Richard J. Niemiec is President of TUSC. He is respected around the world as a master in database administration. Members of the media often consult with Rich on technological trends and the impact they'll have on the industry at large.

In 2001, Rich was named by Oracle Corp. as an Oracle Certified Master -- one of the first six so recognized around the world.

In 2007, Rich authored "Oracle10g Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques," a follow-up to "Oracle9i Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques" that he wrote four years earlier. It is one of more than two dozen books TUSC has written for various publishers and features a compilation of more than 20 years of hands-on experience and real-life issues.

At TUSC, Rich portrays the traits that make up an uncommon leader -- enthusiasm, initiative, integrity, knowledge, loyalty, moral and physical courage, respect, self-control, tact and unselfishness. Some Fortune 500 accounts he has managed include M&M Mars, McDonald's Corp. and Pepsico. His experience in data processing ranges from teaching to consulting, with emphasis in database administration, performance tuning, project management and technical education.

Rich is former president of the International Oracle Users Group and currently serves as vice president for its Real Application Clusters special interest group. In addition, Rich is the current president of the Midwest Oracle Users Group. He previously was the executive editor of Exploring Oracle DBMS magazine and editor of MOUG Newsletter.

Rich has delivered hundreds of lectures on Oracle to users around the world. Past accomplishments include top presenter honors at international Oracle users conferences. He has conducted numerous expert class presentations at Oracle OpenWorld and other major shows. Rich earned top presenter accolades from MOUG for 10 consecutive years.

Along with co-founders Bradley D. Brown and Joseph C. Trezzo, Rich won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001 in the category of "E-developer" and was inducted into the Chicago-Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 1998. TUSC also has won an Arthur Andersen-Chicago Best Practices Award for "Unleashing the Power of Technology" and was named a finalist in three other categories -- "Exceeding Customer Satisfaction," "Motivating and Retaining Employees" and "Strategic Leadership." TUSC has been selected as a finalist for Solutions Integrator magazine's SI Impact Award ("Solutions Integrator of the Year"), Inc./Cisco's Growing with Technology Award ("Fully Established Companies") and MassMutual's Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award.

Other awards of significance that Rich has been involved in include the 2007 Oracle Titan Award, Oracle PartnerNetwork's 2004 Partner Solution of the Year Award and 2002 Internet Platform Partner of the Year.

Equally impressive is Rich's commitment to society. In 1996, the city of Naperville, Ill., cited those efforts by presenting him with its Family Spirit Award for the many charitable acts of kindness he has displayed to those less fortunate and the giving of time and energy to those in need.