Brenda Hall
CEO
Brenda Hall knows a little something about the drive for success. In 2001, she sold her classic car collection to start Austin Test, now Bridge360. Her cherished Dodge Chargers can be seen in the Tim Burton film, Big Fish. That same "do whatever it takes" attitude is a large part of how Bridge360 earns the praise of its customers today.
Brenda has had a wealth of experience in building bridges to global business. An industry recognized expert on both the business and technological aspects of international product delivery, she has managed many project teams specializing in building global software.
Under her leadership, Bridge360 has become known as the "go to" experts for technology companies who deploy their products around the globe. The Bridge360 team has grown its client base to over 35 flagship companies across both the public and private sectors, and brings technical talent to projects from multiple regions around the world.
Having worked at IBM, Compaq Computer, BMC Software, Cirrus Logic and several technology start-ups, Brenda has many years of industry experience, including serving as BMC Software/Austin's Globalization Manager, where she established the strategy, processes and guidelines to support BMC's product offerings across Europe and Asia. This global expertise is invaluable to Bridge360's clients.
On the national level, she serves as Secretary / Treasurer to the U.S. District Export Council National Steering Committee (NSC) and chairs the NSC Technology & Communication Committee. She was a founding member of the World Congress for Information Technology and Treasurer of IWIPS (International Workshop on Internationalization of Products and Systems). Locally, she serves on the Veterans4Quality Board of Directors and volunteers her time to the next generation of global business leaders through the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.
Brenda's professional passions (when not behind the wheel of a muscle car) include linguistics, championing cultural awareness, and international projects that help companies take their software beyond its borders.
Susan Barbour
COO
For Susan Barbour, the answer to the question, "what is the meaning of life?" likely begins with the word, "family." Susan is the first of four girls in her family, and the sisters have stayed close to each other virtually their whole lives.
"If I'm not at work," Susan admits, "I'm likely with a family member since we live on the same street and tend to travel together."
Susan has also seen her fair share of moving vans, having moved more than 25 times in her life. From coast to coast (New Jersey to Washington), and from north to south (Michigan to Texas), and many points in between, you can bet she’s learned the value of being organized.
Many of those moves helped Susan establish a successful career in the financial industry after earning her economics degree from Manhattanville College in the Greater New York City area. Serving in multiple executive leadership positions with several different institutions, Susan learned many skills — leadership, risk management, strategic planning, team building, and more — which led her to the second phase of her career, company consulting and individual coaching, and ultimately, Bridge360.
All of this experience will be invaluable to Bridge360 in her role as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. In this post, Susan provides the infrastructure and direction for departments including accounting, human resources, marketing, operations, and procurement. Additionally, Susan shares her expertise as a member of the board of directors for Veterans4Quality.
Gilson Fagundes
CTO
Ask Gilson Fagundes what is on his bucket list and you will hear him reply “tudo”! A native of Brazil, Gilson sees the world as full of possibilities. So, his answer “Everything” is just a hint of the energetic and optimistic man that he is. Happy in any time zone is how his colleagues describe him. For Gilson, his passion for innovation compels him to reach beyond the easy answer to discover what could make every situation even better. His zeal to explore is second only to his practical nature to find the tailor-made solution for each challenge.
Gilson brings an extraordinary CV to the Bridge360 team. His 17+ years career at Dell spans the globe and the IT landscape. He has been there and definitely done that! Equally at home unravelling legacy systems to fit modern needs or brainstorming with tech leaders on future IT risks and rewards, Gilson immerses himself in the work he loves best.
A graduate of Pontificia Universidade Catolica in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Gilson worked his way through school. There may be no better example of his need to work and learn simultaneously! This blend of learning and doing has brought him experience designing cutting-edge business capability frameworks, crafting multi-layer interface diagrams and inventing proof of concept solutions for web-based applications, infrastructure networks and workflow systems. See a problem…solve the problem is his standard of care.
In his role at CTO, Gilson oversees all client engagements providing technical direction and performance leadership to the team of experts that call Bridge360 home. In his own home, Gilson is surrounded by love and laughter from his two young daughters and his extraordinary wife. Looks like Gilson really does have tudo!