AIDA is governed by a Board of Directors. The directors are elected by the members in accordance to our bylaws.
2025 Board of Directors
Mark Lack
Mark is a 25-year user of data analytics. His contributions to performance analytics have been recognized by IBM in the book “5 Key Steps to Analytics Success” along with “Best Business Analytics Solution” in 2008. In 2006, Mark led the charge at Mueller, Inc to implement a Balanced Scorecard performance management system, which culminated in being the 100th company added to the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy in 2007. His recent work has been in the field of Data and AI and has spoken at several industry conferences on his work. Mark’s most recent passion is instructing the next generation of analytics users at Angelo State University. in 2021, he was recognized by IBM for his contributions to analytics by being named the first Lifetime IBM Champion for Data Analytics. When not practicing his craft, Mark can be found at home wife, 2 teenage daughters, and 2 Goldendoodles.
Mark is the President of AIDA
Paul Mendelson
For more than a decade and a half, Paul Mendelson has been a vocal contributor to the Cognos communities. He is passionate about Cognos and Business Analytics and is never shy about offering advice or constructive criticism. In addition to his own blog (cognospaul.com), he has shared articles with several online journals. The techniques and extensions Paul has written are used by companies worldwide. Paul’s CogBox suite of extensions and controls vastly increases the capabilities and ease-of-use of Cognos.
Paul has been recognized by IBM as an “IBM Champion” several years in a row.
On a personal side, Paul has a black belt in Taekwondo and enjoys ballroom dance. He lives in Israel with his wife and two children.
Atanas Iliev
Atanas Iliev is passionate about exploring. Exploring innovative AI and data platforms, as well as prompt engineering. In 2023, he joined the AIDA User Group and started providing weekly updates for the group. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2024, and the group newsletter was launched. He is member of Open Data Contract Standard (ODCS) at the Linux Foundation project Bitol and part of the Technical Steering Committee.
Before diving to data and AI, Atanas gained over 10 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, working for some of the largest companies in Europe and worldwide. During this time, he supported the technical teams with the requirements of both residential and business customers.
In his free time, he enjoys travelling with his wife and children. They love spending time together in nature. He currently resides in Berlin, Germany.
Ralf Röber
Ralf shares over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, he has the ability to understand and solve deep technical problems effectively and efficiently. His in-depth technical knowledge (which includes OSI Level 2 – 7) gives him the outstanding ability to judge the feasibility of proposals and to immediately solve issues that have arisen during the “go live” of various projects rolling into production.
In addition to the technical knowledge, in his business relations, he focuses on 120% customer satisfaction. For the last 18 years, he has had the pleasure of providing best-in-class service to his main customer (a prestigious German car manufacturer).
Ralf had the pleasure of showing his birth town to Joseph Weizenbaum.
When he is not in the machine room, which he really enjoys, he gives speeches, mentors students, and explores the wonderful landscapes and beaches of Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
1997 Prix Ars Electronica, Honorably mentioned
2006 Cognos Performance Star
4x IBM Data Analysis and AI Champion.
Salomé Valero
Salomé Valero is a highly driven technical leader who has delivered award-winning innovative Data and AI solutions that have created new business value for customers. She is also a skilled entrepreneur who is passionate about developing human-centered innovations in collaboration with the open-source community, industry partners, and public institutions.
Salomé has a Ph.D. in Engineering and extensive experience in IT research. She has won several innovation awards, including the 2022 Gold Edison Award in the Life-saving category, the 2021 Premi Muncunill, and the 2019 Call for Code Global Challenge.
Throughout her career, Salomé has been at the forefront of state-of-the-art Cloud, Data and AI solutions and has gained invaluable insights from complex projects in customers. She combines her deep expertise in essential technical domains with the energy and ability to drive change.