James Stephens, Chief Financial Officer

Larry Settles, Chief Operating Officer

Herb Askie, Vice President, Managing Director - Technology Practice

Brad Worley, Vice President, Managing Director - HCM Practice

Cynthia J. Comparin
President and CEO
Cynthia Comparin founded Animato in 1997 with a clear vision – to create a superlative company for clients and employees alike. Under her leadership, Animato has grown into highly-respected ERP solutions provider that delivers uncommon client value.     

Prior to establishing Animato, Ms. Comparin was President of Alltel’s Enterprise Network Services Division, a group she created to provide consulting, integration and operations services to worldwide customers. Before joining Alltel, she served as Vice President and General Manager for Nortel’s Network Transformation Services Division.  

In earlier roles, Ms. Comparin was General Manager of Latin America for Recognition International, a global technology company. Before joining Recognition International, she spent ten years in various US-based and international management positions at EDS. She began her career as a financial analyst for LTV Aerospace and Defense Company.

Ms. Comparin is very involved in community organizations and currently serves as the Governor’s Appointee to the Texas Council of the Humanities and on the Greater Dallas Chamber Board of Directors.

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James Stephens
Chief Financial Officer
James Stephens is a senior executive with extensive experience in financial and investor reporting, planning, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management for regional, national and international companies. He heads the accounting and finance functions for Animato.

Before joining Animato, Stephens held senior management positions at Millennium Office Properties, Crescent Real Estate Equities, INTAC International, Pacific Retail Trust, JD Sims/Trilantic Group, Daeske Commercial Properties and Blaeser Development Corporation. He has also worked with public accounting firms like Fox & Company and KPMG.

Stephens is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.

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Larry Settles, CPA
Chief Operating Officer
Larry Settles is a leading industry executive with over twenty years experience in strategic and operational aspects of business operations management. A well-known authority in all matters financial, he brings a broad industry expertise in ERP, financial management, business development and change management to Animato.

At Animato, Mr. Settles heads the organization’s service delivery, sales, and marketing functions providing key client relationship management, day-to-day operations, and industry advocacy. In addition, he also leads and directs its Strategic Solutions Team responsible for creation and delivery of market relevant high impact solutions.

Previously, Mr. Settles was Partner at SunGard Consulting, where he led complex initiatives involving people, processes and technology. Prior to that, he served as Managing Director at Bearing Point and Partner with KPMG, responsible for Financial and ERP Solution development & delivery, client relationship, profitability and staffing. He has also held senior positions at SHL SystemHouse, SSC Laboratories, Metropolitan Financial, and Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Settles belongs to the American Institute of CPAs and Texas Society of CPAs. He serves in leadership roles in several local organizations.

He holds a BBA in Accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University.

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Herb Askie
Vice President, Managing Director - Technology Practice
Herb Askie is a seasoned veteran with twenty years of experience in the IT industry. He brings a rich and broad background that spans several verticals including energy, healthcare, financial services, consumer products, and retail and transportation sectors.

At Animato, Mr. Askie leads and manages technology strategy and planning, IT transformation initiatives, ERP systems delivery, complex systems integration and architecture, project/program management, outsourcing and business continuity. 

Prior to joining Animato, Mr. Askie served in senior program, project and technical positions at Bearing Point, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. Previously, he held positions of increasing responsibilities with SMS/Siemens, Bank One/JP Morgan, BP Amoco and Proctor & Gamble.

Mr. Askie holds several certifications including Certified Business Continuity Professional, Disaster Recovery Professional, Project Management Professional, and PeopleSoft Certified Technical Professional.

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Brad E. Worley, PMP
Vice President, Managing Director - HCM Practice
Brad Worley is a talented and versatile leader with extensive skills in strategic planning, project management and world-wide execution of enterprise systems and business software for healthcare, oil and natural gas, telecom and other industries.

Mr. Worley leads Animato’s efforts in definition and delivery of all aspects of HCM client services, thought leadership on alignment of HR and enterprise strategies, and extraction of meaningful metrics for executive decision support.

Prior to Animato, Mr. Worley held positions of increasing responsibility at Ensco International, leading diverse, multi-year projects for global clients. Before that, he served in function and technical roles at Universal Computer Systems.

Mr. Worley is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS).

He holds a BBA from Stephen F. Austin University.

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