SIMON WHITE, TOCFC™ 

Simon White works for BAE Systems Australia as Manager of Project Controls. His current role is to ‘Deliver Reliable and Repeatable Project Control’ across a multi-billion dollar portfolio of +220 defense projects, spread over Air, Maritime and Software/Cyber domains. He was part of a successful application of CCPM to an Aerospace MRO environment, and this has been shared widely within the BAE business globally, as well as via TOCICO Global Conference, CCPM Global Conference, Project Control Expo UK and Aus, and more.

He is working to improve the application of Systems Thinking and the Buffer Management methodology internally within his organization, putting the ‘Systems’ in BAE Systems. By striving to be a leading light within his existing employer, he hopes to drive behavioral change across defense industry, helping us all to achieve more with less, achieving our goals AND reducing our environmental and financial impacts.

He enjoys developing educational and practical tools that have Systems Thinking and Buffer Management built into them.

DEMI ANDERSON

Demi Anderson is an enterprise transformation leader with over 30 years of global experience in project, program, and portfolio delivery across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Africa.

She has built and led high-performing PMOs that drive measurable value, top-line growth, and bottom-line efficiency - including regulator-approved practices in Australia. Her career spans industries such as Banking, Finance, Insurance, Trading, Oil & Gas, and Technology, where she has delivered multi-region transformations, operational excellence, and strategic alignment across portfolios exceeding hundreds of millions in capital investments.

As the Founder of The PMO Advantage, Demi champions the integration of Theory of Constraints principles within Enterprise PMO disciplines, helping organizations unlock scalable growth by focusing on flow, constraint removal, and value creation.

She also serves as a Judge for the PMO Global Alliance Awards (2024–2025), mentors emerging leaders through The PMO Leader program, and contributes to global thought leadership as an author and speaker. Demi brings to the TOCICO Board a passion for bridging the TOC and PMO communities to advance the practical application of TOC in how organizations deliver outcomes and realize value.

DR ALAN BARNARD, TOCIC™, Goldratt Research Labs

Dr. Alan Barnard is a leading decision scientist and Theory of Constraints (TOC) expert with almost 20 years of experience working directly with Dr. Eli Goldratt, the creator of TOC. As the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs (USA), Alan focuses on using advanced technologies and decision sciences to develop Apps and Decision Support methods, enabling organizations to achieve more with less time. Under his leadership, Goldratt Research Labs has collaborated on innovation and research projects with renowned Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Cargill, BHP, Tata Steel, Amazon, and others, along with public sector organizations like Utah Governor's Office and UN WFP. Alan has held prominent roles in various organizations, including past-President of the South African Supply Chain Society SAPICS and past-President of TOCICO. His significant contributions have been recognized through prestigious awards, including inclusion in the 2020 Marquis Who's Who Global Listing, membership in the Forbes Technology Council, and the TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award. He is an accomplished author and frequent presenter on Decision Making in a Complex World and Theory of Constraints at international conferences.

DR LISA FERGUSON, TOCIC™, Founder/Owner Illuminutopia

Dr. Lisa Ferguson's goal in life is to illuminate the way to utopia for individuals, organizations, and the rest of society. Our strategies and tactics are based on using the Theory of Constraints (TOC), combined with other best practices to dramatically improve strategic planning and execution, retail, education, healthcare and the health/happiness/success of individuals with a holistic approach. TOC was founded by Dr. Eli Goldratt to achieve his goal in life of teaching the world to think. For a decade, Dr. Ferguson was a full-time professor of operations management before resigning to teach for The Goldratt Group full-time training consultants (both TOC experts and Supply Chain Logistics implementers). Next, Dr. Lisa Ferguson spent a year (2007 – 2008) working as the apprentice to best-selling author and business guru, Eliyahu M. Goldratt as he trained her to become an even more successful writer and speaker, while further developing her TOC expertise. Her service on the TOCICO Board of Directors in an elected, unpaid position is from 2008 – 2011 and 2020 – 2021. Professor Ferguson is the author of the chapter on Strategy and Tactic Trees in The Theory of Constraints Handbook. Dr. Ferguson began teaching online classes for Illuminutopia in 2010. She is a published author (as well as an editor) and consultant with experience guiding Fortune 100 companies down through small businesses.

ALEJANDRO FERNANDEZ, TOCIC™

IAN GILLOTT

ANDREW KAY, TOCPC™, Founder/Owner TOC3 Pty Ltd & Director of TOC for Education Australia

Recognized in Australia as a leading TOC Practitioner, Andrew is the founder of an independent boutique TOC consulting firm TOC3 Pty Limited based in Sydney, serving the Asia Pacific.

With a TOC career spanning nearly 20 years, Andrew has delivered and helped deliver over 85 successful TOC implementations across a multitude of industry sectors in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and the USA. Andrew brings a depth of TOC knowledge and implementation experience in guiding organizations to systematically and rapidly achieve their goals Andrew is proficient in all TOC application solution areas including the Logical Thinking Process Tools. He specializes in rapid and visual implementation methods.

Andrew partners with world-class practitioners and is actively engaged in the International TOC Community. He has commenced sharing his experiences and insights through several case studies at TOCICO and other international TOC Conferences.

Andrew is also the Director of TOC for Education Australia working to introduce the TOCFE thinking tools to schools and communities and wishes he could do more.

Andrew is passionate about TOC and what it can deliver to the world.

Before his TOC career, Andrew served as a scientific-systems based professional in strategic planning for Sydney City and the Blue Mountains Region. A pioneer in Integrated Local Government Geographic Information Systems, Andrew held senior management roles in Government Corporate Strategy and Business Planning and later for 5 years, in the private sector with Business Improvement Consulting with clients such as The Sydney Opera House, Phillips, Canberra Hospital, A V Jennings, and Perrigrin Semi-Conductor. In between he helped establish and run Australia's first micro-finance operation based on the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.

Andrew holds a BSc Hons in Applied Science (dual major/Magna Cum Laude) from the University NSW, a post-graduate MBA from Macquarie University, and he is certified by TOCICO, and is a qualified Jonah+ and CCPM IC3PM instructor.

VAL KING, CEO of Whitehat Virtual Technologies and Ascent-Portal.com

Whitehat Virtual Technologies is a nationally ranked top 100 technology services provider serving clients in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, specializing in security, compliance, desktop virtualization, cloud, hosting, and managed IT services.

The Ascent Security Compliance Portal is a secure, real-time, collaborative web-based platform helping SMB organizations manage their Governance, Risk, and Compliance risk across 50+ frameworks of controls, including HIPAA, HITECH, NIST, ISO 27001, etc. Modules include: Assessment & Compliance, Governance, Risk Assessments, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, Vendor Management, Audit Management, Security, Training, and Reporting.

As CEO of Whitehat Virtual Technologies, founded in 2012, and Ascent Portal, founded in 2015, Val is responsible for day-to-day operations and leading product development and Technology strategy.

Val consults with client leadership teams outside of day-to-day operations to help them understand and manage IT from the C-Suite, secure their organizations, and extract maximum value from their IT investment.

Val embraces an unconventional approach towards IT Operations, prioritizing user experience over infrastructural excellence as the key IT operations benchmark. In today's fractured cybersecurity landscape, Val stands apart, advocating for collective action over solitary pursuits. Val states that isolated investments in security by individual companies are not sufficient to ward off advanced, organized cybercrime organizations. Val lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, and father of two daughters.

Val King has 25 years of experience in technology, compliance, and security, all in regulated industries, particularly in financial services and healthcare. V al has served as the Virtual Chief Information Technology Officer for both a Regional Bank  (2017-2023) and a Regional Hospital System (2014-2019). Val King's reputation extends beyond his business accolades. As a speaker, his insights, distilled from years of firsthand experience, offer a unique window into the opportunities and trials of the digital age. His engagements span numerous conferences and workshops, providing audiences with actionable knowledge and an enriched understanding of IT and security's evolving landscape.

Val frequently speaks on topics including:

• Establishing Functional Hybrid/Work-from-Home Strategies
• Managing Cybersecurity Risk & Building Resilient Cybersecurity Programs
• C-Suite Oversight and Responsibility with Cybersecurity
• Simplifying IT Management for the C-Suite
• Servant Leadership

DR DANILO SIRIAS, TOCIC™

Dr Sirias has a master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from The University of Memphis. He is also a certified Critical Chain Project Manager, TOCFE trainer, and TOCICO Thinking Process Implementer. Dr Sirias is currently a Professor in the Department of Management and Marketing at Saginaw Valley State University. Dr Sirias’ research interests include how the Theory of Constraints can improve patient flow in Emergency Departments, Inpatient Units, Operating Rooms, and Outpatient Clinics. He is co-author of the book: Smash the Bottleneck: Fixing Patient Flow for Better Care. In 2019, he was selected Practitioner of the Year by the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization (TOCICO) for his work in education. In 2022, Dr. Sirias received a $245,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to apply the Theory of Constraints to improve access to behavioral health clinics. In addition to his professional activities, Dr Sirias is a former chess Olympiad.

ROCCO SURACE, TOCIC™

Rocco Surace, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFF, CGMA, Jonah, is a partner with The Bonadio Group. His client services are focused on TOC Based process improvement services, succession planning, financial and tax due diligence in acquisitions and divestitures, and holistically based process improvement services.

Rocco's skills have been developed as a result of hands on training and leading projects with and for some of the world leaders. His formal education and training has included: Jonah designation from the Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute, Certifications in TOC Disciplines from the TOC International Certification Organization, Process based cost management with the concept developers of Activity Based Costing, and Business Processed Based Re-Engineering through training with Dr. Michael Hammer obtaining his Certificate of Mastery in Re-Engineering.

Rocco is past Chairperson of the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization. He considers himself very fortunate to have learned directly from Dr. Eli Goldratt, the father of TOC. He served as North American Regional Director for Goldratt Consulting from 2004 to 2006.

DANIEL WALSH, TOCIC™

Daniel Walsh is a sought-after lecturer, coach, strategic thinker and is a trusted advisor to many senior corporate executives, is currently a member of numerous corporate boards. In addition, he is co-founder of Exepron©, an advanced EPPM SaaS solution based on Critical Chain methodology. His current efforts are focusing on developing synchronous enterprise value chain solutions in multiple industry sectors. His research and development are centered on identifying the need to identify and leverage the strategic constraints of the enterprise, which is the key to increasing throughput. This culminated in the development of the Integrated Enterprise Scheduling®, (IES®) solution engine. Initial empirical results from deploying the IES® in a dozen large companies over a five-year period have been very promising. Many executives and thought leaders are convinced this may very well be the unified scheduling solution required for maximizing the profit of an enterprise-wide value chain. The IES approach was chronicled when he co-authored The TOC Handbook, the seminal Theory of Constraints reference textbook.