Meet Our Staff

Bill Hughes - Chief Executive Officer, cofounded HPA in 1994. At HPA, Bill has worked with many clients and assisted them in strategic and network planning. He has also assisted early stage companies in developing their business plans, acquiring equity and building the right corporate team to accomplish their plan.

Prior to HPA, Bill spent over 35 years at Frontier Corp. and retired as President of their regional local exchange companies. Bill’s experience touches every facet of an operating telephone company.

Bill is on the Board of the Ontario and Trumansburg Telephone Companies. He has also been on the corporate boards of Allworx and Rocket Broadband. Bill is a trustee at St John Fisher College and is on the executive committee of Monroe Community College’s Foundation. He is a past president of the High Tech Business Council of Greater Rochester. Bill is a graduate of St. John Fisher College

Contact Bill at 585-461-2560 x127 or Bill.Hughes@hpagroup.com.

Tom Phelps - President, has been in the telecommunications industry for over 30 years. Tom has planned, implemented and managed many telecommunications projects that have resulted in greater profitability for the business operation through improved customer service and improved cost effectiveness of the operation. He has extensive knowledge and experience in Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Call Center Management and Design, Telecommunications Management, Regulatory, Business Planning and Finance.

Tom cofounded HPA in 1994. At HPA, Tom has assisted many companies with their telecommunications related issues. This has included planning, implementing and managing telecommunications networks, systems and call centers. Tom has designed telecommunications networks that have significantly reduced costs and provided additional services.

Prior to HPA, Tom worked at Frontier (formerly known as Rochester Telephone Corporation) for sixteen years in a variety of leadership roles in marketing, customer service, operations and strategic planning. Tom received his BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his MBA from the University of Rochester's Simon School.

Contact Tom at 585-461-2560 x122 or Tom.Phelps@hpagroup.com.

Kim Lonobile - Vice President, has been with HPA since 1999. Kim has more than 26 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Kim oversees and manages the expense reduction, billing and facility audits for HPA. Kim is engaged in many of our outsourced telecom management projects and also directs and participates in many of the sizeable projects at HPA. Kim has also provided customer service staff training to our clients.

Since joining HPA, Kim has successfully completed numerous billing and service audits to both public and private companies always providing savings to our clients. Kim is an expert in understanding telecom vendor billing. Kim’s billing and telecom knowledge has enabled HPA to save clients substantial amounts on their telecom invoices. Kim has also helped clients save money by bidding their existing telecommunications services and implementing new service or pricing plans. Kim also fully understands telecom operating procedures and has been instrumental in helping telecom providers with their back office processes. Kim continues to direct and manage many of our ongoing client-outsourced telecom management accounts ensuring constant billing accuracy and project accessibility for our valued customers.

Kim also worked at Frontier Telephone of Rochester from 1981 through 1995. At Frontier, Kim held numerous positions providing her with a thorough knowledge of operations, including billing systems and records, outside plant facilities and assignment administration, call center management and reporting, network operations, customer service, construction and contract services. Kim also worked as part of Frontier's Investor Relations group. After Frontier and prior to joining HPA, Kim worked in both the healthcare (MVP which was formerly Preferred Care) and legal fields (Thomson Reuters which was formerly Lawyers Cooperative Publishing).

Contact Kim at 585-461-2560 x126 or Kim.Lonobile@hpagroup.com

Ray Case - Vice President, has been with HPA since 2000. Ray brings over 30 years of Engineering, Information Technology, and Customer Support to HPA’s practice supporting telephony, healthcare, distribution, financial and manufacturing clients. At HPA, Ray has assisted many companies to improve their business operations through the implementation of technology. Ray is also an expert in cloud services and has helped clients determine if various cloud services will work for them.

Prior to joining HPA, Ray served in both Director and VP positions for Spectrum Office Products, Staples, and Corporate Express. In these roles he has successfully completed major IT application conversions, process re-engineering, and infrastructure enhancements. Ray received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Trine University and his MBA from the University of Rochester's Simon School.

Contact Ray at 585-461-2560 x128 or Ray.Case@hpagroup.com.

Juliana Janson – Vice President, joined HPA in January of 2011 after a career with progressive growth in responsibility and challenges at Frontier Communications. At HPA, Juliana helps clients with the management of their telecom expenses. Juliana also assists clients in improving their customer service by implementing technology and new processes. Juliana also works with telecom providers implementing new strategic initiatives

At Frontier, very early in her career, Juliana managed an operations group, allowing her to gain a broad understanding of the telecommunications landscape. After transitioning to Regulatory and Government Affairs, she continued to provide strong leadership to the organization throughout rapid industry change and business growth. Specific accomplishments included managing regulatory requirements of the transition to a competitive telecom landscape and working with other Telco providers to change the state legislation to allow more providers more flexibility with pricing. Most recently, Juliana has led efforts to define and position Frontier for its changing marketplace by optimizing its productivity in the Government Affairs areas.

Juliana is currently on the Board of Trustees of Goodwill of WNY and serves on the Boards of the Women’s Council of Rochester and the Great Lakes Experience. Juliana holds an MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Contact Juliana at 716-636-0904 or Juliana.Janson@hpagroup.com.

Carlos Santiago - Account Manager, joined HPA in 2011 to be the primary resource for telling the HPA success story to new HPA clients. Carlos has been responsible for optimizing and providing cost efficiencies to client’s voice, data, wireless and video networks. Carlos has been able to deliver significant savings to HPA’s clients while improving or maintaining the level of service needed by the client. Carlos is skilled at developing client bids, analyzing bid responses, negotiating with vendors and delivering a superior solution to the client.

Carlos Santiago has over 10 years of business experience. Carlos has experience in Customer Service, Technology Acquisition and Operations Management. Much of his experience has been in the wireless market but his skills have proven easily transferable to technology acquisition and implementation particularly in the areas of voice, data, wireless and video communication.

Carlos attended Baldwin Wallace College and The University of Phoenix.

Contact Carlos at 585-461-2560 x123 or Carlos.Santiago@hpagroup.com.

Carol Wilmarth - Senior Consultant, is an accomplished telecommunications professional with comprehensive knowledge and experience in all phases of telecom business and management. Carol has worked with HPA Consulting Group, Inc. since 2000. Carol's work has involved improving the telecommunications services for business customers and helping Telecom Companies implement or improve how they provide service to business customers.

Carol has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, with many years at Frontier Corporation. Carol has demonstrated her leadership capabilities through her last position at Frontier as General Manager of Frontier InfoServices. She reported to the company's CEO and had profit and loss responsibilities for the $55 million Publishing Business Unit.

Contact Carol at 585-461-2560 x121 or Carol.Wilmarth@hpagroup.com.