Leadership Team

Michael Berkman

Founder & CEO

Michael leads Celerity with entrepreneurial spirit and a collaborative approach that challenges each employee to innovate in order to find success. He encourages autonomy, creativity, opportunistic vigilance and independent thinking across the board. It was his own independent thinking that led him to start Celerity in 2002, during a time of economic uncertainty.

Determined not to be a “look-alike” company, Michael built Celerity using a lean, outside-the-mold business model. Together with his leadership partners, Michael has successfully grown Celerity to a $100M company by fusing the strengths of a strategic consulting firm with the power and depth of a top-notch recruiting organization.

Prior to starting Celerity, Michael was a founding partner of Acuity Technology Services, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1996 until 2000. He was instrumental in the company’s growth to a 450-person operation with $55M+ in revenue over four years. Michael has more than 25 years of diverse entrepreneurial experience. He has founded four companies, helped to establish a bank in organization and has advised and accepted leadership positions in numerous ventures.

Michael’s philanthropic involvement is equally impressive. He currently serves as the treasurer and executive board member for Refugees International―a charitable organization that provides life-saving advocacy and protection for displaced people around the world. Michael puts his entrepreneurial savvy to use by providing financial guidance and insight for running the $4M organization.

Michael lives in Bethesda, MD, with his wife and two children.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

Jim Bailoni

President, PA

The founding partner of Celerity’s PA operations, Jim brings entrepreneurial fervor and sound strategic leadership to PA’s growing operations across four offices and several marquee client accounts.

Since becoming a partner in 2004, Jim has been driven by the vision of building a company that “does the right thing” for its customers and its employees. He has pursued that vision, growing a highly successful business with $32M in revenue and 250 employees. Jim's pursuits have lead the company to create a center of excellence around user-centered design and agile development methods in Pittsburgh, PA (The Innovation Center), form the Healthcare Solutions Practice and forge new service offerings for vendor management solutions.

Jim’s hard work has been recognized by employees and clients alike: Celerity IT of PA was named a “Best Place to Work in PA” for two consecutive years and was nominated for Business of the Year in 2011. Jim was also nominated for CEO of the Year by the Central Penn Business Journal in 2009. 

Prior to joining Celerity, he was a Managing Director at Keane, Inc. (previously Metro Information Systems and STI) where he was instrumental in building their project-based and outsourced technology portfolio across Pennsylvania.

Jim is an avid skier and enjoys spending time outdoors with his family.

Connect with Jim on LinkedIn

Michael King

President, NY

Michael is the founding partner of Celerity’s New York region, which includes greater New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Colorado.  He has been instrumental in building Celerity’s business across the financial services and banking industry, with several global finance companies on his client roster.

Michael grew Celerity’s footprint by opening offices in Hartford, Connecticut, and Denver, Colorado, and expanding into the healthcare industry to support Cigna as a national vendor.

With nearly 20 years of experience in information technology sales, consulting services and sales management, Michael previously was a founding partner of Symmetry Technology, an IT consulting firm based in New York.

Michael graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Economics. He lives in Livingston, New Jersey, with his wife and two children.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

Mark Drever

President, Celerity Government Solutions

Mark spearheaded the formation of Celerity Government Solutions (CGS), successfully leading the company into the federal sector through creative partnering approaches and competitive service offerings. Since founding CGS in 2009, Mark has grown the company to 80 employees and $15M in revenue. Under Mark’s esteemed leadership, CGS has broken into new accounts at the Department of Homeland Security (TSA), Department of Defense and several agencies within the intelligence community. His team has won prime contract vehicles with GSA and Department of Navy.

With more than 15 years of management consulting experience, Mark previously served as an Account Executive and Consulting Practice Leader at IBM, where he built and managed a federal portfolio of 30+ programs and $50M in revenue.  Mark’s business development efforts resulted in more than $250M in new business signings over his career with IBM.

Mark holds a BA in Politics and Government from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA in Corporate Finance from The University of Georgia, Terry College of Business. An avid outdoorsman, he lives in Ashburn, VA, with his wife and two children. He is very active in the Wounded Warrior Project and has participated in the Washington, DC Soldier Ride.  In 2011 Mark was named one of EnVest Foundation’s “40 under 40” for his significant professional and philanthropic contributions to the DC community.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

Panos Dimitriades

Executive VP, Talent Solutions

Panos is responsible for all aspects of sales and business development for Celerity’s Talent Solutions business and new commercial accounts.

With over 20 years of IT software and staffing experience, Panos has built and led many successful sales teams for leading companies in Northern Virginia.  Panos began his career as an IT recruiter and quickly moved into sales management roles, where he applied his competitive drive, entrepreneurial spirit and personable relationship skills to achieve success. His areas of expertise include sales training and strategic planning, business development, project delivery and field operations—all with an emphasis on exceptional performance.

Panos manages a team of account executives focused on identifying, developing and closing IT staff augmentation business. He is responsible for creating an overall strategy to approach the marketplace while establishing best practices around sales processes, lead generation and activity metrics.

Panos holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and International Business from Jacksonville University. He lives with his wife and two children in Oak Hill, VA.

Connect with Panos on LinkedIn

Anne deRosset Falatko

Executive VP, Recruiting

Anne leads Celerity’s strategic talent sourcing and recruiting programs, ensuring top talent is matched to the right position for every requirement. To keep pace with Celerity’s rapid and organic growth, Anne built dedicated recruiting teams focused on industry and functional areas. She sets the bar high for Celerity’s talent services, grooming professional recruiters with impeccable skills and savvy.

With more than 20 years of staffing experience herself, Anne possesses a finely honed ability to evaluate and select the ideal candidates for Celerity’s internal requirements and client-facing needs. Her team is currently working to perfect the company-wide recruiting process using Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Prior to joining Celerity, Anne served as the VP of Recruiting for Acuity Technology from 1996 to 2000. She is a die-hard Tarheel and proud Southern transplant—earning her BS in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. Anne now resides in Georgetown, where she is active in community organizations and volunteers at her children’s school. She enjoys cooking and long walks on the beach.

Connect with Anne on LinkedIn

Kevin Coyle

Executive VP, Consulting Solutions

A lifetime consultant and delivery expert, Kevin oversees the ongoing maturation and execution of Celerity’s business and technology solutions. Since joining Celerity in 2003, Kevin has spearheaded the formation and growth of organized practice areas which currently serve as the key mechanism for delivering agile, client-focused consulting solutions. 

Today, Kevin leads four key practices areas: Web & Mobile Solutions, Business Process Management, Enterprise Technology Solutions and Project & Portfolio Management. In addition, Kevin provides executive oversight of Celerity's Richmond office. His leadership, management and consulting skills enable him to attract industry-leading talent to his organization and guide his teams in solving clients’ toughest challenges.

Kevin previously was the Director for the Financial Services Practice at Digital Focus, a boutique management and technology consulting firm. He also was the Director of eBusiness at 2nd Century Communications and held a variety of managerial roles at Fannie Mae.  Kevin received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delaware in Newark, DE.

In his free time, Kevin coaches lacrosse and is an avid golfer. He lives in Ashburn, VA, with his wife and two children.

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn

Roger Harman

Executive VP, Consulting Services

Roger runs Celerity’s consulting services for the secondary mortgage market. In this crucial role, he is responsible for leading several of Celerity’s largest and most valued accounts.  Since joining the firm in 2005, he has been instrumental in building the consulting business organically to a $30M segment of the business.  He has extensive experience in service delivery roles across a number of industry verticals and has held key leadership roles within many technology disciplines. 

Prior to joining Celerity, he held executive positions at MCI/WorldCom, Manor Care Health Services and Hechinger. 

Roger received a BBA from James Madison University and resides in Leesburg, Virginia, with his family. He enjoys golfing and skiing.

Connect with Roger on LinkedIn

Rob Smith

Executive VP, Commercial Sales

Rob is responsible for all aspects of sales and business development for Celerity’s commercial consulting services accounts in the metro DC and Dallas markets. Possessing a true passion for collaborating with clients and delivery teams to architect lasting solutions, Rob has helped many leading clients break through critical stuck points. He has been instrumental in building Celerity’s commercial sales team, providing vital leadership and insight to guide the company’s rapid growth.

Prior to joining Celerity in 2010, Rob served as the Vice President of Sales at Iron Mountain. His marketing and sales leadership drove annual federal sales to over $50M. In 2004, Iron Mountain acquired Arcemus, a private equity venture he co-founded.  At Arcemus, Rob led the sales team and facilitated revenue growth of more than $4M over a two-year period establishing a Global 2000 client base consisting of major blue-chip commercial companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, BMW, Sara Lee, Condé Nast Publications and Estée Lauder.

Rob has 20 years of experience in solution sales and management consulting and has served in leadership roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Accenture. He has worked with numerous Fortune 1000 companies in a variety of areas, including business process improvement, enterprise resource planning implementations, program management and enterprise change management services.

An avid golfer, Rob lives with his wife and three children in Ashburn, VA.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn

Lewis Waters

Founder & COO/CFO

As the Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Lewis leads the finance and accounting, human resource,marketing and IT departments at Celerity. His strong commitment to the fundamentals of healthy profit margins and sound investment decisions has been a key factor in Celerity’s financial growth and stability.

An original founding partner, Lewis has confidently guided Celerity from its humble beginnings through growth curves to its current $100M in revenue―without the aid of equity infusions. He works closely with the partnership team to set the strategic direction for the company, making smart decisions for Celerity’s long-term viability and market competitiveness.

Lewis has more than 20 years of experience providing financial, operational and management expertise to entrepreneurial companies. Prior to founding Celerity with his partners in 2002, Lewis was the CFO for Acuity Technology Services. He was instrumental in adding layers of increasing sophistication, responsiveness and productive capacity to Acuity’s financial and operational needs during its rapid growth and highly successful sale.

Lewis holds a BS in Accounting from James Madison University and an MBA from Virginia Tech. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Northern Virginia.

Connect with Lewis on LinkedIn