About us
Advisory Board
We have frequent interaction with an Advisory Board to guide our company development. Each of these board members brings practical, real-world experience to Tailwind. Our Advisory Board members include:
 Drew Clarke
VP, Americas Field Operations, IBM Analytics and Performance Management (Cognos)
Currently, Drew Clarke oversees the North American marketing organization, field channel sales, inside sales, business development, organizations for the IBM Analytics and Performance Management group (formerly Cognos Software). Since joining the company, Drew has transformed the department through the use of Cognos’ performance management solutions to improve both demand generation and revenue creation. In 2008, Cognos was recognized by Sirius Decisions for best practices in Sales and Marketing.
Prior to joining Cognos, Drew served as VP of Global Marketing Operations at Parametric Technology Corp where he deployed global tools for CRM and BI. Before PTC he led the Americas Marketing Organization at Siebel Systems where he was instrumental in building the organization recognized by IDC for the 2004 Best Practice Award for Sales and Marketing Alignment.
Before joining the technology industry, Drew served in the United States Army in various positions with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He has a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
 Jim Gildea, Founder Aegis Associates
Jim Gildea founded Aegis Associates in 1989 as a systems integration firm headquartered in Boston. Aegis provided network design and support, systems engineering services, network security, and complete technology support services for growing businesses. Aegis was profitable since its inception and was an employee-owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
In 2008, Jim sold Aegis to Deva Systems Group to create Covisia Solutions. Covisia partners with industry leading firms such as Cisco, Microsoft, Citrix, HP, and many others to deliver best of breed solutions, both on a project basis as well as on a managed service basis.
Currently Jim focuses on Covisia’s managed services and infrastructure as a service (IAAS) offering in the mid-market.
Jim graduated from Dartmouth College in 1983 with a dual major in History and Economics modified with Computer Science.
 David R. James - Managing Partner, Swift River Investments
Dave James is the managing partner of Swift River Investments, a family managed and funded private equity firm based in Bolton, Massachusetts. Swift River invests in partnerships with management teams in high growth, middle market companies.
Prior to Swift River Investments, Dave served in senior operating and finance roles at large and medium-sized companies, and also as an executive in smaller, very high growth firms. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation in senior corporate and operating finance roles. Dave then served as Vice President of Finance for Marcam Corporation, a public provider of ERP software.
From 1997 to 2003, Dave was Chief Financial Officer and then Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for IONA Technologies, a public infrastructure software vendor. Before founding Swift River with his brothers, Dave worked with several private companies, where he focused on financing and managing growth.
Dave is a Director of Tailwind Strategies, Davis Standard and other Swift River Investments portfolio companies, as well as the Federation of Fly Fishers and the Trout and Salmon Foundation. He also is an Advisory Director of Simms Fishing Products.
Dave is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and has an MBA from the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
 Robert J. Potter - CEO Expressor Software
Bob Potter is responsible for expressor software’s business strategy and operating results. He has spent 29 years in the enterprise software industry serving in senior leadership roles at organizations ranging from venture-backed startups to large public companies. Formerly, as CEO of Kalido, Bob established Kalido as the dominant player in adaptive data warehousing and master data management, growing it from $5M to $20M in less than three years. As EVP of Field Operations of enterprise integration company IONA, he led IONA’s growth to more than $180M in sales and a $2B market cap over a multi-year period.
Earlier in his career, as SVP of Sales and Services at Object Design, he played a pivotal role in taking the company public in 1996. Bob also held senior management positions at ICAD and EDS Unigraphics. In addition to his role as CEO of expressor software, he also serves on the boards for Tailwind Strategies, Hamilton Thorne Biosciences, Thorne Diagnostics, and Active Endpoints.
He holds a BS degree in Marketing from Providence College and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.
 Stephen Smith - Vice President, Optas Division of Dendrite International
Stephen Smith is the founder of G3 Games which develops educational games where children challenge each other and are rewarded for great performance by parents and grandparents. He has previously built profitable businesses, both within large firms such as Texas Instruments and Dun & Bradstreet and at start-ups such as Thinking Machines and Optas. These businesses are unique in delivering products that leverage technology for businesses and consumer within a highly disciplined approach to hiring, development and profitability management. He is currently writing his third book on electronic games.
He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from MIT and an MS in Applied Sciences from Harvard University.
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