Our People
ACI employees stay current with the latest technology to offer the widest possible range of solutions to any business problem. Many of our employees have achieved professional certifications to assure our clients of our expertise.
Henry Bass
President
Henry Bass is ACI's founder, owner and President, since 1996. Henry enjoys all things technical, including websites and databases and Radio Controlled airplanes. His Masters in Mechanical engineering focused on custom software extensions to 3D Computer Aided Design, and his MBA focused on factory automation and operations management. Henry was deployed to Iraq from 2008-2009 through the Army Reserves where he kept a blog at www.henrybass.com/blog. His wife of 21 years, Lisa, enjoys mothering ACI and their two boys, Eric and Ethan. When not at work, Henry cherishes time with his family, leading Boy Scouts, coaching FIRST Lego League, and serving the Virginia Tech Army ROTC. He is certified in ColdFusion development and is a Certified Systems Engineering Professional.
Jim Wyers
CEO
Jim first came to ACI in May of 2005 after retiring from the US Army with almost 22 years of service. After a short time away from ACI, Jim returned to assume his primary role as CEO. His primary functions are to oversee the overall performance of ACI, make the day to day business decisions and keep the company focused on our customers. He also enjoys working daily with the department Directors on their short and long term projects, and provides the Directors all flexibility to manage their own teams. When not at work Jim enjoys spending most of his time with his family and all of the activities that go with having 13 and 10 year old children. He also spends a lot of his time coaching, refereeing and coordinating Upward Basketball. Jim enjoys refereeing high school football, all sports, both playing and watching, but draws his happiness and strength from his wife of almost 20 years, children and church.
Laureen Fleming
Director of Commercial Services
Laureen joined ACI in 1997 as a website designer and now manages the Commercial Services division. Her primary roles include business development, proposal preparation, client liaison and project management. These roles allow Laureen to work closely with the talented and hard working ACI employees as well as all our clients. When not at work, Laureen enjoys spending time at home with her family including her husband and four children. Laureen and her husband Doug are foster parents working with five agencies in the New River Valley. Her other interests include swimming, reading and football. The entire family loves to watch college football and root for the Hokies.
Dale Kipp
Director of MatWeb
Dale has been working in ACI's MatWeb Division since 1996. He utilizes his PhD in materials chemistry as the Director of MatWeb, where he is in charge of the data collection, business development, web site features, and customer support. He enjoys using the breadth of knowledge required to work with both technical and business aspects of materials from acetal to zinc. He is known as an expert in materials data management and taxonomy and has given invited presentations across the globe. When not chasing after his toddler, Dale enjoys bicycling, hiking, travel, and cheering the Northwestern Wildcats from afar.
Jami Ryan
Senior Web Developer
Not just a senior web developer, Jami partakes in marketing efforts as well as writing assignments at ACI. When you work at a small company everyone has to wear a few different hats. Jami arrived at ACI in the summer of 2001 after completing his double major in computer science and print journalism at Radford University. Jami is proficient with SQL Server, MySQL, PHP, Classic ASP, and ColdFusion among others. While not working, Jami enjoys spending time with his family and friends in Blacksburg and beyond as well as following Virginia Tech Sports, though not necessarily in that order. On most fall Saturdays, you can find Jami walking up and down Lane Stadium selling drinks to thousands of Hokie fans just as he has done for the last 17 years.
Rob Woods
Senor Web Developer
Rob has been with ACI since the summer of 2001. He has worked on several large websites and is currently the primary developer for MatWeb, ACI's online materials database. He also played a big role in programming eMerchant, a software package providing online ecommerce capability for several of ACI's clients. eMerchant has processed over $5 million in online transactions. Rob works with .NET, classic ASP, PHP, SQL server, and handles some network administrator duties as well. Away from work, Rob and his wife Jeanne love spending time at home, taking on several remodeling and renovation projects.
Nils Steika
MatWeb Senior Engineer
Nils is an Engineer with ACI's MatWeb Division. He began working in 2005 after receiving a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He applies his knowledge of mechanical design and material specification to supporting MatWeb's users, and its database. Nils spends his free time golfing, hiking or kayaking with his wife.
Ed Harvey
Senior Graphic Designer
Starting out as an art major, Ed enjoyed working within the traditional mediums of oil paints, pencil drawings, and photography. But when he stumbled across a new program in computer art, he became hooked and decided to shift his focus to this new medium. In college, he transferred his traditional art skills onto the computer with programs such as Painter, Freehand and Photoshop. Then, when he was introduced to 3D modeling and animation with Maya, he fell in love with 3D graphics and never turned back. Today, with over 15 years professional experience in the field, he has kept his skills current and works in a variety of programs and languages, including Flash / ActionScript, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and HTML / CSS. Outside of work, Ed enjoys following college and professional sports, working on home improvement projects, and spending time with his wife and two young children.
Angela Combs
Accounting Manager
Angela has been with ACI since 2007. A CPA with a background in public accounting and private industry, Angela works part time handling ACI's finances. The remainder of her time is spent with her two children and trying to keep up with their busy schedules. She enjoys hiking, gardening and horseback riding.
Rick Rose
Web Application Developer
A husband, father, and self-proclaimed geek, Rick is an avid reader of material dealing with technology, mathematics, and philosophy. He is fascinated by Albert Einstein, thrives on friendly competition, an admirer of history, and enjoys the outdoors. He often listens to classic country and eighties hard rock while coding. His work spans both public and private sectors with a diverse software engineering background.
Kevin Jones
Web Application Developer
Kevin brings ACI over 8 years of experience in web application development. His most recent work is in support of a major commercial Time and Attendance product for the federal government, including development of a Windows Mobile version of this piece of software. His programming language experience includes Java, PHP, ColdFusion, C#.net. When Kevin is not working hard for ACI he enjoys working on his own personal development projects, playing music, family and, when given the chance, surfing.
Lisa Thompson
Systems Administrator
Lisa has been doing network and systems administration for over fourteen years. In addition to managing ACI’s servers, she also provides customer support and technical resolution. In her free time, Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband and children, reading books (primarily fantasy and fiction) and just staying home and watching shows on her TiVo.
Doug Fleming
Software Automation Testing Engineer
Doug Fleming is a software tester for ACI, currently contracted to do onsite testing for one of ACI’s clients. This has been Doug’s main role since 2005. He has experience with HP Mercury products like Quick Test Pro, Quality Center, and Load Runner, as well as Automated QA’s Test Complete. As a contractor for the US Army Doug developed and executed Test Plans for multiple projects under tight deadlines with limited resources. Doug has also provided training and tech support for several of the projects he has been contracted to test. Doug was originally hired by ACI to help architect and promote MatWeb, a materials property database for engineers and scientists and one of ACI’s flagship web-based applications. Doug’s hobbies include karate, restoring his 1973 VW Super Beetle, and enjoying time with his wife and 4 children.
Elizabeth P. Sadler
Fulfillment Services Manager
I have two daughters 8 and 3 yrs of age--I first came to ACI 4 yrs ago while finishing nursing school--- In my spare time I enjoy anything that keeps me busy and love taking care of everything--I also love to read, swim, cross stitch, and play with animals and children of all shapes and sizes-I have another job as Asst Health Specialist for seven counties through the local Head Start Program.
Will Johnson
Next Three Days Marketing and Sales
Will is a Computer Engineer from Virginia Tech with a strong background in software engineering, several programming languages, and mathematics. He also enjoys art and the design side of computer work and likes dabbling in photoshop, dreamweaver, and photography. Will came to ACI in the fall of 2009 and is currently working on the NextThreeDays project focusing on marketing, content, and some development. He is out in the field every day speaking with event venues, finding marketing opportunities, spreading the word, and improving NextThreeDays.com. In his free time Will enjoys keeping up with the latest computer, electronics, and cutting edge technology news. Outside, Will loves skiing, scuba diving, and pretty much any other outdoor activity, and is occasionally known to play a tune on the piano.
