Our founding team worked together previously in other businesses and came to appreciate each other’s skills and how they could be applied to transform the workforce in terms of how people are managed within organizations to Unlock Human Potential in the context of greater Organizational Productivity. The solution lies in applying proven System Change methods with rigorous Scientific Research into the causal factors underlying Human-centered Productivity and Well-being.
John Carlson (no relation to co-founder Stephanie Carlson) is an operations and finance executive and consultant who has provided experienced leadership to build, turn around, and improve performance in diverse businesses and industries. John’s career began at General Instrument where he was vice president of finance & controller of a global semiconductor business, leading process improvement across the supply chain. He then contributed strong leadership and change management skills in the cable industry, followed by the turnaround and repositioning of Tessera (now publicly traded as Xperi) as a global intellectual property licensing leader. John’s human-centered perspective as CEO, COO, and CFO throughout his career inform the values and value proposition of Reflective Performance. John earned his bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, and his MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also co-authored a book for Wiley on applying a systems approach to healthcare.
Paul Floyd is a technology operating executive, consultant, and advisor with a track record of achieving rapid product and service growth at scale. After starting his career at AT&T Bell Labs, Paul transitioned to the midstage and startup environment. Each industry and company size has presented unique challenges, from the evolving dynamics of startups to the diversity of interests managing acquisitions, integrations, and divestitures in mid-to-enterprise size companies. As COO at iBasis, a pioneering and entrepreneurial global VoIP technology startup, Paul drove growth to $1.2 billion in revenue, leading to a successful exit with the sale of the company to KPN in the Netherlands. Paul’s educational experiences include bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of South Florida.
Charlie McCleary joined Reflective Performance in 2023 to assist with legal and administrative responsibilities. He has served as in-house counsel and corporate secretary for a variety of companies, and served as a senior executive in financial technology and an expert in income taxation. Previously, Charlie provided tax advisory services through PWC. He joined RPI on the strength of its “compelling, neuroscience-based story” and “exceptional SaaS offerings.” He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, McGill University, and Tufts University.
Bill Burke has more than 25 years of CFO experience, raised over $100 million of working capital for both private and public companies, built multiple finance functions, led international expansion, M&A projects, and took several companies public. Bill was the first CFO at Boston Technology. During his eight year tenure the company grew from 22 employees and $1 million in revenue to over 450 employees and more than $105 million in revenue. Boston Technology had a successful exit with the sale of the company for more than $840 million. Bill has also been an investment banker. As the Director of Telecommunications Banking at Tucker Anthony, he managed private placements, public offerings, merger and acquisitions, and financial advisory engagements. Bill earned his bachelor’s degree from Bentley University, and his MBA in finance from Suffolk University.
Over the course of a 15-year career in technology, Isaac Van Wesep has held senior leadership roles at companies serving millions of students and professionals, including as co-founder and CEO at Validated Learning Co. and as the non-founder President of Work on Learning, Inc. He is currently CEO at Reflection Sciences, Inc., the sister company of Reflective Performance, Inc. As a former social-impact venture capital investor, Isaac has both raised and deployed capital for early-stage companies. He is also an advisor and mentor at Edinno, the learning community for edtech innovators, and at StartEd, helping founders solve the biggest problems in education and the workforce. Isaac holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors from Earlham College and holds an MBA cum laude from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College, where he was a Student Leadership Scholar. Isaac is a recipient of the 2018 Visionary Award from the City of Cambridge Chamber of Commerce for his work with Validated Learning.
Shawn Wood is a results-driven leader with more than 25 years of experience guiding companies through transformative journeys in product, data, process, and technology — across diverse industries. With a deep technical background encompassing development and architecture, Shawn has a unique ability to align product and technology strategies with overarching business goals. From developer to architect, manager to consultant, and in executive leadership positions, Shawn has aligned technology solutions with specific business needs. His insights and approach have enabled startups to navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, seize market opportunities, and scale their operations effectively. He is currently Vice President of Product and Technology at Reflection Sciences, Inc., the sister company of Reflective Performance, Inc. Shawn’s academic foundation includes a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in business from North Dakota State University.
Philip Zelazo is a co-founder of Reflective Performance, Inc., where he serves as an advisor on research and development. Previously, Phil co‐founded Reflection Sciences, Inc., which provides executive function assessment and solutions for young students. Phil received his doctorate from Yale and was previously Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. He is presently the Lindahl Professor at the Institute of Child Development at University of Minnesota. His research has shaped scientific understanding of the development and neural correlates of executive function skills as well as how to measure and promote these skills across the lifespan, with an important focus on workforce development and performance.
Stephanie Carlson is a co‐founder of Reflective Performance, Inc. As a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota, she conducts research on the measurement and development of executive function skills. She helps Reflective Performance translate neuroscience‐based assessments and data analytics for use in business and industry. Previously, Stephanie co‐founded Reflection Sciences, Inc., which provides executive function assessment and solutions for young students. “I have a passion for helping children succeed in life,” she says, “and one of the most important and effective ways to do that is by helping their parents and other adults in society perform at their best so that they can obtain, maintain, and advance in good jobs. That’s the promise I see with Reflective Performance.” Stephanie is a graduate of Bucknell University and earned her PhD in experimental psychology at the University of Oregon.
Jamie Gilson is a former New Jersey deputy attorney general, an experienced criminal trial attorney, and a registered nurse. Before retirement, he served in the Office of the New Jersey Public Defender as managing attorney of the Special Hearings Unit (Northern Division). He is also an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School, teaching courses focusing on human rights and mental disability law. Jamie earned a bachelor’s degree at Adelphi University. His desire to advocate for the needs of patients inspired him to pursue a law degree at New York Law. While attending law school, he worked as a nurse in the Critical Care Units of New York Infirmary, where he gained important experience working with victims of violent crimes. Jamie continued to work in emergency and trauma nursing after graduating from law school. He is now bringing executive function to governmental services, inspired by its objective nature to improve how people can be better understood and receive services.
As a managing director at Winsby Inc., C. Stephen Clegg oversees the analytics division, Zintoro. He developed an AI model to pinpoint a company’s strengths and weaknesses, based on their past three-plus years of invoice data. This model is trained to predict the direction of an organization’s revenues, customer retention, and purchase frequency if nothing changes with their approach. It also provides the ROI on marketing, customer satisfaction, employee assessment, and training programs according to their customers’ purchases and retention. Steve has more than 30 years of experience acquiring and building companies in a range of industries. He worked previously with John G. Carlson, Reflective Performance, Inc.’s CEO, and they have combined forces to connect customer retention with employee retention to address the root causes of organizational performance at the human level. Steve has his MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
A human-centered solution to optimize productivity and sustain high profitability.
