Leadership Team
C5 Insight’s leadership team consists of industry and technical leaders recognized for their business leadership, their published contributions and their community involvement.
Geoff Ables, Managing Partner, CRM Practice Director
Geoff Ables is a speaker, author and Managing Partner of C5 Insight. He has more than 20 years of experience consulting with businesses in customer relationship management, collaboration, process design, business intelligence and content management. His insights have been seen and heard through many international venues, including: BusinessWeek, National Public Radio, USA Today, The International Journal of CRM, EuroForum, and The New Zealand Direct Marketing Journal. He is a co-author of The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Administration Bible.
"As a high school student, an organization called Young Life had a transformational impact on my life. In college Young Life impressed upon me the principle of, 'winning the right to be heard,' through good listening. And as my first employer, Young Life showed me that ministry is one of many possible missions. At C5 Insight, I am honored to pursue the high calling of business - of serving colleagues and clients by making them more successful."
Curtis Hughes, Managing Partner, SharePoint Practice Director
Curtis Hughes is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of C5 Insight. He has over 14 years of experience consulting with businesses in North America, Europe and Asia in the areas of software architecture, cloud and platform development, business process automation, business intelligence, and collaboration. Curtis has also founded or co-founded two additional startups focused on software development, process automation and cloud technologies. He has served in a leadership role for the Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC) for the Greater Carolina’s Chapter of the American Red Cross, is a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist and is a current member of the International SharePoint Professionals Association (ISPA) and the International Association of Software Architects (IASA). Curtis is a co-author of The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Administration Bible, contributing content on custom SharePoint integration and related development. Curtis was recently named as one of Charlotte, North Carolina’s prestigious “40 Under 40” in recognition of his business accomplishments and commitment to the community.
"One of my driving passions outside of work is … driving! My father and I spent 6 years restoring a 1933 Ford. The project required planning and persistence through a tedious level of detail - but it produced a beautiful result with my dad that is a memory I will treasure and that I hope to pass along to my own son. Changing how people work together in business also requires hard work, persistence and sometimes tedious levels of detail - but it delivers enduring benefits to the team and to the bottom line."
John Freeze, Director of Business Consulting
John Freeze is the Director of Business Consulting at C5 Insight. John holds an MBA from UNC Charlotte, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from NC State University. For almost 25 years he has served as a change agent for numerous cross-functional business imperatives in accounting, information technology, human resources, sales and marketing functions. His approach to business is centered on the alignment of strategy and actions. Prior to joining C5 Insight John was most recently the General Manager for the Southeast for one of Avaya’s largest business partners, where his team drove more than 200% growth during the difficult economy of 2007-2010. John has managed teams and projects in firms ranging from 15 employees to the Fortune 100. As a certified HelixPLAN™ facilitator, John ensures that the C5 Insight team does an unparalleled job of listening to the needs of our clients and never guesses about expectations.
"I’ve been blessed with incredible opportunities in my life and my career. One principal that has held true throughout all of those opportunities is that ‘talk really is cheap’. I’ve been intrigued by numerous strategies and plans both in business and in peoples’ personal lives, but when I look back, I realize that the only ones that ever made a difference were those where someone was willing to make the sacrifice to deliver results. Well done is better than well said.”