Ronald Schmelzer, Senior Analyst, ZapThink, LLC

Ronald Schmelzer, senior analyst and founder, is a well-known expert in the field of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web Services, and XML-based standards. Ron has been featured in and has written for periodicals, and has spoken at numerous industry conferences and in front of some of the largest busineses in the world.

Ron Schmelzer was the lead author of XML And Web Services Unleashed (SAMS 2002) as well as co-author of Service-Orient or Be Doomed (Wiley 2006) with Jason Bloomberg, due to be released in 2006. Ron has served as the chair of the RosettaNet Cluster 1 Workgroup, working group member of CPExchange, member of the UDDI advisory group, and was a member of the CompTIA Electronic Commerce Standards Board (ECSB). Prior to ZapThink, Ron was founder, CTO, and "ePostle of Partners" of ChannelWave Software, as well as founder and President of VirtuFlex Software, and founder and CEO of VirtuMall, one of the first online eCommerce sites in 1994.

Ron was named "Geek of the Week" in Internet Magazine and was listed in Boston Magazine's Internet Top 40. Ron received a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).