In an effort to support our continued growth, we are thrilled to announce the newest additions to our team. These talented individuals are ready to contribute their expertise and dedication to our shared goals and vision. In the coming weeks please join us in welcoming them as they begin their introductions.
Tome (Tommy) Blazevski - Director/Account Development, EMEA
Located in London, Tome will be working on both European-based and North American accounts initially but will focus on EMEA accounts as Couranto UK Ltd grows. With more than seven years of technology delivery experience as well as stakeholder and client management. Tome has a strong track record in diverse sectors including Financial and Technology services and a commitment to excellence. Tome brings strategic leadership and a proven ability to bridge technical and non-technical realms with an aptitude for relationship management. His achievements include major technology deployments and fostering high-performing teams. Tome will join Stephen Phillips' group reporting to the partners, and will be responsible for onboarding, managing and growing the EMEA business by introducing additional services to his assigned accounts. Tome speaks multiple languages including English, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Serbian, and is in his spare time enjoys video games, cricket, football, skiing, cryptocurrency trading and volunteering.
Christa Ferguson - Director/Account Development, North America
Christa is a results-driven and entrepreneurial project management professional with over 15 years of experience leading software as a service, consumer electronics development, and business process improvement projects. Christa will be responsible for onboarding, managing and introducing additional services to her assigned accounts located primarily in North America, and will report to the partners. Christa is known for delivering creative solutions, fostering effective team alignment, and successfully driving projects to completion, virtually, since 2016. She has a BSEE from THE Ohio State University and an MBA from Babson College and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) having worked for Dell and Apple. Christa is married with a 1.5 year old son who loves to play chase! She and her family enjoy hiking, biking, traveling, movies, flying, college basketball and football. In her free time Christa enjoys cooking, baking and trying new things - most recently, she dragged her husband into a curling lesson.
Jonida Xhema - Project Manager
Jonida has more than seven years of project management experience, focusing on task coordination, team communication, and task prioritization. She is driven by results and develops detailed processes to achieve goals. Jonida has an MSc in Management and Economics and an MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She has managed teams of different sizes, with up to 50 employees in her department. Jonida is an analytical person who uses data to compare and track KPIs and is a proactive person who always focuses on process improvements.
Michael Orsley - Director/License Management
Mike will be working with Nick Collison and Karen Johnels on both European and North American accounts. With more than 25 years of Licensed Content Management experience at major financial institutions and consulting organizations, Mike has worked closely with multiple stakeholders and budget managers as well as publishers and data vendors. Mike has optimized information portfolios, negotiated vendor cost structures, managed license contracts and vendor databases, and in general successfully sourced, negotiated and solved vendor problems for Fortune 500 companies globally. Introduced to us by Stephen Phillips, Mike will join Nick's group reporting to the partners through David Rifkin, Chief Client Officer, and will be responsible for working with Library and Information Professional clients.
