Our associates are a network of experienced HR and IT professionals with whom Fred has been affiliated for many years. Each Associate brings a depth of experience with technical organizations, and a valuable, helpful perspective to our clients.


Manuel Barragan, President of Global IT Strategic Services, is a proven IT executive with over 20 years of experience in global business and IT strategic planning, IT management and operations, working to integrate and align IT with business goals and strategy. He brings extensive experience in program and project management, enterprise architecture, and business continuity, as well as in-depth expertise in ERP implementations and business process re-engineering. Manuel served in executive IT capacities at McCormick & Company, as SAP-Basis Team Manager, President of Global Information Technology, and VP of Global IT. Prior to McCormick, Manuel was Senior Managing Principal of SAP Technologies for Osprey Technologies, and Senior UNIX/BASIS Administrator at Volkswagen de Mexico.

Manuel believes that the foundation of success in any organization is a well designed plan that can support ever changing business requirements with technologies and processes that allow for very flexible IT operations and service delivery. A well designed IT strategy will make the difficult task of aligning IT with your business and translating business requirements into IT solutions easier, faster and at lower cost.

Manuel earned a BS in Computer Science from Universidad de las Americas, MS in Operating Systems Design from the University of Toronto, and the SAP R/3 Technical Consultant Certification.


Megan Staczek, President of MDS Consulting, is a leadership coach and organization development consultant with a passion for moving leaders and teams to higher levels of performance. With over 18 years of experience, Megan’s approach and expertise have helped her clients create meaningful results for their business. Megan’s knowledge in human and team dynamics, leadership, and organizational performance is strengthened by her experience in multiple industries, including health care, financial services and non-profits. Prior to building a client base as an external consultant, Megan spent years inside large organizations building and leading teams focused on leadership development, designing organization change strategies and initiatives, and consulting with executives for business improvement.

At the cornerstone of her work, is the belief that all leaders have untapped potential, that when unleashed, enables them to create new possibilities for themselves and others.

Megan holds a BA in Communications from the University of Maryland, and an MS in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University. She holds the Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University, and is certified in several assessment instruments.