The Persimmon Group

Leadership Team

The foundation of any business is the experience and capabilities of its people, and The Persimmon Group is no different. Our senior consultants each have many years of proven performance. Our supporting consultants and support staff are also proven performers that have experience across a broad range of industries and responsibilities.



		 Shane  Cox 
Director of Government Services



		
		
		
		 Shane  Cox 

		Director of Government Services
				


				
Shane Cox is the Director of Government Services with The Persimmon Group specializing in Public Sector operations management, change management and project management.  He has over 10 years of experience providing leadership in state government. 
As an experienced project manager, he has led diverse projects ranging from business process reengineering and organizational restructuring to facilities projects.
Formerly, Shane was the Chief Operations Officer and Change Management Officer for the Kansas Department of Labor.  As COO, he managed over 250 employees to include, tax division, call center division, benefits division, appeals division, fraud division and records management division.  He developed specific strategies and staffing plans, assigned resources and successfully implemented numerous law changes specific to each division.  As CMO, he oversaw technology and business process reengineering projects as well as program compliance projects.  He also managed the federal compliance programs for the agency.
Shane has a successful track record in leading government programs and technology projects.  He and his wife Rose, daughter Emily and son William live in Tulsa, OK.  He enjoys coaching his son and daughters basket ball and soccer teams.


 			
				




		 Bill  Fournet 
President & CEO



		
		
		
		 Bill  Fournet 

		President & CEO
				


				
Bill Fournet is the Founder, President and CEO of The Persimmon Group. In addition to leading The Persimmon Group since its inception, he also leads the practice areas of leadership development, business transformation, and team performance. 

Bill provides business strategy, project management, educational development, and information technology consulting to clients in various industry verticals, including energy, financial services, aerospace, telecommunications, government and human resources, among others. He is a sought after speaker and educator who balances this demand with continuing to be a leadership and management practitioner. 

Over the past two decades, Bill has provided leadership for clients in delivery methodology, business process improvement, resource development, project management, business analysis, and training for a variety of national, international and multinational. He has led strategic programs spanning years, staffed by hundreds of people, sourced globally, and managed budgets in excess of $100M. Bill earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree from Oklahoma State University. He and his wife Christy have three sons and a dog. Bill is an Assistant Scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America, serves as Pack Chairman for his Cub Scout Pack, coaches his sons' soccer and basketball teams, and is active in the Tulsa community. He is a member of the State of Oklahoma Governor's Business Roundtable, a member of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors, and member of the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Metro Chambers of Commerce. Bill was also recognized as the 2010 Small Business Person of the Year by the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce.			
				




		 Josh  Miller 
Business Development Director



		
		
		
		 Josh  Miller 

		Business Development Director
				


				
Josh Miller is the Business Development Director for The Persimmon Group. With ten years of sales, advertising, and account management experience, Josh oversees The Persimmon Group’s business development efforts. From marketing to sales and everything in between, he works to ensure that all needs of The Persimmon Group’s customers are met. Since joining The Persimmon Group in 2006, Josh has worked launching a number of initiatives including open enrollment classes, TPG Speakers, trade show exhibits, The Persimmon Group Newsletter, a branding campaign and implementation of a new CRM system. Josh also works closely with The Persimmon Group’s clients and its business development team to ensure the best possible service is provided to The Persimmon Group’s customers. 

Prior to joining Persimmon, Josh served as a Senior Media Consultant for an independent advertising agency where he managed a portfolio of the company’s largest and most prestigious clients. Josh negotiated deals with both local cable companies and nationwide affiliates generating over $3 million in sales. Josh also managed the national television advertising campaign for the launch of the independent film, Taliesin Jones. 

Josh earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Oral Roberts University. He currently lives in Tulsa with his wife Elizabeth and sons Colin and Ian. 

			
				




		 Martin  Piplits 
Business Consulting Practice Leader



		
		
		
		 Martin  Piplits 

		Business Consulting Practice Leader
				


				
Martin Piplits is Business Consulting Practice Leader, specializing in business consulting, strategic planning and crisis management with an emphasis on financial management.

Formerly, Martin was the Chief Financial Officer for Hilti North America. As CFO, he oversaw numerous functions including accounting, credit, budgeting and reporting. Prior to becoming CFO, Martin served in various senior management positions in Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, South Korea and Hong Kong. 

During his tenure at Hilti Incorporated, Martin also served as General Manager for the company's Hungary division, managing a sales force of 50 direct salesmen in Eastern Europe. As such he designed the sales management process, set sales targets, developed sales training, as well as managed and coached 5 sales managers on a daily basis. He developed specific strategies and resource allocation models, assigned sales resources, and successfully implemented sales strategies. 

Martin has a successful track record for situational turn-around and profit-growth strategy in international and multi-cultural markets. Martin, who is fluent in English, Spanish and German, earned his MS and his MBA from the University of Economics in Vienna, Austria.			
				




		 Kris  Reynolds 
Project Management Practice Leader



		
		
		
		 Kris  Reynolds 

		Project Management Practice Leader
				


				
Kris Reynolds is the Project Management Practice Leader for The Persimmon Group and is a Project Management Institute-certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He is responsible for project and program management, business architecture and analysis services.

 His areas of client focus include leading large, strategic programs for companies, consulting on project management best practices, developing custom methodologies, providing hands-on coaching to project managers, performing project audits and conducting tailored learning events in a variety of industries. Kris has been recognized for his work in setting up Project Management Offices and was listed among the top 25 Outstanding Organizations for his work on TV Guide's PMO in 2008.  He earned two Bachelors degrees (Economics and Business Administration) from Centenary College of Louisiana, and a Master’s degree in Marketing from Oklahoma City University.  Kris is an active member of PMI Tulsa's board, having served as President the past two years. He is also a member of the Project Management Institute’s Region 6 Best Practices Committee and a Six Sigma Black belt. 

Prior to joining TPG, Kris spent the past 6 years at Rovi Corporation (TV Guide) where he led the project management team around the deployment of the company’s Interactive Program Guide.
Before his stint with TV Guide, Kris spent 7 years at NDC Health where he served in a myriad of roles for the healthcare company.  He is a graduate of the 40th class of Leadership Tulsa and enjoys giving back to the community, most recently through the teaching of the Project Management for Youth Curriculum he created, to Tulsa middle and high school students.  Kris holds a National “C” license coaching certification and coached competitive soccer for many years before spending the last 6 coaching his daughter and son’s recreational teams. 			
				




		 Sarah  Stephens 
Organizational Effectiveness Practice Leader



		
		
		
		 Sarah  Stephens 

		Organizational Effectiveness Practice Leader
				


				
Sarah serves as Organizational Effectiveness Practice Leader with The Persimmon Group specializing in business consulting services and leadership development. Sarah’s background is in Organizational Leadership and Development and Human Resource Management.

 Her expertise includes leadership development, talent management, employee relations, training development and communication. Prior to joining TPG, Sarah worked as a Senior HR Business Partner with a global engineering firm where she worked with employees and executives alike, ensuring that people, strategies, and solutions were successfully developed and implemented.
Backed with a Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certification and MS in Organizational Leadership, Sarah’s solutions are theoretically sound yet practical and realistic for fast-paced and complex organizations. She is guided by overarching strategy to implement people-centered processes, developmental activities, and change initiatives.
Sarah is certified in Hogan Assessment Systems, an international personality and leadership assessment tool. She interprets this tool for the identification of personal strengths, values, and development opportunities in team building, leadership development, and executive coaching efforts.
Sarah currently lives in Owasso with her husband and two young sons.