Executive Team
Martin Sacks
President and CEO
Martin Sacks is the founder of HumanConcepts. Having started his career as a management consultant with Ernst & Young, he developed a keen interest in business process improvement. As the CEO of a fast growing publicly held software company, Martin was a regular user of OrgPlus, which he used to understand and manage his globally diverse team. Fascinated by the opportunity he saw to help businesses understand and optimize their workforce using OrgPlus, Martin acquired the OrgPlus technology, and founded HumanConcepts in 2000 to do just that. Martin holds finance and accounting degrees from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa
Hanif Ismail
Chief Strategy and Products Officer
Hanif Ismail focuses on driving the company's corporate strategy and product direction to fuel future growth and deliver the next generation of HumanConcepts' workforce planning solutions. He has a proven track record of spearheading innovations that drive improved business performance with over 15 years of executive leadership experience. His tenure in enterprise software companies includes Vice President, ERP Business Development for SAP and Director, Human Capital Management (HCM) Global Product Strategy for Oracle/PeopleSoft. In addition, he previously held senior global HRIS roles at Ford Motor Company and Swiss Bank Corporation.
Steve Datnow
CTO and Vice President, Product Development
Steve Datnow joined HumanConcepts in 2003. Before joining HumanConcepts, Steve spent 10 years working in the medical software industry developing software products for radiologists and surgeons. Working with major companies, including Kodak and Imation, Steve specialized in producing complex fault tolerant software. Prior to working in the medical industry, Steve spent five years at Apple Computer designing and developing enterprise software. With a relentless drive to improve the success of HumanConcepts and all of its partners, Steve continues to spearhead the strategic direction, product definition, and leading-edge technology development at HumanConcepts. Steve Datnow holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Scott Jenkins
Vice President, Finance and Operations
Scott joined HumanConcepts UK in 2006 with 12 years finance and operations experience in technology. As Director of EMEA West, he delivered exceptional growth for HumanConcepts before transferring to the US to lead finance and business operations in 2009. Prior to HumanConcepts, Scott worked at Sony, developing business models that utilized core technology offshoots. As Business Operations Director, he helped establish then managed Sony's spin-off, GoInteractTV, a virtual network operator delivering interactive TV applications and services for BBC and Channel 4. Previously, Scott was with Hitachi Electronic Components Group and was Commercial Director for UK publisher Business Money Ltd.
Elisa Safanda
Vice President, SMB Products
Elisa Safanda has more than 15 years of software sales, marketing and management experience. Prior to joining HumanConcepts, Elisa founded RetailMetro, a complete e-commerce solution to the furniture industry providing an industry-standard commerce platform, systems integration and comprehensive services. Throughout her career, Elisa has had extensive experience delivering solutions to the Fortune 500. As the Account Executive for the Ford Motor Company account at The SoftAd Group, Elisa managed the ground-breaking launch of www.ford.com, the first US automotive manufacturer website.
Heather Huston
Vice President, Global Business Development
Heather Huston has more than 15 years of experience in software sales and management. She has been with HumanConcepts since 2005 managing and growing the company's worldwide partner program as the Director of Global Business Development. Previously, Heather lived in Europe working for both U.S. and UK-based software companies including Sense8 and Vizual Business Tools. To drive international expansion efforts for these companies, she successfully managed and implemented market research, business development, sales and marketing programs. Heather holds a Bachelor's of General Studies degree in business and communications from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in International Relations from Boston University.
Jim Candler
Vice President, Global Customer Success
Jim Candler has more than 25 years of global HRIS management experience. Jim spent 16 years with FedEx, completing his tenure as Vice President of Global HRIS and Payroll. Most recently, he worked as Senior HCM Strategist at Workday, a new enterprise services firm created by PeopleSoft founder Dave Duffield. He has also held senior management positions with APL Limited and Workspace Inc. Jim has directed several implementations of global management and employee self-service systems based on ERP technology. Using ERP and Portal technology, he managed the design, development, and successful implementation of the world’s largest employee portal at General Motors Corporation. Jim is also an award-winning author and thought leader in the field of HRIS.
