Staff Biographies

John Pinter
President

B.A History – Brock University
Honours Business Administration – Brock University

In his capacity as company President, John draws on his diverse academic background and employment experience. Having been actively engaged in the hospitality and tourism sectors through positions of hotel ownership and in representation on the Board of Directors of Niagara Falls Tourism, John is well positioned to lead the company as it continues to develop new products that ultimately add value to the Meridian Call Centre Application.

John was one of the early pioneers of on-line reservation systems and destination portal creation in the Niagara region. Today, the "Info Niagara " - Niagara Central Reservations Division of Meridian Reservation Systems is the largest reservation service in the Niagara Region, processing over 100,000 reservations annually. The confidence in the product quality and the commitment to customer service has convinced over 170 innkeepers, tour operators, and tourist attractions to adapt Meridian products for use in their own personal websites.

Elaine Bald
Director of Business Development

Bachelor of Fine Arts - McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Business Management Studies - Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario
Marketing Program – York University, Toronto, Ontario

Elaine has been involved in tourism throughout her career and her tenure with Ontario Government (Ministry of Tourism), not for profit organizations, private sector enterprises and Visitor and Convention Bureaus. As such, she brings a wealth of experience to Meridian Reservation Systems and to this project. Elaine led the cultural tourism initiative at Shaw Festival creating a template for other arts organizations to follow and ascribe to. Working with Tourism Niagara in Member Care gave Elaine the appreciation for working collaboratively to achieve results and set long term goals.

Elaine’s first project with the Ministry of Tourism was to oversee the development of the Niagara Wine Route which has subsequently turned into one of Ontario’s greatest achievements in new product development for tourism. She also managed the Customer Service Training Program for the Ministry in which over 30,000 employees in the Ontario tourism industry were trained in the various aspects of customer care and service.

As General Manager for three of the Ministry’s Attractions, Elaine spearheaded successful marketing campaigns for both the domestic and overseas markets. Elaine served as General Manager for Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay for five years and participated actively in Northern Tourism initiatives. As well as serving on the Board of Directors for NOSTA, she also represented Northwestern Ontario on the Board of Attractions Ontario and the Americas Committee for OTMPC. Instrumental in developing public/private partnerships as part of the government’s mandate, Elaine successfully incorporated this concept in the Ministry Attractions. An “out of the box” thinker, communicator and achiever, Elaine has served on a number of committees and boards and is well known and respected in the greater tourism community.

Baijumon George
Director of Application Development

George is our team leader in the field of System Design and Application Development. George is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and he also possesses a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications, and is a Certified Business Professional Programmer (Department of Electronics, Govt. of India).

In addition, he has certification in various programming languages and Database Systems, also holding Degrees in B.A Economics and Philosophy George has over 12 years of practical work experience in programming various applications like reservation systems, sport management systems, content management systems, accounting and ecommerce systems and has showed great leadership skills in leading the team of application developers.

Bill Szijarto
Director, Client Support Services

Bill’s hospitality experience is extensive. He managed several family owned (100+ room) hotel properties for many years and has been involved with all facets of the accommodation industry. Coupled with an education in business administration and data processing, Bill has 17 years experience in critical corporate positions in General Motors, Bell Canada and CGI, including Corporate training, Data Center Supervisor and Senior Automation Analyst.

Since assuming his role at Meridian, Bill has managed and supported projects for Niagara, Ottawa Tourism and Tourism Toronto including training front line hotel staff and web site organization.

He is currently responsible for post implementation, technical support, client queries, problem resolution and ongoing system maintenance.

Serving as the technical liaison with our GDS partners, Bill will be training the accommodation properties on the upcoming GDS & IDS distribution services.

An outdoorsman at heart, Bill lives a rural lifestyle and his deep appreciation for the northern life takes most of his vacation days.

Binumon George
Software Developer, Team Leader in India

Binumon George is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD), holds a Masters in IT (MSc IT) from a reputed university in India, a higher fiploma in software engineering from APTECH Education and also a degree in B.A History.

Binu has 5+ years of experience in the field of software programming and database application development. He has strong knowledge in web application development and other programming languages. 

Binumon has experience with working in Canada and got in-depth knowledge in Domain Acquisition Systems.  He had had a great role in the development of Reservation Systems and Tee-Times Booking System. After the fulfillment the work in Canada, he continues his job and leads our Software Development team in India. His creative thinking and effort contribute to exceptional performance of the team.  He understands the project‘s goals and objectives, implementing the right technology and completing the projects on time.

Julie Maria Binu
Software Developer

Julie is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), holds a Masters in Computer Application (MCA) from a reputed university in India and possesses a degree in Commerce from Mahatma Gandhi University, India. Soon after the completion of the course she joined as a computer teacher in a reputed college in India. Julie also possesses remarkable experience in accounting.

Julie has 2 years of experience in programming and database management. She has strong knowledge of many Programming Languages, web design tools and databases. Julie worked with us in Canada and now she is working remotely from India. She assists in creating applications with her strong knowledge in .NET technologies and SQL Server. She is also tasked with the testing and monitoring of the systems.

Sijo N. Raj
Software Developer

Sijo is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), holds an A Level (Advanced Diploma) from DOEACC Society (Ministry of Information Technology, Govt. of India), a diploma in Software Applications from MGEF (ATC, Ministry of IT, Govt. of India), and possesses a Bachelors in Commerce from Mahatma Gandhi University, India.

Sijo has strong knowledge in different programming languages and databases.  He has 3 years of experience in software programming and database application development.  He also has knowledge in networking and is an expert in troubleshooting. Soon after his studies he started his career as a computer programmer. He developed many web applications like an online contest, a media library and a project management system. Sijo has a good practical work experience in .NET Applications and web applications.

Sijo has a confident approach to work and is a quick learner. He has the ability to work alone and as part of a team. He has a strong commitment to continuous improvement and works with a caring, friendly and professional attitude at all times.

Basil K. Joy
Software Developer

Basil holds a Masters in IT (MSc IT) from a reputed university in India and also a degree in B.C.A .He is also a CCNA (CISCO Certified Network Associate). Basil has 2+ years of experience in software programming and database application development on different platforms. He is capable of handling networks using routers and switches. He also developed many web and windows applications. He has a strong knowledge in system development life cycles. He also has strong working experience in Hotel management software.

Basil is a very technically proficient, customer-dedicated lead programmer and application developer with several years of architecture experience and cross-function abilities in the analysis, development, programming, testing, troubleshooting, and maintenance of large-scale, highly complex systems. He has a strong analytical skill combined with experience in object oriented programming techniques. He maintains strict attention to client requirements, adapting quickly to changing organizational needs.

Srinath "Bobby" Appala
Programming, Photography & Graphics Design

Bobby, who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is also a graduate of Niagara College Multimedia Program, serves as our staff photographer and graphic designer. Well versed in all design software, Bobby also specialized in the development of panoramic photography.

Harith "Harry" Al-Shakarchi
Graphic Designer & Web Site Maintenance

Harry brings a diverse set of web development and search engine optimization skills to clients of Meridian Reservation Systems. As a native of Vienna, Austria, Harry is naturally bilingual in both German and English. His love of Canadian Culture brought him to Canada where he enrolled in the Niagara College Multimedia Program.

Upon graduation, Harry was hired as a web developer where he administered his duties in a very efficient manner. Harry currently works as our "Hospitality Liaison." Working directly inside major hotels and in a close working relationship with the marketing staff, general management, and hotel ownership, Harry is able to provide on-site web design, web site maintenance, and Internet marketing skills.

Increasingly, Harry is called upon to implement a greater level of search engine optimization for our client web sites and is in charge of administering all the Pay Per Click Campaigns at Google and Yahoo search marketing.

Toni Williams
Project Manager & Graphics Designer

Toni brings a diverse background to Meridian Reservation Systems. Most recently she served as the business manager for the Advanced 3D Visualization Centre at Niagara College. In addition she has held management positions at Manpower Temporary Services and MicroAge Niagara in the field of technical training and sales. In addition to her previous management experience, Toni is also fully versed in many of the software programs used in web development and in the print environment.

As one of our project managers, Toni exhibits her previous management skills by quickly assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each project and has a keen ability to lead individual clients through training sessions.

Most recently, Toni demonstrated strong learning skills by quickly learning the realm of on-line marketing for Bed & Breakfasts and personally assisted in the injection of content & photos into our own micro-site management system.

Manuel Sajona
Web Site Maintenance and Translations

Manuel is originally from Columbia, South America and is fluent in Spanish.  He also speaks Portuguese, Dutch and English which makes him a tremendous asset in this multi-lingual environment.  Educated in Portugal at the University of Lisbon, Manuel has his MBA in Information Engineering.  He also attended Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Holland where he achieved his BA in Business Administration – Innovation Management.  Manuel also attended Niagara College in Welland, Ontario where he received his Diploma in New Media Web Design.

After receiving his education abroad, Manuel returned to Columbia to work for McAfee Associates and assumed the position of CEO at the Antivirus Cali office in Cali, Columbia.  In 2000, he went to New York City where he worked as an IT Microsoft Solution Provider.  In 2001, Manuel emigrated to Canada where he worked with Telespectrum and SITEL before joining the Meridian Team in 2007.  Since becoming part of the Team, Manuel has had the opportunity to work on a number of challenging projects such as the installation of the booking system into the Tourism Toronto site and also Ottawa Tourism.  He also worked on a special project for the Mayan Riviera in Mexico and successfully installed a complete Spanish site for that exotic tourism destination.

Manuel now calls Canada home and he and his 7 year old son John Paul enjoy living in Niagara for the myriad of activities that are there to enjoy.

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