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Robert D. Austin joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1997. He currently teaches the first year MBA course in Technology and Operations Management and the information technology (IT) module of an executive program for owner/managers. In addition, he chairs the school's executive program for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and other IT executives. During a recent leave of absence, he served as a senior executive for a new business being established by a leading technology company.

Before joining Harvard, Professor Austin was a technology implementation manager for the Ford Motor Company's European and Emerging Market operations. In his time with Ford, he developed, installed, and supported IT applications and infrastructure in a variety of businesses, including aftersales service, parts operations, consumer credit, vehicle assembly, and technical support.

Dr. Austin earned his Ph.D. in Management and Decision Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University, where his dissertation received the Herbert A. Simon Award. He holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science (Operations Research concentration) from Northwestern University and bachelors degrees in Engineering and English Literature from Swarthmore College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.

Professor Austin's research focuses on information technology management, and more generally on management of knowledge intensive activities. He has written on these subjects in four books, Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work (co-authored with Lee Devin), Corporate Information Strategy and Management, Creating Business Advantage in the Information Age (both co-authored with Lynda Applegate and Warren McFarlan), and Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations, as well as in academic and trade journals.

Svend-Olav Carlsen has Served as VP Finance and CFO for PortalPlayer, Inc. from June 2004 through January of 2007. Prior to joining PortalPlayer, from October 2000 to June 2004, Mr. Carlsen served as vice president, finance and corporate controller and chief financial officer of Transmeta Corporation, a semiconductor company. From April 1996 to October 2000, Mr. Carlsen served in various roles in the finance organization, most recently as corporate assistant controller, director of tax and international finance of S3 Incorporated and Diamond Multimedia, Inc. which was acquired by S3 Incorporated in 1999. Mr. Carlsen is a CPA (state of Illinois) and holds an undergraduate degree and an M.B.A. (Diplom) from LMU, University of Munich, Germany.

Mr. Zabaneh is a Managing Director with Fortress Canada Investment Corp. and Chief Financial Officer of NorthcastleTrust, an open ended investment trust managed by Fortress.  Prior to joining Fortress, Mr. Zabaneh spent five years with Q9 Networks Inc. a TSX listed company, as its Chief Financial Officer, where he was instrumental in building the business, raising close to $150 million in equity (including $32 million IPO funds in April 2004) and steering the company to becoming a leader in its industry.   Before joining Q9, Mr. Zabaneh was a Vice President at CIT Structured Finance (previously Newcourt Capital), the investment banking and corporate finance arm of CIT where he focused on structured as well as infrastructure and project finance. Prior to CIT Structured Finance, Mr. Zabaneh was a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Zabaneh holds a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University, Boston, a Master of Science in Finance from Boston College and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northeastern University, Boston. In addition, Mr. Zabaneh is a Certified Public Accountant.

As President and co-founder, Frédéric is responsible for Macadamian’s long-term vision and strategic direction. Under his leadership, Macadamian has grown from four founders to a team of more than 40, known as one of the most respected software development firms in the industry.

Frédéric is Chair of the software certification initiative launched by the Ottawa Software Cluster, and is co-founder and co-executive of the Ottawa Software Executive Forum, an Ottawa-based networking group that brings high-level software executives together to share best practices, exchange ideas, and explore new technologies. Frédéric also sits on ITAC's Wise Person's Committee for offshore outsourcing.

Prior to founding Macadamian, Frédéric was the Development Manager of Paradox, Corel Corporation’s flagship database product. There, he managed the first release of Paradox after Corel acquired the relational database management system from Borland. His team successfully tackled an unfamiliar code base and met an aggressive deadline, developing a new version of the complex application in eight months. Frédéric also managed Corel Family Tree Suite, which received the ZDNet Editor’s Choice award.

In the summer, Frédéric mountain-bikes through the Gatineau hills in Quebec, and continues to hone his golf game, which he’s been working on from the age of eight. In the winter, he plays indoor golf and waits for summer. Frédéric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Université de Sherbrooke, Québec.