Meet the Team
Decades of Negotiation Expertise in Your Corner
Mladen D. Kresic is President and Chief Executive of K&R Negotiations, a consulting firm specializing in structuring and negotiating business transactions in the computer, software, Internet and other industries. Mladen has over 25 years experience negotiating business transactions both as a lawyer and a businessman.
He has served as lead negotiator for numerous acquisition and divestitures, strategic alliances, joint development, licensing, strategic sales and outsourcing transactions. Mladen has negotiated, consulted and delivered programs on six continents and in over 40 countries around the world.
Together with Harvey Rosen, Mladen authored the book Negotiate Wisely, a definitive guide to professional negotiations. He has developed numerous programs relating to negotiations, contracts, customer engagement strategies and other business subjects. He has been a guest lecturer at a number of distinguished institutions, such as the MIT Enterprise Forum, Yale University School of Business and a keynote speaker with the International Licensing Executives Society.
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The K&R Team
Lucian (Lou) Bifano is a Senior Business Development Executive for K&R Negotiations. Lou was formerly Vice President of Business Development for IBM’s Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure Division, a provider of software and services solutions to help clients optimize the value of their business infrastructures and technology assets.
Keith Blackwell is Chairman of the K&R Negotiations Advisory Board. Keith is recognized as one of the most influential technology executives of the last 20 years, having founded Bristol Technology in 1991.
Maria Casanova is Business Development and Delivery Executive for K&R Negotiation Associates. She brings years of experience inspiring individuals to expand their thinking, grow their capabilities, and amplify their business performance across the globe.
Joe Crooms is a Delivery Executive for K&R Negotiations. Joe has over 30 years of successful negotiation, sales and sales management experience.
Tim Delaney is General Manager, Negotiation Analysis. Tim joined K&R in 2002 and provides Negotiations Training and Negotiations Consulting Services. His specialty is the predictability of negotiations outcomes, and how to affect them in your favor.
Gerard Francois serves as general manager of Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMEA) for K&R Negotiations. He is responsible for business development and service delivery for all three regions.
Benoît Gougeon is K&R’s European Vice President of Sales, primarily responsible for business development in France and the Benelux region. Benoît has negotiated numerous $100 million deals and has managed business units generating annual revenues in excess of $300M.
Jim Hale is Vice President Business Development for K&R Negotiation Associates. He has over 25 years of direct sales, sales management, and executive management experience in the technology sector.
Bud Hartley is General Manager, Business Development for K&R Negotiation Associates. He has over 35 years of customer executive education, information systems management, vendor relations, pre-sales support, marketing, sales, systems engineering, and technical support.
Andrew Johnson is Vice President Operations, Asia Pacific, for K&R Negotiation Associates in A/NZ. He has over 30 years experience in sales, sales management and general management in the technology sector.
Laurie R Kauffman has a deep background in finance, making the field accessible to sales and operations people who wish to have their deals go through. She has a Masters with Highest Honors from the University of Colorado, and a BS in Education and Counseling from SUNY.
Maryjane Kresic is the General Manager of Finance for K&R Negotiation Associates.
Urban Mayer is general manager of K&R’s DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region. Urban brings decades of international leadership, sales, marketing and performance turnaround successes—from the aerospace and automotive sectors to real estate and IT.
Val Pacini is the Operations Manager for K&R Negotiation Associates based in our Ridgefield, CT headquarters.
Paul Prosser is Vice President Business Development, Asia Pacific, for K&R Negotiation Associates in A/NZ. He worked in the IT industry for over 30 years in roles covering technical, training, direct selling, sales management and general management.
Chris Ryan is Vice President Marketing for K&R Negotiation Associates. He has twenty-five years of marketing, technology, and senior management experience, and is a widely known expert in business-to-business marketing, sales strategy, systems, and processes.
Ed Schroeder is Business Development and Delivery Executive. He brings over 30 years of experience in the high technology industries spanning sales, marketing, services, negotiations and executive management.
Teo Smrkic is Director of Operations for Central and Eastern Europe. He is a sales and logistics professional who most recently developed profitable sales plan strategies and tactics for Spaz, the leading vending provider in Croatia. Smrkic developed relationships with partners, negotiated agreements, and steadily increased market share while developing new business opportunities.
Nate Warren provides copywriting and public relations for K&R Negotiations. In this role, he supports the team on a variety of writing projects, ranging in scope from the blog to published material.
