MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY
SOFTWARE FIRMS, RANKED BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Top 10 MCKESSON SPECIALTY HEALTH AND MCKESSON PATIENT RELATIONSHIP SOLUTIONS, COMPANIES OF MCKESSON CORP. 4343 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 150, Scottsdale, 85251 // 480-663-4000 // mckesson. com; mckessonspecialityhealth.com FOUNDED 1833 EMPLOYEES 1,200+ PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Heather Morel, vice president and general manager, health informatics | reimbursement, access and safety services, McKesson Specialty Health INFUSIONSOFT INC. 1260 S. Spectrum Blvd., Chandler, 85286 // 866-800-0004 // infusionsoft.com FOUNDED 2001 EMPLOYEES 602 PRINCIPAL Clate Mask, CEO, co-founder HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Elizabeth Pitt, chief customer officer JDA SOFTWARE GROUP INC. 14400 N. 87th St., Scottsdale, 85260 // 480-308-3000 // jda.com FOUNDED 1985 EMPLOYEES 466 PRINCIPAL Baljit S. Dall, CEO HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Jean Yatska, group vice president of product management; Veena Nyak, group vice president, product development
ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN
VEENA NAYAK GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BY SHARI LOPATIN
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Veena Nayak loves learning, a handy trait for software developers. “(Learning) just opens up the world to you,” Nayak says. “That curiosity and that passion for learning helps me in my job.” That job is no small feat. Nayak is the group vice president for product development at JDA Software, a company that provides retail and supply chain planning software to companies around the world. As a whole, the company offers everything from cloud services to performance engineering to solution development. Nayak received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Mumbai: physics, in 1990, and science and computer technology, in 1993. She graduated from Arizona State University in 2000 with a master’s degree in business administration. Her story, however, started more than three decades ago in Mumbai, India. Nayak was born and raised there, growing up in a middle class family. She is the youngest of three siblings, with an older brother and sister. Her father was an accountant with his own business. Her mother was a homemaker. “[My parents] emphasized education,” Nayak says, adding that they encouraged her to do whatever she wanted for a profession. “I think that’s the framework of what I’ve become today.”
Nayak chose software development because the industry was booming in India 25 years ago. “It was fun to be able to build something and see it work,” she says. “I’ve always been very analytical and I’m a problem-solver.” Nayak married her husband while working in Mumbai. They moved to the United States in January 1995, when he got a job in Green Bay, Wis. Yet they quickly discovered that Green Bay was very small. “We were new to the country and Phoenix sounded just as good as Green Bay,” Nayak says. They both applied to jobs in Phoenix and landed positions at the same company, TRG, and moved at the end of 1995. “[Phoenix] was different,” Nayak says. “Mumbai is really like Manhattan. We loved being in Phoenix. The heat was definitely interesting because it’s not something we were accustomed to.” Nayak remained with TRG for another year before the company was acquired and she found herself looking for new work. Friends told Nayak about JDA. She applied for a software development position and got the job. Today, she has been with JDA for 18 years, where she worked her way up through management to her current role, and where she continues striving to learn more.
ICM DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS 4320 E. Cotton Center Blvd., Suite 106, Phoenix, 85040 // 602-678-1978 // icmdocs.com FOUNDED 1988 EMPLOYEES 155 PRINCIPAL Phil Harrington, CEO, founder HIGHESTRANKING WOMEN Linda Matson, director of human resources; Kristin Macedo, director of sales; Paula Escoto, director of finance MCMURRY/TMG 1010 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, 85014 // 602-395-5850 // mcmurrytmg.com FOUNDED 1984 as McMurry, 2012 as McMURRY/ TMG EMPLOYEES 95 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHESTRANKING WOMEN Beth Tomkiw, chief client officer ENGHOUSE INTERACTIVE, A DIVISION OF ENGHOUSE SYSTEMS LTD 2095 W. Pinnacle Peak Rd., Phoenix, 85027 // 800-788-9733 // enghouseinteractive.com FOUNDED 1985 EMPLOYEES 70 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Anga Brady, director of global finance APPOINTMENT-PLUS 15300 N. 90th St., Suite 100, Scottsdale, 85260 // 800-988-0061 // appointment-plus.com FOUNDED 2001 EMPLOYEES 65 PRINCIPAL Bob La Loggia, CEO, founder HIGHESTRANKING WOMEN Sara Circosta, director of sales; Melissa Weatherly, director of finance COMPUTER GUIDANCE CORP. 15035 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, 85260 // 480-444-7000 // computerguidance.com FOUNDED 1981 EMPLOYEES 55 PRINCIPAL Mike Bihlmeier, president HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Victoria Satran, vice president of marketing 360 CLOUD SOLUTIONS 14350 N. 87th St., Suite 165, Scottsdale, 85260 // 480 295-3420 // 360cloudsolutions.com FOUNDED 2007 EMPLOYEES 37 PRINCIPAL Tom Lewis, CEO HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Erin Compton, chief operating officer, operations manager GATE 6 23460 N. 19th Ave., Suite 110, Phoenix, 85027
// 623-572-7725 // gate6.com FOUNDED 1996
EMPLOYEES 35 PRINCIPAL Manish Mamnani, CEO, founder HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Rebecca Heft, director of digital strategy
WHO’S WHO IN BUSINESS // 2015
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