Leadership Team

Karl Maier is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of Market Force Information, including all aspects of strategy and execution. In recognition of Market Force Information’s success and his outstanding leadership, Mr. Maier was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2008 award winner in the Rocky Mountain region. Prior to founding Market Force Information, Mr. Maier was the Executive Chairman of the Board of Vector ESP, a provider of professional Information Technology services that was ultimately acquired by MTM Technologies, Inc., a publicly-traded IT services firm. Before Vector, Mr. Maier was the Chief Executive Officer of VIA NET.WORKS, a public international Internet service provider. He was recruited by the Board of Directors and successfully led the company’s turn-around. Prior to VIA, Mr. Maier was the President & CEO of Cordillera Communications, Corp., a Latin American wireless service provider that was acquired by Nextel International. Prior to Cordillera, Mr. Maier worked in Germany serving as Vice President of Freyberg Hambros, a Frankfurt-based investment banking boutique, and as CFO of Berlin Kosmetik GmbH, a cosmetics manufacturer in Berlin. Previously, he was an Assistant Vice President at the Bank of Boston. He received a B.A. from Bowdoin College.

John Barrett is responsible for leading and managing the Client Service organization for Market Force Information. John brings over 15 years of experience in marketing research, consultative sales, and business development. John was most recently Vice President/Group Account Director of The Nielsen Company where he managed a cross-functional team and oversaw the delivery of all products and services for a diverse group of CPG manufacturers for over eight years. Prior to Nielsen, John managed business development for non-CPG verticals at Spectra Marketing and Client Service for Information Resources. Mr. Barrett holds a B.S. from Northeastern University in Business Administration.

Shauna Callahan is responsible for the company’s accounting, financial records and reporting. Prior to joining Market Force Information, Ms. Callahan served as Senior Director of Finance and Sales Operations for Carrier Access Corporation where she led financial operations, budgeting, financial analysis and internal and public reporting. At Carrier Access, Ms. Callahan acted as a strategic finance partner with sales and operations, measurably streamlining financial processes and increasing the company’s financial efficiency. Ms. Callahan brings over 15 years of progressive experience in financial and operational management positions, including Controller positions at Nautilus, Inc., Airbase Services, Inc., Internet Commerce and Communications and Corporate Express Australia, Ltd. Ms. Callahan is a Certified Public Accountant and received her B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Cheryl Flink is responsible for the development and delivery of all research and analytics for clients. Prior to joining Market Force Information she was Senior Vice President at Verde Group leading business development activities in the United States and designing new syndicated research products. Dr. Flink's career has focused on new product development and go-to-market strategies for emerging companies. As Director of Strategic Marketing at HEI Advanced Medical, she led the business unit responsible for creating wireless medical device connectivity products, developing both the business strategy and the product portfolio. As Senior Vice President of Seurat, a precision marketing outsourcing firm, she headed up the Customer Profile Management and Managed Analytics business units. Dr. Flink founded Lodestone Research, a consulting firm providing market research and human factors engineering to Fortune 500 companies like Hewlett Packard and Medtronic. Dr. Flink graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in research methods and statistics from the University of Colorado.

Patrick Gaul is responsible for sales leadership at Market Force Information. He joined the firm in October of 2008 and is responsible for driving new business growth. Mr. Gaul began his career in the technology industry in 1976 after nine years in the United States Marine Corps where he was awarded a number of commendations including National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon and a Purple Heart for his service in the Republic of South Vietnam. Mr. Gaul spent nearly twenty-six years with AT&T and Infonet Services Corporation across the globe including assignments in Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium before returning to the USA in late 2003 to head up an Atlanta-based web-hosting and interactive marketing firm. Throughout his career, he has held senior positions in sales, marketing and channel management. Mr. Gaul is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the Technology Association of Georgia and was the Chair for the Georgia Technology Summit in 2006 and 2007. He attended the Edinburgh Graduate School of Business in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Blake Herlick is responsible for the day-to-day leadership of Market Force’s Certified Merchandising Services business (CMS), including operational performance and client service. Prior to joining CMS, Mr. Herlick created, owned and ran operations for one of the country’s largest national hotel marketing companies assisting five-star hotels in driving revenue to their restaurant, catering and in-room food service businesses. Mr. Herlick also worked in institutional food service for 20 years in many different roles, from manager to owner, during which time he was responsible for providing the public food service for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid NY. Mr. Herlick graduated with a B.S. in 1966 from Wisconsin State University Stevens Point.

Rushton McGarr is responsible for efficiently delivering high-quality products and services to market as well as driving the growth and loyalty of the company's independent contractor network. Prior to founding Market Force Information, Mr. McGarr led product management and marketing teams at several venture-backed, Internet software companies. As Director of Product Marketing at NewsStand, a digital media company, he was responsible for the company’s software product roadmap and all direct consumer marketing that successfully increased new subscriber growth and customer loyalty for partners like The New York Times and USA TODAY. At Factory Logic, a provider of lean operations software for manufacturers, he led product management and marketing strategy. Before Factory Logic, Mr. McGarr worked at Dell where he was responsible for pricing of the company’s multi-billion dollar consumer PC and laptop product lines in the United States. He began his career as an Assistant Vice President at the Bank of Boston. Mr. McGarr earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. with high honors from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Jim Radcliff is responsible for overall performance of Market Force’s Certified Reports business (CRI), including financial, operational, client service and sales areas. Mr. Radcliff leads a business that has served the entertainment industry for more than 50 years providing a full range of theatre checking and promotional material installation services. Prior to joining CRI, Mr. Radcliff worked in several different service industries, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Washington DC and Atlanta GA for six years, where he most recently served as regional manager responsible for all operational aspects across several locations. He also spent six years with Hyatt hotels in Washington DC working in rooms division management. He received a B.S. in Business Administration from Shippensburg University (PA).

Todd Siegler is responsible for all domestic and international strategic alliances, mergers and partnerships as well as the legal and administration functions for the company. Prior to joining Market Force Information, Mr. Siegler was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Verio, Inc., a Tier 1 ISP and web hosting company wholly owned by NTT Communications. He led strategic development, mergers, acquisitions, asset dispositions and strategic partnerships. Prior to Verio, Mr. Siegler served as Vice President of International Operations and Legal for Excel Communications, Inc. (formerly a subsidiary of Teleglobe, Inc.), where he led the successful launch of the business into Canada and managed the proposed launch of the business into the United Kingdom, France and Germany. At Excel, Mr. Siegler also served as Assistant General Counsel where he led the negotiation of strategic transactions, mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, including the billion dollar acquisition of Telco Communications Group and the multi-billion dollar merger of Excel with Teleglobe. He began his career as a corporate attorney with the Dallas law firm of Gardere & Wynne, L.L.P., representing both public and private companies in negotiating mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, strategic agreements and corporate governance. Mr. Siegler earned his Political Science degree from Princeton University and his J.D. with honors from Tulane University School of Law.

Ray Walsh manages the operational execution and supporting technology platforms across all of Market Force Information’s business lines. Prior to joining Market Force Information, Mr. Walsh was active in the Venture Capital space in London where he advised some of the largest global investment firms and also founded a new IT Infrastructure Services firm in the United Kingdom. Prior to this activity, Mr. Walsh served as the CEO of VIA NET.WORKS, a Pan-European Business ISP, managing an operational and sales transformation and ultimately the sale of the operating companies to other industry players. Prior to VIA NET.WORKS, Mr. Walsh provided executive leadership for a number of Pan-European and Global technology, operations and Network/Data Center construction organizations within leading telecommunications companies. He received a B.S. from Oklahoma State University.