ISG Leadership Team

Mr. Connors is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of ISG, a leading global technology research and advisory services firm. Mr. Connors is responsible for the global strategy and operations of ISG and is an expert in helping clients achieve operational excellence in their organizations. Under his leadership, ISG has been named annually as one of Forbes’ Best Management Consulting Firms, among many other industry accolades.

Prior to ISG, he served as Chairman & CEO of the Media Measurement & Information (MMI) group of VNU, now The Nielsen Company, a leading global information and media company.

In 2001, he led the formation of the MMI group, comprised of VNU’s media information, entertainment, software and Internet businesses, including Nielsen Media Research, NetRatings and Nielsen Entertainment. He also served as Chairman of VNU World Directories business, a leading Yellow Pages Directories company operating in seven countries. Before joining VNU, Mr. Connors was Vice Chairman of ACNielsen Corporation, the world leader in marketing information services, where he helped lead the turnaround of ACNielsen into a profitable company.

During his leadership, ACNielsen’s equity value grew from $893 million, its market capitalization immediately following its spin-off from the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation in November, 1996, to $2.3 billion, its sales price to VNU in February, 2001. Mr. Connors also led the integration of ACNielsen into VNU after the acquisition. Earlier, Mr. Connors was Senior Vice President with The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, which owned such companies as Moody’s Investors Service, Reuben H. Donnelley, IMS Health, ACNielsen, Nielsen Media Research, D&B Credit Services and a majority stake in Gartner Group. He played a leading role in D&B’s break-up into three separate publicly traded companies in 1996.

Mr. Connors is the Lead Director of Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) and was a Director of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) until 2020. He has appeared on CNBC Power Lunch, CNBC Fast Money and is quoted in the New York Times and other leading publications on media, information services and the Special Purpose Acquisition Company investment vehicle.

John is President of ISG Research, responsible for the ISG Research business globally. Under his leadership, ISG Events has grown its suite of flagship events to fuel learning, sharing and connecting and added impactful, action-oriented AI content to drive enterprise adoption at scale. He has also been key to the assimilation of Ventana Research into ISG Software Research since the November 2023 acquisition. He joined ISG in 2019 and most recently was Partner and Chief Sales Officer, ISG Research.

John has twenty-five years of executive and sales management experience in the retail and data analytics industries, working with enterprises, technology and software companies globally to help them achieve operational excellence and accelerate growth. He has created and co-hosted several LinkedIn Live broadcast series focused on technology, client service and the business services market, and is a published author on the topic of customer experience and the impact of AI.

He earned a degree in management and entrepreneurial Studies from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. 

Lois Coatney is Partner, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), leading the firm’s work across those industries, with additional responsibility for global sales operations. Prior to assuming this role, she was Partner and President, EMEA Sales and Consulting, relocating from the U.S. to the U.K. to drive growth and further expand the firm’s opportunities in the region.

Lois joined ISG in 2012 and built the Service Integration and Management (SIAM) service line. She subsequently led the ISG GovernX® business for four years and successfully launched and expanded the third-party risk management platform. She also led ISG Americas sales and sales management and co-architected the ISG Women in Digital program.

Throughout her career, Lois has advised clients on the operating models and organizational designs that will enable them to work most effectively. Prior to joining ISG, Lois managed large global service delivery and governance transformational change in multiple positions at Hewlett Packard. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Minnesota State University. 

Todd is President of Enterprise Growth, driving the firm's expansion by creating innovative client solutions across industries and geographies. He also serves as Chair of ISG GovernX®, where he oversees efforts to help clients optimize third-party relationships, enhance supplier performance and reduce bottom-line expenses.

Todd has held several prominent leadership roles within the firm, including Partner and President of ISG GovernX®, IT and Enterprise Platforms, President of ISG Americas Markets—where he led the firm's business development growth—and Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer.

A seasoned business strategist and turnaround expert, Todd brings decades of experience in internal and external sourcing, encompassing all facets of information technology and business processes. His unique perspective stems from roles as a sourcing procurer, service provider and advisor, with a global reach that spans India, Israel, Eastern Europe, Philippines, Greece and the Americas.

Todd holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic management from the University of North Texas and an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Paul is President, ISG Client Experience, managing the firm’s marketing activity globally, including demand generation, branding and communications. He is a leader in the firm’s work to establish and maintain a leading position in AI and new technologies and to capitalize on the opportunities they present. From 2019 to 2023, Paul led the ISG Research business to great heights, and continues as Chair, ISG Research.

Paul was a classic product marketing leader for PC hardware for the first 20 years of his career, including launching the industry’s first network servers. He has since applied that product marketing experience to CMO roles in large services firms. While marketing is his “center of gravity,” he has led large sales organizations and has been a general manager with full P&L responsibility.

Prior to ISG, he was the Chief Marketing Officer for Mindtree and Infosys, completing end-to-end branding and marketing turnarounds. As Vice President of Enterprise Marketing at HP, Dell Inc., and Compaq earlier in his career, Paul led product marketing, revenue marketing and enterprise alliances for the network server businesses.

Paul is Board Chair of the Gastric Cancer Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brandeis University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Steve is President, ISG EMEA, providing strategic insight and advice to help ISG clients in the region solve their most critical business challenges and adopt and optimize the technology and operating models they need to compete successfully.

Steve was named Chief AI Officer in 2024. He leads the firm’s work to help clients create an AI strategy, establish a business case for investment and select the right business partners. His industry-leading expertise in navigating the complexities of adopting technology at scale is helping clients drive value into every aspect of their operations.

Steve joined ISG in 2005 and has led ISG Digital Advisory Services, Emerging Technology Services, Global Product Engineering and Application Development & Maintenance. He is trained as a software engineer and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Regis University. 

Prashant Kelker is President, ISG DACH, and Chief Strategy Officer. A globally recognized thought leader in AI and technology-led transformation, Prashant is shaping the firm’s strategic blueprint and bringing together all advisory capabilities to guide clients in the DACH region through the convergence of AI, digital technology and enterprise operating models.

Previously, as Partner, Americas Consulting, he led the effort to be the first sourcing advisory firm to establish a reference architecture for applied Generative AI with the 2023 ISG State of Applied Generative AI Market Report and played a key role in the development of our highly successful ISG NEXT operating model in 2020. Prashant joined ISG in 2012.

Before joining ISG, Prashant was a Technology Director at Accenture, where he won and established several new accounts and created digital offerings on mobility and predictive analytics. He earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and a BE in Electronics from Bangalore University in India.

Tom Kucinski is responsible for the firm’s overall Human Resources function, with a particular focus on strategic talent management, leadership development and organizational change initiatives.

An accomplished global Human Resource leader with more than 30 years of experience in the professional services, finance and consumer products industries, Tom joined ISG in 2013 as its Global Leader – Total Rewards and HR Operations and was elevated to CHRO in 2017. Prior to ISG, Tom held HR leadership roles at NASDAQ OMX, Nielsen and American Express, with a particular emphasis on compensation and benefits strategy and design.

Tom holds a master’s degree in human resources management from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Scranton.

Todd Lavieri is Vice Chairman of ISG, working closely with the executive leadership team on corporate strategy and governance matters. He also is responsible for ISG Americas – the firm’s largest region – and ISG Asia Pacific. He joined ISG in July 2014.

An expert on business transformation and cost optimization services, he has personally advised Global 1000 clients across such sectors as manufacturing, retail, life sciences, healthcare, energy and consumer products.

Previously, Todd served as general manager of IBM Global Consulting and general manager, Global Business Services, IBM Canada. Before joining IBM in 2010, Todd was president and CEO of Archstone Consulting, a strategy and operations advisory firm he founded in 2003 and sold to The Hackett Group in 2009. Earlier, he was a partner at Deloitte Consulting and a member of its Global Management Committee during a distinguished 13-year career with the firm.

Todd is a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Kathy Rudy is Partner and Chief, Data and Analytics, and head of the ISG Data, Analytics and Technology Office. She is responsible for linking all ISG data, analytics and technology capabilities globally to enhance the firm’s data products, develop AI and data-driven consulting assets, and increase our go-to-market effectiveness.

Kathy has supported hundreds of client organizations as they leverage data to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness in their IT operations, build measurement programs and support critical sourcing decisions. She was responsible for the development of ISG Inform™, the firm’s next-generation data-as-a-service platform solution, launched in 2019.

Before joining ISG in 2000, Kathy was part of the Unisys team that managed the transition from internally delivered IT services to an outsourced environment for the City of Chicago. She is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Michael Sherrick is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ISG, responsible for finance, investor relations, M&A and legal affairs. He joined ISG in 2023 from Cognizant, where he was COO of Software & Platform Engineering, and before that COO of Americas and COO of Digital Systems and Technology.

Before joining Cognizant, Sherrick co-founded Scoria Capital Partners in 2013, where, as a portfolio manager, he managed the firm’s investments in the technology, business services and consumer sectors. Earlier in his career, he held positions with S.A.C. Capital, Morgan Stanley and PwC, among others. Sherrick holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Bucknell University and is both a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Dieter Thompson is President, Global Network Services and Private Equity. Dieter joined ISG in 2016 with the firm’s acquisition of Alsbridge and built ISG Network and Software Advisory into a key partner for clients that are increasingly looking to build networks capable of supporting their AI and digital transformations.

Dieter spent his early career with AT&T before founding Thompson Advisory Group (TAG) in 1999, a consultancy focused on telecommunications procurement and vendor management that was later acquired by Alsbridge. At TAG, he helped pioneer the development of an asset exchange approach using telecommunications credits and “non-performing” assets for Fortune 500 companies. After selling TAG, Dieter served as president of Alsbridge before helping to orchestrate the sale of the firm to ISG.

Dieter earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Memphis.