State Info Center
Please select a state from the menu to find online services, contacts, web site addresses.
Executive Bios
Robert A. Nero
President & Chief Executive Officer
As president and chief executive officer of Sircon Corporation, Bob Nero carries primary responsibility for ensuring customer satisfaction, building strong partner relationships and delivering comprehensive solutions for both the insurance industry and state regulators.
With more than 20 years experience as president of several public and private information technology companies and three decades of work in the arenas of software services and e-commerce, Mr. Nero is one of the IT sector's most knowledgeable chief executives. Mr. Nero was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Lansing Business Monthly and Sircon Corporation was named one of the Michigan 50 companies to watch by the Edward Lowe Foundation in 2007. Ernst & Young also named Mr. Nero a Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 2000, 2005 and 2007.
His background includes his position as president and CEO of Interface Systems, a software provider based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he transformed a low-growth publicly held company into the leading provider of Internet-based applications for online statement delivery in the financial services industry. As president and CEO of Bell & Howell Publication Systems in Cleveland, Mr. Nero grew the company's revenue from $73 million to $103 million in two years.
He also served in top positions with Legent Corp., Boole & Babbage, Lexis/Nexis and ADP Network Services. He is a member of the board of advisors to Edinboro (PA) University School of Business and a member of Ele’s Place Lansing Community Board, a non-profit organization that supports grieving children and their families.
Mr. Nero holds a master's degree in mathematical statistics from Michigan State and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Dayton. Additionally, he completed course work at Wright State University through its MBA program.
Gary Gummig
Vice President of Government Affairs & Business Development
Gary Gummig has helped lead the technology revolution within the insurance industry that championed the automation of processes involving carriers and state regulatory bodies. As vice president of e-Government, Mr. Gummig interacts extensively with state insurance bodies in developing new products and extending the capabilities of current Sircon offerings.
Mr. Gummig has more than 18 years of experience in information technology operations relating to government compliance. Before joining Sircon in 2002, Mr. Gummig was chief information officer with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in Kansas City, Mo. He served as director of the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), a non-profit arm of the NAIC. With NIPR, Mr. Gummig established national standards for the insurance industry for regulatory reporting. He played a key role in development of the Producer Database, capturing data from more than 5,000 insurance companies with information on 3.3 million insurance agents for use by regulators. Earlier, Mr. Gummig served as senior internal auditor for Business Men's Assurance Co. of Kansas City.
Mr. Gummig earned a Bachelor of Science degree, Business Administration in accounting from Missouri Western State College and has completed the Kansas University joint Mini MBA program with Wichita State University.
Stan Starkey
Vice President of Sales
Stanley Starkey has been a top-level sales and operations executive in the software industry for more than a quarter century. As vice president of sales for Sircon, Mr. Starkey is responsible for designing and implementing sales plans for Sircon products, including the number-one enterprise solution, Sircon for Carriers.
Mr. Starkey joined Sircon in 2006 after serving as vice president for sales and business development of Workforce Software, Inc. in Livonia, Mich. There, he built a North American sales force, nearly doubled the number of new customers and led a 55-percent growth in revenue. Earlier, he headed his own information-technology sales, consulting and training firm, Starkey & Associates, LLC. Previously Mr. Starkey was senior vice president of field operations for Comshare, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., carrying worldwide P&L responsibility. He also served at Comshare as vice president of sales, North America and in top regional sales positions. During his tenure as vice president of sales, North America, for Gentia Software, Inc. of Wimbledon, England, he grew the software firm's license fees by 65 percent.
Mr. Starkey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH, and pursued MBA courses at the University of Dayton.
Brian Niemiec
Vice President of Operations
Brian Niemiec brings over 20 years of operations and professional services experience to Sircon. As vice president of operations, Mr. Niemiec is responsible for managing three departments: Professional Services, Client Services and Network Operations.
In his role, Mr. Niemiec is responsible for enhancing all aspects of Sircon's customer experience after the sale to drive high levels of customer satisfaction.
Prior to joining Sircon, Mr. Niemiec was vice president of professional services for Tumbleweed in Redwood City, Calif., a provider of secure Internet messaging software, running its 60 person nationwide team serving Fortune 500 customers with engagements valued at $200k or more. Brian has served in a variety of executive roles for technology companies including Xenaga, Interface Systems, and TechTeam Global.
Scott Morrison
Vice President of Marketing
Scott Morrison brings over 20 years of marketing and product management experience to Sircon. As vice president of marketing, Mr. Morrison is responsible for managing the company's branding, communications, marketing programs and product marketing.
Prior to joining Sircon, Mr. Morrison served as worldwide director of marketing for Agilisys, Inc. (now Infor) where he supported the growth of their largest business unit from $20M to $170M through acquisitions and organic growth from marketing programs and a customer-focused approach to product strategy. Prior to Agilisys, Mr. Morrison has held a number of executive and management positions for software and technology companies including Future Three Software, MSI, Epicor Software and Accenture.
Mr. Morrison is a frequent contributor to industry articles and was the recipient of the 2006 Platinum Award by the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) for outstanding achievements in marketing. Mr. Morrison received his bachelor’s degree in business with honors from the University of Notre Dame, where he has also served as a Board member and appeared as guest speaker.
Tim Owen
Vice President of Product Management
As vice president of product management, Owen's responsibilities include product management, market segmentation analysis, definition of product requirements, and looking for growth opportunities for Sircon.
Owen joined Sircon in 1997 as a product development manager, and was responsible for leading the development of Sircon's early compliance solutions for insurance carriers and state regulators. Owen also served as a sales engineer and has been involved directly in the sale and support of Sircon’s products for more than 200 carriers and agencies over his decade-long career.
Before joining Sircon, Owen was vice president of Web services for Polyphasic, Inc. and a manager for Ernst & Young, LLP, where he headed the migration of a foreign-exchange trading system for a global banking group.
Owen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics, economics and electronics from Ferris State University and gained product management certification from Pragmatic Marketing. He represents Sircon as a member of ACORD, a non-profit organization that promotes standards for the insurance industry, and with the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation, a Sircon business partner.