Executive Team
Jim Wenninger, CEO
Jim Wenninger is the chief executive officer of WennSoft. He has more than 30 years of experience in the field service, asset/equipment management and construction industries. Jim’s belief that providing services to customers should be proactive rather than reactive, as has been historically demonstrated, guides his vision for WennSoft. This vision helps WennSoft in delivering solutions that provide a 360-degree view of an entire organization and give managers the information when they need it to make timely decisions. Jim drives the message that if we help make our customer’s successful, WennSoft will be successful. Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Prior to WennSoft, Jim served as the co-owner and VP of operations for a major Midwestern mechanical and service contractor. He has also owned a construction equipment sales and rental business and has worked with service organizations his entire career. He has held several board and advisory council positions within the industry.
Julie West, President/COO
Julie West is president and chief operating officer, responsible for all areas of WennSoft, including overall strategy and direction, and all operational aspects. Julie has spent more than 15 years in the software industry. Her experience includes responsibility of global operations in six countries for a major software company, including strategic planning, business development, mergers, capital funding and all functional areas of operation; manager, global product marketing for Microsoft; and director, independent solutions developers and district sales manager for Great Plains Software. Previously, Julie served president of the Arthritis Foundation Dakota Chapter and built her own retail stores from concept to sale five years later.
Tim Kennedy, Executive Vice President
Tim Kennedy is executive vice president for business development. In his role Tim is responsible for ISV partner relationships, new products, new partners and new geographies. He joined WennSoft in December of 1999. Prior to joining WennSoft, Tim spent 22 years at Honeywell as an executive and technical leader. His duties included district service and construction manager (Twin Cities District), director of the global resource center for service, worldwide project manager for service management systems, manager of field management systems, manager of the technical assistance center, manager of customer training and an instructor of temperature control and energy management systems for HVAC systems. Before joining Honeywell, Tim was a public school teacher in Minneapolis. He has a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. Tim retired from the Army National Guard in March of 2007 after serving for 37 years, and attaining the rank of Brigadier General. His final assignment was as the Assistant Adjutant General – Army for the Minnesota National Guard.
Jeff Schilling, Treasurer/CFO
Jeff Schilling is the treasurer and chief financial officer, responsible for finance and accounting in addition to all administration and internal systems. Prior to joining WennSoft, Jeff was the controller for a $30 million contracting firm. He also spent several years in public accounting, where he led and performed audit and tax compliance work, and served as an outside financial advisor to privately held businesses, mainly in construction. Jeff is an active member of the Construction Financial Management Association – Milwaukee Chapter and received a bachelor’s in business administration with a major in accounting from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh.
Holly Holt, Vice President of Marketing
Holly Holt is the vice president of marketing at WennSoft. She has almost 2 decades of experience working with business applications. Prior to joining WennSoft in 2009, Holly held product management and marketing leadership roles at Microsoft Corporation and Great Plains Software focused on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, analyst relations and vertical/ISV solutions. Holly leads product management, industry marketing and marketing communications at WennSoft.
Gina Renner, Vice President of Development
Gina Renner is the vice president of development, leading product research and development for WennSoft. Prior to this, she led a core group of technical resources focused on research, development, testing, and program management. Gina has held the role of director of customer business development and support services at WennSoft, and also spent a number of years in product management for Service Management Series and development operations. Prior to joining WennSoft, she was director of client services for another software company, managing product implementation and customer support for a banking-platform automation provider. Prior to that, Gina spent ten years as a senior systems analyst, designing applications specifically designed for the municipal government marketplace.
Brian Pier, Vice President of Professional Services
Brian Pier is the vice president of professional services, responsible for the consulting services team and learning services. Brian has been working in software consulting for over 20 years. Prior to joining WennSoft, Brian held several positions of increasing responsibility at RedPrairie Corporation, who provide best-of- breed supply chain and workforce optimization solutions, most recently as leader of the professional services and pre-sales teams for the Americas. Brian has also worked in implementation services at Gateway Data Sciences Corp. and Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. Brian earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from Marquette University. He also volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors for St. Aemilian-Lakeside, Inc., a local non-profit social services organization.
Carly Vento, Channel Sales Director
Carly Vento is the director of the channel sales team. She drives the success of relationships, leading our team in working closely with channel partners to drive success. This includes working through our channel with new prospects and existing customers to provide solutions to many industries around the world. Carly has held multiple roles within WennSoft over her tenure, including customer business development manager, channel business development manager and internal operations. The channel sales director position enables her to use her past experiences to drive the overall channel growth. Prior to joining WennSoft, she worked on the sales team at a large direct mail advertising firm, where she assisted on many large national accounts such as Domino’s Pizza and Goodyear Tires.
Collette Pleva, Business Manager
Collette Pleva is the business manager, working closely with the President in supporting key initiatives to drive the rhythm of the business. She leads the development and evolution of corporate metrics and scorecards, project management of strategic initiatives and annual customer conference. In addition, Collette is responsible for the evaluation and creation of the company-wide and department-specific new business model. Collette’s professional background includes many leadership roles; office manager for a computer software company, managing her own direct sales business for 11 years and assisting the purchasing department at a national airline.