Sparkhound business leaders are information technology veterans with extensive experience in all facets of consulting, design, development and implementation.

Shawn formed Sparkhound in 1998 with a single-minded focus on improving clients’ business by increasing the value of their IT through leadership, solid technology implementation and superior results. His business model was a direct result of personal dealings with vendors who, all too often, lost sight of his ultimate business goals in favor of specific technologies. This outcome-oriented approach helped Sparkhound quickly earn a solid reputation with mid-sized and enterprise-level clients throughout the Gulf South region.

Prior to forming the company, Shawn led an innovative team of senior business consultants with the General Health System — the parent company of three hospitals, a health insurance company, and 25 smaller healthcare-related companies. His team’s mission: to maximize General Health’s return on investment in the purchase, utilization, development, and/or support of various line-of-business applications. Under Shawn’s leadership, the team significantly elevated the value of IT by increasing senior management’s technical knowledge and, in turn, the quality of their technology-related business decisions.

Shawn earned a bachelor's degree in Quantitative Business Analysis and master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) at Louisiana State University. He and his wife, Jennifer, have four children, and he has served on numerous professional and community boards, including:

• LSU’s Center for Virtual Organizations and Commerce (CVOC)
• Baton Rouge Community College (Technology Advisory Committee)
• International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners (President, Louisiana Chapter, 2007)
• Baton Rouge Rotary Club
• Boys Hope Girls Hope

A successful self-starter, Michael Phillips’s entrepreneurial career began in college. While attending Louisiana State University in the 1990s, he seized an opportunity with his employer (PC Warehouse, a regional PC manufacturing company) to assist the company owner in developing a professional services practice.

Upon graduation in 2000, Michael took his knowledge, skill and ambition to the market by starting a professional services firm specializing in providing technology infrastructure services to small- and mid-market private sector customers across Louisiana. In 2001, he brought his talents to Sparkhound to enhance and develop the company’s existing Core Infrastructure practice. Later becoming an owner/partner, Michael currently serves as the company’s Chief Operations Officer, delivering client insight gained over his eight years of experience as a business owner and nearly 15 years of IT experience.

In addition, Mike created the Newton Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designed with a pay-it-forward approach in 2011. Each participant can purchase a wristband then pay-it-forward to someone who has made a positive impact in his/her life. Each wristband has a unique ID number so participants can track the progress of their impacts and the lives they have touched. To learn more, visit TheNewtonProject.com.  

Michael is married to Cheri, and they have three children. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems from Louisiana State University.

Noah Boudreaux started his IT career over 14 years ago with a degree in Computer Science and a passion for solving problems. After working for Appro Systems for several years, as an accomplished Systems Engineer, he moved to a position as Data Center Team Lead, and eventually Delivery Manager for Equifax, Inc. During his tenure there, he worked with some of the largest and most respected financial firms in the country such as BMW Financial, Regions Bank, Bank of America and Capital One in order to manage a variety of software delivery and implementation projects.

In 2005, Noah decided to branch into a Business Consulting role at Sparkhound, working closely with the company's enterprise-level customers with a focus on operational efficiencies. In 2008, Noah accepted an offer to become Vice President of Operations when Sparkhound's growth and desire to pursue a broader vision necessitated a new organizational structure. As Vice President of Operations, Noah leads all of Louisiana's operational practices and focuses on delivering a quality customer experience. In addition, he works with the leadership team to maintain Sparkhound's unique culture for overall employee success.

Noah has been married to Christina for 5 years, and they have one daughter and one on the way. He is a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University and has achieved numerous professional and technical certifications throughout his career such as MCP, MCSE and ITIL. Additionally, Noah participates in the following organizations and programs:

• Association of Information Technology Professionals
• Louisiana Technology Council
• International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners
• Franklin Covey 4DX Evangelist/Enthusiast 

Dave Baxter is an accomplished business and IT veteran with a wealth of diverse experience. He began his career as a network technician with the University of Connecticut Health Center, then moved to EDS, where he served as a project leader at Exxon. Dave spent the next ten years as IT Director for several private and non-profit agencies, leading them through numerous changes as the computing world moved from the mainframe to Windows and the Web. Initiatives ranged from network and telecom infrastructure deployments for new offices to the development of enterprise applications that allowed information sharing between local, state and federal criminal justice agencies.

Joining Sparkhound in January 2007, Dave began as a Senior Business Consultant and worked with the sales team to deliver solutions around the needs of the business, as well as manage projects. Moving into the Director of Sales for State and Local Government role, Dave utilized his extensive resource network to develop long-term relationships with key state departments. In January 2008, he was promoted to Vice President of Sales, where he now oversees the management of client strategies, business goals and education while challenging his team to better understand and fulfill their customers’ needs.

Dave and his wife, Kitzia, were married in 1995 and have two children. He achieved a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience at Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY), and is an active member in several professional and civic organizations, including:

• Junior Achievement
• Louisiana Technology Council
• International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners (Vice President, Louisiana Chapter, 2009)
• Baton Rouge Flickr Friends Photography Club

A native Texan, Kevin started his career as a consultant in the IBM channel. Passionate about solving business problems on a global scale, Kevin quickly grew his technical and leadership capacity at Dell as a Supply Chain Architect. After a small break from consulting, Kevin joined Extreme Logic as Director of Operations for Houston and Dallas, and he jointly opened its Dallas office.

Upon HP’s acquisition of Extreme Logic, Kevin joined Microsoft in early 2003 and served in various positions including, Enterprise Account Executive and Enterprise Sales Director responsible for Microsoft’s enterprise sales force across Alabama, Mississippi and southern Georgia. Recognized for his leadership trajectory, Kevin also participated in Microsoft’s North American Leadership Development Program. In 2009, Kevin joined Catapult Systems as Director of Sales responsible for leading its sales teams across Greater Southeast and South Central.

Kevin joined Sparkhound in late 2012 as a partner and Vice President of Operations for its Houston office. Getting back to his operational roots, Kevin is responsible for organizational and financial management of Houston operations, as well as creating raving fans of customers and employees.

Kevin and his wife Nicki have been married for 17 years and have three children – Clayton, Nicholas and Kaylee. Both Kevin and Nicki are graduates of Texas A&M University, and are active members of The Association of Former Students and Trinity Baptist Church. Away from work, Kevin is an avid outdoorsman and golfer.

Bobby Doss’s IT career began on the road, literally, as a police officer protecting the streets of Houston. In taking on the task of managing patrol car laptops, he quickly learned and implemented a successful Citrix solution—an experience that led to a career change when he joined Vector ESP (now MTM Technologies) as a systems consultant focused on Citrix. Nearly five years with Vector afforded Bobby a wide variety of client engagements, and he eventually became Regional Director for the company’s Houston, Dallas and Austin offices.

Bobby joined Microsoft in 2004 to work with mid-size commercial customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. His roles on the team varied from Information Worker Solution Specialist and Partner Account Manager to Strategic Engagement Manager. Promoted to Sales Manager in 2008, he led a team of 13 direct reports (the company’s largest U.S. mid-size business unit) through tough economic times to achieve outstanding results while increasing both employee and customer satisfaction.

In late 2009, Bobby accepted an invitation to help establish Sparkhound’s presence in the Houston market. As a partner and Vice President of Sales, he oversees the management of client strategies, business goals and education, while challenging his team to better anticipate and meet their customers’ needs.

Complementing his long tenure in sales, Bobby holds a number of Citrix and Microsoft certifications, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. He enjoys sports, both as a participant—golf and table tennis—and as a spectator at daughter Emily’s softball games and son Blake’s soccer and baseball contests.

While pursuing studies in Music Education and Computer Science in 1998, a twist of fate introduced Jonathan Swartz to a small IT consulting firm committed to developing software solutions for small and medium businesses. In 2000, Jonathan helped start Sentiat Technologies where he served as the Director of Product Development and focused on the development of Functional Testing and Performance Measurement software products. Jonathan also worked for Idea Integration as a Software Architect where he led multiple projects in the education, retail, military/defense and RFID industries. Jonathan was then promoted in 2005 to the Director of Business Solutions and became responsible for the company’s consulting practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

In 2007, Jonathan joined Microsoft and served in various Technical Sales and Account Management roles, focusing on partners and midmarket customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Jonathan has received several awards for his excellence in sales and leadership throughout his five-year career with Microsoft.

In late 2011, Jonathan accepted an invitation to help establish Sparkhound’s presence in the Dallas market. As Vice President of Operations, he is focused on building world-class IT consulting teams with a passion and dedication to customer service.

Jonathan and his wife Sarah have been married since 2003 and have one son, Matthew.  A published author and featured speaker at multiple technology conferences, Jonathan is also an avid golfer and an aspiring cook.

Brian Evans began his IT career in 2001 after establishing an IT Services Consulting company that served North Texas. He then joined Microsoft Gold Partner Softchoice as an account manager covering North Texas in 2004. In 2007, Brian joined Microsoft as the Corporate Accounts Sales Manager, leading 11 account managers and 40 additional personnel responsible for $180 million in software and services in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

While working at Microsoft and Softchoice, Brian has earned several leadership awards, including “FY11 Manager of the Year” in U.S. Midmarket at Microsoft and the “Jone Panavas Award for Leadership” at Softchoice. He also has been a “Top 20%” contributor in each full year at Microsoft. Brian holds a bachelor’s in Business Computer Information Systems from the University of North Texas and a certificate in Executive Management from SMU.

In late 2011, Brian accepted an invitation to help establish Sparkhound’s presence in the Dallas market. As Vice President of Sales, he oversees the management of client strategies, business goals and education, while challenging his team to better anticipate and meet their customers’ needs.

He is a graduate of the University of North Texas. Brian has been married to Autumn for 10 years, and has two children, Jackson and Anna. When not working, Evans enjoys camping and playing golf.  He serves on the St. Peter & St. Paul Church Vestry (financial/leadership board).