Learn Today! Online Class - Leading Digital Transformation

Mike Childress

Affiliate, The Feld Group Institute

Extensive experience across all dimensions of IT, from strategy planning to tactical implementation.

About Mike

Mike Childress is a Feld Group Institute Affiliate and President of James M Childress Consulting. He specializes in advising clients on strategy, architecture, development, and IT operational matters, while ensuring close alignment to business goals and objectives.

With more than 25 years of technology experience, including key roles at EDS, Delta Air Lines, and elsewhere, Mike brings strategic and operational insights to every client engagement. Having led large IT teams, he has a deep-seated understanding of the technology legacy challenges, budgetary constraints, and daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly pressures that IT leaders must handle.

As a Feld Affiliate, Mike provides advice, guidance, and implementation for IT transformation across all aspects of the IT organization. He leads complex transformation engagements that often include a focus on business-technology models, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, IT processes, and organizational alignment and talent. Committed to advancing the influence of IT on organizational effectiveness, Mike gives special attention to the process, organizational structure, and leadership required for success in each engagement.

Prior to becoming a Feld Group Institute Affiliate, Mike served at EDS as VP, Portfolio and Engineering, where he was responsible for product research, design, and engineering of standard tools and processes. While serving in this role, he received the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

Earlier, at Delta Air Lines, Mike was SVP and Chief Development Officer. There, he held responsibility for the portfolio of applications, business technology consulting, enterprise data, middleware and messaging, and standard development environments. Mike served earlier in key IT roles at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, American Airlines, and General Dynamics.

Mike earned his BBA in Business Analysis and Research at Texas A&M University, specializing in computer information systems. He has been named to Computerworld’s list of the Premier 100 IT Leaders, while the customer support and legacy modernization work completed at Delta Air Lines was honored with the Smithsonian Award for Technology.

Insights from The Feld Group Institute

Digital Transformation: The Challenge of Company-Wide Alignment

The Value of Business Architecture

post-it-notes for information technology project names. Learn to achieve real business value by aligning strategy with capabilities.

Aligning Business Value: We Need A Common Language

Connect with Russell Villemez

Russell Villemez

Affiliate, The Feld Group Institute

Head of Technology Strategy, Dialexa – a Feld Group Institute partner

Highly regarded CTO and change agent with IT strategy and enterprise architecture expertise.

Russell Villemez is an Affiliate with the Feld Group Institute and the head of Technology Strategy at Dialexa, a Technology Research, Design and Creation firm that works with organizations on initiatives such as Operational Transformation, Business Growth, and New Venture Creation.

During 17 years in operational roles and 15 years in consulting roles, Russell has worked across a variety of industries in both executive leadership positions and as a subject matter expert. Russell thrives on the scale and complexity of leading major change agendas in large corporate environments.

Recent consulting clients include AmerisourceBergen, the American Automobile Association, Brinker International, Cubic, Equifax, and Cox Automotive. A common thread is the client’s need for strong leadership during a period of change—whether motivated by acquisitions, spin-offs, competitive pressures, or other factors. Clients also benefit from Russell’s expertise in enterprise architecture, agile development, application portfolio rationalization, technology and architecture strategy, as well as business strategy and commercial software product development.

Recognized as a versatile IT executive, adept at solving complex problems with innovative solutions, Russell’s capabilities and achievements span a continuum from business-strategy formation to hands-on IT solution development. His extensive career achievements include pioneering the first use of relational databases in high-volume transaction systems in the ‘80s, applying voice recognition DSPs in public intelligent network services for consumer markets in the ‘90s, and leading large-scale adoptions of open systems, object technology, and middleware frameworks in complex business environments, often in advance of commercially available software products.

Prior to joining Dialexa, Russell served at HP as Enterprise Services Chief Technology Officer for the Americas, leading a global capability for embedded Account CTOs in large enterprises. Russell began his career at Accenture, where he first crafted his consultative problem-solving approach, later honed at A.T. Kearny and the Feld Group. Russell’s deep telecom experience is built upon numerous director and enterprise architect positions at AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Telstra, US West, Pacific Bell, and Sprint, and as V.P. and CIO for WebLink Wireless.

Russell has a BS in Business Administration from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. In his spare time, Russell participates in amateur auto racing, and is a driving instructor with the Porsche Club of America.