SafeNet Consulting names new managing director, managing partner
Software development and management consulting firm SafeNet Consulting announced that Ryan Bennett, previously the firm’s director of consulting services, has been promoted to managing director. He will oversee SafeNet’s cloud, UX, and emerging technologies practices, as well as its project services division and all consulting field work.
Bennett will report to Kelli Schnieder, who will act as sole managing partner – an appointment made after the planned departure of Jason Dobbs, Schnieder’s co-managing partner. Schnieder will head sales, marketing, delivery, and back office operations. “I’m grateful for my eight years at SafeNet, the great clients I’ve worked with there and all the professional relationships and friendships I’ve made,” Dobbs said in a press release.
Bennett has been with SafeNet for nearly six years, joining first as a lead consultant before being named director of consulting services in November 2018. He has also worked as a software developer for Muse Storytelling, a software engineer for VCPI, and an application developer for GMR Marketing. He holds a political science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and is co-founder of Code The Way, an organization that teaches software development to high school students.
“Ryan’s background as a field consultant gives him the unique perspective to help shape the future of SafeNet from a consultant’s point of view,” Schnieder said. “We have exciting plans at SafeNet utilizing Ryan’s unique skillset.”
SafeNet’s Milwaukee office focuses on software development, cloud services, user experience, and emerging technologies. Its suburban Minnetonka branch, in turn, offers management consulting and data and analytics services. The firm was founded in 1994, employs approximately 90 people, and in 2017 generated $14.5 million in revenue. In its 25 years of operation, SafeNet has worked with 480 clients on 1752 projects, according to its website. Together with its clients, SafeNet creates “innovative custom software applications in the web, mobile, and cloud space.”
The role of technology is becoming a disruptive force in the consulting world, with “digital transformation” now the fastest-growing segment of the consulting sector. This has also resulted in blurred lines between traditional consulting work and technology work. With such a focus on digital services, consulting firms are delivering much more technology work, and are extending their reach into a realm previously classified as “non-consulting.”
