Leadership Team
Dr. Larry R. Harris - General Manager and Vice President
As General Manager and Vice President of the EasyAsk Division of Progress Software, Larry works closely with EasyAsk customers and partners to assess market requirements. He also works with the development team to create and implement a roadmap that keeps EasyAsk on the leading edge. Larry is internationally recognized as an expert on database systems and computerized natural language processing.
Larry came to Progress Software when the company he founded, EasyAsk, formerly Linguistic Technology Corporation (LTC), was acquired by Progress in 2005. Larry authored EasyAsk while at LTC. Prior to founding EasyAsk/LTC, Larry was the founder of Artificial Intelligence Corporation, later renamed, AICorp, which went public in 1990. Larry's early research involved a unique language analysis technique that became the foundation of Intellect, AICorp's mainframe natural language product, which has the distinction of being the first third-party software ever sold by IBM. Larry was also the chief architect of KBMS, an expert system tool, and InfoHub, a relational engine for accessing non-relational mainframe data. Prior to founding AICorp, Larry was a Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College and a visiting professor at MIT.
Dr. Harris received a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University and is the author of "AI Enters the Marketplace", published by Bantam Dell Publishing Group.
Dr. Richard Wood - Vice President, Development
Dr. Richard Wood is Vice President of Product Development for the EasyAsk Division of Progress Software. He is responsible for the development infrastructure of EasyAsk, and leads the software engineering team for all EasyAsk products and embedded OEM applications.
Rich has over 25 years experience leading software development projects and teams. Prior to joining Progress EasyAsk, he was a divisional Vice President at Computer Associates (CA) and Platinum Technology, which was acquired by CA. During his time there, he led development efforts for the data synchronization products InfoPump and DecisionBase. Before joining CA/Platinum Technology, Rich held senior positions at AICorp and Teknowledge. At AICorp he developed KBMS, a rules-based inference engine, and Intellect natural language query system. At Teknowledge he developed S.1, a rules-based inference engine for manufacturing, diagnosis, and configuration applications. Prior to joining Teknowledge, he was a Fullbright lecturer at the University of Paris.
Rich holds an A.B. in mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland.
Stephen Walsh - Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
As Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at EasyAsk, Steve oversees EasyAsk go-to-market strategy and execution, and works closely with customers and partners.
Prior to joining Progress Software in 2007, Steve served as General Manager, Americas, for enterprise software vendor Enlight Inc. While at Enlight, Steve developed and executed the company's direct and OEM sales and marketing strategy, increasing revenue by more than 400% prior to the company's acquisition in 2007 by German software vendor, datango. Prior to Enlight, Steve held senior sales and marketing positions at Fast Search and Transfer, an enterprise search firm, x.hlp, an enterprise software vendor, RM plc, Europe's largest supplier of technology to education, and 3M. Steve's experience includes the successful launch of two European firm's US operations and the management of the global launch for two enterprise software platforms.
Steve holds a BS in Managerial and Administrative Studies from the Aston University Business School, UK, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
