Company

Jim Triandiflou

Jim joined Relias as CEO in 2012. He was previously President and CEO of ServiceCEO, a field service software company with more than 6,000 customers around the world. Prior to ServiceCEO, Jim was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Centive, a sales performance management software company. He also served as COO of Stryker Orthopedics’ largest independent distributor, Surgi-Care. Jim has a BS in Marketing from State University of New York College at Oswego and an MBA from the Arizona State University Carey School of Business, which included coursework at the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird). In December of 2017, he was named Business Person of the Year by the Triangle Business Journal.

Jim is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics of North Carolina, is an Advisory Board member of Band Together, a nonprofit that uses live music as a platform for social change, a member of the Board of Directors of Navex Global, a Portland, OR based provider of ethics and compliance software as well as Dude Solutions, the leading asset management software company. Jim was a “Wish Grantor” for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and he had the privilege of granting six children’s wishes.

Jim trains for marathons between school events for his four children.

Sandhya Gardner

Sandhya serves as Chief Medical Officer of Relias. She joined Relias in December 2016 with the acquisition of Advanced Practice Strategies (APS), a Boston-based healthcare education and technology company where she served as Chief Content Officer. APS has partnered with over 100 major US health systems to improve patient care and outcomes through the delivery of assessment-driven, adaptive learning solutions to physicians and nurses. Using a data-driven approach and innovative solutions designed to reduce variation in practice & improve the reliability of care, the company transformed the way that learning is leveraged in the healthcare space.

Prior to her role at APS, Sandhya was as a practicing physician, specializing in Obstetrics & Gynecology. She worked in private practice in the greater Boston area for over 10 years, serving a diverse population of women of all ages, demographics, and needs. The relationships that she fostered with her patients and the impact that she was able to make on their health remains one of the greatest privileges of her life. Sandhya earned both a BS in Psychology and her M.D. from Brown University. She completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Massachusetts. She is a board-certified physician and Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.

Sandhya spends her free time with her husband and two children. They all share a passion for travel and sports.

Ben Johnson

Ben serves as Chief Product Officer leading product management, engineering, content development, business integration, and the Relias Institute. He joined Relias in March 2012 as VP of Engineering during the company’s formation by Vista Equity Partners. He previously served six years as CIO of Essential Learning, an education technology company that delivered innovative training solutions to behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities agencies. Prior to that, Ben spent 10+ years in a variety of technology and management roles focused primarily on developing EMR and medication management systems. He has more than 20 years of experience in web technologies, product development, and general management for software companies focused on the healthcare and human services markets.

Ben is passionate about using technology to promote lifelong learning that empowers individuals and improves society. He volunteers with the Utah Education Network, Boy Scouts of America, and the Methodist church. Ben graduated summa cum laude from UC Berkeley and holds MS and MBA degrees from Columbia University and the University of Utah.

Daniel Rizer

Daniel joined Relias in June of 2018 serving as the Chief Strategy Officer where he leads strategy, M&A integration, alliances & partnerships, and the eCommerce business. Prior to joining Relias, Daniel was the Chief Strategy Officer at Synchronoss Technologies where he was responsible for corporate strategy, partnerships/alliances strategy, and mergers & acquisitions. Before joining Synchronoss, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Motricity, a Durham-based, VC-backed company that provided value added content services to service providers and media companies as well as powered a number of direct-to-consumer brands. Daniel spent the first 15 years of his career as a high-tech and content/media strategy consultant, which included serving as a Partner at Accenture, KPMG Consulting, and IBM Business Consulting Services.

Daniel holds a BA in Operations Management from Auburn University and an MS in Management Information Systems from Boston University. He is passionate about the application of technology, especially where it enables transformation of traditional industries.

Tina Krebs

Tina serves as Chief People Officer at Relias. Her responsibilities include leading the HR organization, as well as the company’s acquisition integration department. Before joining Relias in August of 2016, Tina was a partner at ScottMadden Management Consultants and led their HR practice, focusing on strategy development and planning as well as comprehensive operational transformation across a variety of industries, including energy, defense and aerospace, technology, automotive, transportation and healthcare. Tina started her career in engineering, where she worked for Shell Oil on international and deepwater oil projects.

Tina serves on the Development Committee of Tammy Lynn Center, a Raleigh-based organization that empowers families and enriches the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities through education, community and support services.

Tina holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Florida State University, and an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, and can be found frequently at volleyball matches and soccer games.

Philipp Rusch

Philipp serves as Chief Financial Officer for Relias. His responsibilities include oversight of the finance, legal, and IT groups. Before joining Relias, Philipp was a Senior Vice President for investments and strategy at Bertelsmann. Previously, Philipp worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and as an investment professional at Allianz Capital Partners. Philipp holds a Master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a joint Master’s degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. An avid sportsman, Philipp and his wife have two young children and live in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Gary Reinersman

Gary serves as Chief Information Officer for Relias where he oversees the development, hosting and scalability of all the Relias applications around the world. He joined Relias in 2013 as the Director of Engineering. Gary has more than 25 years of experience in enterprise software development, hosting, and IT with a focus in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) large scale solutions. He has held technical leadership positions with IBM, Railinc, and Deutsche Bank in business areas such as supply chain management, finance, and security prior to joining Relias.

Gary lives in Cary and enjoys spending time on the water with his two children and getting a round of golf in here and there. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Management of Information Systems from the University of Cincinnati.

Ken Ramirez

Ken joined Relias in November 2018 with the acquisition of OnCourse Learning, where he served as General Manager leading the development and growth of an array of offerings including Nurse.com, ContinuingEducation.com, CE Direct and the Institute for Professional Care Education.  During his nearly 20 years with the organization, Ken led the healthcare division through extensive growth and transformation, navigating his team through the process of being acquired and assimilated four times, as well as orchestrating the strategic acquisition and integration of 5 companies.

Ken’s initial role as VP, Special Programs centers around leveraging his leadership in eCommerce and Acute Care learning to drive successful integration and accelerated growth at Relias.

Ken earned his BA in Marketing and MBA from Azusa Pacific University.  When he’s not working, Ken enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters – ideally traveling, camping or exploring together.

Maria Samot

Maria joined Relias in 2013 as Instructional Design Manager. She has since served as Director of Curriculum Design and is currently Vice President of Content. The Relias Content team uses adult learning principles and best practices to create and improve the asset library of more than 4,000 online courses, webinars, microlearning modules, simulations, and assessments for continuing education, compliance, and professional development. Prior to joining Relias, Maria worked most recently at Georgia State University as Associate Director of the Best Practices Training Initiative. She has spent more than 20 years in education and training, beginning as an international magnet school teacher and later serving as a curriculum specialist and director of a statewide educational non-profit. Relias provides an optimal environment for her to leverage her instructional design skills and love for teaching and learning.

Maria earned a Master’s of Education in Divergent Learning from Columbia College, and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from NC State University. She enjoys family time traveling with her husband and two daughters.

Brian Shannon

Brian joined Relias as Vice President of Sales in September of 2018 after previously serving as VP, Hospital and Health System Sales for Premier Healthcare Alliance for nearly six years. Prior to that he was President of Healthcare Finance Partners, and held various sales roles at Boston Scientific, AT&T and EMC.

Brian was born and raised in Ohio and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. He lived in Chicago, IL for ten years before moving to North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and two children. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball with his kids, relaxing at the pool and vacationing with his family.

Deanna Roepke

Deanna is Managing Director of Relias (UK) Ltd and has been based in London since early 2016. Deanna brings over 20 years of experience engaging people with online learning tools. She most recently served as Vice President of Operations and Business Development at The Breakaway Group, a Xerox Company focused on research-based Healthcare IT adoption using online learning simulation. Previously, Deanna served as Vice President of Allscripts Education Center of Excellence. There she led the creation of the company’s first fully-blended learning Academy, building a complete portfolio of self-paced eLearning courses, virtual instructor-led training, and classroom training for Allscripts’ clients, partners, and employees.

Stefan Herm

Stefan Herm is a global healthcare IT industry expert. Following his role as Managing Director of GSD, a Berlin-based enterprise IT company which developed and implemented international hospital information systems based on SAP technology, he had executive leadership roles at Siemens, McKesson and Nuance. He worked with McKinsey as an external advisor for Healthcare IT and has done consulting in large hospital IT tenders and implementations in the Middle East. He recently worked throughout Central and Eastern Europe with Penta Hospitals International, a large private hospital chain, developing and implementing the IT strategy.

Kate Ling

Kate Ling joined Relias Learning in 2014. Over her tenure at Relias, she has served as an Account Executive for Health & Human Services (HHS), Global Learning and Development Specialist, Retail Sales Manager, and Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific prior to becoming the China General Manager. Before Relias, she founded a successful training center (Blue Eyed English Club) in Xi’an, China focused on helping adult learners develop American business acumen. Her prior roles included Transition Manager, Education Development Manager, Senior Teacher, and Sales and Marketing Manager across the education and RV industry. She brings 15 years of managerial experience, 8 years of experience doing business in China, and a background in education to support Relias Learning’s China operations. She has a B.S. in Business from Excelsior College.

Kate currently volunteers at the Raleigh Boy’s and Girl’s Club, a non-profit after school program that helps enable young people to reach their full potential. Before that she supported fundraising activities for Starfish Foster Home, a non-profit foster care agency that helped at risk children get access to healthcare. When not volunteering or on a plane, you can find Kate rock climbing outdoors or trail running with her dog.