The Leadership Team

Martin van der Roest - President

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Martin has over 3 decades of experience in the systems and software development business. A majority of this time has been spent in the product lifecycle management (PLM) space with a specific focus on solutions for engineering and manufacturing organizations.

He has participated at all levels of the business including product development, implementation, and consulting. He has written for almost every industry magazine on the market and has been a regular speaker at several industry conferences. Today, Martin works closely with partners and other entrepreneurs in identifying and bringing to market value-add solutions.

Prior to founding vdR in 1986, Martin spent several years in the defense industry. This included time with the Department of Defense and Hughes Aircraft Company.  While at Hughes, he was selected as a “Hughes Fellow”.  His academic background includes a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University at Fullerton and the University of Southern California (USC) respectively.

Louis Salgado - Vice President and General Manager

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Louis is responsible for all operational aspects of vdR’s business which includes product development, support and services. He has been with vdR for over 25 years and has been involved in all areas of the business ranging from product sales and marketing, implementation and consulting.

Prior to joining vdR, Louis spent several years in the area of business computer systems sales.

He graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach with a B.A. in Business with an emphasis in Business Computer Methods.  Additionally he has completed course work for an MBA at Chapman University.

Jim Dodds - Vice President, Professional Services

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Jim is the Manager of Professional Services for vdR. He joined vdR in 2006 and brings with him nearly 20 years of managerial experience from various industries including architecture, facilities management, and customer relationship management.

Jim has extensive experience establishing, developing and operating professional services delivery processes related to both off-the-shelf and custom enterprise management apps.

Prior to joining vdR, Jim worked as a senior business analyst in the customer relationship management field and was Vice President of a technical consulting firm specializing in enterprise Computer Aided Facilities Management system deployments and implementations.

Complementing his professional experience, Jim also served as an adjunct professor at Woodbury University teaching Computer Aided Facilities Management. He received his MBA with an emphasis in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Facilities Planning and Management from the school of Architecture and Design from Woodbury University.

Ben Desmarais - Sr. Manager, Aras Services

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Ben is responsible for product quality and testing, documentation, release controls, training and customer support. He also provides his technical expertise on many of vdR’s products and professional services projects.

Since joining vdR in 1995, Ben has been involved in all levels of product development, implementation, consulting, and product/implementation support. With more than 17 years of industry experience, Ben brings extensive experience on various product data/lifecycle management (PDM/PLM), enterprise content management (ECM), and CAD products to vdR.

Prior to his current role, Ben served as Implementation Specialist at vdR, where he was involved in many of the Group’s PDM/PLM, ECM, and CAD Integration implementation projects.

Jeff Schultz - Sr. Manager, Autodesk PLM Services

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As a Sr. Project Manager at vdR, Jeff ensures the successful deployment of Autodesk PLM solutions with an emphasis on Upchain PLM. He drives business value for customers as it aligns with their PLM rollouts - configurations, migrations, and integrations. Since joining vdR in 2011, he has played key roles in the success of our customers by effectively communicating business requirements while meeting project objectives.

 Prior to his current role, he supported upgrade projects, new deployments, configuration and testing, user guide development, specification documents, training guides, and marketing materials. Jeff’s onsite activities included training, transport, product troubleshooting, and project planning.

Lloyd Rogers - Director, Business Development

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Lloyd is the newest addition to the vdR team and is focused on extending the value of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions into the automotive supplier space. Lloyd brings over 30 years of automotive industry experience to vdR, including leadership positions in engineering, program management, sales and operations.

Prior to joining vdR, Lloyd served as the Director of Global Sales at Key Safety Systems and the Chrysler Sales Director at Inteva Products.  Prior this this, he held various program management roles responsible for instrument panels, cockpits, doors, overhead systems, and interior components.

Lloyd is PMP and CMII certified as a Program Manager and has developed extensive experience in the Kepner Tregoe problem solving techniques and approach.

David van der Roest - Manager, Business Development

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David supports business development and product marketing activities for vdR’s PLM Practice. Given vdR’s partner-based business model, this role has David working closely with our partner’s sales and customer success teams.

 Since joining vdR in 2015, David has gained experience in product management with vdR’s inventory optimization solutions, PLM services, customer success, and project management. These various roles have informed David’s approach to business development and product marketing by encompassing the customer, partner, and internal development dynamics needed to support vdR’s various offering in the marketplace.

 Prior to joining vdR, David held leadership roles bringing-to-market products focused on big-data, fintech, and content marketing.

Dick Bourke - Sr. Advisor

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As a senior advisor to The vdR Group, Dick helps guide the strategic direction of the company. For this role, he brings over forty sixty years of broad consulting experience in the areas of ERP, Configuration Management, and PLM as well as prior industry experience.

Before establishing his consulting practice in early 1970, he held management responsibilities in divisions of Textron (material) and Carrier (IT) and was with IBM in sales and systems.

In addition to consulting, his firm Bourke Consulting Associates developed educational material for end users and software-specific training and white papers for application vendors.

Throughout his career, Dick has been a prolific writer and longtime contributor to various industry journals such as the 2PDM Newsletter and Engineering.com. He has been a frequent presenter at numerous industry forums, including APICS National Conferences.

Notable publications include his 1975 book on Bills of Material, the first modern guide to managing this key building block. APICS cited his book as a “classic in the field.” His knack for making technical concepts accessible and applicable is widely respected. With this experience, he is the editor of vdR’s Practical PLM Newsletter and blogs. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and MBA, both from UCLA.