Management Team
The Avilar® Technologies, Inc. management team unites a passion for
improving organizations through a competency-based approach to workforce
development with a proven track record of business success. Our fundamental goal is to deliver software
solutions that WORK.
Thomas A. Grobicki - Chief Executive Officer and
Co-Founder
Mr. Grobicki has more than 25 years of experience in executive management, software development, and consulting. He is the principal architect and designer of Avilar’s complete line of software products for Human Capital Management and Training. He has been significantly involved in the Learning Management and Workforce Development industries for over 15 years and the development and advancement of SCORM technologies for training.
Following four years of service as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, Tom managed the office of SYSCON Corporation that provided software engineering services to The Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory. He then joined AdaSoft, Inc. as VP Engineering where he continued as leader of several advanced technology assessment projects at the Applied Physics Laboratory and for commercial organizations. He has extensive experience designing large distributed software systems, including immersive 3-D audio/video systems, fault tolerant combat systems, and advanced network technologies. Tom was a founding partner of Avilar in 1997 and served as CTO prior to becoming CEO.
Tom holds a BS in Computer Science from Duke University, an MBA from the University of Northern Colorado, and an MS in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University.
Joseph T. Jaynes - Director of Customer Operations
Mr. Jaynes has more than 25 years experience in technical communications and engineering
management in the computer industry. He served in a variety of management
capacities at Hewlett-Packard Co., Sequoia Systems Corp., and Eastman Kodak
Co. In 1992, he founded Synaptic Systems Corporation, an information technology
consultancy serving Fortune 1000 clients throughout the United States. He
co-founded Abacus Arts, Inc. in 1998, a company devoted to providing advanced
Internet presences and a host of new media solutions to clients in healthcare,
computing, telecommunications, retail, education, and manufacturing.
As Director of Customer Operations for Avilar, Joe oversees Avilar's
own Internet presence from Avilar's office in Knoxville, TN. He also directs
Web strategy and infrastructure deployment for Avilar's
hosted customers, including web portal design, development, and operation.
Joe holds a BA in English from the University
of Tennessee, and an MA in Non-fiction Writing from the
University of Minnesota. His book, Spring Into Digital Photography, (co-authored with renowned photographer Rip Noel) was published by Addison-Wesley in 2005.
Hal Gerrish - Director of Competency Management
Mr. Gerrish's background includes 19 years with IBM Corporation in systems engineering, marketing and marketing management, and 5 years in executive education. He was formerly President and Managing Partner of Skills Management International (SMI), a software and consulting company focusing on the identification of organizational skills needs. SMI was founded in 1988 specializing in alignment of skills with business objectives.
At Avilar, Hal manages the planning and implementation of WebMentor Skills, Avilar’s newly updated competency management system. Hal works with large organizations to assist in planning the integration of skills assessment with other internal information systems and processes. He also contributes his experience and expertise to Avilar white papers and Avilar’s monthly newsletter, Full Circle Solutions.
Hal holds a degree in mathematics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Christine Hipple – Director of Workforce Development Solutions
Ms. Hipple has more than 20 years of strategic human resources and training experience across several fields. She consults with Avilar clients on WebMentor LMS and WebMentor Skills as well as contributes to Avilar’s strategic direction. Prior to joining Avilar, Ms. Hipple was the Director of Leadership and Professional Development at Magellan Health Services, has also worked as a Senior Training Consultant for the US Senate, Director of Training and Performance Management at University Physicians, Inc. and has worked as an independent Organizational Development and Training Consultant Her portfolio of workforce development initiatives include establishment of both human resource and learning departments, implementation of a competency-based pay-for-performance program, development of a formal internal mentoring program and competency-based talent selection processes. Ms. Hipple has also served on the board of directors of the Maryland Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and recently completed a term as President of the chapter.
Ms. Hipple holds a BS in Education from Indiana University of PA and has taken advanced courses in Instructional Systems Design from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Andy Jaynes – Director of Business Development
Andy Jaynes has been providing sales and marketing solutions to organizations in the corporate, industrial, and academic sectors for over a decade. At Avilar, Andy is responsible for increasing the prominence the company and its workforce development solutions to organizations in need, while developing relationships with clients and company partners. His experience in building web-based marketing strategies, combined with a passion for helping organizations in need find solutions and build lasting connections through the use of Internet technologies, make him ideally suited for this role.
Prior to joining Avilar, Andy was the Marketing Director for Advanced Labelworx, Inc. where he provided strategic lead analysis, Internet marketing, and sales management and training functions. He also implemented successful workforce development solutions and employee on-boarding strategies at ALI to capitalize on workforce potential, and implemented and managed an online applicant tracking system. Earlier in his career, Andy performed a range of management, sales, and customer service roles for FedEx Kinko’s, assisting in workforce training and assessments and developing profitable long-term clients.
Andy holds a BS in Organizational Management with a concentration in Marketing from Tusculum College.
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