Our Core Team

John W. Stout founded Stout Systems in 1993. During his years as an independent consultant, John established a track record of providing cutting-edge technology to clients, achieving milestones and ensuring that the job was done right. As a result, the demand for his services grew rapidly. He began to seek like-minded professionals who could be trusted to service his clients with the same care and attention to detail that had become his hallmark. Today, Stout Systems has a well-deserved reputation as a first-rate provider of software development services.

John is a popular industry speaker, having presented sessions at U.S. and European software developers conferences, user groups and industry events.

Peg Bogema has beem a member of the team since 1997, her duties include the supervision of development projects and personnel, recruiting and accounts. She keeps watch over the quality of our products and personnel. Peg spent more than a decade working as a technical writer and trainer, followed by another decade working as a project manager, and she has experience in a wide variety of industries.

Dave Sweeton is Stout’s Chief Technologist. He began his career as a software developer in the mid-1990s. His technical path has led him from C++ with WIN32, COM and STL to early Web development with VBScript and Classic ASP (memories of which have been repressed to preserve sanity). From there he moved with the times to C#, the ASP.NET/MVC platform and WPF for desktop applications. Along the way, he has also developed in Java for the Linux platform, done embedded applications for several flavors of operating systems, become a topnotch AJAX programmer, resolved stubborn performance issues, utilized a variety of database tools including MySQL and SQL Server, and still loves the power and features of C++. As an architect, Dave is responsible for numerous installations at major corporations throughout the United States. He has a well-deserved reputation for making the right technical recommendation, for saving money and for making our clients extremely happy with the quality of his solutions.

Ursula Kellman manages the recruitment of contract and direct hire candidates for Stout clients. Ursula is a 30-year veteran in the computer industry having worked in the U.S. and her native Switzerland for Honeywell (now Bull) and in the U.S. for Burroughs/Unisys as a Marketing and Program Manager. She joined Stout in 1999.

Brian Skory began his technical career 20 years ago designing and installing local area networks for the banking industry, including Comerica, NBD, GMAC and EDS. He went on to run corporate help desks and manage a team of technical trainers and writers. Key to Brian’s success has been his consistent ability to find and hire the best talent for available positions. He now brings that skill to Stout where his current mission is to facilitate synergistic relationships resulting from well-matched candidates and clients.

Nick Staroba designs, produces and delivers Stout’s promotional communications from print to the Web. With a background in art and music, and an interest in the growing omnipresence of the Internet, Nick is well-suited to his role as Promotion and Marketing Manager for Stout. Nick has been with Stout since 2009.

Bob Hoffman is a Business Growth Consultant for Stout. Bob began his career as a Software Developer and subsequently moved into a variety of roles in Enterprise Systems Development, Business Development and Sales and Marketing for companies including Microsoft, Ford Motor Company, Thomson Reuters and Fiserv. He also founded and grew a highly successful staffing organization which was recognized as the second fastest growing franchise in a network of 600+ offices. In his current role, Bob’s mission is to drive global recognition of the Stout brand and to introduce Stout’s services to a broad spectrum of new clients and new candidates. Bob joined the Stout team in 2013.

In 2011, Natalie Staroba joined Stout to take on a variety of accounting duties. When we discovered how well Natalie is able to find computer professionals using unconventional channels, we added the role of Tech Talent Scout to her title.

Jan Hazekamp is Senior Project Manager at Stout. Her duties include the day-to-day management of development projects and personnel. Jan started her career as a programmer/analyst working on large software development projects and has extensive experience in UI/UX design and development. She has held many technical and management positions involving commercial software development as well as Web and IT applications. Her educational background includes Computer Science, User Experience, and Web Graphic Design.

Edward has 10 years’ experience working with clients to define business objectives and design systems to meet those objectives by leveraging traditional IT business analysis and process improvement tools—including Lean Six Sigma, UML and Domain Driven Design. He has a demonstrated ability to navigate complexity and ambiguity while maintaining a clear focus on business goals. The breadth of Edward’s functional encompasses Enterprise Content Management, Time and Accounting, Data Processing and Reporting. He is a skilled communicator able to present strategy to C-Level executives and delve into details with those on the shop floor. He has deep experience in facilitating large group workshops.