Meet the Accuris Executive Team

Richard Smith is the Chief Financial Officer at Accuris, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s financial success including cash flow planning, financial reporting, and overall financial health.

Rich brings to Accuris more than a decade of experience in financial leadership roles at high-performing technology companies, backed by leading private equity firms including Vista Equity Partners, TPG, Silverlake, and Providence Equity. Most recently Rich has served as CFO of Formstack, a leading provider of no-code workflow and intelligent document management solutions, where he led the finance, accounting, legal, and sales operations functions. While there, he built out the company’s FP&A and legal functions and led a successful financial transaction in which Formstack brought on new private equity ownership and additional funding to fuel the next phase of the company’s growth. Prior to Formstack, Rich helped build and grow best-in-class finance, accounting and business operations teams at Omnitracs, a provider of SaaS transportation and logistics solutions; Active Network, a provider of activity registration and event management solutions; and Sabre, a provider of airline, hotel and travel agency software and solutions.

Rich holds an MBA from the University of Kansas and a BS from Kansas State University. In his spare time he enjoys cycling, skiing, running, hiking, and traveling.

Mike Klinger serves as President of Accuris. In this role, Mike oversees the integration and continued business strategy of the Techsteet organization, which combined into Accuris in 2023.

Prior to Accuris, Mike held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer and served as a member of Board of Directors in Techstreet, LLC, its subsidiaries as well as its holding companies. Klinger has extensive financial operations and management experience in a variety of industries, including 20 years in the entertainment industry. He was an integral part of the leadership transition team in the merger of Polygram Records and Universal Music U.S. to create the world’s largest entertainment group. Later, he joined Entertainment Distribution Co. LLC as Executive Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer when it purchased various global operations from Universal Music. Prior to Techstreet, LLC., he was the Principal of Philips, Andrews and Associates, providing consulting services and guidance to entrepreneurs.

Klinger received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University, and a master’s degree in project management from ITT. He is a certified public accountant.

Neil de Silva is the Head of Operations at Accuris. He leads the company’s content management teams and systems responsible for accuracy, currency, and completeness of information consumed by Accuris customers. He also leads the teams responsible for royalty processing and forecasting, business intelligence reporting, and price discounting.

Previously, Neil led IT project management office (PMO) organizations and application software development teams and participated in M&A due diligence and integration activities during his 23-year tenure at S&P Global. Prior to joining Accuris, Neil held various technical and project management roles in healthcare, legal, and higher education.

Neil has a strong passion for mentoring and developing leaders. He has led large global teams with high colleague engagement scores and minimal attrition in competitive markets including Denver, Bangalore, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Neil holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Montana. His personal hobbies include international travel, hiking and reading.

Megan Fehn is Chief Customer Experience Officer at Accuris. In this position, Megan is responsible for for managing the customer experience service operation consisting of a range of customer-facing post-sales support (customer service, training, customer success), as well as managing service improvement opportunities and voice of customer work across the business.

Prior to joining Accuris, she held a variety of positions managing customer care and training teams, focusing on team optimization by developing colleagues by cross-training skills and product knowledge, implementing projects targeted at product or process improvement, supporting product migrations and new product launches, and working cross-functionally with over 17 years of industry experience.

Megan holds a BS in business management from Tulane University, majoring in finance and marketing. She has earned ongoing education certificates from in Emotional Intelligence and Customer Success Management.

Robert Flores is the Chief information Officer at Accuris. Bob joined Accuris earlier this year to oversee and optimize the businesses’ information technology initiatives and strategy. His role allows Accuris to leverage new technology that drives enterprise-wide efficiency and innovation.

Bob has over 25 years of experience in the information security, IT infrastructure, and enterprise application development space, including CIO roles at Global InSighT, Denver IT Executives, and Coalfire.

Bob holds Masters degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder in Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, as well as a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in Engineering and Physics.

He lives in West Lakewood, Colorado with his husband and their Italian Greyhound. He enjoys travel, photography, gardening, and canvas painting.

Mette Huberts is the Chief Marketing Officer at Accuris. In her role, she is responsible for the marketing and communications functions, keenly focused on the strategic direction, vision, growth, and performance of the Accuris brand.

Mette is a disruptive marketing leader with expertise in creating and scaling new and emerging brand ecosystems. With experience ranging from early phase start-ups to established enterprises, Mette brings a strategic eye to positioning, growing, and leveraging brands to drive demand and conversion efficiently. Prior to joining Accuris, Mette held a variety of Marketing and Public Relations focused roles, including regional growth strategies at rideshare company Lyft, managing press and brand perception for luxury goods clients across the food and beverage industry, and building positioning and strategy for B2B and B2C technology in emerging markets. ​

Mette is passionate about building culture-first marketing teams and spends much of her time mentoring and developing others around her, whether at Accuris, alumni of her alma mater, or within local Denver organizations. ​

Mette holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College with a focus on International Relations and Economics. Her personal hobbies include mountain climbing, skiing, and spending time with her family. ​

Marcus Gearhard is the Chief Technology Officer at Accuris, responsible for the businesses’ Product Development, and Product Management functions.

Marcus has spent 23 years within the business, successfully leading technology strategy to enable the business to transform from a content distribution service to a workflow platform for engineers and technical professionals. His team consists of over 200 software engineers who are consistently questioning and improving business technology through an agile methodology. ​
Prior to Accuris, Marcus spent 7 years in the A&D space working on Satellite Ground Control systems and launch vehicle flight software at Lockheed Martin, and two years in the telecom industry.​

Marcus holds a B.S. in Computer Science.

Danielle Petrich is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Accuris. In her role, Danielle defines and leads execution of the company HR strategy, including recruitment, employee relations, workforce administration, employee engagement, and payroll.​

Danielle has 25 years of HR experience with focus on HR strategy. Prior to Accuris, she was a Global People Partner at S&P Global. She also held Global HR Business Partner roles at both IHS Markit and MWH.​

Danielle has experience at both private and public entities with a record of operating strategically in a fast-paced, high-volume environment and taking on progressively more responsibility. ​

Danielle holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Jim Thomas is the Chief Partnership Officer for Accuris. He is responsible for developing and executing partnership strategies for current and future strategic partners of the organization including Standards Development Organizations, National Bodies of Standards, channel partners, government, and other industry partners.​

Prior to his role at Accuris, Jim was Chief Revenue Officer & Vice President of Global Sales, Partnerships, and Content Product Development at S&P Global Engineering Solutions. In this role, he oversaw an international staff of sales and product management professionals positioned to sell industry-critical content, create global partnerships, increase revenue, and expand market visibility to ultimately develop a culture of customer-driven workflow efficiencies. ​

Jim began his career as a regional sales associate at IHS Inc. in 1999. From account management to product creation to customer partnerships and revenue growth, he learned the engineering sales business from end to end. Prior to joining S&P Global in 2022, Jim held several roles within ASTM International over 16 years. He worked to create an international sales team, designed a customer service group, developed a new product development department with corresponding go-to-market products, and expanded ASTM’s international marketing strategy. Responsible for over 80% of ASTM’s overall revenue budget, Jim developed a system that produced significant annual growth year over year while mentoring staff to excel in their respective roles. ​

Jim leads with a vision geared towards market growth, leveraging new opportunities with existing international partners to further promote overall industry quality and safety. He is driven by a strong passion for team development and global partner opportunities with respect to business growth and sustainability, all while keeping an eye on emerging markets and technologies and digital transformation.​

Jim holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor’s Degree from Millersville University of Pennsylvania.​

Darren Swett is general counsel and corporate secretary for Accuris. In these roles, Darren is responsible for the company’s legal, compliance, corporate, risk, and procurement functions.​

Previously (March 2022 through April 2023), Darren served as Head of Legal, Mobility and Engineering Solutions for S&P Global (SPGI), where he supervised all commercial legal affairs for SPGI’s Transportation and Engineering Solutions Business Segments. Before this (July 2016 through February 2022), he served as Division General Counsel of IHS Markit’s Resources & Consolidated Markets business segments, where he managed all commercial legal affairs for IHS Markit’s Resources, Automotive, and Engineering and Product Design business lines. Before this (September 2010 through July 2016), he served in a variety of senior legal roles at IHS. ​

Before 2010, Darren held legal positions of increasing responsibility with Netlibrary, Time Warner Telecom, US West, and the General Railway Signal Corporation.​

Darren earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Creighton University in 1990 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1993.​

Michael Conner is the Vice President of Business Integration at Accuris. His role oversees the operational planning execution, and measurement of the Techstreet integration.​

Prior to Accuris, Michael led the operational standup of Techstreet as an independent business after it’s divestiture from Clarivate Analytics. Michael’s experience in doing so allows him to drive quick and impactful change at Accuris, where his team continues to oversee and drive similar business initiatives. ​

​Michael joined Techstreet from his role as Senior Vice President of Sales at getAbstract Inc., a Swiss company that summarizes the world’s leading business books and technical reports. Here he was responsible for the reorganization of the North American Sales team, which included a new operating structure, subscription pricing methodology, compensation plan and a customer centric sales process.​

​Michael has over 30 years of experience in the publishing space, including VP of Global Sales at Safari Books Online (O’Reilly Media) where his organization delivered double-digit CAGR 8 years in a row. He also founded Catlyst Sale LLC, an Arizona based professional services firm focused on supporting early stage EdTech startups. His role in driving and securing investment ultimately supported the successful acquisition of Firecracker Inc. by Wolters Kluwer.​

​Michael holds an MBA from Arizona State University and lives in Northern Arizona with his wife Kelliann and enjoys the outdoors with his 3 married daughters and 6 grandkids.​

Nick Burn is Head of Sales Operations at Accuris. His role oversees the sales operations functions, including sales support, proposal management, and the project management office.​

Nick has been with the business for over 20 years, leading a variety of sales functions including in the technology, chemical, media, and product design spaces. ​

Nick has a passion for operational excellence and holds a BA (Hons) degree in Environmental Business Studies​

Martin Collinson serves as the Head of the Americas Sales Organization where he defines, articulates, and implements strategic planning for the Americas region. He oversees the performance of the Accuris portfolio for existing and new customer opportunities.​

Prior to Accuris, Martin was Managing Director of Sales at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), where he was responsible for revenue and commercial strategy. Notably, he restructured ASME’s sales processes around discounting, pricing, and forecasting, ultimately delivering 15% CAGR on revenue from ASME standards content year over year. Martin also served various leadership roles at O’Reilly Media, Safari Books Online, and SkillSoft. ​

Martin is originally from the United Kingdom, and now lives in Arizona with his wife, children and dogs.​

Jason Connelly is the Head of Sales for the Asia Pacific region at Accuris.​

In his role, Jason leads the APAC sales organization, including implementing the overall sales strategy, managing regional relationships with key technical content and standards partners, and ensuring customers are realizing the true value of the advanced AI & NLP technologies Accuris offers. ​

He has over 20 years of experience helping medium to large EPCs, oil & gas majors and manufacturers connect trusted knowledge to their workflows – mitigating risk, increasing efficiency and accelerating innovation.

Sune Vagner is the Head of EMEA Sales for Accuris, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.​

At Accuris, Sune is responsible for the EMEA business and leads the EMEA sales teams, focused on delivering high-value solutions to our clients and unlocking new growth and revenue-driving opportunities. ​

Prior to joining our company in 2016, Sune worked for 19 years in the Product Lifecycle Management industry with focus on optimization of clients’ engineering processes, and served in sales leadership positions at PTC. ​

​Sune holds a BSc Eng. (hon.) in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University of Denmark.​