Senior Management Team

John Chen has served as chairman and CEO of Sybase since 1998. During this time, Sybase has become the recognized industry leader in enterprise mobility infrastructure and significantly strengthened its position in data management. The company has enjoyed a long track record of increasing revenue and profitability, providing shareholder returns significantly outperforming all major indices. Sybase was acquired by SAP in July 2010, and operates as a stand-alone business unit.

From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Chen was President of the $3 billion Open Enterprise Computing Division of Siemens Nixdorf and the CEO and Chairman of Siemens Pyramid, a subsidiary of Siemens Nixdorf. Mr. Chen also served as a member of the executive board of the company’s German parent, Siemens Nixdorf Informationsysteme, AG. From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Chen was at server hardware manufacturer, Pyramid Technology Corp., where he rose from Executive Vice-President to President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Chen helped engineer Pyramid’s turnaround and sale to Siemens Nixdorf.

Mr. Chen serves on the boards the Walt Disney Company, and Wells Fargo & Co.   Forbes magazine named Mr. Chen one of the Top 25 Notable Chinese-Americans in Business.

Mr. Chen is active in promoting an international policy environment that will facilitate economic growth and business expansion.  In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee which focused on visa, travel and security issues. In addition, Mr. Chen has been a longtime member of the Committee of 100 and served as chairman from 2009 to 2011. He also serves on the board of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Mr. Chen has testified before Congress on U.S.-China trade relations and chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In recognition of his leadership in building better U.S.-Asia relations, he has received awards from distinguished organizations such as the US-Asia Institute and the U.S.-China Policy Foundation.

Mr. Chen graduated from Brown University magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and was later awarded the Brown Engineering Alumni Medal. He holds a master's from California Institute of Technology (CalTech). He also has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University in California, City University of Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Mr. Chen is active in the community. He is a trustee of CalTech as well as a governor of the San Francisco Symphony. 

Steve Capelli is president of Worldwide Field Operations at Sybase. Mr. Capelli is responsible for revenue growth and market leadership. He leads global teams focused on direct and partner sales, including ISV, OEM, distributor and reseller channels. Mr. Capelli also manages the integration of Sybase consulting services, customer support and education organizations to maximize customer satisfaction. He has been with Sybase since 1997, managing field operations in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Before joining Sybase, Mr. Capelli spent five years at Siemens-Pyramid, where he held a variety of positions, including chief financial officer, vice president of inter continental sales and director of field operations. He has also worked in finance and operations at Digital Equipment Corp., Unisys, and W.R. Grace & Company.

Mr. Capelli holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a B.S. in Accounting from The College of New Jersey.

As vice president, general counsel and secretary, Dan Carl is responsible for overseeing all legal affairs for Sybase. Mr. Carl joined Sybase in December 1989 as Corporate Counsel and became Associate General Counsel in 1992. He was promoted to Vice President in May 1996, and in July 1997 he moved to the UK to direct European legal affairs. Mr. Carl returned to the United States to become General Counsel effective April 1999.

Before joining Sybase, Mr. Carl practiced corporate law with Berg, Ziegler, Lichtman & Anderson and Horwich & Warner, both San Francisco law firms. From 1978 to 1980 he was an associate with Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye, San Diego, CA. In private practice, Mr. Carl represented clients in various business transactions in the areas of intellectual property, software licensing and distribution, real estate, venture capital and securities.

Mr. Carl is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California's Hastings College of the Law.

As senior vice president of Product and Technology Operations, Mr. Ho is responsible for Sybase technology research, product development and technical support. His mission is to lead the product development and support teams to further Sybase's Unwired Enterprise vision.

During Mr. Ho's tenure at Sybase, he led the product development of database management solutions, integrated development tools and Sybase EAServer. He also led the product marketing and development teams to create the Sybase Enterprise Portal and drove the product integration of New Era of Networks in 2001. Mr. Ho was the general manager of the e-Business division until early 2003 and most recently oversaw all Sybase product sales for the worldwide OEM business unit.

Mr. Ho has more than 25 years in the computer industry and started at Sybase in 1997. He has been a director at Unisys and Siemens focused on the UNIX Operating System, database product development and strategic partner alliances.

Mr. Ho earned a BS in engineering at McGill University in 1978 and an MS in computer science at California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) in 1979.

As vice president and corporate controller at Sybase, Keith Jensen has global responsibility for a worldwide team of over 200, managing external reporting, compliance, shared services, as well as global processes, systems and controls. Previously, Mr. Jensen was senior director of finance at Sybase.

Prior to joining Sybase, Mr. Jensen was chief financial officer for a software provider in the financial services industry, with responsibility for all aspects of its financial reporting and planning, treasury and administration. His experience also included various other financial leadership roles with other technology companies.

Mr. Jensen's career started with his 10 years in the audit group of Coopers & Lybrand. He holds a bachelor's degree in business and accounting from the California State University at Sacramento.

As executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Worldwide Marketing and Business Solutions Operations at Sybase, an SAP company, Dr. Raj Nathan is responsible for setting the technology direction and all marketing initiatives for Sybase and its subsidiaries. He also heads the SAP Mobile Applications Group, which develops new, innovative mobile applications, extending the company's leadership in enterprise mobility.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Nathan served as senior vice president of Sybase's Information Technology Solutions Group. Under his leadership, Sybase continues to be recognized for visionary technology that meets the direct needs of customers and partners.

Dr. Nathan's work experience has taken him around the globe, and has run the gamut from hardware to software, and from large companies to small including Unisys and Siemens Pyramid. Before entering private industry, Nathan spent many years in academia as an educator.

Dr. Nathan earned his doctorate and master's degree from Iowa State University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Madras, in India.

As senior vice president and chief financial officer, Jeff Ross has worldwide responsibility for Sybase's financial planning and analysis, taxation, treasury, controllership, investor relations, manufacturing and facilities functions.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Ross served as the corporate controller and chief accounting officer for the company. Additional roles at Sybase included group director of tax and corporate accounting with responsibility for the worldwide tax function and internal financial reporting.

Before joining Sybase in 1997, Mr. Ross spent 10 years at Price Waterhouse, where he served in a number of roles including senior manager in the International Tax Group.

Mr. Ross earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of California at Berkeley and is a certified public accountant in California.

John Sims heads the mobile messaging and mobile commerce business at Sybase. He is responsible for driving revenue and market leadership globally, and brings to Sybase a wealth of experience in the mobile market and general management.

From 2001 to 2010, John served as CEO of 724 Solutions, Inc., a company that engaged in the design, development, marketing and support of mobile internet/mobile broadband products for use by mobile network operators worldwide. He was also co-founder, CEO and President of TANTAU Software, Inc., a global provider of high volume, secure, mobile eCommerce solutions to enterprises. Prior to co-founding TANTAU, John served as COO of SCC Communications, a telecommunications support service company. He has also held several management positions at Tandem Computers – a developer of fault tolerant computer systems, and various financial and general management positions at Burroughs Corporation – a manufacturer of computer and related equipment.

In 2001, John was honored with the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the communications category for the Greater Austin area. He has been a speaker and panelist at numerous industry events, including the GSMA Mobile World Congress and CTIA events.

John holds an accounting undergraduate degree from University of Glasgow, Scotland.

As President of Sybase iAnywhere, Terry Stepien plays an integral role in establishing the company as the premier provider of mobile enterprise solutions. Under Stepien's management the company has established market leadership positions in mobile database, mobile middleware, and mobile device management. Enterprises around the world rely on Sybase iAnywhere to power their mobility solutions that improve productivity, streamline operations and create new revenue sources.

During his tenure at the company Mr. Stepien has held many positions including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile and Embedded Computing division. He also served as Vice President of Product Marketing responsible for Sybase’s key initiatives in Enterprise Data Management, Data Warehouse, Application Development Tools and Occasionally Connected Computing. Before coming to Sybase, Mr. Stepien was at Powersoft Corporation as Vice President of Marketing for Powersoft’s Watcom subsidiary. Mr. Stepien joined Watcom in the early stages of the company’s database business and built the database marketing organization prior to Watcom’s acquisition by Powersoft.

Mr. Stepien is an active member of industry consortiums, and is founder and co-chair of the ITAA m-Commerce Committee.

Mr. Stepien began his career at the University of Waterloo where he was engaged in software research and development at the University's Computer Systems Group, and where he held an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Computer Science. He is a recipient of the 2001 J.W. Graham Medal in Computing and Innovation from the University of Waterloo.

Mr. Stepien holds a Master of Mathematics degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario.

As vice president of Worldwide Human Resources, Nita White-Ivy is responsible for providing and implementing high-quality, state-of-the-art human resource services and programs for Sybase employees, management and executives.

Ms. White-Ivy oversees the worldwide management of talent acquisition, talent management, total rewards, business partnerships, employee relations, community relations and contributions, employee and site security, and HR due diligence for acquisitions and integration for Sybase. She implements the best practices in regards to competitive programs at Sybase, and works closely with her team to qualify and garner awards for the company as one of the best places to work and employer of excellence globally. Ms. White-Ivy also ensures that employee relations and practices are compliant with employment statues and labor laws of the 60 countries where Sybase is located. She joined Sybase in 1998.

Ms. White-Ivy has more than 30 years of hands-on expertise in all facets of human resources in the high technology industry. Before joining Sybase, she managed human resources for Unisys/Burroughs, Spectra Physics, Silicon Graphics and Siemens-Pyramid.

Ms. White-Ivy has an MBA and an MA in Counseling Psychology (7 quarter units short) from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California. She earned her BS in Business Administration with finance and accounting major with honors. She also holds a lifetime college teaching credentials from the State of California.