The Fresche Leadership Team

Chief HR Officer

Through 20 years of experience within the Human Resources and Organizational Development field, Mathieu has held several positions covering change management, employee engagement, succession planning, strategy facilitation and organization design.

Joining Fresche Solutions provided Mathieu with the utmost opportunity to contribute to the company’s evolution by combining his vast range of expertise and bringing a dynamism to the newly founded team of our Center of Excellence. This division blends in all aspects of organizational development from HR to training, change management, business transformation and process alignment on a global scale.

In an effort to redefine the organization’s needs and talent requirements, Mathieu is a dynamic leader looking to consistently improve on the quality of our management as well as the employee engagement level across all global units and teams.

He insists on focusing on the human aspect of the company as a primary foundation to the organization’s success.

Outside of his busy schedule, Mathieu is an artist who likes to paint, and believe it or not, his hobbies even include shoe shopping. As a former ski teacher, Mathieu misses the days where he taught lessons in the beautiful Laurentians region. He says that his comeback as a ski teacher may very well be part of his retirement plan!

Chief Technology Officer

As CTO of Fresche Solutions, John Clark helps Fresche remain technologically sustainable through innovation, optimization of processes, analysis of market trends and implementation of security procedures. Throughout his career, John has developed significant expertise leading commercial software development organizations that sell and support packaged and cloud-based applications in addition to modernization solutions.

John has had numerous roles at Fresche and at The Quadrant Group (acquired by Fresche in 2016). He has been responsible for software development, professional services, IT, support and education. Before joining Fresche, John was the director of application architecture at Orchard Brands, a leader in multi-channel marketing, where he helped consolidate three major brands into enterprise order management systems. He also co-founded and operated a successful software consulting business for over 10 years and has extensive experience in rail and logistics transportation applications.

John has a degree in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He participates in long distance relay races, mud runs, and is treasurer for his local Boy Scout troop.

Chief Financial Officer

Nick Cristiano is Chief Financial Officer of Fresche Solutions Inc., where he is responsible for financial planning, analysis, risk management and leading Fresche’s merger & acquisition initiatives. He also assists on corporate strategy where it relates to finance as Fresche Solutions continues its aggressive growth pattern. His entire career has been dedicated to building, leading, and advising companies through high growth markets, complex operational finance activities, and mergers & acquisitions.

Nick has resumed his role as Fresche’s Chief Financial Officer, having already helped the company engineer a corporate buy-out in 2010 before leaving to take on CFO duties at Nakisa and then Hyduke Energy Services. Earlier, he was CFO at Steeplejack Industrial Group Inc., and CFO and Secretary Treasurer of Speedware Corporation Inc.(aka: Fresche Solutions).

With over 20 years of experience in operations and financial management, Nick is a Chartered Public Accountant with a B. Comm. in accountancy from Concordia University.

Chief Revenue Officer

As Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff provides guidance to Sales, Marketing, R&D and PSO to ensure a coordinated and successful go-to-market effort. His extensive experience in the software industry has been integral to Fresche’s growth over the years and its ability to maintain high profitability. With his ability to nurture and grow key partnerships and other industry relationships, Jeff continues to expand the company’s footprint globally.

Prior to his position as CRO, Jeff was Vice President of Sales at Fresche. Previous to joining Fresche, he was Partner & VP of Sales for The Quadrant Group, a position he also held at SoftBase. Through multiple mergers and acquisitions, Jeff has gained years of experience in creating strategic visions for growth

Jeff has a B.Sc in Business Administration, major in Computer Information Systems from Western Carolina University. Outside of work, Jeff spends every minute he can with his wife and two sons enjoying life. He also enjoys hiking, camping, and golfing.

Chief Services Officer &
GM, Transformation

As Chief Services Officer & GM, Transformation, Marcel is responsible for overseeing Fresche products from conception to market, and is also tasked with innovating for the future. A keen proponent of modernization and digital transformation, he coordinates with R&D, Sales and Marketing to ensure that the evolving needs of Fresche’s diverse customer base are being met.Prior to his current role, Marcel was the Chief Product Officer. Marcel came to Fresche Solutions as part of the Quadrant Software and BCD acquisition where he was the VP of Marketing and Business Development. He adds a deep understanding of the IBM i market to the executive team from his 21+ years in the midrange market.Marcel filled many roles with BCD, including Product Manager, Technical Support Manager and Trainer and uses that experience to help ensure we are delivering value to our clients.He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree with a double major in MIS and marketing from the University of Manitoba. He coaches soccer and enjoys playing hockey and mountain biking.

Director of Finance

As director of finance , Nicolas Trudeau brings to the company deep knowledge of audit processes and financial best practices. With over ten years’ experience in finance, including six years in financial audit at Raymond, Chabot, Grant, Thornton, Mr. Trudeau has achieved senior finance positions early in his career due to his exceptional ability to combine and expertly align finance and business concerns. He has built the current finance team to raise overall performance and service value to the business. Most recently, Mr. Trudeau has been one of the guiding forces that has seen Fresche maintain stability throughout the challenging 2020 Covid-19 crisis.

An experienced team leader and seasoned communicator, Mr. Trudeau has a Bachelor’s degree in Administration (BAA) and a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Professional Accountancy (DESS) from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC Montreal). He also holds CPA and CA certifications.

President and Chief Executive Officer

With over 30 years of experience in IT and more than 20 with IBM Power Systems IBM i, Stephen Woodard guides Fresche Solutions as President and CEO. His role is to lead Fresche as it grows from its established position as an IBM i specialist into a premier global IT modernization and digital transformation organization. Stephen has been with Fresche twice now, having already helped oversee the merger with The Quadrant Group, after which he held the position of CRO at Fresche, before moving on to become CEO at Entuity.

Stephen has held numerous executive positions, including ten years with the companies in The Quadrant Group. Prior to Quadrant, Stephen was North American President at Ultimus after serving as VP and Product Line Executive at Citrix.

The key to Stephen’s success is his ability to identify and leverage organizational strengths—people, technology, competitive market position—to increase market presence and drive sales growth and profitability. He is particularly adept at nurturing relationships with international business partners, channels, and cultures, having lived in Tokyo and established effective sales and support offices throughout APAC and EMEA.

Stephen sees the enormous value inherent in Fresche’s position as an experienced IBM i vendor and digital transformation specialist. He believes that Fresche has only just begun its growth in a field that has almost unlimited potential.

General Manager of Digital Solutions

Pete Czornohus is the GM of Digital Solutions at Fresche. He started his career in 1983 as a systems admin and RPG programmer on a System/34. He also spent 10 years at IBM in Consulting, Hosting, and Cloud Computing. Pete currently specializes in helping customers enhance, extend, integrate and modernize their IT & IBM i systems.

General Manager of Cloud Services

Thomas Harris is General Manager for Fresche’s Cloud Solutions where he is responsible for the global operations of the unit. He oversees service delivery, data center operations, project management, and operational support. He works closely with IBM i customers and is a recognized expert in building process-oriented service delivery solutions.

General Counsel

Amy Khoury is the General Counsel for Fresche and responsible for overseeing all the legal needs of the company. She obtained her Civil Law degree as well as her Juris Doctor from the Université de Montréal. Khoury completed her legal articling in a Canadian national law firm and practices principally in corporate and business law. At Fresche, she participates in the negotiation and management of various commercial agreements and is called upon to develop & administer standardized contractual tools and processes. She is responsible for the legal management and monitoring of certain transactions across Canada, the United States and Europe as well as liaising with external counsel in various jurisdictions.

Khoury also advises clients on funding and development matters in the entertainment, media, and technology industries and has developed a legal expertise in the field of cinematic VR and emerging tech.

VP Marketing

Christine McDowell is a driving force in the world of IT. With over three decades of experience in the industry, Christine has a wealth of knowledge and insight that she brings to her role as Vice President of Corporate Marketing & Business Development at Fresche Solutions. She is a strong leader with a proven track record of growth, and is known for her ability to develop successful industry relationships. Above all, Christine is dedicated to ensuring customer success in everything we do at Fresche Solutions.