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Principal – Senior Instructor

Robert Wright

Robert Wright is a Principal at ICN with nearly twenty years’ experience managing real risk and maximizing financial savings opportunities for his clients.  Well-versed in drafting and negotiating a wide-variety of technology-related agreements, Robert particularly enjoys negotiating deals for the purchase of emerging technologies with starts-ups and young companies…

Senior Instructor

F. Elgin Ward

F. Elgin Ward is both an attorney in his home state of Utah and a Senior Instructor at ICN. A skilled negotiator, contract manager and educator, Ward has extensive experience in technology deals…

Senior Vendor Management & Negotiations Thought Leader

Steven M. Jeffery

Steven M. Jeffery is a recognized expert and thought leader with over 35 years of experience in vendor negotiations, contract management, and vendor relationship management…

Principal – Senior Instructor

Robert Wright

Robert Wright is a Principal at ICN with nearly twenty years’ experience managing real risk and maximizing financial savings opportunities for his clients.  Well-versed in drafting and negotiating a wide-variety of technology-related agreements, Robert particularly enjoys negotiating deals for the purchase of emerging technologies with starts-ups and young companies.  Robert began his career negotiating sponsored research agreements for the University of Louisville.  Prior to joining ICN as a Principal, Robert was a senior-level technology contracts manager for Humana, a Fortune 50 company and one of the country’s largest health insurers.

Robert is a regular instructor for ICN and played a significant role in developing one of the company’s most popular workshops, the IT Contracting Boot Camp.  When he’s not teaching for ICN, you’re likely to find Robert at a local college or university teaching business law, intellectual property, or American government.  Robert also regularly develops curriculum for academic institutions and has published in numerous law journals including the Howard Law Journal, the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy, and the Pittsburgh Journal of Law and Technology.

Robert is a licensed attorney having received his JD from the University of Louisville and LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Intellectual Property, Commerce, and Technology from the Franklin Pierce Law Center.

Senior Instructor

F. Elgin Ward

F. Elgin Ward is both an attorney in his home state of Utah and a Senior Instructor at ICN. A skilled negotiator, contract manager and educator, Ward has extensive experience in technology deals.

An experienced and versatile educator, Elgin has been teaching fundamental and advanced purchasing seminars to management professionals for over 10 years. He has both developed and taught the American Management Association’s Contract Management Seminar for purchasing professionals in a wide variety of industries including public utilities, transportation and telecommunications.

Prior to joining ICN, Elgin was Corporate Counsel for Deseret Generation Transmission Co-operative, where he successfully prepared and issued documentation for hundreds of RFPs for outsourcing maintenance, diagnostics and security for the construction of electric power transmission and distribution lines, microwave and other telecommunication facilities. Elgin has successfully established and maintained purchasing and contracting documentation systems, and he is superbly experienced in negotiation and drafting purchase agreements for raw materials, equipment, computer hardware and software, transportation, engineering services and maintenance.

Elgin also supervised the preparation and issuing of bid documentation for hundreds of RFPs, which totaled millions of dollars, for major industrial equipment.

He also has developed and presented seminars on the legal aspects of buying and selling and on how to avoid legal pitfalls in contract administration.

Elgin holds a Juris Doctor degree from Brigham Young University — J. Reuben Clark Law School, and a BA from the University of Maryland.

Senior Vendor Management & Negotiations Thought Leader

Steven M. Jeffery, MBA

Steven M. Jeffery is a recognized expert and thought leader with over 35 years of experience in vendor negotiations, contract management, and vendor relationship management. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with hundreds of organizations across industries—helping CIOs, executives, and sourcing leaders successfully navigate contract negotiations, optimize vendor management programs, and drive measurable business outcomes.

With over eight years at ICN, Steven has provided consulting, training, and conference presentations focused on sourcing, vendor management, and contract negotiations. His work has consistently helped clients adopt best practices, strengthen vendor relationships, and generate significant value through more strategic sourcing and negotiation strategies. Sample Client engagements included Winn-Dixie, ING Insurance, Exelon, Pepsi Bottling, the County of Santa Clara, CA, Kellogg, Interpublic Group (IPG), and American Family Insurance.

Steven’s career includes senior leadership roles at organizations such as Info-Tech Research Group, Citi, Truist Bank, Serta Simmons Bedding, Marathon Oil, and ABN AMRO. He also provides entrepreneurial consulting leadership through 4 Degrees North and SDP Associates. At Info-Tech, he led vendor management and IT contract review practices, overseeing the review of more than 125 IT contracts annually, restructuring processes that saved clients millions, and developing and delivering over 50 workshops on topics including negotiating IT contracts, vendor management, and RFPs. These workshops helped organizations establish vendor management programs and enhance sourcing and negotiation capabilities.

A highly sought-after speaker, advisor, and trainer, Steven has delivered keynote addresses, seminars and workshops at major industry events for more than two decades, sharing practical strategies for vendor management, sourcing, and negotiations. His ability to blend real-world experience with actionable frameworks makes him a trusted advisor to executives facing complex sourcing and supplier challenges.

Steven is also a published author and contributor. He is the co-author of The Art of Creating a Quality RFP (4th Edition, 2022). He has also published numerous articles in leading outlets, including CIO Magazine, Computerworld, and Inside Supply Management, and has been quoted in Forbes & TechInsight. Many of his articles and posts can be found on LinkedIn. His publications offer valuable insights into vendor relationships, best practices for RFPs, and negotiation strategies that have influenced practitioners across the industry.

With a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Frostburg State University, Steven combines his expertise with practical leadership. His passion for advancing the vendor management profession continues to shape how organizations worldwide approach sourcing, negotiations, and governance.