Foundation Staff

Meet the people behind the Open Compute Project.
  1. George Tchaparian

    George Tchaparian

    CEO

    George Tchaparian

    George Tchaparian is a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of industry experience in all corporate levels and functions. George was the longstanding President and CEO of Edgecore Networks Corporation. Most recently, George was a corporate executive focusing on transformative next generation strategies for the Accton Group (Accton Technologies and Edgecore Networks Corporation), and previously a senior vice president of worldwide research & development (R&D). George was also the General Manager for Accton Group's Open Disaggregated Networking Business. George also held senior management positions at Hewlett–Packard Corporation (HP) for more than 25 years, and has served as the Co-Chair of Open Compute Project (OCP) Taiwan regional community for many years and a member of the Open Network Foundation (ONF) board of directors. In 2018, George was recognized as one of "The World's First Top 50 Edge Computing Influencers" (#EDGE50) and in 2019, one of "The World's Most Influential Data Economy Leaders" (#POWER200). 

  2. Raul Alvarez

    Raul Alvarez

    European Market Development Manager

    Raul Alvarez

    Raúl Álvarez is a data center expert and sustainability advocate. He has extensive experience in data center operations and design, especially in high-performance computing and edge computing. He is passionate about bridging the gap between technical and business aspects, and helping the European region achieve its sustainability goals through innovative data center solutions. He is also an active member of the Open Compute community, where he leads a workstream on immersion cooling challenges. He is well aware of the challenges and opportunities of adopting open technologies in the European market, and strives to foster collaboration and innovation to overcome them. He believes in the power of community and technology to make a positive impact on the world. Because of that, he was recently appointed to lead the Open Compute Project EMEA Regional Community.

  3. Zane Ball

    Zane Ball

    Chief Technology Officer

  4. Steven Bates

    Steven Bates

    Chief Information Officer

  5. Allie Bodnar

    Allie Bodnar

    Marketing & Events Manager

  6. Nick Bullock

    Nick Bullock

    Chief Financial Officer

  7. Kali Burdette

    Kali Burdette

    Senior Director of Global Events

  8. Rob Coyle

    Rob Coyle

    Sr. Director of Member Experience

    Rob Coyle

    As a professional, Rob started his career in the aviation industry as a specialist in updating electrical and mechanical aircraft gauges to silicon-based avionics systems. His hands-on experience and technical writing provided a solid foundation in electronic and mechanical systems. Soon after, his focus shifted to electrical infrastructure systems for mission critical facilities. Though Coyle had a passionate hobby in computers in his youth, it was in this role where his passion for Data Centers was really found. For the last 10+ years Coyle has worked exclusively in the data center industry, from edge to hyperscale, in various scopes as a project engineer, sales representative, director and business development manager.

    Rob comes prepared with significant experience as a volunteer within the OCP Community, first joining the Foundation as an individual member in 2018. After his employer, PCX Corp. joined as a corporate member, Coyle was elected to co-lead the OCP Modular Data Center (MDC) subproject, and helped usher the first OCP MDC Design contribution and associated product to the OCP Marketplace. Coyle then took a role as Data Center Facilities Project Co-Lead supporting newly-formed Operational Technology & Security (OTS) and Advanced Cooling Facilities (ACF) sub-projects. After joining Distech Controls, Coyle found alignment in his most recent role as OCP-Ready program co-lead. In 2021 Rob Coyle was presented the OCP Leadership Award in recognition of his support and dedication of the OCP Community. Coyle's most recent focus has been on the launch of Sustainability as the 5th Tennant and supporting the launch of the sustainability teams.

  9. Mark Dansie

    Mark Dansie

    Head of Data Center Facility Programs

  10. Eric Fritsch

    Eric Fritsch

    Controller

  11. Cliff Grossner Ph.D.

    Cliff Grossner Ph.D.

    Chief Innovation Officer

  12. Steve Helvie

    Steve Helvie

    Chief Emerging Ecosystem Officer

  13. Kate Hendle

    Kate Hendle

    Manager of Events

  14. Laura Holst

    Laura Holst

    Operations Coordinator

  15. Andrew Jones

    Andrew Jones

    Member Experience Specialist

  16. James Kelly

    James Kelly

    VP Market Intelligence and Innovation

    James Kelly

    James joined the OCP Foundation staff in 2024 as VP Market Intelligence and Innovation, working with technology leaders in the community and augmenting the foundation’s marketing. His contributions to the OCP proceed from over two decades of experience in technology research, engineering, product management and marketing.

  17. Kevin Kifer

    Kevin Kifer

    Director of IT & Digital Services

  18. Ewa McCurdy

    Ewa McCurdy

    SP Program Manager

  19. Vy Nguyen

    Vy Nguyen

    SP Program Coordinator

  20. Jonae Powers

    Jonae Powers

    Event Coordinator

  21. Alicia Schap

    Alicia Schap

    Community Operations Specialist

  22. Michael Schill

    Michael Schill

    Sr Director of Community

  23. Dirk Van Slyke

    Dirk Van Slyke

    Chief Marketing Officer

  24. Russ Wunderlich

    Russ Wunderlich

    Principal HW Engineer

    Russ Wunderlich

    Russ Wunderlich is an accomplished Electrical Engineer with 30+ years of experience delivering Multi-processor Servers, Workstations, and Laptops. Most recently, Russ was a Senior Principle Engineer at Intel corporation, leading the Platform Architecture Team in the Data Center and Artificial Intelligence Group. In his 27+ years at Intel, he worked on many generations of Intel® XEON® processors and platforms, starting with Deschutes and ending with Intel® XEON® 6 inclusive of Itanium (Merced). Prior to Intel, Russ spent the majority of a decade at Compaq Computer Inc. designing chipsets(MP servers & mobile) as well as Server platforms (SystemPro/SystemProXL/Proliant).

  25. Bill Carter

    Bill Carter

    Fellow Emeritus