top of page

We Solve Business Challenges through Innovative Technology

Decades before data and technology became core business assets and digital transformation a strategic priority, Innovative Systems was pioneering ways to help decision makers turn vast amounts of information into insights.

Trusted by the World's Leading Organizations

American-Red-Cross-WHITE.png
Canada-Life-WHITE.png
China-Construction-Bank-WHITE.png
CVS-WHITE.png
EBanx-WHITE.png
Interchange-Currency-WHITE.png
SAXO-Bank-WHITE.png
Scotia-Bank-WHITE.png
Station-Casino-WHITE.png
United-States-Steel-WHITE.png
Verizon-WHITE.png
Volvo-WHITE.png
hands-computer.png

Innovative Systems at a Glance

Innovative Systems was founded in the 1960s with a revolutionary idea: combining accurate data with technology that can effectively interpret it can have a positive impact. This was true in the 1970s when our early technology was used in politics—and it’s true today for our global customers who rely on us for our innovation, speed, and accuracy.

 

We're an organization that values continuous innovation and quality—first with our data solutions PostLocate and Enlighten and then with our AML compliance solution FinScan.

 

While competitors have arisen through the years, nobody else has the longevity, vision, and personal approach that we do.

 

This is exemplified through the numerous industry awards and recognition we have received, the scope and scale of our customers, and perhaps most importantly, the 90+% customer retention rate we continue to earn year over year. Because in technology, you don't stay in business for 50+ years by sticking with old ideas.

Board of Directors

Robert J. Colonna
Chairman of the Board President and CEO
Pittsburgh, PA USA

Bob Colonna is the president and founder of Innovative Systems. He was the principal designer of Innovative’s data cleansing, matching, and marketing database software. Bob’s interest in computational linguistics is an outgrowth of his time in the military, where he attended French and German language schools. This language experience coupled with his degrees in mathematics and management science provided him with the training to develop Innovative’s leading-edge technology. Mr. Colonna holds BA in mathematics and BS in Engineering Mechanics degrees from Lehigh University and an MBA in Statistics/Operations Research from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Joseph Fairbanks, Jr.

Innovative Systems Board Member

Pittsburgh, PA USA

Joseph Fairbanks has more than 30 years’ experience as a sales and business executive, building and leading successful sales and field operations organizations. He began his career with IBM in Philadelphia, where he spent 12 years and held various sales and sales leadership positions. His most recent position was as Global Sales, Support, and Services exec for the industry-leading engineering simulation software company, ANSYS, Inc. He is also a veteran of the US Navy where he served for eight years. Mr. Fairbanks is on the board of two veteran-focused nonprofits: Hire Our Heroes, a national organization focused on enabling successful career transition to private sector, and Veterans Place, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit focused on assisting homeless veterans in the area. Mr. Fairbanks holds a degree in Computer Science from West Chester University.

John M. Schiller

Innovative Systems Board Member

Pittsburgh, PA USA

John M. Schiller’s 40-year career as a software industry executive has focused on strategic alliances and sales. He began as an intern at Innovative Systems and later as vice president of sales, drove Innovative Systems’ initial growth in the financial services industry. After Innovative Systems, Mr. Schiller served as vice president of business development for Transarc Corporation, which was then acquired by IBM Corporation. At IBM, he was the original founder of the WebSphere Business Development team and later became the director of strategic alliances. Mr. Schiller holds a BS from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Tepper School of Carnegie-Mellon University.

Kelly Mistick

Innovative Systems Board Member

Pittsburgh, PA USA

Kelly Mistick is a labor and employment attorney, focusing on public sector labor law. She has worked for NGOs on policy and as a labor attorney for city government in labor litigation. Ms. Mistick holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College, a MPA in Management and Financial Analysis from Columbia University, and a JD from the University of Pittsburgh.

Annie Colonna

Innovative Systems Board Member

Seattle, WA USA

Annie Colonna is a product manager on Microsoft’s Modern Workplace Transformation team and builds workflows for industry and frontline customers. Previously, she was a product manager on Microsoft’s Excel Advanced Analytics team, where she delivered machine learning integrations and business intelligence capabilities. Ms. Colonna began her career as a software implementation consultant at Manhattan Associates, specializing in inventory optimization and warehouse management. She has also worked as a product analyst at Hospital Corporation of America.

Ms. Colonna holds a BS degree from Vanderbilt University with majors in French, Economics, and Engineering, and an MBA from the Tepper School of Carnegie Mellon University.

Janice Mars

Innovative Systems Board Member

New York, NY USA

Janice Mars has over 30 years’ experience building successful sales and service teams in the software and services industry. Most recently, she was the founder of SalesLatitude, helping B2B companies conquer complex selling challenges. Prior to founding SalesLatitude, Ms. Mars worked for SunGard (now FIS), where she progressed from sales representative to executive, leading multiple global teams and consistently meeting, and often exceeding, revenue expectations. Over the last three decades, she has worked with and mentored hundreds of individuals in sales, presales, sales management, product management and marketing, and many have successfully moved into more senior roles within their organizations. Ms. Mars has recently been an active board member of Women Sales Pros, an organization focusing on B2B sales success. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Organization from the University of Miami.

Lee Detwiler

Innovative Systems Board Member

Pittsburgh, PA USA

Lee has over 30 years of experience in corporate finance, most of which was spent as a financial executive for Ansys, Inc., a publicly held software company that grew from roughly $50 million in annual revenue to $1.7 billion during Lee’s tenure.  Lee has also been the Chief Financial Officer for a smaller software and services company, and began his career in public accounting with Deloitte.  Lee brings broad financial experience to Innovative Systems, including management of financial strategy, accounting, financial reporting, procurement, treasury, tax, FP&A and pricing.  Lee has also managed all financial aspects of extensive merger and acquisition activity throughout his career.

Lee has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Penn State University, an MBA from Drexel University and a Master’s degree in Finance from Indiana University.  

Charles E. Leonard III

Director Emeritus

New York, NY USA

Charles E. Leonard is managing director of Coady Diemar Partners, LLC. From 2001–2004, Mr. Leonard served as chief executive officer and executive chairman of Solucient LLC, a leading healthcare information services company. He previously was president of VNU Marketing Information Services Group. He also served on the board of Solucient, Allrecipes.com, eonDigita, Omnicomm, and the National Science Foundation. Mr. Leonard holds BS and BA degrees from MIT and Middlebury College and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Datos-Impact-Awards-Badge-AML.png

Management Team

Dave Holtschlag

Chief Financial Officer
Pittsburgh, PA USA

Dave Holtschlag is the chief financial officer of Innovative Systems. In this capacity, he has oversight responsibility for the accounting, finance, human resources, payroll, mail services, and legal departments. Dave joined Innovative Systems in 2015. He has 30 years of experience in financial and supervisory roles.


Before joining Innovative Systems, Dave worked for DynaVox Systems, Respironics, American Airlines, and Dollar Bank in areas of increasing responsibility including mergers and acquisitions.


Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his family.

Brian Markham

Senior Vice President of Engineering

Pittsburgh, PA USA

Brian Markham is senior vice president of engineering for Innovative Systems. Since joining Innovative in 1992, he has played a key role in the development and refinement of Innovative’s suite of customer data integration and quality management products, as well as the company’s full line of compliance products. Brian is the principal architect of Innovative’s software. He is an expert in bringing together the AI engines and computer expertise needed to develop solutions that utilize the benefits of the latest technology.

Brian is responsible for the overall management of engineering projects and personnel, including project management, UX, QA, DevOps, technical design and review, resource allocation, and providing direction for future product development.

Brian holds both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Brian resides with his family in Pittsburgh.

MaryJane Kolic

Vice President of Human Resources

Pittsburgh, PA USA

MaryJane Kolic is vice present of human resources for Innovative Systems. She has global responsibility for talent acquisition, immigration, employee relations, engagement, training, and HR compliance.

MaryJane brings a multi-faceted background to Innovative that spans human resources, customer experience, project management, and arts-related education for organizations such as AT&T, McCaw Cellular, eResearch Technologies, and Beth-Center and Montgomery County schools.

MaryJane earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music from Duquesne University where she received a grant from the Heinz Foundation to study choral conducting with Nadia Boulanger at the Fontainebleau School of Music & Fine Arts and organ privately with André Louis Marchal in France. She earned an MBA from the Katz School. MaryJane resides in Pittsburgh with her husband.

Michael Stearman

Vice President of Global Operations

Pittsburgh, PA USA

Mike Stearman is vice president of global operations for Innovative Systems. Mike joined Innovative in 2011 as manager of hosted services and played a key role in Innovative’s global SaaS rollout and subsequent migration to Microsoft Azure. Mike has global oversite of the professional services, hosted services, customer success, and user experience teams.

Before joining Innovative, Mike worked for several point-of-sale software companies supporting hard goods retail and automotive aftermarket industries.

Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and minor in Mathematics from Bethany College in West Virginia. Mike lives in Pittsburgh with his family.

Remove Risk and Uncover Opportunity Today.

Take charge of enterprise-wide insight with Innovative Systems.

14.png
bottom of page