Dean (LinkedIn) has more than twenty-five years of technology and general management success. He has extensive experience developing, and delivering, world-class hardware, software and service products.  His background includes demonstrated success managing remote development, multi-company projects and distributed virtual organizations.  He is an expert at situation analysis and developing action plans to overcome obstacles.  Dean has also worked extensively with China based companies to help them bring their products and services to the global market.

Prior to forming the Spinnaker Advisory Group, Dean was in private practice as a management consultant at Exectech.  There, he worked with a broad base of clients to help them develop business plans, pursue funding, make investment decisions, perform due diligence and improve their return on investment through organizational alignment, communication and process improvement.

Dean served in a range of executive positions at a number of companies including Mentor Graphics, Intersolv, Now Software, iReady, eXtensil, Lateral Sands, The Symbio Group and Foresight Systems M&S.  He has delivered several well-known commercial products including PVCS, Now Up-to-Date & Contact, Chip Station, IC Station and Design Architect.  In addition, he was the founding CEO of China TechSource, an innovative sales and marketing partner for Chinese outsourcing firms. 

His educational background includes a BS degree from the University of Idaho.  This happened so long ago that his first real job was writing FORTRAN code for a CDC mainframe.  He continued his education by pursuing graduate studies in Computer and Electrical Engineering at Oregon State University and the Oregon Graduate Institute.

Dean  was a frequent speaker on doing business in China, with a focus on the Chinese outsourcing industry. Some of his speaking engagements included:

• STPCON2007 in San Mateo, CA - Topic:  Best Practices for Managing Distributed Testing Teams

• STPCON2006 in Cambridge, MA - Topic:  Best Practices for Managing Distributed Testing Teams

• STARWEST 2006 in Anaheim, CA - Topic:  Internationalization Testing; The key to streamlined software localization

• Siebel Transition Summit in Denver, CO - Topic:  Successful Outsourcing to China

• ChinaSoft 2005 in Chengdu, PRC - Topic:  Providing World Class Service to US Clients

• Global Sourcing - What the Future Holds Conference in San Francisco, CA - Topic:  Key Operational Considerations in Outsourcing to China

• The Tech Startup Connection Special Meeting in Mountain View, CA - Topic:  Outsourcing ... Building Business Bridges with China

• China-America Outsourcing Business Development Summit in Beijing, PRC - Topic:  Successful Outsourcing to the US

• 2004 China Meets Silicon Valley High-Tech Expo in Santa Clara, CA - Participated on a distinguished panel discussing US Outsourcing to China

• The 2004 Outsourcing World Summit in Lake Buena Vista, FL - Topic:  The Key Operational Considerations in Outsourcing to China

• Global IT Outsourcing Summit 2003 in Shanghai, PRC - Topic:  Practical Issues in Outsourcing to the US Market