{"id":4639,"date":"2026-06-18T10:56:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/?page_id=4639"},"modified":"2026-06-18T10:59:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:59:25","slug":"information-management-business-analytics-advisory-board","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/information-management-business-analytics-advisory-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Information Management and Business Analytics -Advisory Board"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Brian Klas<\/strong><br \/>\nBrian holds both undergraduate (BS in Accounting) and masters (MBA in MIS) degrees from ÌÇÐÄvlog and is a licensed CPA in the state of NJ.\u00a0 Brian has spent his career in various finance and operational roles and prides himself on taking a people first, process focused approach to improving organizational decision making that sets companies up for fiscal strength and sustainable growth.\u00a0 Brian currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Management department at Ramapo College of NJ in addition to being a senior finance leader at a global consumer goods company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>John Kowal<\/strong><br \/>\nJohn Kowal currently serves as SVP, Managing Principal, and Chief Technology Officer at<br \/>\nPeapack Private Bank and Trust. He leads the Bank\u2019s technology operations and innovation<br \/>\nefforts focused on Artificial Intelligence, data, and process modernization.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mahesh Yadav<\/strong><br \/>\nMahesh Yadav\u00a0is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with over 30 years of<br \/>\nexperience driving growth and innovation across the IT industry. He is the Founder and<br \/>\nCEO of Optima Global Solutions, a leading software and services firm delivering<br \/>\nintelligent automation and consulting solutions to enterprise customers across North<br \/>\nAmerica. Optima specializes in end-to-end business process automation, helping<br \/>\norganizations improve operational efficiency and advance their digital transformation<br \/>\ninitiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Mahesh is also the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of TranscendAP, an accounts-<br \/>\npayable automation platform that leverages AI and machine learning to streamline the<br \/>\ninvoice-to-pay process for mid-market and enterprise organizations.<br \/>\nIn addition to his operating roles, Mahesh is an active investor in early-stage and<br \/>\ngrowth-oriented technology companies in the U.S. and Asia. A passionate golfer, he is<br \/>\nthe Founder of the\u00a0South Asian Golf Association\u00a0and serves on the Board of\u00a0The First<br \/>\nTee Greater Trenton, supporting youth development through the game of golf.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Melanie Ronches<\/strong><br \/>\nMelanie Ronches is the Senior Vice President of Innovation and Development at Moore,<br \/>\nwhere she leads the organization\u2019s product management, software development, and<br \/>\ndata engineering teams. In this role, she is responsible for shaping the strategy and<br \/>\nexecution of data-driven platforms and technology solutions that power marketing and<br \/>\nfundraising initiatives for nonprofit organizations. Her work focuses on leveraging<br \/>\nadvanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and scalable data infrastructure to help<br \/>\norganizations better understand and engage their supporters.<\/p>\n<p>With extensive experience in data, analytics, product strategy, data platforms, and<br \/>\ntechnology leadership, Melanie is known for building high-performing cross-functional<br \/>\nteams and driving innovation at the intersection of business and technology.<br \/>\nMelanie is a proud alumna of ÌÇÐÄvlog and serves on<br \/>\nthe IMBA Advisory Board, where she supports initiatives that strengthen the connection<br \/>\nbetween academic programs and the evolving needs of industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brian Klas Brian holds both undergraduate (BS in Accounting) and masters (MBA in MIS) degrees from ÌÇÐÄvlog and is a licensed CPA in the state of NJ.\u00a0 Brian has spent his career in various finance and operational roles and prides himself on taking a people first, process focused approach to improving organizational decision [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":4615,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4639","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4639"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4643,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4639\/revisions\/4643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}