Leadership Team

David Mysona, co-founder and CEO

Tapping his over twenty years of IT experience in technical solution sales and implementation, David focuses on defining and leading our company’s strategic direction and heads up our new business development efforts. After several years in various technical positions at companies such as Lockheed Martin and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., David moved to the Management Consulting Services division of Price Waterhouse. There he co-founded and developed a utilities-based practice area that focused on helping utilities, pipelines, and local distribution companies survive and thrive in the deregulated energy industry. From there he moved to the prominent San Francisco-based executive placement firm, Chen & McGinley, where he significantly grew the company’s revenue from his position as Vice President of New Business Development. David holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University.

Casey Courneen, co-founder and President

Casey focuses on our internal operations, where he draws upon over two decades of experience in the consulting industry to ensure that Blackstone continues to be an efficient and profitable business. Additionally, Casey leads our global Staffing Services Practice, ensuring that our customers’ expectations are exceeded while overseeing the individual and team success of our recruiters and account managers. He began his IT career with Price Waterhouse’s Management Consulting Services division, helping Fortune 100 telecom, energy, and financial services companies gain advantage over their competition with superior information systems. From there he moved to a start-up IT services firm where he concentrated on leading several client-server, object-oriented and distributed technology projects across a number of different vertical markets. He helped define Blackstone’s overall engagement methodology and he continues to focus his efforts on developing creative internal strategies used to hire and retain the best talent in the industry. His past hands-on experience in successfully delivering large-scale systems integration efforts, allows for a deep understanding of what it takes to truly support and reward those who remain on the front lines of our client delivery initiatives here at Blackstone. Casey holds a B.S.E. in Finance and Legal Studies from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rakesh Agrawal, co-founder and EVP

Based on his fifteen plus years of experience in delivering multi-tier, mission-critical applications to Fortune 1000 companies in the energy and financial services sectors, Rakesh leads the delivery side of the Consulting division of Blackstone. He began his career as a Technology Consultant with Merrill Lynch, creating several internal portfolio management applications, tools, and utilities. From there he joined a smaller start up IT services firm and as Senior Technical Architect and Project Manager, he designed highly complex and flexible application architectures for large-scale system integration engagements. Rakesh holds an M.B.A from the University of Kentucky and a B.S in Material Science Engineering from the Regional Engineering College, India. He also holds numerous certificates in information systems integration and management.

Jesse O’Gorman, Executive Director Government Services and Partner

Jesse O’Gorman joined Blackstone as a Regional Account Manager in September 2002, establishing Blackstone’s Washington DC office and Government Service Practice. Jesse brings over 15 years of experience in sales, operations and project management to Blackstone, where he is responsible for the operations of the Washington DC office and leads the strategy, management and execution of Blackstone’s Government Services Practice.

Rick Venegas, Executive Director, State and Local Practice

Rick Venegas joined Blackstone Technology Group in September of 2008 and is responsible for Blackstone’s Sacramento office and our State and Local Practice where he supports delivery activities, client management, and business development efforts with his deep state and local vertical expertise. Rick holds a BS majoring in Business Administration from California State University-Sacramento.

Ken Hans, Executive Director, Financial Services

Ken Hans joined Blackstone in September 2003, and is responsible for the strategy, business development, services delivery and client relationships in the financial services industry vertical. Ken has helped his clients with solutions that span across mobile applications, systems integration, business intelligence, CRM, ERP, and custom application development. Ken holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Eric Swanson, Director

Eric Swanson joined Blackstone Technology Group in September of 2004 and holds the title of Director. Eric is responsible for the day to day operations and management of Blackstone’s Denver office along with driving new business and supporting existing clients in the region. In addition to these responsibilities, Eric is also responsible for the oversight of the Staffing Services Business Development team nationally. Eric holds a BA from the University of New Hampshire, and is a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC).

Clay Almy, Executive Director, Integration and JEE Services, Financial Services

Clay Almy joined Blackstone Technology Group in April of 2000 and currently leads Blackstone’s Integration and JEE services, which over the years have become the model for future domain and service offering growth. Clay’s current mission is to support and grow Blackstone’s business while holding true to his original goal of finding and building a focused and talented group of peers who are interested in solving complex business problems. Clay holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Williams College and is currently enrolled in Wharton School of Business Executive MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

John Keast, Executive Director, Corporate Development

John Keast joined Blackstone Technology Group as Executive Director of Corporate Development in July 2012, and is responsible for accelerating business development across Blackstone’s commercial practices, including financial services, energy and healthcare. With more than 25 years of experience, John brings a wealth of industry experiences in information technology, multi-channel commerce and digital marketing. Prior to Blackstone, John held an impressive succession of executive positions, such as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of PG&E Corporation, CIO of Filemaker (a subsidiary of Apple Computer), Chief Operating Officer of VEGAS.com, and Chief Architect of DHL Worldwide Express.

Patrick James, Director Of Operations and Professional Development

Patrick James joined Blackstone Technology Group as Director of Operations and Professional Development in December of 2011, and is responsible for leading the professional experience of our consulting practice staff and internal corporate operating infrastructure. Patrick brings over 18 years of Professional Services experience to our team. He spent 10 years with Deloitte, consulting on financial and retail system implementations, business strategy and operations projects, and establishing Project Management Offices. He has also worked for 8 years advising startup companies on building the infrastructure to deploy professional and managed services within their companies. Patrick is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of New Mexico and a M.B.A. from Saint Mary’s College.