee and past chair of the board of the National Endowment of Financial Education (NEFE), an operating foundation that champions financial education at a national level. She serves on the Dell Technologies Higher Education Advisory Board and as an advisor to Empowher Institute, whose mission is to empower girls in marginalized communities in Los Angeles through mentorship. Ms. Norris has recently been appointed to a three-year term on the Data and Tools Advisory Board of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System (https://c2c.ca.gov/), which will create a system to provide data-informed tools to help students reach their college and career goals, pursuant to legislation passed by the California State Legislature in 2019.
Originally from Ireland, Ms. Norris earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, with honors, from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and a Master's degree in Computer Resource Management and Business Administration, with Distinction, from Webster University, St. Louis. She also holds a certification in Project Management. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including a SoCal CIO Orbie Award in 2023 (https://socalcio.org/awards/2023) and being named a Higher Ed Technology Social Media Influencer by EdTech Magazine in 2021.