Jim Schinco has owned and managed direct marketing and communications companies since 1982. In 1992, Jim and some colleagues began offering consulting services in all elements of marketing. The business took off and grew quickly, and less than a year later, the decision was made to formally incorporate the business and pursue a vision of providing turnkey solutions in direct marketing through consultative services. On April 1, 1993, Affinitas Corporation was born. As the business continued to grow, Affinitas became the official marketing agency for clients that saw the value in the services that Affinitas provided.

Jim’s prior experience in the telemarketing field includes working as a General Manager and Senior Vice President of a call center business, which added to his knowledge and understanding into running his own company. Jim is a real hands-on leader. He enjoys talking with the clients and potential clients too much to be stuck behind a desk.

Jim grew up in the New York City area, eventually settling in Omaha where he currently lives with his wife, Amy, and 4 children.

Dave Steier worked as a tax accountant for Deloitte & Touche before starting his own accounting firm, Steier and Associates, in 1982. He has been associated with Affinitas since its inception in 1993. Dave has also taught part time at the College of St. Mary’s campus in Omaha, including courses on taxes, business and estates. Of particular note, Dave was named Accountant of the Year by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1997. Dave was named an Outstanding Young Omahan by the Omaha Jaycees.

At Affinitas, Dave serves as the CFO, overseeing the finance and legal department, but he also manages the Human Resources department.

Dave was born into a large family in Omaha, Nebraska, and he has stayed in Omaha his whole life. Dave and Arlene, his wife of 31 years, have four children together. Their oldest son is an attorney and married. Their oldest daughter will graduate from college in December, and their two youngest children are currently in college. Dave makes sure he sets aside time to play golf and fly (with his private pilot’s license).

Steve Gilbert came to Affinitas with over 15 years experience in providing teleservices and database marketing expertise to the technology, consumer package goods, telecom, cable, insurance and financial services industries.

As the SVP of Sales and Marketing, Steve helps both small businesses and Fortune 1000 companies build effective strategies for inbound customer care, technical support, sales and lead generation, cross-selling, retention and comprehensive customer relationship management, encompassing both inbound and outbound services for business to consumer and business to business sectors.

Steve currently lives with his wife, Ann, in Des Moines, Iowa. He frequently visits his son who is attending college in Colorado, swooshing down the occasional ski run and photographing the local wildlife while he’s there. His older son is currently serving as a pilot in the US Air Force after recently graduating from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Jim Crawford is the driving force behind the efficiency of the Customer Care business unit as well as identifying and developing new processes that are needed to keep everyone up-to-date and competitive in this high demand industry. He joined Affinitas with 20 years experience including running his own law firm, serving as the Director of the Customer Service Call Center for a $100 million telecommunications company, and ran the operational consulting team for the AT&T for 10 years across all business segments.

Jim’s responsibilities include managing the operations staff and improving processes, policies, procedures and staff to increase operational efficiency and enhance customer relationships.

Living in Chicago, Jim is in constant communication with the remote locations making frequent trips to each one. However, he does find time to attend the College World Series annually in Omaha.

Joni Largent has over 25 years of operational and IT experience in the direct marketing industry, 16 of them with Affinitas. Joni is responsible for analytical services, interactive software development, systems / network administration and security, telesales application development, telecom systems and help desk.

Prior to joining Affinitas, Joni played an integral part as the teleservices expert in the architecture and build of a company-wide system that was being developed for the company she worked for at the time.

Joni grew up in Texas and now lives in Omaha and enjoys quality time with her husband, Curt, and their 2 children, and she enjoys traveling. When at work, she appreciates her fellow employees, “The work ethic of the employees at Affinitas brings me great joy every day. I know that everyone takes the job as seriously as I do.”

Ralph Bonaduce brings nearly 30 years of experience in call center and business processing outsourcing (BPO) operations to Affinitas, with over a decade spent in the international arena. He was instrumental in choosing Córdoba, Argentina as the ideal location for Affinitas’ South American Customer Care center, and directed the subsequent build-out of the facility.

Ralph is the past VP of Operations and Account Services for a US firm with call center operations in the U.S., Canada, Argentina and India, and managed over 3,000 employees. He is also the past COO of an Indian BPO firm serving clients in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia. His background includes extensive experience in successfully managing US-based tier 1 clients in the financial, telecommunications, cable, retail sales and consumer services industries, in both domestic and off-shore locations.

Ralph grew up in Portland, Oregon, and currently lives in West Linn, Oregon, with his wife of 21 years, Shari. They have two children, one of which is currently in college. In what little spare time he has, he enjoys exercising, many outdoor activities including biking, and the nostalgia and excitement of classic cars.