CONNX Solutions, Inc., a leader in simplified data access and middleware tools, today announces three significant changes in staff: two promotions and one addition to upper management. Shirley McKinney was promoted to Director of Business Development, while Larry McGhaw was promoted to VP of Engineering and CTO. John Andrews has joined CONNX as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
As the Director of Business Development, Shirley McKinney is responsible for leading and directing strategic relationships, alliances, and partnerships, including VARs, OEMs, and key accounts. Her new role at CONNX has already positioned her in the planning and finalization of a major accomplishment: a partnership with Software AG and the development of the Adabas SQL Gateway, also known as CONNX for Adabas. The gateway enables users of the Software AG’s high-speed database, Adabas, to access data quickly and easily through standard SQL applications.
“With over 25 years in the high-tech industry selling software solutions, and nine years at CONNX, Shirley is exceptionally well-positioned for this role. Her ability to develop key relationships and her enterprise-level sales strategy and execution skills have brought the company to its current level. Now she will be a facilitator helping us achieve our next level of business performance,” states Douglas D. Wright, President and CEO.
Prior to CONNX, McKinney was a senior sales executive for numerous software solution vendors, including OEMs for some of the leading hardware manufacturers in the high-tech industry. She served in various account management, sales and sales management roles at Manus Services Corporation, Market Street Computer Systems, and Paradigm Data Systems.
“This is an exciting move for me,” McKinney says. “My success in developing past strategic relationships with Intel, Microsoft, Masterfoods, Inc., Tyco International, Georgia Pacific, and Boeing, and with partners in the EAI space, gave me the foundation and understanding of what enterprise-information integration, Web services, and data and information accessibility really mean.”
McKinney received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Western Washington State University.
As a new vice president and CTO at CONNX, Larry McGhaw will be responsible for setting the technical direction of the CONNX family of products, and providing direction in expanding the CONNX technology to facilitate company growth.
“Larry has made an incredible contribution to CONNX,” states Wright. “His experiences in the industry and his finely tuned team-building skills have helped us become a major player in the world of high technology.”
McGhaw has been with CONNX Solutions since 1992. He has been responsible for managing and leading the overall process of commercial software development, including architectural design, technical writing, and professional services, as well as the quality assurance, training, and technical support teams at CONNX.
His latest coup was the design and development of the Adabas SQL Gateway, also known as CONNX for Adabas. Creation of the Adabas SQL Gateway signaled a partnership with Software AG, Europe’s largest and leading global provider of system software and services enabling data integration and management, and marked a successful win in a competition between companies with similar products staged by Software AG.
“We are at an exciting stage of our product’s evolution,” states McGhaw. “Over time we have added some very sophisticated technology to CONNX, which is underutilized in many instances. We are now creating add-ons which tap into that technology, and allow us to deliver simple and powerful solutions to our customers. The successful release of the CONNX Data Synchronization product, featuring the most recent advancements in changed data capture technology (CDC), is a perfect example of this, and we have several more in the works.”
McGhaw previously held positions at Microsoft, where he was responsible for the design and development of several internal business and sales applications. With over 10 years of commercial software development experience, he led the design and development of projects at several companies, including SolutionsIQ and AT&T.
John Andrews, the new Vice President of Sales and Marketing, before coming to CONNX, was Director of Worldwide Sales and Consulting at Pacific Edge Software, a provider of Enterprise Portfolio Management software, where he led the sales and consulting groups to record revenue levels. Prior to Pacific Edge, he worked for KPMG Consulting, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, and was Regional Vice President for Computer Associates. He also worked for Olivetti, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Unisys.
“John comes to us with a strong background and over 22 years of experience in the IT industry,” says Wright. “He’ll be playing a key role in developing and executing our future business strategies, enabling us to provide our customers with the best product in the marketplace and to accelerate our growth.”
“This is a great opportunity to work for a growing, profitable software company with proven, best-in-class products that solve real business problems,” states Andrews.
Andrews received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Economics and Business Finance with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.