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Who We Are > Our People

Dedicated Professionals Who Put Customers First

Neal Lappe President & Internet Marketing Specialist Neal leads the WSI-WebStrategies team. He is a former Circuit City executive with extensive experience in sales, marketing, finance, human resources and operations. Neal and his wife, Peggy, have been married for 30 years, and have two daughters. Neal loves to play golf but can’t find enough time and doesn’t do it well anyway. He likes reality TV shows because of his interest in how people behave and act with others. "Active in the community" is a bit of an understatement for Neal. He is Chairman-Elect of the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce, a Board Member of the American Marketing Association – Richmond Chapter, and a member of the Retail Merchants Association, Venture Forum and the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

Phil Hess Director of Business Development Phil is responsible for sales and business development. He spent more than 10 years in sales and marketing for Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., and he has experience working with every level of a customer organization from the CEO to the warehouse. Phil holds a BA in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College, and an MBA from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary. Phil and his wife, Ellen Marie live in Bon Air, and when he’s not working in the yard, Phil plays golf poorly and doesn’t get a chance to go fishing often enough.

Chris Walke Director of Operations Chris has BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. His 19 years experience working in the connector industry began with E.I. duPont with roles in Engineering, Product Marketing and Product Management. Most recently he was VP of Engineering for ERNI Components, a central Virginia manufacturer headquartered in Germany. He is co-inventor on two patents. Chris traveled extensively in his previous positions, within the US and to Asia and Europe. He enjoys outdoor activities including recreational bicycling (very fast downhill, but uphills are ugly) and salt water fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. He resides in Midlothian, VA with his wife Tina, while their son Jason attends college in Charlottesville.

Jenny Hughes Project Manager Jenny has a BS degree in Information Technology from Virginia Tech, and has been organizing and developing our website projects for three years. Prior to joining WSI, Jenny worked as a business analyst in a variety of industries. She is also a certified Pilates instructor, and has taught classes in her spare time for the past five years in Richmond and Charlottesville. Jenny recently moved back to Midlothian with her husband, Casey, and their chocolate lab, Napa. Jenny and Casey welcomed their first baby girl, Stella Lane, in September.

Peggy Lappe Vice President, Administration Peggy handles all the accounting, legal and administration elements of the company. Her previous career was as a Registered Nurse working at several different hospitals including Johnston-Willis hospital in Chesterfield, VA. She loves to travel and is very skilled at interior design.

Adam Mead Creative Director Adam Mead is the founder and owner of The Creative System, an advertising, design and branding agency built on the power of ideas. As a strategic partner of WSI, Adam and The Creative System provide creative direction for WSI by designing logos and websites that are visually dynamic and in tune with the client’s brand.

Luke Sluder Web Development Specialist With a background in print, web, and interactive media design, Luke has been working as a Graphic Designer since age twelve, when his father (Randy Sluder) hired him as a Production Artist at his father’s design agency. Luke graduated with honors from The School of Communication Arts in Raleigh North Carolina with a degree in Digital Media. He has won multiple awards for his design work, production art and photography. In his spare time he enjoys automotive mechanics and competing in local race events. He also likes to build everything from computers to furniture.

Susan Emmens Internet Marketing Manager Susan has spent the past 5 years in the online marketing field, from entry level copywriting to managing multi-million dollar consumer acquisition and retention campaigns. She has led multiple teams and many vendors in the dot com divisions of companies such as Circuit City and Hamilton Beach. Susan graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia with a B.S. in Communications, and recently completed her MBA with a concentration in e-commerce. When she's not working (which is admittedly seldom) she can be found with her face planted in a book, or an Xbox 360 controller in her hands.

Dave McKillen Web Development Specialist Dave was born and raised in Ireland, and after graduating with a BS in Science, he moved to the US in 2000 to work in a Zoology and Molecular genetics lab. Here he began applying his passion of Web design/development to biological problems. Dave worked in the Web industry for a period before deciding to get his Masters in Information Systems for Business. He is actively involved in the soccer scene with his soccer connections spread out across the country through his own soccer community Spoccer.com. David currently is happily married to Julie and has a baby girl named Lucy with whom he falls more in love with each and every day.