Gerald W. Shields is senior vice president and chief information officer for Aflac Incorporated. He oversees all aspects of Aflac’s U.S. Information Technology division. Mr. Shields also is responsible for the division’s project management and customer relationship management efforts. During Gerald’s tenure, Computerworld and Information Week 500 have consistently named Aflac as one of the “Best Places to Work in IT.” He was also selected as one of Computerworld’s 100 Premier CIOs for 2006, 2008 and again in 2009. In 2007, he was honored as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders. In 2010, Gerald was the subject of Insurance & Technology magazine’s March cover story under the headline of The Greatest of Ease, for the development of Aflac’s technology strategy to help field agents conduct sales. Prior to joining Aflac in 2002 as vice president, Information Technology-Enterprises Services, Gerald held senior IT positions at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and served as the chief technology officer, director of Information Services for LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tenn. He was promoted to his current position in July 2005. He serves on the Muscogee County School District’s Community Technology Advisory Council, as well as, being a member of the inaugural governing body for the Atlanta CIO Executive Summit, and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute. Less   View all posts

Peter Ostrow is the Research Director for the Sales Effectiveness practice at the Aberdeen Group, a leading provider of fact-based research focused on the global technology-driven value chain. Peter has been focused on sales and marketing best practices for 25 years, beginning with a long-time stint at advertising firm JWG Associates. As JWG’s third employee, he participated in every aspect of the company’s sales growth, from $1M to $135M, until its acquisition by Monster Worldwide’s TMP AdComms division. Here, Ostrow deployed additional CRM, pipeline management, lead generation and competitive intelligence practices as VP, Global Sales Administration. He then spent five years as VP, Business Development with MarketOne International, a global provider of lead lifecycle management services to technology sales and marketing executives. At Aberdeen, Peter leads the Sales Effectiveness practice, covering the technology, service and consulting enablers that enterprise sales forces deploy to become best-in-class organizations. His research is widely publicized and covers topics such as sales training, sales intelligence, CRM/SFA, sales performance management and integrating technologies around customer acquisition and retention. Less   View all posts