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Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates

Tom leads Parks Associates research in the areas of home controls, energy management, and home networks. Tom authors numerous reports on energy management and home controls covering the evolution of technology, partnership opportunities, and new business models. Tom’s work at Parks Associates includes managing consumer surveys that track trends and market opportunities and enable insightful evidence-based forecasting for energy, security, and home controls. Tom speaks frequently at key industry events, and his views are sought out by national press organizations and publications.

Tom has done extensive consulting with electric utilities operating in a variety of regulator structures and numerous firms within the smart home ecosystem. Recent utility engagements include defining the home area network roadmap for a California IOU, updating the consumer engagement strategy for a traditional vertically integrated IOU, providing consumer and industry analysis to refine EE and DR programs for an IOU in a restructured market, and providing insights on the evolution of the connected home for a large Midwest IOU. Tom has also led projects for many Fortune 500 companies, helping clients refine smart home strategies, develop scenarios of the future of the smart home market, enhance product roadmaps, and refine specific product features.

Prior to working at Parks Associates, Tom worked as director of engineering and director of product management in multiple industries. Tom began his career in the U.S. Navy nuclear power program on submarines. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in systems engineering and a master's in software engineering from the University of Texas.

James Morehead, VP, Product Management, Support.com

James Morehead, Vice President, Product Management, joined Support.com (NASDAQ: SPRT) in October 2003. Support.com enables leading communication providers, retailers, technology companies and others to create new revenue streams and deepen customer relationships by offering comprehensive technology service programs for consumers and small businesses. James leads the global product management, corporate marketing and user experience team responsible for Support.com’s global marketing strategy, product roadmap and SaaS Service Delivery Platform. James earned a B.A.Sc in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an M.B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Prior to joining Support.com, James spent nearly four years leading the Solutions Marketing team at Portal Software (now part of Oracle), focused on expanding services in key markets including broadband, wireless, wireline, digital media and online content. James also spent eight years with Nortel Networks primarily in Nortel’s Wireless Networks business unit, with roles in strategic marketing, sales and network engineering.

James has presented at a host of key industry events and panels in North America and internationally, and he has been interviewed for and/or placed articles in numerous publications as well as prestigious industry journals including ECTA Review and IEC’s Delivering the Promise of IPTV. James is also a contributing author to “42 Rules of Product Management” edited by Brian Lawley and Greg Cohen.

Patrice Samuels, Research Analyst, Parks Associates

Patrice Samuels studies digital home technical support services across global markets, with a focus on market trends, business models, and provider strategies. In addition to exploring events and disruptions in the technical support space, she examines pay-TV and broadband services in North America and Europe, digital media, and digital music services.

Patrice earned her MBA from Texas A&M University at College Station and BSc. in Psychology from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Television Services, Broadband Services, Technical Support Services, International Markets, Digital Music