Management Team                                                                                
IRA M. MARKS

Ira Marks has over 36 years of broad business, marketing and technical management experience. His experience spans 14 years of employment at IBM, from managing scientific programming, design and development of Graphics CAD programs and distributed processing systems to Senior Program Manager reporting to IBM's Senior Vice President of Information Systems. He has also chaired numerous IBM inter-divisional task forces to resolve issues in areas of design automation, network security, and preparedness of IBM to manufacture a new computer generations. Experience includes working for IBM Sales & Marketing groups, where he led numerous studies for customers to help them understand and harness the latest Engineering Development Technologies available and help them meet and exceed their mission requirements.

His tenure at IBM is followed with 2 years at Benson, Inc., a printer/plotter and controller company, as Executive Vice President Business Planning and Development. Mr. Marks then founded his own company, Synergy Computer Graphics Corporation, a venture capital financed firm, where he was Executive Vice President and a member of The Board of Directors. The company was sold to Nippon Steel.

In 1986 , Mr. Marks founded Strategic Alternatives, initially providing business and technical consulting to large and small companies. He developed the executive recruiting business as a result of customers needing his assistance to develop new organizations in a very targeted and timely manner.

 
KAREN SAUCIER

Karen joined Strategic Alternatives as executive search consultant in 1997, after working for a Silicon Valley global search firm. She specializes in placing executive management professionals in all functional areas, with a particular focus on enterprise and emerging technologies and services. Karen is instrumental in new business development and strategic planning for the firm.

Karen received her BA in Industrial Arts from San Jose State University. She is an affiliate of the Software Developer’s Forum and the Silicon Valley Association of Software Entrepreneurs (SVASE). She held positions in various tech search firms and has a diverse background involving both corporate and medical sales, marketing and advertising/design.

 
BOB WHITE - Director of Search

Moving through successive technology waves in the Valley from 1970's to high speed broadband and wireless networking, Bob has accrued 28+ years of experience in executive recruiting. He successfully recruits in all functional areas of high technology firms, from individual contributors to Vice Presidents. His industry experience includes being Corporate Staffing Manager at both Advanced Micro Devices, and Atari where he managed ramp up staffing activities. He has successfully built and directed large teams of recruiters.

Expanding on his successes in professional recruitment, Bob personally took on the position of National Sales Manager/founder in a startup.  He built a team of regional sales managers, system engineers, VARs, and reps in the U.S. and Far East markets for both data communications and CAD software products.

With hands-on experience in semiconductor, communications, and software firms, in both recruiting and sales management, Bob brings a clear vision of how teams fit together and operate in profitable high tech enterprises.   A passionate "tekkie", Bob submerges himself in technical materials and business models to effectively engage himself with his clients’ markets, products, and candidates. He brings a unique human resources perspective to his clients having worked both as a provider and a consumer of various recruitment services during his career.