Jeff Maruyama is the CEO, Chairman of i-Hire, Inc. Jeff founded i-Hire in 1999 with the goal of establishing a company that provides comprehensive, quality support in the area of recruiting. The foundation of i-Hire’s systems and procedures was built on his prior experiences in manufacturing and process improvement.
A collection of best known methods (BKM’s) from i-Hire’s clients coupled with Six Sigma methodology, lead to the formation of a very efficient and compliant staffing system. Jeff not only developed this staffing system and procedures, but he was responsible for implementing it in numerous large corporations. He traveled to Japan to meet with the founder and creator of the Six Sigma methodology, which was publicized by GE but was based on Toyota’s “no tolerance” rule. Jeff frequently travels throughout Asia to expand i-Hire’s global presence. He attends board meetings every quarter in Japan and China.
In 2003, he traveled to India and established i-Hire’s India branch. In 2005, Bruce Ferguson joined Jeff to expand i-Hire’s presence in Southern California. Working together with Bruce Ferguson, Jeff has diversified i-Hire into the areas of finance and solar power. In 2006, he appointed JoNelle Sood as President of i-Hire.
Jeff is a graduate of University of California at Berkeley. He serves as chairman in i-Research, Inc. and i-Fund, a private venture fund. He currently sits on the board for Startforce, a Japanese software company. He is on the Board of Trustees for the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Northern California. He was a previous board member at Coyote Pt. Museum. Jeff currently spends most of his time on business/partner development and investment strategy.
John brings over 25 years of experience with venture businesses, and 35 years of experience in general management to Round Peak.
Most recently, John was a founder of CallTower, Inc., a cloud based communications company and served as its President and CEO of CallTower, Inc., from its founding in 2001 through 2012. John was also a principal founder of Convoy Capital, a venture capital firm focused on privately-held, emerging technology companies. Prior to Convoy Capital, John was the principal founder of National Diagnostic Systems, Inc. where he served as Chairman, President, and CEO until the company was acquired in 1994. Previously, John was the initial employee and President of American Biodyne, Inc. where John led American Biodyne’s early development, positioning it for its successful public offering in 1991 with annual revenues of $50 million. Medco Containment, now a part of Merck, acquired American Biodyne in 1992. Prior to his venture involvement, John was a Director of American Hospital Supply Corporation, Vice President of American Medical Systems, and a Principal with Booz Allen. John has served on a number of Boards of private, public, and not for profit companies and organizations.
John holds an AB degree from Harvard College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
He has over 30 years of experience working with and consulting to private sector companies and public agencies throughout the United States. He has significant experience conducting strategic planning, financial management, management and operations, and information technology projects, as well as project management and business development activities.
Bob previously served as the Director of the California State Lottery where he led a staff of over 600 personnel and was responsible for an agency with over $4.5 billion in annual sales. During his tenure with the Lottery, Bob spearheaded the introduction of the multi-state Powerball draw game to California and grew total sales at the Lottery by 28%. Prior to joining the Lottery, Bob was a Principal with KPMG LLP, where he directed the firm’s Western Region State and Local Government Practice. Bob formerly served as the Executive Director of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, also known as "The Little Hoover Commission". In addition, he began his career as an Auditor with the California Auditor General’s Office.
Bob holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Sacramento and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He is a Certified Government Financial Manager with the Association of Government Accountants and is a Certified Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute. Bob is a former officer in the United States Air Force and is a Vietnam Era Veteran.
Mark Hagen is a Merchandising and Marketing professional with a 30+ year track record of growing sales and profits for retailers, CPG and Services companies. 25 of those years were spent at 7-Eleven where Mark developed and launched several key programs including the Big Bite hot dog program, the prepaid cell phone program and most recently, the Connect by 7-Eleven private brand cell phone accessory program that generated $50mm in sales in its first year. Mark also managed 7-Eleven’s lottery business worth over $4 Billion/year in sales, making 7-Eleven the largest seller of Lottery in the US. Prior to 7-Eleven Mark gained valuable CPG experience working for Dr. Scholl’s for 5 years, where he managed their insole business, including launching a new, improved Air Pillo insole, helping to reverse negative sales trends in the face of intense competition from private brand insoles. Mark also spent 5 years leading the Marketing Department for HomeVestors, the “We Buy Ugly Houses” company, by far the best known brand in the Single Family Real Estate investment business.
Bill was appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire as the director of the Washington State Lottery in 2010 and served in that position through 2017. During Bill’s as Director, Bill directed a number of innovative programs for the lottery that resulted in increasing lottery revenues.
Prior to his appointment as Director of the Washington State Lottery, Bill served as Executive Director of the Washington State Fraternal Order of Police from 2007 through 2009, where he managed day-to-day operations of the organization and lobbied at both the state and federal level. From 2000 through 2006, Bill served as Executive Director for the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs where he managed day-to-day operations.
Prior to his elevation to the above Executive Positions, Bill spent 31 years in law enforcement with the Washington State Patrol, during which he was a detective assigned to narcotics for 14 years. During this time, he served as president of the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association for six years.
Bill spent five years active duty in the US Coast Guard and is a Vietnam combat veteran
Jenny is a Payments and Gift Card Industry Veteran. She has developed and executed Global Gift Card Programs, achieving sales revenues (via retail, e-commerce, and B2B) over $250M annually . Strong focus on digital payments, monetization strategy, e-commerce, Retail, B2C and B2B Partnerships.
Jenny received an MBA from the University of Georgia (International Business, Marketing, and Management). She has served on the Board of Directors for the Retail Gift Card Association and the Incentive Gift Card Council.
Bruce Ferguson has over 25 years of operational management experience emphasizing a collaborative and decisive style. He has extensive experience in planning and managing for growth and has been called an innovator, risk taker and visionary change agent.
Bruce’s career has focused on helping organizations achieve their Talent Acquisition goals. Previously, Bruce was at Exult, Inc., the first full service HR business process outsourcing (HR BPO) company as its Chief People Officer. Exult provided across the board HR service delivery to global 500 companies. Bruce’s responsibilities focused on a key business line critical to the company’s success, the Talent Acquisition Solutions, His team delivered human and intellectual capital identification, process re-engineering, and offered a recruiting footprint of approximately 50,000 hires annually.
Bruce has had an extensive career in operations management for professional services firms. He held several positions of increasing responsibility for Ernst & Young’s consulting services division. He has a proven record of sound fiscal management, team development and results driven success. He has high standards of ethical and moral conduct and believes leaders should do so by example.
Bruce earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. He has served as the co-chairman for the Human Resources Metrics Consortium and has authored a number of chapters and articles on the essentials of HR BPO and creating an effective BPO model. He is a past president of the board of directors for the US Academic Decathlon Association, and is a frequent speaker at colleges and universities on leadership development and career aspirations.
