The right Team is
Everything.
Eric Kroeger
President
Eric started his career in banking in NW Indiana in 1986. After recognizing a need in the market, he formed a consulting company designed to help community banks implement personal computer networks across their organizations. After 20 years of focusing on building secure and reliable networks, Eric helped form a new company that blended information security experience with virtual technology. The new company, Virtual Innovation, uses technology solutions combined with innovative strategies to solve security, availability, and recovery challenges for its clients. In addition to his numerous relationships within the financial services community, Eric is a regular contributor to industry groups on bank technology and security.
He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Eric and his wife Linda live in the Chicago area.
Jason McDaniel
VP, Consulting Services
Jason is Vice President of Consulting Services and a Senior Consultant with Virtual Innovation. He has been working in the financial services industry since 1995. After graduating from Indiana University with a Bachelors's degree in Business, Jason spent the first part of his career as trust and investment professional with a bank in Northern Indiana. Jason later graduated from the Keller Graduate School of Management with a Masters's degree in Information Systems Management. He has provided IT Consulting services for nearly 15 years and specializes in the virtual data-center design and desktop solutions. He has vast experience with Vmware and Microsoft server, desktop, and infrastructure products and implements highly available and recoverable systems for financial institutions. Jason and his wife Amy live in Northwest Indiana with their two children.
Jason Mikolanis
VP, Security Services
Jason is Vice President of Security Services and a Senior Consultant. Since 2000, Jason has been working as a security specialist in and around the banking industry. Jason has several years of direct experience in banking, including two years as the Director of IT for an Illinois bank holding company and four years as the Technology Security Officer (TSO) for a Chicago-area trust company. In addition to managing security at these organizations, his responsibilities included:
Managing audits.
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Working with state and federal regulators.
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Directing the information security programs.
Jason joined Virtual Innovation in 2013 to help develop the security practice. Jason graduated in 1999 from Robert Morris University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology and a minor in Business. Jason recently received the widely recognized CISSP certification from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium. Jason and his wife Jodi live in Northwest Indiana with their three children.
Dan Bruss
Senior Consultant
Dan Bruss is a Senior Consultant with more than 15 years of experience in information technology and banking. Before joining Virtual Innovation, Dan spent seven years with an IT company in Northwest Indiana specializing in banking and dental applications. Dan also worked for many years in a community bank in the IT and Operations areas. Dan holds a Bachelors's degree from Purdue University and has several technical certifications from Cisco, Microsoft, and VMware. Dan and his wife Michelle live in Northwest Indiana with their son Nathan.
Linda Kroeger,
Senior Consultant
HR & Risk Management
Linda joined Virtual Innovation in 2023
as a Consultant and Risk Management Specialist. She has more than 25 years of management experience in the financial services industry and has held executive level positions in Human Resources and Risk Management. Linda holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from North Central College and is an active member of the Society
of Human Resource Management.
Linda and Eric split their time between the Western suburbs of Chicago and
Phoenix, Arizona.
Omar Jimenez
IT/IS Specialist & Consultant
Omar joined Virtual Innovation in 2018 and brought close to 20 years of experience across the financial and medical industries. Omar graduated from Indiana State University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and held a Master's degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Omar started his career working for an electronic medical records developer before making his way into banking. He spent ten years as the IT Manager for a community bank in Ohio and then served for five years as the VP of IT for an Indiana financial institution. He has developed a specialization in Virtual Desktop and Office 365 and Cloud security and deployments. Omar loves spending time with his wife and four children.
He serves his community by teaching Sunday school, facilitating a Jr. High life group, and volunteer-tutoring every Thursday night at his local Church.
Ben Van Drunen
Information Security Specialist
Ben joined Virtual Innovation as a consultant in 2012. Ben graduated from Calvin College with a Bachelors's degree in business finance and a minor in Information Systems. Ben has formal training on technology offerings from VMware, Veeam, Microsoft, and Dell Security. Ben has developed significant expertise in information security and forensics and helps clients improve the safety and availability of their systems. Ben has received formal certifications from CompTIA, Secure Banking Solutions, Vmware, and Dell Security.
Jei Wilson
IT/IS Monitoring Consultant
Jei joined Virtual Innovation in May of 2018 and brought more than 20 years of technical experience, becoming a full-time member of the Vi team in 2019. Jei is a graduate of Robert Morris University and holds an Associates' degree in Business Administration. He also has several technical certifications, including the A+ Certification from CompTIA. Jei specializes in IT Security and helps serve clients by monitoring critical systems and metrics. Jei also serves as a preacher in churches around the Chicago area. Jei lives in the Southwest Suburbs with his wife, Lynn. Jei and Lynn have two sons, Derek and Justin.
DJ Strom
Consultant, Network Specialist
DJ joined Virtual Innovation in 2021 and brought more than six years of computer engineering. He is a graduate of Purdue University in Computer Science. DJ is Cisco CCNA Certified, and also has been formally trained on products like Carbon Black and other specialized security products.
DJ loves to travel and is also a big sports fan, enjoying golf, softball, and cars. DJ and his wife Shawn live in Northwest Indiana.
