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Bios

At Abacus, we enjoy doing business with friends. With that in mind, we'd like to introduce some of the key players in the company you're likely to meet.

Rich Peterson
President and CEO

 

Rich personifies the saying "working your way to the top." After graduating from Pinellas Vocation Technical Institute with a degree in Electro Mechanical Technology, Rich soon joined Abacus Business Systems as a technician. Through the years, he worked his way up to Service Manager, and in 1990 he and his wife Debbie purchased the company. Rich has served on the North American Advisory Board for IBM, as well as the Aloha Reseller Advisory Board, and currently is a member of The Executive Committee of Tampa and the Florida Restaurant Association.

George Harris
Business Development Manager—Clearwater Office

 

George Harris began helping restaurateurs in the Connecticut hospitality industry in 1980. He started with Sweda International, specializing in hotels and fine dining selling the Microverdex, the first commercially available touchscreen system. George graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a specialty in Secondary Education in Sciences. He taught one year before turning to music, which he pursued successfully for several years. In his spare time, he raises horses.

Joseph Ricca
Business Development Manager—Orlando Office

 

With a degree in Accounting from Florida State University, over six years of corporate software application training experience, and five years of accounting software sales, Joseph brought his skills to Abacus Business Solutions in the Orlando office. His responsibilities include marketing and sales, networking with strategic partners, and building relationships with existing Abacus customers. Joseph's hobbies include surfing, volleyball and playing ultimate Frisbee for the Orlando team.

Barbara Sharp
Business Development Manager—Ft. Lauderdale Office

 

A former GM for such companies as Checkers and Boston Market, Barbara has much experience in the hospitality industry. Working in the POS industry for the past seven years, she joined Abacus as a Project Manager and now is a Business Development Manager out of the Ft Lauderdale office. Barbara feels that understanding the needs of our customers is the total solution in our industry.

Byron Hempy
Director of Operations

 

Byron joined the Abacus team in 1999; just in time to assist the company in navigating the Y2K craze. He has proved to be a key component in the build-out of the Abacus infrastructure. Byron brought with him a wide array of experience in the business world holding, management positions in both small business and large corporations.  Byron earned a BS degree in Business Administration from Messiah College in 1984. He has been a member of TEC of America since 2003 garnering numerous achievement awards. Byron is very active in his church where he serves as a deacon and teaches a young couples connection group. He is an avid golfer and enjoys spending quality time with his son and daughter.
 

Naomi Canning
Regional Manager, South Florida

 

Naomi joined Abacus from a background of several years in hospitality management, so she's well acquainted with the business of running a restaurant. Originally a Project Manager, she now manages all aspects of the Ft. Lauderdale office, from sales to customer relationships.

Jason Leonard
Service Manager

 

Jason started working part time with Abacus in 1997 staging new systems and learning the in’s and out’s of the Clearwater office. Since then, Jason has received his Bachelors degree in Hospitality Management from the School of Business at Florida State University. After graduating, Jason started working fulltime as a Call Center technician. He then worked his way through the ranks of Project Management and Call Center Manager before settling into his current position as Implementation Manager. Jason is responsible for all Clearwater service operations, including Call Center, Field Services, and Project Management.

Randy Anderson
Call Center Manager

 

Randy comes to Abacus with over 25 years of experience in building call centers and technical support teams. His motto is “build it right the first time.” Randy received his Bachelor's degree and certificate in Human Resource Management from Cardinal Stritch College in Madison, Wisconsin. Randy utilizes our business tools and develops efficiencies to allow our representatives to become more productive.

Lisa Jewell
Director of Project Management and Training

 

Lisa worked in the restaurant industry during college and started with Abacus after she earned her degree in 2002. Originally a Customer Care Call Center technician, she quickly made her way into Project Management where she now supervises all Project Managers in the Corporate home office. She is responsible for Project Manager and customer training, company annual summits, and new feature introductions. Lisa is also involved in IQ video as a Project Manager and assisted in building out the IQ video department and project process.

 

Abacus. You can count on us.

 

What They're Saying About Abacus

"You guys have a great product, but even better than that great service. You can be sure that Earp Brother's, Inc. will be growing with Abacus for many years to come."

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          » Abacus Business Solutions  »  15301 Roosevelt Blvd.  »  Suite 303  »  Clearwater, FL 33760  »  Tel: (727) 524-0177  »  Fax: (727) 524-0188