executive biographies
Tom Mrva
Chief Executive Officer
Founder of Lighthouse Computer Services, Tom Mrva has over twenty years experience designing and implementing technology solutions for major US companies. His extensive background includes technical consulting, system design and implementation, and post installation support.
Tom spent thirteen years at IBM in development and technical marketing support roles. While at IBM, Tom worked as an applications programmer, mainframe developer, and senior systems engineer consultant. In fact, Tom was named the youngest senior systems engineer in New England during his tenure at IBM.
Deciding that he wanted more control of his own destiny, Tom left IBM and founded Lighthouse Computer Services in 1995. His vision was to be New England’s most technically skilled computer services organization providing high availability solutions for information systems.
A graduate of SUNY in Delhi, New York, and the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, Tom holds a degree in Computer Science.
Ernie Yenke
President
Ernie, was promoted to the role of President in December 2008. He has a proven record of growing successful startups, as well as stimulating double-digit growth for industry giant IBM. Adept at developing and implementing innovative processes, he has consistently increased revenues while reducing expenses. Ernie has extensive experience in service, sales and support for the computer hardware, software and Information Technology industries.
Prior to Lighthouse, Ernie was recruited to run the startup IT services company, Brave River Solutions. Not only did he achieve revenue targets in year one, he grew revenues 350% in year two, and 300% in year three. He also demonstrated his operations acumen early in his career by successfully re-engineering the general business market at IBM, a segment responsible for $500 million in revenue.
While at IBM, Ernie participated in the IBM President’s Class, as well as IBM’s Executive Education Program conducted by Harvard. He received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
Ed Cabral
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ed has been with LCS since 2001 and has held several strategic roles during his tenure. In his new role as Sr. VP and COO, Ed has overall responsibility for the organization’s administrative functions including IT, Accounting, Operations, Services Administration and HR. As an integral member of the Executive Team, Ed works to develop and articulate the business strategy, implement new processes and approaches to support goal achievement, measure and evaluate organizational progress and provide internal leadership.
Prior to LCS, Ed was the Director of Information Technology for Providence Gas, where he worked for over a decade. While at Providence Gas, Ed progressed through the ranks ultimately responsible for managing a capitol budget of $21 Million to forcast and an operating budget of $6 Million, and oversaw a staff of 45 all while implementing 2 large technical projects simultaneously - a $10 Million Customer Information System and a $3 Million ERP System.
Ed holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Systems from Roger Williams University.
Michael A. Mespelli
Vice President, Services and Software
As Vice President, Services for Lighthouse Computer Services, Mike manages the strategies and direction of our Professional Services and Software Groups. He oversees the day to day operations, with a focus on customer satisfaction for our Enterprise Content Management, Enterprise Security Solutions/Gateway, Infrastructure Services and WebSphere teams. Mike works to grow software and services deliverables to meet customer demand and ensure industry standards. In addition, he strategically plans for the future needs of our customers, company and industry through the use of customer feedback as well as input from engineers and senior management.
With over twenty-three years of experience in Sales, Technical Sales, Support, Consulting and Information Technology, Mike has a thorough understanding of numerous industries including retail, insurance, banking, financial and manufacturing verticals. He also brings to our team a deep knowledge of the Information Technology landscape including IBM’s Information Management and Content Management family of products and a good understanding of all five brands within IBM’s software group.
Prior to joining Lighthouse Computer Services. in November, 2007, Mike spent thirteen years with IBM where he led a variety of Technical Sales and Support teams. He was the Technical Sales Business Unit Executive for New England/UNY where he led a team of 70 Technical Sales professionals, Architects and Managers across all software brands for IBM Software group providing leadership and business direction for all aspects of Technical Sales for a $380 Million software business.
Kellie-Ann Heenan
Director of Human Resources
Kellie-Ann Heenan, our Director of Human Resources, joined Lighthouse Computer Services in September 1999. Following the “try before you buy” mentality, Kellie started her career at LCS as an independent contractor creating a strong structural foundation for the management of our human capital. In 2003, Kellie transitioned to regular employment where she continued to develop programs and initiatives to attract, retain and motivate our employees. In recognition of her ability to create programs that support LCS values and corporate philosophy, Kellie was promoted to Director of Human Resources in 2008.
Since joining LCS more than a decade ago, Kellie has assisted LCS in growing the company from 25 employees to over 80 today. With a focus on fostering our “inch wide, mile deep” philosophy she has been instrumental in structuring our practice areas, integrating new organizations, and leveraging talent throughout all areas of the company.
Kellie is a graduate of Stonehill College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In 2007 Kellie earned a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification, one of the highest honors an HR professional can earn to demonstrate mastery of the human resource body of knowledge. Much of her experience was obtain working with start-ups or high-growth organizations. Kellie has developed knowledge and experience in a number of industries including healthcare, event management, technology, consulting services, non-profit, financial, manufacturing and education. Kellie is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the ISDA committee for the Tech Collective.