Executive Team

Robert Olsen, Managing Partner

Mr. Olsen is a co-founder of The North Star Group, LLC and an experienced professional with over 14 years experience in general management, operations, engineering, and finance.

Prior to founding The North Star Group, Mr. Olsen was Vice President Program Management & Corporate Services for Broadwing Communications based in Austin, Texas. In this role Mr. Olsen was responsible for managing network infrastructure, product development, customer implementation and strategic initiatives on a nationwide scale. Additionally, Mr. Olsen had responsibility for the Corporate Quality Management System and integration of corporate acquisitions and mergers.

Mr. Olsen began his career in the 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army. Upon completing his enlistment obligation Mr. Olsen was employed at Verizon Communications where he achieved the level of Regional Engineering Manager. Following his tenure at Verizon he went on to hold several mid- to senior-level positions with Corvis Corporation in the areas of Field Operations, Technical Services, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Information Technology, and Global Education Services.

A brief summary of Mr. Olsen’s key accomplishments:

Led successful integration of Broadwing Communication’s acquisition of Focal Communications achieving annual synergies of $25-30M; combined annual 2005 revenues of approximately $880M
Implemented corporate wide Business Process Reengineering program for Broadwing Communications resulting in significant improvement in key performance indicators across all functional areas
Featured in the June, 2005 edition of Telephony magazine for his role in leading the development of Broadwing’s Voice over IP product offering
Led Corvis’ Technical Services team to a successful ISO9001-2000 certification
Led development and implementation of formalized Project Management system for Broadwing Communications
Directly and/or indirectly led the development and implementation of over 75 major projects in the areas of infrastructure, product development, acquisitions, and strategic customers

Mr. Olsen graduated from Towson University, Towson, Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts. In addition, Mr. Olsen has a Master of Science in Information and Telecommunication Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Olsen is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and has attended several executive leadership programs at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Shveda, Managing Partner

Mr. Shveda is a co-founder of The North Star Group, LLC and is a seasoned professional with over 26 years experience in project and program management, operations and engineering.

Prior to founding The North Star Group, Mr. Shveda was Director Program Management for Broadwing Communications based in Austin, Texas where he led the development and implementation of the project management processes which increased the PMO maturity level several stages. In this role Mr. Shveda was responsible for managing network infrastructure, product development, and strategic initiatives on a nationwide scale. Additionally, Mr. Shveda was responsible for a significant first with the offering of both Layer 2 and Layer 3 Virtual Private Network (VPN) services on a new Converged Services Network based on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS).

Mr. Shveda began his career with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and received successive promotions culminating in the role of Senior Project Engineer for both the Navy’s F/A-18 Fighter Aircraft and Sparrow Missile System programs. Following his employment at NAVAIR Mr. Shveda was a Program Manager at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In this role he served as the Product Team Leader for multiple cross-functional teams responsible for successfully delivering the following key communications programs: Voice Switching and Control System, Air/Ground Communications, NADIN II Packet Switching Network, Low Density Communications Links, and the Data Multiplexing Network. Following his tenure at the FAA Mr. Shveda went on to hold several mid-level positions with Corvis Corporation in the areas of Project and Program Management.

A brief summary of Mr. Shveda’s key accomplishments:

Led the definition and development of the F/A-18 E/F next generation fighter specification
Led the design and deployment of the F/A-18 joint U.S./Canadian $200M Radar Upgrade program
Author of “Who’s Going to Project Manage This?” published by Aardvark Global Plublishing Co.
Led the development and implementation of new product offerings for VoIP and MPLS services using fast track rapid prototyping
Developed and implemented a formalized Project Management system for both the Corvis Corporation and Broadwing Communications
Led the deployment of the “World’s First All-Optical” telecommunications nationwide network
Led Corvis’ Program Management team’s development and establishment of a successful ISO 9001-2000 certified project management system
Instrumental in the implementation of the Integrated Product Development System (IPDS) for Project Management at the FAA

Mr. Shveda graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. In addition, Mr. Shveda has a Master of Science in Technology of Management from American University, Washington, DC. Mr. Shveda is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and a graduate of the Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Systems Management College.