The Catalyst from Cleveland - DR. FLOUN'SAY CAVER

Dr. Floun'say Caver is one of the most dynamic change agents that we have worked with in the transit business. He is a strategic thinker, highly motivated problem solver, and an absolute gentleman to every person he encounters. In 2007, Floun'say was recognized by Crain's Cleveland Business journal as one of their "Top 40 Under 40". In the fall of 2009, he received the same recognition from Mass Transit Magazine. Floun'say has a passion for what he does - "I love the mission of government."

With an undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and a PhD in Public Policy, Floun'say taught at the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. He recounts how a job in government at Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) beckoned him: "I was in sunny Dallas and never thought I would come back to Cleveland," he recollects.

Floun'say saw it as an opportunity for real world application of the academic theories of performance analysis he taught and wrote about academically. He accepted the offer and returned to Cleveland to join the RTA in the Office of Management and Budget where he championed initiatives to improve the operation of the organization as a whole. Floun'say was instrumental in launching TransitStat, a revolutionary way for RTA to manage and improve business performance with significant cost savings.

We had the pleasure of working with Floun'say for thirteen days and nights collaborating on a strategic road map for rail operations and maintenance at the Greater Cleveland RTA and it was a memorable experience for our entire team. He has been a friend ever since.

RFID Evangelist - MARK ROBERTI

There are early adopters and then there is Mark Roberti. Working on a cover story about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) when it was in its infancy, he recognized the potential and combined his technology background with his publishing experience to launch RFID Journal.

RFID Journal and rfidjournal.com have become essential tools for new entrants and experienced RFID practitioners alike in transforming businesses in every vertical. "As I followed the development of RFID, it became clear that the technology was much more than just a way to track cases and pallets in the supply chain," Mark recalls.

We follow RFID Journal and regularly attend the RFID JournalLIVE conferences to keep up with the technology, but more importantly to leverage what other organizations are doing to improve processes, reduce costs, and obtain critical data in real time. Mark and his staff not only report on what is happening in the industry, they are a driving force in expanding the adoption of RFID.

From a transit perspective, you will learn what transit systems in Asia are doing to reduce fare management costs, how bus operators are using RFID to locate transit buses, and you can learn what we are doing at Bombardier to protect track workers. You can see for yourself at www.rfidjournal.com or follow Mark on Twitter @RFIDJournal.

Innovation is in our DNA - MARTIN ERTL

You may not be aware of our history at Bombardier, but the name comes from the last name of our our founder - Joseph-Armand Bombardier. His passion for innovation started at the age of 15 when Mr. Bombardier invented the snowmobile. For more than 70 years his SkiDoo brand of snowmobiles has become a world leader in recreational products. This spirit of innovation, which began with the launch of Bombardier in 1942, still fuels our 60,000 employees today.

Martin Ertl is our Chief Innovation Officer at Bombardier Transportation and leads our efforts to turn great ideas into solutions that work. Martin tells us that his mission is to "develop entrepreneurial thinking and sustainable, long-term oriented, clever solutions". Having been part of innovation efforts at Audi and BMW, Martin brings a global view to his work and is the perfect catalyst to help us deliver a "smart railroad".

The Inventory Doctor - DR. STEPHEN PEARCE

Dr. Stephen Pearce is precise in everything that he does - from flying vintage aircraft on his Texas ranch, to establishing the inventory requirements for industries around the globe. Stephen received his PhD degree from Texas A&M University and has spent the past three decades developing solutions to improve inventory utilization with precision.

In the mid 1990's, Stephen started designing and developing what would become the xIO Inventory Optimizer, a software solution that improved material availability while reducing inventory investment. The xIO became the foundation of Xtivity, Inc., where Dr. Pearce is VP of Research and Development. The xIO has since become the leading inventory optimization solution to provide business intelligence for industries that have sporadic demand, long lead times, and cost pressures that require a smarter way to manage inventories. It is why Bombardier began using the xIO in 2006 and it is why we subsequently became an Xtivity Technology Alliance Partner.

Want to learn more about Dr. Pearce and the xIO? Click here.