Barbara VanKirk

President and Founder

Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Katz Graduate School of Business, Pittsburgh, PA
BS Computer Science
Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA

Barbara VanKirk’s success has not gone by unrecognized. She was selected as one of “Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business” by the governor in 2003 and in 2008, an Enterprising Women of the Year Award winner. In 2007, Barbara received the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce ROC’s (Recognizing Organizations and Companies that Shine in our Community) Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Barbara was awarded Point Park University’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement for 2010, Seton Hill University’s 2009 E-Magnify ATHENA® Award, and 2009 Friend of the Family by the Parental Stress Center of Pittsburgh.

IQ Inc. was named the 2009 Pittsburgh Business Ethics Award (small business category) by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh. IQ was honored as The Western Pennsylvania Woman-Owned Business of the Year in 2011.

Barbara served on the executive committee of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and the Murrysville Personnel Board. She is a member of Point Park University Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Business, the Forbes Health Foundation Board of Directors of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Forbes Regional Campus, and is a founding member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council (Westmoreland County). She is an active member of the Women’s Presidents’ Organization, Pittsburgh Technology Council, and the Society of Women Engineers. Barbara has most recently been appointed to the Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development as a Chair on the Internships, Externships and Apprenticeships Task Force.

Amy Peterson

Chief Operating Officer

BS Computer Science and Mathematics
Clarion University, Clarion, PA

Amy serves as a member of the senior management team, responsible for defining strategic direction and instituting systems and processes that provide effective management to obtain IQ’s strategic direction and goals. Her focus is on driving service excellence, customer and employee satisfaction, organizational effectiveness, and overall continuous improvement.

Amy received her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Clarion University in 1988 and has been an active leader in the Pittsburgh software development community for the last 28 years. She has worked for large and small businesses in the fields of software development, project management, engineering management, business development, and process improvement, and has held various senior management positions. Her software experience resides over all aspects and types of software engineering including embedded systems, PC systems, web applications, and mobile applications.

Amy has focused much of her career on implementing software engineering best practices and processes in highly regulated industries, developing leaders within her organizations, growing and developing great teams, and bettering our technical communities by supporting co-op and internship programs from various educational institutions.

Most recently, Amy co-founded and coordinates the Pittsburgh Technology Leaders Group (PTLG). The group’s mission is to provide opportunities for local technical leaders to grow in knowledge and skills though collaboration, education, and encouragement. She is also a member of the Pittsburgh Agile Executive Forum, the Pittsburgh chapter of Women in Bio, the AdvaMed Women’s Executive Network, and the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

Jean Pucek

Director of Operations

B.A. in Business Administration
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota

Jean is a results-oriented leader tasked with the important job of keeping IQ awesome – while at the same time growing our company and people. She has a passion for technology, people, and finding the unique opportunities where they can come together.

Since 2011 Jean has helped grow the people, culture, and business of IQ through her role in recruiting, HR, and operations. She is a naturally empathetic person who instinctively cares, and is passionate about finding, engaging, and developing the people of IQ.

Jean is also the reigning ping pong champion of the IQ “Southwest Division”.

Norbert Balko

Software Engineering Manager

BS Electrical Engineering
MS Software Development and Management
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Customer focused manager with over 25 years of experience developing electrical and software products across a wide spectrum of industries. Superb project management, problem solving, judgement and decision making skills. Extensive knowledge of all design stages from inception to final product delivery.

• Position: Engineering Manager, Project Manager, Sr. Software Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Test Engineer
• Industries: Medical Device, Electric Utility, Process Control, Automotive, Consumer Appliance
• Competencies: Project Management, Software Development, System Integration, Manufacturing, Subcontractor Management, Process Improvement, Risk Management, Formal Test

Ryan Ernst

Software Engineering Manager

B.S. in Computer Science Engineering
B.S. in Electrical Engineering
University of Toledo, Toledo, OH

Ryan is a Software Engineering Manager who brings to his role a deep curiosity, love of learning, and an aversion to inefficiency. With a B.S. in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, he spent three years as a Software Engineer at IQ before becoming an Engineering Manager.

He is a process-nerd who questions “the way things have always been” and looks for new ways to think about old problems. Ryan’s main focus is on growing the culture and people of IQ to ensure we are constantly improving, cultivating innovation, and most importantly: always exceeding our customer’s expectations.

He is also the primary curator of the IQ inc. board game collection and addicted to Foosball.

Tom Whittaker

Engineering Director

B.S. in Physics
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Tom is a self-professed lover of Agile processes who truly enjoys helping IQ teams perform at their very best. His B.S. in Physics gives him a mindset for data analytics, but his true passion is for the growth and development of the people of IQ. Prior to becoming an Engineering Manager at IQ, Tom worked extensively with C++ and C# and considers himself to be somewhat of a guru in managing complex database designs for efficiency and performance.

Tom is also quite interested in board gaming, and he takes great pleasure when he is able to best his coworkers at a game played during the lunch hour.