Our Leadership
Gregory Brill
Chief Executive Officer
As Co-Founder and CEO of Infusion Development, Greg is responsible for driving the strategic vision of the company and helping to build new business. Through his leadership over the last ten years, Greg has grown Infusion to over 180 across three continents. In the early days of Infusion, Greg led the technology training practice and was responsible for creating and authoring the Random House book series, CodeNotes™. The books were distributed in every major book chain in the US and Canada and won much clout for his firm. Greg evolved Infusion into a solutions firm that developed mission critical business applications for the financial services industry and the public sector. As Infusion continues to grow, Greg’s sights are firmly set on using firm expertise to continue to develop new products and support services.
In addition, Gregory is Partner and Founder of Infusion Angels, a Toronto based ‘angel’ investment firm whose goal is to identify, fund, and help grow concepts into full fledged, revenue-oriented companies.
Greg is an active member of the technology and entrepreneurial communities. He is the author of a much-read blog about entrepreneurship and he is a sought-after speaker on the subjects of business and innovation, regularly speaking at student and professional conferences worldwide.
Gregory is a graduate of the University of Rochester and holds a Masters of Computer Science from R.I.T.
DeBorah Johnson
Chief Financial Officer
As Co-Founder and CFO of Infusion Development, DeBorah manages the cash flow and budget allocation for all of Infusion Development’s operations. In addition to her responsibilities at Infusion Development, DeBorah acts as a board member and CFO for the companies in the Infusion Angels portfolio.
Before joining Infusion, DeBorah worked as a manager and executive at Johnson & Hayward, an international direct marketing company in New York City, for more than 15 years. She was involved in all aspects of running and building a successful company. Her primary responsibilities were overseeing the operations of a 50,000 square foot facility, which included IT, operations, employee management, customer and administrative support, and marketing. DeBorah helped grow the company to a $20 million dollar business when it was sold to Pitney Bowes.
DeBorah holds a Bachelor’s Degree from New York University.
Alim Somani
President
As President of Infusion Development, Alim is responsible for the high-level management and growth of Infusion’s services and solutions offerings. Recently named in the Globe and Mail as one of “Canada’s Top 40 Under 40,”Alim is recognized and respected as a global leader and visionary throughout the IT industry and the business community. His depth of knowledge and expertise in strategic management continues to serve as a catalyst in driving Infusion’s reputation and significant growth.
In 2001, Alim founded Infusion Development’s Toronto office and ensured its success by establishing a near-shoring practice with a number of large Wall Street investment banks. Alim pioneered a model by which the banks could secure strong, less expensive, and previously untapped development resources from Canada. Additionally, by forging key relationships with publishing companies and Microsoft, Alim lead Infusion to stronger, deeper relationships with the large Wall Street banks. Under Alim’s leadership, Infusion Development continues to expand its service and product offerings by leveraging the leading edge in current and emerging technologies.
Before joining Infusion, Alim lead another successful IT consultancy called S-Squared Solutions.
In addition to being named Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Alim was the recipient of the “Most Accomplished Young Business Executive” award at the Ismaili Awards for Excellence. Alim holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Waterloo in Electrical Engineering and is on the board of directors for Infusion’s latest venture, Infusion Angels, an angel investment fund based in the Waterloo, Ontario region.
Christian Schneider
Chief Operating Officer
As part of Infusion's executive management team, Christian is responsible for its continued growth. Currently, he manages sales, marketing and solutions development and supports both recruiting and operational improvement efforts. Prior to joining Infusion, Christian worked at Microsoft where he drove the New York Financial Services sales and marketing strategy for its information worker products. He managed key Wall Street client relationships and established many of the current go-to-market offerings for the Microsoft Capital Markets industry group.
Before joining Microsoft, Christian was a senior manager in Accenture’s Strategy and Business Architecture practice where he drove strategy for the national Financial Services Procurement Redesign and Marketing Analytics services. Prior to this role, Christian held numerous positions at ABN AMRO Bank, including Director of Strategic Sourcing, where he helped to redesign the Bank’s procurement organization and processes, and Senior Vice President of B2B E-commerce, where he led the bank’s North American commercial e-commerce strategy.
Christian has over fifteen years of experience in the management consulting and financial services industries and has spent much of the last ten years in sales management, strategic planning, and project management. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a BA in International Relations from American University.
Cortez LaPalme
Director, Professional Services
As the Director of Professional Services at Infusion Development, Cortez manages a team of more than one hundred consultants and oversees the execution and implementation of enterprise-scale solutions for the world’s largest banks and government agencies. He is currently focused on building the project and risk management office within Infusion, as well as continuing to improve operational efficiencies and develop best practices for the firm.
Before being promoted to his current role, Cortez worked for Infusion, first as a technical trainer and senior consultant, and then as an account manager, overseeing millions of dollars of business per year with one of Infusion’s most valuable accounts.
Prior to joining Infusion, Cortez held development and consulting positions working on high-risk and engineering-heavy projects at various technology companies including Mobile Q and MediaServ. In these positions, Cortez quickly became an expert at analyzing client needs, providing technology recommendations, determining feasibility of projects, and architecting and implementing solutions while successfully managing risks.
Cortez LaPalme studied Computer Science, with the Co-operative Education option, at the University of Waterloo and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics.
Kevin Lasitz
VP, Sales & Business Development
Kevin Lasitz has spent the past four years helping Infusion grow and develop its many client relationships and strong business partnerships, especially its partnership with Microsoft in the US and Canada. Over the years he has contributed to significant revenue growth and ultimately to Infusion’s success in both countries.
Before joining Infusion, Kevin worked at MobileQ, a startup wireless software company, as Director of Business Development and established a residence in New York City where he led sales and business development efforts in both the US and Canada. In this role he helped to grow business and demonstrate client value during two company acquisitions.
Prior to his work at MobileQ, Kevin worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) where he held the roles of Product Manager, Marketing Manager, General Manager and Director, implementing new technology in Commercial Banking Centres and leading the launch of CIBC.com, PC Banking, and Wireless Banking. Before that, Kevin worked at IBM Canada on the Scotiabank account team as a Systems Engineer, helping Scotiabank evaluate and implement emerging technologies in retail branches.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath) degree with a Computer Science major and Information Systems option from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Toronto.
Stephen Ellis
Director, Client Solutions
As Director of Client Solutions at Infusion, Stephen is responsible for two key tenets: scoping and pricing new client engagements, and getting Infusion involved in the early adoption of new technologies. It is in this second tenet that Stephen has gained a tremendous amount of experience in moving Microsoft-based solutions into enterprise-scale production environments. Over the past three years, Stephen has played a key role in implementing BizTalk, SharePoint, and Content Management Server into production environments for several large financial services and government clients.
Before being promoted to Director, Stephen worked at Infusion as a senior consultant and technical trainer. During this time Stephen was responsible for leading and delivering multiple enterprise-scale customer solutions on both the Microsoft and Java platforms. In addition to development and service delivery, Stephen also spent a significant amount of time executing technical training sessions for Infusion’s corporate clients.
Prior to joining Infusion, Stephen worked as a developer for IBM building a point-of-sale solution for retail clients. From there, he spent three years developing point-of-sale solutions for TradeMart Technologies on the Microsoft Windows platforms using COM and C++.
Stephen holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Waterloo with a double major in Computer Science and Combinatorics & Optimization.
Sheldon Fernandez
Director, Emerging Technologies and Professional Development
As Director of Emerging Technologies and Professional Development at Infusion, Sheldon is responsible for developing the leading and career development programs for all of Infusion’s consultants. In this role, Sheldon has implemented numerous internal programs, including designing and teaching an annual four-week long ‘Bootcamp’ for all new employees, in which Sheldon provides deep and thorough technical training along with the soft skills needed to create strong consultants out of knowledgeable developers. In addition, Sheldon also works closely with a number of Infusion’s key clients, leading architecture design sessions and providing recommendations regarding implementation of emerging technologies in enterprise environments.
Before taking on his current role, Sheldon worked at Infusion as a senior consultant and software developer. While at Infusion, he has developed software for Silicon Valley startups, as well as financial and medical institutions the U.S. and Canada. He has worked with Microsoft technology for many years and has taught numerous aspects of the .NET Framework to a variety of enterprise clients. In addition to being a renowned speaker and trainer, Sheldon is also a published author; having been a primary writer for Infusion’s CodeNotes book series and the chief researcher on Applying COM+.
Sheldon Fernandez graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Computer Engineering. As a student he won provincial and national awards for his design of the ‘Dynamic Infrared Photoretinoscopy system’, a product for ascertaining the eyesight of children who couldn’t communicate with an Optometrist.
In addition to his current role at Infusion, Sheldon is also Chief Technical Officer of Infusion Angels, and a National Trainer for Microsoft’s .NET technology, Enterprise Servers and Security. He also continues to be closely involved with the University of Waterloo in an academic capacity as an Adjunct Lecturer for the Waterloo School of Optometry.
Bill Baldasti
Director and Practice Manager
As Director & Practice Manager at Infusion, Bill is responsible for the technical evangelism of Infusion’s offerings and helping new and existing clients leverage best-of-breed technology to design and build enterprise class solutions. Bill is currently focused on business development within the Canadian marketplace, leveraging world-class solutions developed by Infusion on both sides of the border. An experienced speaker, developer and architect, Bill often speaks at technology and industry conferences across North America.
Before joining Infusion, Bill held several positions with IBM and IBM Global Services at their locations in Markham, Ontario and their facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Bill Baldasti graduated from the University of Waterloo’s Computer Science program with an honour’s degree in Mathematics. While still attending University Bill had good exposure to formal requirements specification and definition by serving as a Teacher’s Assistant for the University’s “CS445; Software Requirements & Specification” course delivered as part of UW’s Software Engineering degree specialization.
Bill is also a Microsoft MVP, Solutions Architect and holds several Microsoft Certifications, including MCAD and MCT.
Robert McGovern
Director, Virtual Earth, Support, Training and Writing
As one of Infusion's first employees, Rob has worked in almost every role including development, architecture, training, writing, sales and management. In his current role, Rob is responsible for Infusion's multi-million dollar support and hosting services as well as the development and delivery of Infusion's technology training material. In addition, Rob was an author and editor for the CodeNotes book series, and the lead author for the O'Reilly SharePoint User's Guide.
Before joining Infusion, Rob's career path included a stay at a technology startup and several years working in Orthopedic Research and Sports Science. In addition to his technical writing with Infusion, Rob is also a published author in several peer reviewed scientific journals.
Rob graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering. As a student, Rob worked in the biomechanics lab developing data collection and analysis software for evaluating jump mechanics for gymnasts, basketball and volleyball players.
In addition to his role as director, Rob is also a Microsoft MVP for Virtual Earth and MapPoint.
