meet the team

Elire’s leadership team leverages an average of 25+ years of product and process expertise in their respective fields to be your Trusted Advisors. We understand your pain points, having overcome many of them as implementers, managers, analysts, and users. We get your priorities and needs as C and D suite executives. Meet the experts developing the methodologies, processes, and solutions our 250+ clients can attribute to IT transformation success.  

Executive team

Grant Bernardy

Grant Bernardy

Co-CEO

Mr. Bernardy serves as an Elire Co-CEO overseeing the Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations departments. Grant has 20+ years of Oracle and PeopleSoft experience and is recognized as a thought leader for IT transformation in the industry.

Michael Merrill Headshot

Michael Merrill

Co-CEO

Mr. Merrill serves as an Elire Co-CEO overseeing Delivery Services and Talent Management including Human Resources, Recruiting, and Learning Development. Michael has 25+ years of ERP deliver experience and is recognized as a project and program management leader empowering teams to drive project success.

Chris Costakes

Cloud Center of Excellence Lead

Mr. Costakes serves as Elire’s Cloud Center of Excellence Lead, overseeing Elire’s Cloud ERP, Cloud HCM, and Cloud Transformation Practice Areas. Chris has 20+ Years of PeopleSoft and Oracle Cloud Experience, excelling in transforming organization’s IT footprint by migrating from on-premise applications to Oracle Cloud.

carlos conde

Carlos Conde

Treasury Center of Excellence Lead

Mr. Conde serves as Elire’s Treasury Center of Excellence Lead overseeing Elire’s SaaS Treasury, ERP Treasury, and Treasury Advisory Services Practices. Mr. Conde has 25+ years of diverse Treasury Implementation and Advisory Services expertise and is recognized as a Trusted Advisor and Thought leader in the Treasury Space. 

Jeff-Hillard

Jeff Hilliard

On-Premise Center of Excellence Lead

Mr. Hilliard serves as Elire’s On Premise Center of Excellence lead, overseeing PeopleSoft and EBS upgrades, implementations, and optimization initiatives. Mr. Hilliard has 20+ Years of Oracle and PeopleSoft application expertise, specializing in maximizing the value of PeopleSoft and modernizing the application for Elire’s clients as their organizations grow. 

Brian Peterson

Managed Services Center of Excellence Lead

Mr. Peterson serves as Elire’s Managed Services Center of Excellence Lead, delivering continued application support and infrastructure services for Elire’s valued Clients. Brian has 20+ years of ERP Technical expertise his team utilizes to streamline application support and extend the application value for on-premise and cloud applications.

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Richard Merrill

Advisory Services Center of Excellence Lead

Mr. Merrill serve’s as Elire’s Management Advisory Services Center of Excellence Lead and Head of Service Delivery. Richard’s 20+ Years of Advisory Services and Project Management expertise have developed Elire’s Success Delivered Methodologies and templates to deliver proven, best practice tools for project success.

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Landon Hartvigsen

Director of Strategic Alliances and Sales Operations

Mr. Hartvigsen focuses on networking with current and potential partners to determine how to best utilize those relationships and whether new partners align with Elire’s overall business strategy.  

He also oversees contracts management and Inside Sales management and growth. 

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Alvaro Sanson

PeopleSoft Treasury Practice Lead

Mr. Sanson serves as Elire’s PeopleSoft Treasury Practice Lead, leading PeopleSoft Treasury Implementations and Optimizations for Elire’s valued clients. Alvaro has 25+ years of Treasury expertise and is recognized as a Trusted Advisor for Treasury in the Healthcare and Education sectors.

Michael (Mike) Graham

Partner Emeritus

Mr. Graham serves as Elire’s Partner Emeritus. Mike has 25+ years of corporate finance and ERP system expertise including Oracle EBS, Cloud, and various TMS systems.

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Karen Willis

Partner Emeritus

Ms. Willis, PMP, CTP, serves as Elire’s Partner Emeritus. Karen has 25+ years of diverse Treasury Implementation and Advisory Services expertise. 

Directors

Mike Surma Headshot

Michael Surma

Director of Human Resources

Mr. Surma serves as Elire’s Director of Human Resources, overseeing Elire’s human resource initiatives. As a business-focused leader, Mr. Surma values partnering with other executives to plan and deliver high-quality solutions and services to employees at all levels.

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Tavia Lundquist

Director of Finance and Operations

Ms. Lundquist serves as Elire’s Director of Finance and Operations, increasing enterprise value through strategic financial management, cost reductions, internal controls, and efficiency enhancements. As a dedicated financial executive with progressive experience in the field, she is a trusted financial advisor who builds strong working relationships with Elire clients and contributors.

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Michael Friend

Director of Sales

Mr. Friend serves as Elire’s Director of Sales, overseeing Elire’s Client Relationships Pillar and all Sales and Marketing activities. Mr. Friend brings 10 years of sales experience in Financial, Legal, and Software services and over five years of management experience and relationships from his tenure at Oracle America Inc.