Senior Leadership Team

Mike Jackson, President and CEO

Mike Jackson was named President and CEO of Adayana in April 2008, after having served as President and CEO of ABG, which he founded in 1979. Under his leadership, Adayana has refined its targeted vertical market approach and increased profitability and return to all stakeholders.  Jackson frequently publishes management and marketing articles in industry and company publications, and has recently been featured on Inside Indiana Business television program and the Indianapolis Smart Business magazine.  Jackson helps companies adjust their strategies to compete successfully in tomorrow’s market. He co-authored Agri Selling, the standard textbook on agricultural selling. Jackson serves on the Boards and Audit Committees of Terra Nitrogen Company and Renewable Energy Group, Inc. and received the prestigious “Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award” from Purdue University in 1996. 

Dave Buelt, Sr. VP of Sales

As Senior Vice President of Industry Sales, Dave Buelt is responsible for helping teams achieve their revenue goals.  Buelt was previously Senior Vice President of Business Development at ABG, and he has assisted companies in the development of marketing strategies to impact sales and organizational success. This background gives him an in-depth understanding of the key decision processes behind businesses, their channels, and their customers, essential to successfully marketing in today’s highly integrated markets. Buelt also drives strategic planning efforts for commercial companies and associations, ranging from business planning to go-to-market approaches and leads a number of training programs including Selling Skills, Marketing, and Financial Management.  Before joining ABG and Adayana, Buelt held various Sales and Marketing management positions with the Ag Chem Division of FMC Corporation. 

Sandra L. Mathes, VP of Human Resources

Sandi Mathes works with more than 20 years of professional human resource experience as the VP of Human Resources. She also uses her expertise to train HR professionals from a diverse group of organizations through an adjunct teaching position at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis.  Before joining Adayana, Mathes spent nine years with Conseco Services, LLC as Vice President of Human Resources. At Conseco, she was responsible for supporting an employee base of more than 2,300 associates by leading staffing and sourcing, employee relations and HR generalist teams.  Mathes began her career in HR with the J. L. Hudson Company in Detroit, MI, and later relocated to Indianapolis, where she joined National City Bank. 

Brett Hall, CFO

Brett Hall has served Adayana as CFO since 2005, guiding the organization through financial growth and integration of new firms. Previously, he was the CFO of ABG. Serving ABG since 1989, he led the adoption of new accounting and business management systems, and has been responsible for the logistical office space requirements, including overseeing four office expansions and one relocation.  Raised on an Iowa grain and livestock farm, Hall graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Agronomy. While spending the next seven years working for Ascheman Associates, an agricultural consulting company in Des Moines, Hall earned his MBA from Drake University. 

Steve Wilson, VP of Industry Operations

Steve Wilson currently serves as Vice President of Industry Operations for Adayana. Steve works with more than 18 years of experience in business process outsourcing (BPO), human capital management, global standards compliance, and strategic management consulting. He previously served as Director of Strategy and Research at Adayana, where he led a team of experienced business consultants and strategy experts to support complex client engagements in the areas of strategic planning, decision analysis, channel marketing, business process improvement, market research and analysis, and global program management of multinational engagements. Prior to Adayana, he served as the International Director of Account Management at Kronos, Inc. and has experience with Fortune 500 companies and automotive industry engineering and automotive supply chain research and development support.

Raymond Richie, VP Strategic Business Development

Raymond Richie helps Adayana identify and collaborate with strategic partners to fuel corporate growth and development. Previously, Richie led the ABG strategy and research team, guiding the vision for the group and deepening the team’s expertise.  Richie began his career managing entrepreneurial companies, where he led finance, manufacturing, quality assurance, warehouse, and freight logistics operations.  He has worked at Hewlett-Packard Company, and he spent five years as a consultant at Ernst & Young, where he worked with high performance companies to both develop and meet strategic goals.  Most recently, Richie served as Director of Strategy at a high-technology firm. Richie is an MBA graduate of Indiana University with an emphasis in Strategy, Marketing, and Finance.

Jeff Kidwell, Adayana Government Group President

Jeff Kidwell is a thought leader who has served as a strategic advisor to many organizations for nearly 25 years. He has helped increase their effectiveness through improved strategy in areas such as management consulting, process reengineering, benchmarking, and business operations. Prior to merging with Adayana in 2008, Kidwell led VERTEX Solutions as President and CEO. He previously served in various roles for defense contractors and consulting firms, and was an internal consultant for American General Corporation.  He has co-authored several papers on the implementation of advanced distributed learning programs, benchmarking, scope management and schedule risk and has served as a college-level instructor in front line supervision and management. Kidwell holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and an MBA from Virginia Tech.

Shail Arora, Senior Vice President, Adayana Healthcare Group

Shail Arora has 25 years of experience in the Information Technology industry, having worked in industries such as Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Government, Logistics, and Training and Development. He co-founded Gradepoint, Inc. in 1999, an enterprise learning company that merged with Adayana in 2008. Prior to co-founding Gradepoint, Arora was Senior Vice President and CIO for Inca Computer Company, a national retailer of computing technology and services.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Wayne State University and is active internationally in the Advanced Technology community as a Conference Organizer and Presenter.  In 2008, The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) selected Arora to Chair OOPSLA 2009, a tenure track international conference focused on emerging technologies.

Purnendra Kishore, India CEO, Adayana Learning Solutions

With several years of experience in learning services and technologies, Purnendra serves as the CEO of Adayana Learning Services. Prior to joining Adayana, Kishore served as Chief Executive Officer of JKT consulting, Ltd. He also worked for SAP India Pvt. Ltd, Hewlett Packard/Compaq Computer India and Larsen & Toubro Limited. He has experience in project management and marketing, leading teams, establishing selling and business management systems and starting up and scaling businesses. Kishore received his formal education from IIM Calcutta and IIT (IT-BHU) where he earned his Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering in 1992.

Steve Kerschenbaum, Chief Technology Officer

Steve Kerschenbaum’s twenty years of experience include Information and Learning System design and development, Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) design and development, Web-based Training (WBT) implementation, system requirements development and analysis, program and project management, data mining and analysis, business process reengineering, technology research, and Independent IT Verification and Validation (IV&V). Steve has worked with several of the Adayana Government Group’s current clients, including the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Labor, Treasury, and Energy. Kerschenbaum has been recognized as an expert in the e-Learning field, and often participates in industry-related panels, organizations, and events. He has published several papers at I/ITSEC, and has contributed articles to other publications such as Training & Development Magazine.

Steve Shamblott, EVP of Corporate Development

Steve Shamblott brings extensive business, operations and sales experience to his role at Adayana. He also serves as Chairman of affiliate Ag Technologies International, and is a co-founder of Adayana. Shamblott was previously Chairman and co-founder of LearningByte International, an e-Learning content developer based in Minneapolis. He was previously Executive Vice President of Marketing for Human Capital Corporation, a provider of technical training in the U.S. and Canada. As Executive Vice president for International Operations at DataCard Corporation, Steve was responsible for management of the U.S. sales division, corporate marketing, and a worldwide network of 134 independent distributors.

Charley Grady, VP of Strategic Finance

Charley Grady has more than 29 years of experience in finance, marketing and operations. One of the founders of Adayana, Grady previously worked as the Vice President of Pricing, Analysis, and Contracts for LearningByte International, and e-Learning company. His experience also includes 20 years with National Car Rental Systems, Inc., where he held positions such as Director of Financial Analysis, Vice President of Strategic Analysis, Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, and Corporate Economist.  Grady holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and an MBA in Finance and Computer Systems from the University of Rochester in New York.