Russell Ahrens

President & Principal

Russell believes that interdisciplinary thinking provides valuable insights and opportunities to expand and improve business practices. He looks for ways to apply approaches and tools from one context to another. One of his early consulting challenges was to create models for the purpose of applying genomic research tools to quantitative finance. And without having ever flown on a helicopter or worked in the aerospace industry, he engineered systems for a stealth helicopter prototype. He co-founded Themis Insight to encourage a culture of continuous learning and creative praxis.

Russell has a Bachelors degree in Classical Literature (BA) from Yale University, a Masters in Economics (MS) from Georgetown University, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and a Masters of Computer Science (MSE) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In his spare time, he pursues mastering the art and science of cooking and volunteers at Datakind, a data for good non profit.

russell.ahrens@themisinsight.com  

 

Ryan Hollingsworth

Executive Vice President & Principal

Ryan enjoys the challenge of catalyzing change. He co-founded Themis Insight after observing that many professionals focused primarily on short-term tasks that would complete a project’s defined objectives and timelines, but did not consider the holistic needs of the client and therefore, missed opportunities for even greater impact. His focus on amplifying mission success means he’s often called to projects that would benefit from his careful consideration of the alignment between process and long-term mission impact.

Ryan specialized as a cryptologic linguist from the Defense Language Institute, followed by a Bachelors degree in Liberal Studies (BA) from Excelsior College. On the weekends, he enjoys trail running and obstacle course races.

ryan.hollingsworth@themisinsight.com

 

Ken Mercer

Executive Vice President & Principal

Ken believes that leadership is not a position or title, it is action and example. Ken started his career as an engineer in the medical device industry, where he is credited with the patent of three medical devices used to measure and analyze gait dysfunctions and thyroid conditions through non-invasive means. After 9/11, Ken commissioned into the United States Air Force, where he served for eight years and deployed to combat operations around the world. Since then, Ken has consulted with the US Intelligence Community to bridge the gap between the federal government and intelligence agencies, improve coordination of efforts, and identify mutual opportunities, particularly in the areas of Intelligence mission/operations and IT investment.

Ken holds a Bachelors degree in Bioengineering (BSE) and a Masters in Applied Mathematics (MS) from Arizona State University. He holds a Masters of Business of Administration (MBA) from Johns Hopkins University. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified Professional of Business Intelligence (CPBI), and holds additional advanced degrees from Villanova University in Business Analytics. In his spare time he enjoys playing the blues on his many guitars.

ken.mercer@themisinsight.com