Meet the Team
Sankar Sewnauth
Associate and Founder
Sankar Sewnauth was the President and CEO of CDS Life Transitions, Inc. for 25 years before his retirement in early 2023. He managed a portfolio of thriving businesses that combined constitute $300M in annual operating revenues. He has learned every aspect of the business while rising in the ranks from delivering direct care and serving in various management capacities to leading organizations through challenges and change in order to better the lives of individuals they serve. A graduate of Eastern Nazarene College (BA) and SUNY Brockport (MPA), Sankar now consults for CDS and has begun a new venture of SDS Management Consulting Services. Sankar and his team are excited to bring their 25+ years of experience to assist for-profit and non-profit companies looking to expand their businesses. His drive and passion comes from empowering individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as Veterans, Seniors and families. Sankar will be adding author to his long list of accomplishments with a published book coming in Spring of 2025.
Gen. Robert T. Dail, Retired
Associate
Robert T. Dail retired in November 2008 after serving 33 years in the United States Army. He presently consults on a wide range of government, industry, and logistics activities, as well as mentoring and coaching military and civilian executives. At his retirement, he was the senior military logistics professional in the Department of Defense. General Dail’s last tour on active duty was as the 15th Director of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). In March 2009, he joined Supreme Group, Inc., a global logistics services company headquartered in The Netherlands. General Dail served as President of the newly formed Supreme Group, USA, Reston, Virginia from 2009-2013. In January 2013, General Dail was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer of Supreme Group, Inc., a position he held until he departed Supreme in June 2014. In addition to his consulting, General Dail serves on a variety of boards. He has lectured at UNC Chapel Hill, Arizona State-Tempe, and Duke University. General Dail is looking forward to being a part of SDS Management Consulting Services.
Dr. Andy Lopez-Williams
Associate
Dr. Andy Lopez-Williams is a board certified clinical psychologist with advanced training in neuropsychology, forensic psychology, and public policy. He has a wealth of management and leadership experience having served as President and CEO of two organizations that serve individuals with neurodevelopment and mental health disorders. His training and experience in public policy includes residency at the University of Washington, School of Medicine, and work with the Baldy Center for Justice and Social Policy at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Lopez has published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals, including research on neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders and public policy, and has also been invited to present across New York State on topics related to the assessment and treatment of individuals with neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders. He also consults with numerous school districts in New York. Dr. Lopez prides himself on being an intrepid advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental health disorders. He has dedicated his life and career to providing high-quality, evidence-based, and compassionate care to every individual and family he has had the privilege to serve, as well as working to transform the system of care to become more efficient, compassionate, and accountable.
Gen. Robert Mixon, Retired
Associate
At the time of his retirement from the Army in 2007, Major General (Retired) Robert W. Mixon, Jr. was Commanding General Division West, First Army, and Fort Carson Colorado, and had previously commanded the 7th Infantry Division. Throughout his career of over 30 years of active service, he commanded armor and cavalry units at every level, to include platoon, company, battalion, and brigade. Robert retired and transitioned to Magnatag Visible Systems in Macedon, New York as its President. In 2009, he became Executive Vice President of CDS Monarch, a leading non-profit organization based in Webster, New York, and he helped Sankar establish the Warrior Salute Veteran Services program for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. The co-author of Amazon #1 Best Seller, Cows in the Living Room: Developing an Effective Strategic Plan and Sustaining It (2014), and author of Amazon Best New Release We’re All In: The Journey to a World-Class Culture (2017), Robert is an active blogger publishing bi-weekly videos and blogs, and has taught leadership in executive education programs at the Olin Business School of Washington University at St. Louis, and the Cox Business School, Southern Methodist University. In December of this past year, he published his latest book: The Power of Being All In: Why Today’s Transformative Times Demand Transformational Leadership. It immediately became an Amazon #1 Bestseller in 5 leadership categories. Robert is looking forward to working with Sankar again and helping growing businesses.
Mark Peterson
Associate
Mark currently serves as President of Center for Serving Leadership (CSL), a global leadership training company serving in the United States and twenty-four countries throughout Asia and Africa. Center for Serving Leadership envisions a thriving world in which SERVING is the trademark of leadership. At CSL Mark provides overall direction and management of the company, setting strategy, overseeing operations, and growing the customer equity of the enterprise while growing top-line revenue and successfully executing fundraising goals. Mark is a graduate of St. John Fisher University (BA) and The Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University (MBA). A certified fund-raising executive (CFRE), Mark has an impressive history of garnering substantial monies at several world-class nonprofit organizations totaling more than $130 Million dollars.
Tim Thaney
Associate
Tim Thaney is prominent in the Rochester, New York, business community. Recently retired from Dejoy & Co., Tim served as a Tax Exempt and Employee Benefit Plan Financial Assurance Practice Director, responsible for audits and reviews of a diverse group of tax-exempt organizations. A graduate of College of the Holy Cross (MA, BA), he has worked in the field of finance for over 40 years (3 years at Arthur Anderson, 16 years at Citibank and 25 years at Dejoy & Co.). Further, Tim oversees audits of employee benefit plans, investment firm examinations (including review of Global Investment Performance Standards), provides consultations on tax exempt status applications, and he is an expert on best governance practices. Tim serves on several boards in the Rochester community including CDS Life Transitions and United Way of Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes. He is looking forward to this new venture and using his expertise to help growing businesses.
SDS Management Consulting Services 