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Brooks Raiford, President and CEO, NCTA
Brooks Raiford has served as President & CEO of NCTA since 2008. NCTA is the statewide industry association for the tech sector, representing over 700 member companies and organizations that employ over 100,000 North Carolinians.
In the early 1990s, he served as a policy aide in the North Carolina Governor’s Office, where a key focus area was information technology and its impact on a variety of public policy areas. Subsequently, Brooks served as Director of the Independent College Fund of North Carolina, and then President of Leadership North Carolina. Most recently, he was Business Development Director with Balfour Beatty Construction.
Brooks’ current leadership activities include serving on the North Carolina eLearning Commission; the Board of Advisors of North Carolina New Schools; the Board of Directors of the Technology Councils of North America; the North Carolina Advisory Committee of the US Global Leadership Coalition; and President of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State University, where he is a former Student Body President and University Trustee.
Recently, the organization that represents the technology associations across North America named Brooks the 2014 “TechVoice Champion,” the first time an association CEO has received this award for advocacy on behalf of the tech sector.
Brooks’ wife Stephanie is a Principal in the Wake County Public School System, and they have two children, Lauren and Will.
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Geoff Lang, VP & General Manager of Global Technology & Operations, MetLife
Geoff is Vice President and General Manager of MetLife Global Technology and Operations (GTO), a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. As its first employee, Geoff is the ambassador for GTO in Raleigh where MetLife is committed to delivering innovative solutions and infrastructure that help MetLife deliver a world-class customer experience. Geoff is responsible for overall site management, community and university relations, talent recruiting, new hire onboarding, and employee support for GTO Raleigh.
Prior to MetLife, Geoff worked at IBM for 22 years and then at RBC Bank in Raleigh where he was responsible for all information technology of the regional bank. Geoff holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
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Bob Hawkins, VP of North Carolina Operations, EMC Corp.
Bob Hawkins is the Vice President of North Carolina Operations at EMC Corporation, the world leader in products, services and solutions for information storage and management. In this role, he is responsible for strategic s manufacturing plant in Apex, with executive responsibility for the software development facility in RTP and data center / lab in Durham. He is also responsible for developing partnerships with business and education, and is active in NCTA and local Chambers of Commerce.
Mr. Hawkins joined EMC in 2005 with more than 29 years’ experience in high-tech manufacturing. Prior to coming to EMC, Mr. Hawkins held executive positions at Solectron and NCR in manufacturing and information technology. Mr. Hawkins is past chairman of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Technology Association, where he currently serves on the Board. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
