President

Andy Oliver

Oak Hill Business Partners

414-803-0227

Andy is currently a business consultant and advisor for Oak Hill Business Partners.  Andy was founder and President of Gear Wash, LLC, a Milwaukee based UL Verified Independent Service Provider (ISP) for the care and maintenance of life safety equipment for first responders, the US armed forces and other high performance work wear.  Gear Wash also developed decontamination products for first responders and offered PPE rental equipment.  He was appointed to serve as a Principal on the NFPA Committee on Structural and Proximity Fire Fighting Protective Clothing and Equipment from in 2010-2015.  Andy was also a Co-Founder, Board Member and President of the Verified Independent Service Provider Association (VISPA) from 2012 to 2019.  Gear Wash was founded in 2002 and acquired by Fire-Dex, LLC in August 2019.”

Andy previously spent 15 years in the financial services market in Chicago with Van Kampen Merritt Investment Advisory and New York City with Fitch Investors and Global Decisions Group/MCM.  Andy was a Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of BondsOnline Group, Inc, from 2000 to 2016.

Treasurer 

Tony Palmen

Ace Worldwide Moving

6001 S. Ace Industrial Drive
Cudahy, WI 53110

Mr. Palmen is CFO for Ace Worldwide Moving. Previously Tony was with Sikich and Baker Tilley where he provided and specialized in auditing services for clients in the not-for-profit industry. He also assisted financial services clients with auditing and accounting needs. Mr. Palmen has experience with compliance auditing, including the Uniform Guidance, the Provider Agency Audit Guide, and the State Single Audit Guide.

Secretary

Scott Hirschfeld, President of CTaccess

CTaccess

740 Pilgrim Parkway, Elm Grove, WI 53122

262 789-8210

Scott has served as President of CTaccess, Inc. for the last seven years and has been foundational in establishing and growing the technology consulting business for over twenty-five.  CTaccess provides an expert fully-outsourced IT department to companies with 10 to 150 technology users.  They also provide IT security and compliance services, and business process automation solutions.  They operate in Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Scott has a BBA in Information Systems from the University of Toledo.  In this role at CTaccess he has worked with professional service firms, manufacturers, municipal government offices, commercial construction firms and a wide variety of other organizations.  He also has experience in software development for municipal government, warehouse control, and banking.  He has extensive experience in compliance, information governance, business process management, and enterprise content management. 

Past President

Scott Seroka, LBBP

Seroka Industrial Branding

200 South Executive Drive 

Brookfield, WI 53005

262-523-3740

Ann Barry Hanneman

von Briesen & Roper, s.c.
20975 Swenson Drive, Suite 400
Waukesha, WI 53186

262-923-8652

Ann Barry Hanneman is president of IBAW for 2021-2022.

Ann Barry Hanneman is a Shareholder in the Labor and Employment Section of von Briesen. Ann serves as legal counsel to management in labor and employment law matters, including representing employers in federal and state employment litigation and in labor arbitration. Ann has successfully tried federal court jury trials, and regularly represents employers in administrative matters as well as federal and state court proceedings. In addition to litigation, Ann’s practice includes advising on employment discrimination, negotiating separation agreements, handling sexual harassment complaints, drafting employee handbooks, developing policies, drafting non-compete agreements and managing wage and hour matters.

Ann is a frequent author and speaker on employment law matters. She also provides management training for companies on employment discrimination, equal employment opportunity laws including sexual harassment and Family and Medical Leave Act compliance, Fair Labor Standards Act compliance, discipline and discharge, workplace investigations, employee handbooks, hiring, ADA compliance, and updates on current cases and legislation affecting employment law and human resources.

Ann is a member of the Labor and Employment Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Wisconsin and is a member of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. Ann was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 in the field of Employment Law – Management. In 2016, she was recognized as a “Woman in the Law” by the Wisconsin Law Journal. 

Ann has served as a past Secretary for the Independent Business Association and has been a Board member since 2008.

Directors

Jim Leef

ITU AbsorbTech

262-782-1950

Mr. Leef is the President of ITU AbsorbTech,Inc, headquartered in New Berlin WI. Jim is the third generation head of the family run industrial laundry business that serves manufacturing companies throughout the eastern half of the US. ITU AbsorbTech operates processing plants in WI, PA, IN and SC. ITU specializes in services that deliver environmental compliance and waste reduction benefits to its customers.

Jim is a 1974 graduate of Brookfield Central HS and 1978 grad of the Univ of Arizona, with a degree in Finance. He is active in state and national level trade organizations.

John Weber

Mr. Weber has been actively involved with the IBAW for over 14 years.

John graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. John also earned his MBA from Cardinal Stritch University.

Tom Parks, AIF®, CRPS® | Director of Retirement Plan Services

Annex Wealth Management

12700 W. Bluemound Rd. Suite 200, Elm Grove, WI 53122

262 786-6363

Mr. Parks, AIF® CRPS® is the Director of Retirement Plan Services at Annex Wealth Management headquartered in Elm Grove.  Annex is a privately-held Registered Investment Advisory firm committed to providing conflict-free, unbiased advice to its clients.  Annex also hosts two live radio programs on Saturday mornings at 10:00AM on WTMJ 620AM and at 11:00AM on WISN 1130AM.

Tom is a graduate of Marquette University High School and earned a BA in philosophy & economics at St. Norbert College.  He is involved in a variety of philanthropic endeavors and is actively engaged in civic affairs.

Lisa A. Mauer

Sr. Vice President,

Rickert Industries

414-376-2460

Lisa is a past president of IBAW and has been involved in the organization for over 30 years serving in several different capacities. Lisa is the former third generation owner of three companies serving the metalworking industry: Tool Service Corporation, Tool Fabrication Corporation and Fluid Service Corporation. Ms. Mauer's father, Bruno, was a founding member of the IBAW.

Graduating with a BBA from the University of Wisconsin Madison, Lisa currently serves on a number of boards including Reinders Inc., Acuity Insurance, Bank Mutual Corporation, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Remnant Trust.

Bob Gross

Gross Automation

3680 North 126th Street

Brookfield, WI 53005

262-252-1600

Robert J. (Bob) Gross is the Founder, CEO and Visionary of Gross Automation, LLC.  Gross Automation is a global industrial electrical automation and controls value added distributor.  They provide a complete offering of over 75 diverse product lines.  Gross Automation also offers complete design, engineering and assembly in their certified UL 508A panel shop.  The entire organization is operated under the internationally accepted ISO 9001:2015 quality standard.

Bob is active in many organizations.  Currently he is the 2018-2020 president of the Wauwatosa Kiwanis, a service organization focused on helping both kids and young adults in Wauwatosa after having served for many years as the head of the Sponsored Youth and Youth Services committee.  He is also currently a member of the Lions Club of Wauwatosa and has served in the past as their president.  Both the Kiwanis and the Lions sponsor units of the Boy Scouts where Bob has held multiple positions from Committee Chair to Scoutmaster and is currently the Unit Commissioner for both the Troop and the Venturing Crew.

In his spare time, Bob teaches for the NRA as an instructor for pistols, rifles and shotguns and he teaches for the Wisconsin DNR their hunter safety courses.  He is also a CRSO (Chief Range Safety Officer).  Bob also shares ownership of an airplane based over at Timmerman Airport and is an instrument rated pilot.

Mike Poludniak 

Merrill Lynch

2600 Brown Lake Drive, Suite A

Burlington, WI 53105

262-514-7960

Mike began his finance career in 2001 providing consultative services to the business community in the areas of 401(k) plans and benefit services. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2010 to embark on expanding services and resources for his business and personal clients.

As a core competency Mike advises individuals and families with a focus on retirement planning and investment management. Holding the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM (CRPC®) designation he provides personal clients an in-depth retirement and portfolio analysis including social security claiming strategies, income solutions, long-term care guidance, college savings analysis and planning for special needs children.

Holding the Certified 401k Professional C(k)P® designation he delivers a comprehensive plan governance service model to retirement plans by guiding clients in establishing and maintaining efficient and compliant retirement plans including: providing education, compliance management, investment monitoring and creation of custom plan strategies for executives and business owners. As a Retirement Benefits Consultant he delivers the firms Fiduciary Advisory Services to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Mike's approach to wealth management is disciplined and committed to client satisfaction. He approaches his discipline within each unique client relationship and establishes a process of communication, planning and review that is both personal and professional.