Executive Advisors
Dr. Noel Greis, 
Director, Center for Logistics and Digital Strategy,
University of North Carolina
Dr. Greis is recognized for her work in connecting enterprises with the latest digital and BI technology to create data- driven businesses.
Before becoming an advisor, she had previously field tested Saffron Associative Memory technology via successful research collaborations with organizations such as Boeing Research and Technology. Initial research projects included an innovative battlefield supply chain management solution for Boeing, an analytic tool to detect transactional anomalies for SAP, a solution to detect failure trends in the space shuttle orbiter for NASA, as well as predictive models to anticipate engine failure in vehicles. In her advisory role, Dr Greis works more closely with Saffron on market applications of Saffron’s associative memory approach.
Dr Greis is currently director of the Center for Logistics and Digital Strategy at University of North Carolina. In that role she has been helping industry leverage digital technology, especially business intelligence engines, to shift decision making towards the use of experience-based analytics in operational decision making.
A producer of award-winning research on logistics, global operations strategy, technology management and technology commercialization, Dr. Greis works with commercial and government – both defense and civilian – organizations.
Donald Haile, Venture Partner with Volition Capital
Don Haile currently works as an independent consultant. He is a Venture Partner with Volition Capital, where he assists in evaluating and initiating new investment opportunities. As a consultant, Don helps portfolio companies with their business and marketing plans and in introducing portfolio companies to major U.S. and international technology customers and partners.
Prior to transitioning to Volition Capital, Don held a similar role with Fidelity Ventures, and before that was the CIO of Fidelity Investments. There he had responsibility for a multi-billion annual IT budget for computer operations, global communications networks and enterprise applications.
Before joining Fidelity Investments in 1998, Don spent 34 years with IBM where he held executive positions in hardware and software development, with responsibilities for telecommunications, systems management and operating systems.
Don’s unique enterprise customer perspective, combined with over 40 years of management experience in the technology sector, make Don a valuable addition to the Volition Capital team.
Don received a BA degree in mathematics from St. Vincent College and a BS degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University. In 2004 he was recognized by Network World as one of the 50 most powerful people in networking.
Sammy Haroon, COO of Accurate Electronics
Sammy Haroon is a leading product innovation and commercialization executive. He advises Saffron on growth strategy and business development in the consumer product goods sector. Today, Sammy serves as the COO of Accurate Electronics, a wireless products and services company in telecommunications, healthcare, Smart Grid and consumer electronics. For AE, he has delivered supplier manufacturing contracts with three Global Fortune 250 companies.
Sammy joined Procter & Gamble in 2002 as Global Innovation Leader creating the technology for the world’s first Word-of-Mouth marketing brands: Tremor and VocalPoint. He significantly contributed to transformational changes in product development accelerating concept to market times by 50%. He concluded his tenure with the development of the company’s first Innovation Center in the Middle East. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Sammy delivered technology solutions including electronic billing and payment systems for CheckFree Corporation (bought by FISERV in 2007 for $4.4B), and Delta Airlines’ AI based global irregular operation management solution.
Sammy is on the Board of The RBR Group, an innovation management organization leveraging his methods of “Invention To Innovation” (I2I©) and “Accelerated Business Commercialization” (XBC©). He is the President (2011-2012) of The Indus Entrepreneurs – Carolinas; TIE is the world’s largest non-profit entrepreneurial organization. Sammy is on the Board of Advisors at University of Oklahoma’s School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He is a lecturer on “Rapid Product Innovation” at Georgia Institute of Technology where he received his Nuclear Engineering degree as well.
Keith Holdt, Investment Director, Lloyds Development Capital 
Keith Holdt is a digital transformation expert, helping large-scale enterprises understand trends in information management, data analytics and document processing. His passion is identifying new ways to improve corporate decision-making and deliver information-led business transformation.
Based in London as an Investment Director with LDC, a private equity company, Keith works with the boards and senior management teams of portfolio businesses driving value enhancement initiatives that generate shareholder value growth through cash generation, revenue growth and cost saving. From a Saffron perspective, Keith is working to expand Saffron’s presence in the European market. With his strong background in digital mailroom and information management, Keith focuses on how organizations can exploit the value of corporate information via Big Data analytics, including the growing impact of social media. Keith has over 20 years’ experience working in a variety of management consultancy and business development roles, including IBM, as well as leading strategic business development at Swiss Post Solutions, a Swiss Post business delivering document and information management services and solutions globally.
During his time there, Keith led SPS to their largest ever deal – a 9-figure, pan-European, multi-year Document Transformation Outsourcing project for a global insurance organization.
Keith is an associate speaker of TomorrowToday, and in this capacity is a regular professional speaker and commentator on the impact of developments in information-led transformation, big data, social media & hybrid analytics towards improved corporate decision-making and how organizations can exploit this value to deliver success.
Thomas Jones, Former President & CEO of Velosel Corporation
Tom has over 20 years of experience in leading both publicly listed and privately funded enterprise software and applications companies. Most recently, Tom was President & CEO of Velosel Corporation, a leader in the Product Information Management industry serving Retailers & Consumer Goods Manufacturers. Previously Tom was Senior Vice President of Sales at PeopleSoft. There, he was responsible for all software license revenues in the U.S. and Canada totaling $500 million and spearheaded the company’s new sales organization structure of more than 600 staff.
Prior to PeopleSoft, Tom was president of MDL Information Systems, Inc. (MDL), a software application provider to the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. During his 13 year tenure at MDL, Tom was instrumental in developing the strategies that led MDL to be the #1 provider of chemical information management systems. This dominance led to MDL’s Initial Public Offering in 1993. Tom has served on the Board of Directors of MDL, Nexprise, Ventro, Crosslogix, Levanta and OnQ Technologies.
Tom currently serves on the Board of Directors of RivalWatch, Inc., a service company that provides on line competitive pricing and assortment information to the retail and manufacturing industries. He is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board for At Hoc Inc., a software company with solutions for emergency warning and notification. He serves on the Board of Directors of RedOak Logic, LLC., a startup company developing solutions for pharmaceutical research. He also serves on the national board of directors for the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation and the Advisory Board for Duke University School of Nursing.
Before entering the business world Tom spent 6 years in the U.S. Marine Corps attaining the rank of Captain, USMC. Tom holds a BS in Analytical Management from the United States Naval Academy and a MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. Tom is married to Deanna L. Jones, a retired Flight attendant for United Airlines.
Raul Vejar, Former EVP and COO of SAP Business Objects
Raúl Véjar is a seasoned executive in the enterprise software industry, with broad experience in strategic, operational and managerial topics. He currently advises several early stage private companies in the enterprise software space.
Until May 2010, he served as the EVP and COO of the Business Objects division of SAP, where he oversaw the integration of Business Objects after is was acquired by SAP. In this role, Véjar was responsible for helping realize the synergies between SAP and Business Objects, while preserving Business Objects’ unique characteristics.
Previously, Véjar served as EVP of Corporate Strategy, providing the CEO and the SAP Executive Board with consulting and strategic guidance on a range of competitive, operational, and organizational issues. He joined SAP AG in 1990 and in 1994 he founded and became managing director of the SAP Mexico subsidiary. He was appointed regional president of SAP Latin America in 1999. Under his seven-year leadership, SAP Latin America achieved significant penetration and market leadership in the Latin American market. Prior to joining SAP, Véjar managed information systems for Novum Corporation, a chemical and pharmaceutical company in Mexico City.
Véjar earned his bachelor’s degree in computer sciences from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico, and an MBA from the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium.
