Chris Eckert - President

Keeping his clients’ goals and objectives at the forefront, Chris carefully analyzes each organization’s situation and culture, and recommends customized programs that not only meet their needs, but help them achieve success beyond what they anticipated.

He formerly fulfilled design and reliability engineering roles within both Dow Chemical, and Rohm Haas.

After leading the implementation of RCA programs at site and enterprise levels within Rohm Haas, the organization quickly sought his help spreading the success across other departments, including environmental health and safety, supply chain/logistics, customer service and accounting.

Working with clients in a variety of industries, Chris is especially well-versed in the chemical/petrochemical, and aviation/aerospace industries.  

When a supplier of aircraft components learned that its sole source relationship with a major customer was in jeopardy, it called in Chris to help save the contract.  Described by both parties as a "broke and dysfunctional" relationship, Chris performed a RCA and successfully identified solutions that not only resolved the problem, but improved their relations.  Both parties said a resolution would have been impossible without the insights and solutions Chris delivered.

Chris holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and has been President of Apollo since 2002.

Brian Hughes - Vice President

Whether through training, investigation, or program development Brian works tirelessly to ensure that clients achieve a significant return on their investment in Apollo.  Brian understands that every client requires a unique approach to maximize the value they receive from Apollo.

Since joining Apollo in 2000, Brian has worked with clients to develop and implement enterprise-wide RCA programs.  His experience at Apollo includes leading significant incident investigations including major explosions, chemical releases, consumer product contamination, failures of critical aircraft components/systems, supply chain process problems, and inventory reduction/optimization.

Brian has helped clients achieve savings in excess of $100 million as well as significant improvements in safety, quality, and reliability.

His clients include The Boeing Company, Raytheon, Moog, Honeywell, Goodrich Aerospace, Parker, BAE Systems, Coca Cola Enterprises, Alcoa, and Lockheed Martin.

Brian has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (Finance) from Western Washington University.

Jimmy Marullo - Director of Instructor Certification

"Effective problem solving is a daily way of thinking, not just something you do when there's an accident or failure" - an insightful mantra spoken by a true licensed psychotherapist.  With a motive to educate and empower his clients, Jimmy has helped many companies and their employees to broaden their view of root cause analysis from mere problem-solving tool to opportunity-generator.

He teaches countless RCA classes, trains Apollo RCA instructors, and works closely with clients on investigations and initiatives.

Jimmy works with leaders in industries like power generation, manufacturing, construction, mining and healthcare.  Clients include Ameren, James Hardie Building Products, Kennecott Utah Copper, Lafarge, Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services, Siemens, and Southern Company.

Jimmy also holds a Masters of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Houston.

Marcus McCoy - Account Manager

Marcus' background as a machinist on a factory floor gives him the perspective to understand the client side of the training experience. Whether he's leading an incident investigation, helping clients set up an RCA program, or managing Apollo's finances, Marcus is focused on providing the highest value possible for his clients.

His training in accounting, finance and the Apollo method offer his clients an account manager who has a unique background with both administrative and operations personnel.

With broad experience working with companies in manufacturing, aerospace and park services, some of Marcus' key clients include Starcon International Inc., National Park Service, Cessna Aircraft, and WorleyParsons.  Within these companies, he often works closely with the operations, management and information technology disciplines.

Marcus holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Finance from the University of Phoenix.

John Stiller - Director of Industrial Services

Most recently with Fortune 500 Ameren Corporation, John has more than 26 years of experience in electric power generation as a licensed Professional Engineer and Six Sigma Black Belt.  He handled engineering issues related to turbine generators, fossil boilers, total systems, and much more while working in an ISO 9001 environment.

Within Ameren, John launched and consistently improved an overall RCA program as a Certified Apollo RCA Instructor.  As a result, he is known within the power generation industry as a leader in corrective action, including highly effective RCA program initiation and implementation.

After 26 years on the industry side, John empathizes with his clients' perspectives, challenges and needs.  When it comes to helping electrical power generation clients, he knows first-hand how to solve the dilemmas faced when trying to implement corrective-action and problem-solving methods that were designed for the more complicated and well-funded nuclear power environment.

Bill Demchuk - Instructor + Facilitator

Bill's 14-year experience as a paramedic with BC Ambulance gives him the ability to think on his feet, a required skill for an instructor and investigator such as Bill.  Bill also has prior experience in the Pulp & Paper industry

Whether pulling a long stretch on the road teaching RCA classes, or leading high-profile investigations, Bill is focused on helping his clients improve by using Apollo RCA.

Clients feedback tells us that Bill is an engaging and dynamic instructor, who makes class enjoyable and learning easy.

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Cory Boisoneau - Manager, Sales & Marketing

With a background in sales and customer service, Cory's approach to marketing keeps clients' needs in the top priority position.  He is often busy helping fellow employees ensure their clients' expectations are exceeded, but also thinks of new ways to serve existing and potential clients through the website, written materials and services offerings. Cory also heads Apollo's sales efforts in the US and Canada.

Cory helped Dow Chemical create a platform to analyze their OSHA recordable injuries and events.  By compiling all the events together in a standardized and easily readable format, Dow and Apollo were able to draw valuable conclusions that helped Dow pinpoint solutions.

Cory holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (International Business) and a minor in Jazz Studies from Washington State University.

Debbie Alford, Public Relations Specialist

Communicating information that will help Apollo clients improve their problem-solving capabilities, cost-avoidance and bottom-line results is Debbie's mission.  Working closely with Apollo consultants, investigators and clients, Debbie packages a wealth of RCA best practices, case studies, success stories and trends designed to deliver value to Apollo's ever-growing client base.

With Debbie's initiative, Apollo's thought leadership has been showcased in publications including BizTech, Maintenance Technology, Occupational Health & Safety, Professional Safety, Pumps & Systems, Quality Digest, and Quality Progress, as well as during trade show presentations at the American Society of Safety Engineers, American Society for Quality, IT Service Management Forum, National Safety Council, and Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals.

Over the last 20 years, Debbie has overseen strategic communications programs for a variety of professional services companies, including legal, financial, consulting and technical services.  These include Marger Johnson & McCollom intellectual property attorneys, Hitachi Consulting, Jonckers Translation and Localization, and Homestead Capital affordable housing investments.

Bruce Ballinger, RCA Program Deployment Specialist

Bruce Ballinger is a root cause analysis program implementation specialist and a certified change management practitioner. A seasoned expert in applying the powerful combination of root cause analysis and change management principles to achieve significant returns on investment, Bruce has authored papers for PROSCI's Change Management Learning Center's national conference. He has put these principles into practice for clients in a variety of industries, and while serving as president of Mountain Cement.

Dixie Kelley - Controller

Dixie serves as controller for Apollo, handling accounts payable and receivable.  Additionally, Dixie provides administrative support for Apollo's LMS and other systems.

Dixie has a wealth of accounting and property/facility management experience, having worked for Trammell Crow (multiple locations), Trillium, Purdue Credit Union, Scheumann Properties, a small newspaper, a dot com, a concrete company, an accounting recruiting company, several local pre-schools as well as urgent care. 

Dixie graduated in 1992 from the University of West Florida with a BA in Accounting.

Melani Egbert - Office Professional

When you register for an Apollo seminar, or place an order with our office, it is likely that Melani will be your first point of contact to assist you with your needs. Whether she is scheduling Apollo's next symposium, organizing Apollo classes, fulfilling orders, or making sure public seminars go off without a hitch, Melani is focusing first and foremost on customer service.

Melani has an extensive background in the private club business in the various disciplines including Service Director, Special Events Coordinator and Member Relations Director. Although different in their function each position has provided her with a solid foundation of customer service and customer satisfaction. Additionally, her previous experiences integrated training service staff, planning and executing special events and reducing attrition all of which are complementary assets to her duties at Apollo. Melani is currently attending Northwood University, honing her abilities while developing new skills.