Founders

David Lewis is the Chief Executive Officer of OperationsInc, one of the largest HR consulting firms in the nation and winner of nine Hearst Media Top Workplace Awards. As a leading and respected voice in the areas of HR, workplace and talent management, business issues, and HR crisis management, David is a go-to subject matter expert and often-quoted source for the media. In 2013, he created a new business entity called The HR Roundtable, a networking and educational group with over 100 HR professionals as members, with chapters in Westchester County, New York City, and Connecticut, along with a fully virtual chapter.

Prior to launching OI in January 2001, David began his 35-year career in HR and Operational Management for leading firms including Merck/Medco and Computer Associates.

In 2017, David was named the Hearst Media Top Small Business Leader. He held multiple board roles for the local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA). David is also Chair of the 21st Century Workforce Council, an HR- focused group with 100+ members that is a part of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

David frequently contributes to television, radio, and podcasts, including appearing on such networks at CBS News, CNN, NBC News, Bloomberg TV, NPR, and many regional broadcast news networks. He also presents and moderates as an HR thought leader at industry conferences and events, including The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), SHRM National, and SHRM Talent, as well as countless regional HR and business events.

John Engel co-founded The CEO Roundtable in 2001. John also serves an Agent for Halstead Property. Brought up through Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School, John is a true New Canaan native. “This is my hometown and I love everything about it. It’s a great pleasure introducing new arrivals to New Canaan because I am so sincerely fond of it. In my opinion, there is no finer town in which to live.”

John complements his business partner Susan Engel’s years of experience by bringing to the table a competitive technology-driven edge. His years working in e-Media and Army service allow him to relate to his clientele and organize strategies more effectively than most agents in town.

Paper.com, Founder and CEO, New Canaan, Connecticut – June 2003 – January 2009 (5 years 8 months)

John worked with a local New Canaan paper executive, Scott Vallely to found Paper.com and they created a worldwide, competitive and comprehensive source for 40,000 consumer and corporate paper products. They created what was at the time the largest online paper source for greeting cards, wedding invitation, business card, office supply, stationery, envelope, graph paper, transfer paper, paper photo and printable stationery. The site served over 9,000 visitors per day out of the New Canaan headquarters and a call center. The company was sold in 2009 to an Internet marketing firm.

e-Media, Founder and CEO, New Canaan, Connecticut – February 1995 – February 2001 (6 years 1 month)

e-Media was the global broadband and e-commerce expert that combined proprietary, multi-media technologies with high bandwidth capacity to deliver consumer-centric Internet experiences in the entertainment, business-to- business and retail fields.

Since founding e-Media in his basement in 1995, John along with partner Michael Terretta transformed the company from simple e-builder to one which managed the hosting and distribution of more targeted advertising (25 million daily), more merchandising (90,000 sessions daily) and more video streaming (10 million monthly) than that of the top three Internet agencies combined. e-Media managed more than $1 million a month in e- commerce. Every year the company doubled or tripled revenues – profitably growing from 1 to 161 employees. Clients included World Wrestling Federation, Microsoft, HBO, Showtime, Warner Brothers, MGM, CondeNaste Publications, GE Capital, Virgin Atlantic, Reuters, ZDTV, 6FigureJobs.com, and MedLecture.com. The company was sold in 2002 and is now part of Akamai.