Wendy Tao, President, Bluestone Technologies, Inc.
Ms. Tao is a multi-talented professional with 20 years of experience in a diverse array of IT related proficiencies including IT business consulting, professional recruiting, project management, and educational consulting. Ms. Tao has provided excellent leadership with a global collaboration model applied first to offshore software development and then to developing educational programs. Her strong communication and organizational skills have served her well in positions as Business Analyst, Project Coordinator and Project Manager.
Ms. Tao is the co-owner of Novanis, an IT consulting firm headquartered in Springfield, Illinois. Novanis specializes in infrastructure technology and management, technical services, high-end system and software resell, business solutions and application development with a focus on government clients.
Ms. Tao stayed busy pursuing her master’s degree while working full-time and serving as a person in charge of overseeing Novanis’ consulting projects that included technical services and application development. These projects featured a partnership with IBM for a state-wide technical services contract for the State of Illinois, Track4LA – an application developed for the City of Los Angeles, and an enterprise document management system for the Alameda County Employment Retirements Association.
Ms. Tao has never been afraid to take on new challenges that have ultimately taken her professional success to new heights. She worked closely with the former Dean McNeil of the UIS College of Business and Management and was one of the key persons to help expand UIS’ brand in the ascending education market in China. She set up another company, Bluestone Technologies Inc. d/b/a Bluestone International Education with branch office in China, to recruit Chinese students and assist UIS with its cooperation program development with Chinese universities. Bluestone International Education won the formal contract with the University of Illinois to represent UIS in China; and has brought in more than two hundred Chinese students and scholars to UIS since 2011.
Ms. Tao earned her undergraduate degree in Architecture from Tianjin University in Tianjin, China. Her talents and skills in architectural design and construction management were demonstrated through the building of the six thousand square feed Novanis E-Business Center completed in 2001.