As the Chief Information Officer for Special Olympics’ international headquarters, Mendes is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of the global organization’s information technology infrastructure. He oversees the advancement and improvement of the organization’s integral IT system, which includes the global and regional Web sites, all applications and the Special Olympics Knowledge Management System, which is accessible to employees around the world. Additionally, he provides guidance on the technologies developed for Special Olympics World Games, such as the Games Management System.
Previously, Mendes was responsible for developing and implementing technology strategy in both the Broadcasting Engineering and Information Technology divisions of the Public Broadcasting Service. He also oversaw the daily operations of PBS’s entire technology infrastructure. Mendes had previously served the organization from 1998 to 2001, and rose to the position of Chief Information Technology Officer during that time.
In May 2001, Mendes was named by "Computerworld" magazine as one of the “Premier 100 IT Leaders” in the United States. More recently, Mendes has been named the “2006 IT Executive of the Year” for the Mid-Atlantic region, he was bestowed a “2006 Mid-Market Leadership Award” by "CIO Decisions" magazine and a “2005 Technology Leadership Award” by "Broadcasting & Cable Magazine."
He is a co-author of the critically acclaimed “CTO Leadership Strategies” from Aspatore Books.