Management Team

Mary Murcott is the Chief Executive Officer of NOVO 1 and leads the company’s efforts to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands.

Before being appointed Chief Executive of NOVO 1 in 2010, Murcott was President and founder of her own company Performance Transformations, Inc. Prior to consulting she was SVP American Express and held executive positions at Budget Rent a Car and Ryder Trucks, DHL and Cox Communications.

Murcott is an international keynote speaker and author of “Driving Peak Sales Performance in Call Centers”. She is regarded as a “contact center futurist” and authority on sales and operations, multi-channel service, performance management, coaching, employee selection and retention, workforce planning, and first contact resolution. She is a member of CEO Netweavers, Institute of Management Consultants, Executive Women’s Roundtable, Arizona State University Center for Services Leadership Board of Directors, and International Customer Management Institute Advisory Board.

Murcott is a native of Omaha, NE, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Creighton University.

Eric Rothert is Chief Operating Officer. He oversees NOVO 1’s multi-client inbound/outbound contact centers in Texas, Michigan, Montana and Wisconsin.

Previously, Rothert has held several positions in an 18 year career at NOVO 1 including managing director and director of customer service. Before NOVO 1, Rothert was Manager of Telephone Bank Operations for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

His education includes a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Texas, Austin.

John Sykstus is Chief Financial Officer for NOVO 1. He is responsible for all finance, accounting and treasury functions across all operating facilities.

Previously, Sykstus led consulting efforts for restructuring and recapitalization programs in various industries for underlying lending institutions. He has directed finance and accounting teams within a private equity firm for the analysis and due diligence of acquisition targets, as well as the development and implementation of restructuring and turnaround strategic plans. Prior to this PE work, Sykstus worked with MCI across various aspects of restructuring and resulting merger with Verizon, including leading all Corporate Finance International M&A activities during the restructuring. Additionally, he served as CFO for a mid sized manufacturing firm within a recapitulation and turn-around situation. He was employed as a Manager in consulting within Coopers & Lybrand as well as AM&G, another Chicago based professional services firm.

Sykstus received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences from the United States Coast Guard Academy and an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and accounting coursework from DePaul University, which resulted in passing his CPA exam.

Mitchell Swindell oversees the information technology (IT) systems at NOVO 1 and contracts company-wide. Mitch leads the technology initiatives and support staff for our contact centers located in Michigan, Montana, Texas and Wisconsin.

Overall, he brings more than 24 years of technology experience within the customer service and contact center industry, all at NOVO 1. Mitchell guides NOVO 1’s technology initiatives to ensure that they are aligned to the company’s business goals and operational needs. In addition, he serves as chief liaison between the IT employees and NOVO 1’s executive team.

Prior to his current role, Mitchell was senior engineer within AMR Corporation’s TeleService Resources. In this position, he was a significant contributor to the development of Visual-Agent Environment, which was awarded the “1998 Object-Oriented Project of the Year” by Application Development Trends magazine.

Jack Wilkie is Chief Marketing Officer responsible for marketing strategy and execution, strategic alliances and new product development.

Wilkie was previously principal of W Group Associates and served as SVP Sales and Marketing for Krause Gentle Corporation. Prior to that, he was VP National Franchise and Communications for 7-Eleven, Inc. and held executive marketing positions with AAMCO, The Franklin Mint, Amway Corporation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Active in the arts, education and human services, he has held volunteer leadership positions with Southern Methodist University, The Gerald R. Ford Foundation, The Wellness Community, International Franchise Association, Education is Freedom, American Red Cross and University of Texas.

A native of Chicago, Ill., Wilkie earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from Northern Illinois University.

Rosemary Bennett is Senior Vice President Sales responsible for new revenue generation for the company.

Prior to NOVO 1, she served as Vice President and General Manager Enterprise North America for Ericsson, Inc. and was Vice President Sales at AT&T. She is a general-management, sales-management and business development leader with a record of securing, managing and expanding premier client relationships.

A resident of Dallas, Rosemary earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and her MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her community involvement includes membership on the Dallas Symphony and TACA boards, the Dallas Woman’s Forum Board and the Metroplex Technology Business Council.

Matt is Vice President Development focusing on the Healthcare sector. Cocks brings twenty-five years of crafting complex outsourcing deals in a variety of industries for leading BPO firms. He creates innovative solutions and strategic partnerships with Fortune 1000 clients in order to increase revenue and drive customer satisfaction.

Prior to joining NOVO 1, Cocks was President of Knowth Performance Group, a consulting firm that helped clients build high-performance organizations. In addition to sales experience in Healthcare and Financial Services, he understands the need for highly trained talent, having led the global sales training function for Convergys Corp. and call center training for Cincinnati Bell Telephone.

Cocks received a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati.

Mike Larose is Vice President of Development. He is directly involved with current and prospective clients to assess opportunities and deliver solutions to surpass expectations. Larose has been with NOVO 1 for 10 years and has helped coordinate many successful campaigns in the finance, retail, telecom, utility, logistics, publishing, membership and lead generation channels.

Larose started his career in the Air Force, which eventually lead to a 20-year career in retail. Before coming to NOVO 1, he served as Senior Vice President for Color Tile. He has extensive experience in direct marketing and was Director of Sales for a large telemarketing firm based in Texas.

Judy Baksic is Unit President for Waukesha, Wisconsin operations. Baksic joined NOVO 1 in 2001 and contributed more than 22 years of managerial experience in 24/7 contact center environments. Through her experience, she has the ability to quickly assess contact center operations and implement the proper balance of people, processes and technologies.

Previously, Baksic was an office manager at a recreational vehicle dealership. She started in the telephone answering service business in 1988 as an operator and advanced to her position as a manager. She is originally from Michigan and has resided in Wisconsin since 1962.

Patrick Blanchard is a Site Director for NOVO 1 and is responsible for contact center operations in Holland, Michigan. He has more than 28 years experience in financial and telecommunication call center operations through a variety of roles including: site leadership, business development, inbound and outbound sales management, management development and training.

Before joining NOVO 1, Blanchard was vice president of call center operations for Huntington Bank, a $53 billion regional bank holding company. Prior to that, he held the position of vice president of call center operations for Sky Financial Group.

Blanchard holds an undergraduate degree in English and Spanish from Florida State University and a master’s of business administration from Georgia State University.

Leila has over 20 years of direct management experience, with the last fifteen dedicated to the contact center industry. Prior to joining NOVO 1 in 1996, she served as an Area Manager for a major menswear retailer and gained hands-on customer service experience as an international flight attendant for Eastern Airlines.

During her career at NOVO 1, Leila has held positions of increasing responsibility in Program Implementations, Operations Support, Client Services, Team Leadership, and Account Management. She has led numerous programs for both inbound and outbound customer service and sales initiatives, including government contracts. Leila assists in the development and communication of value-add business propositions and programs to strengthen business relationships, improve member services and reduce organizational expense.

A native of Manati, Puerto Rico, Leila studied Political Science at DeKalb College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mike Satterlee is a Site Director for NOVO 1. Satterlee is responsible for the Montana-based, multi-client inbound contact centers. Prior to being promoted to his current position, Mike served as National Account Manager.

Before his career at NOVO 1, Satterlee owned and operated a sporting goods mail order catalog, a manufacturing company and a retail sporting goods company. In these diversified and expansive roles, he gained vast experience managing people, plus a deep understanding of marketing at both national and international levels.

A native of Williston, ND, Satterlee earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Management from the University of ND.