Don
Sheppard is a professional engineer who has, for more than 30 years, been
a successful technology specialist and manager in the telecommunications
industry. Most recently Don has established a private consulting
practice serving major users and providers of networks, distributed
systems and open Information Technologies. Consulting services
include development of architectures and standards, the formulation of
plans and policies, the assessment of technologies, the facilitation of
change and the management of projects. Don has been Associated with
Open-IT since 1995 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
Don
is a recognized authority on networking standards, having been a key
contributor to the definition of the OSI Reference Model and its related
protocols from 1978 until 1994. Don participates in the effort to
standardize a framework for Quality of Service and monitors the overall
progress of IT standardization. In 1990, Don co-authored a book
explaining the principles underlying the OSI layered architecture.
From 1990-92 Don served as Chairman and President of The Canadian Interest
Group on Open Systems, a group that helped to popularize standards-based
networking in Canada.
Over
the past decade, Don has successfully advised carriers, governments and
users of networks in a range of networking topics. Don was an
employee of The PSC Group/GeoTrain Corporation from 1986 until 1997 where
he participated in the growth and evolution of the company as a senior
consultant and manager. Don has also developed and taught a variety
of executive briefings and courses and has been a frequent speaker at
conferences.
Don
can be described as a person who works well either on his own or as part
of a team, usually in a leadership role. He is an innovator and
facilitator who is most productive when solving complex problems and
presenting the solutions to executives. Over the past few years Don
has been a telecommuter who relies heavily on the use of a PC and the
Internet to keep up to date and stay in touch. Don's expertise
includes project management, network planning, architecture development
and technology assessment. He is currently intrigued by the impact
the Internet is having on business and our personal lives, and the rapid
advances in multiservice networking, nomadicity and convergence .
Notable
accomplishments include:
