Who Are We?

THE SOCIAL CMO is an informal consortium of likeminded and dynamic individuals who have embraced social media and the opportunity it represents for brand, advertising, PR, sales and marketing.

Participating professionals are also eager to share their social experiences, successes and knowledge with all through contributing to THE SOCIAL CMO blog.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!”

THE SOCIAL CMO bloggers are:

Jaime Almond   @JaimeAlmond www.jaimealmond.com

Jaime Almond

Jaime Almond is a Social Media Strategist who focuses on education and training. She runs successful workshops in Toronto helping small businesses create and implement strategies that will help them build powerful relationships and get more customers using Social Media tools.

She has a background in IT and loves helping businesses who were feeling a bit timid (or just plain scared) of the social web, “get it”, get on and see the possibilities open up for them.

It’s possible she loves Twitter more than life itself (so Tweet her already). She also enjoys eating and exercising (which thankfully balance out each other).

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Jeff Ashcroft @JeffAshcroft SupplyChainNetwork

Jeff Ashcroft

Jeff Ashcroft, has over twenty years experience in the retailing, distribution, marketing, systems, third party logistics and supply chain management business areas. Jeff’s career began with The Hudson’s Bay Company where over the course of 15 years he moved from a part time role on the warehouse floor to one of the most senior logistics positions in the firm. In 1993 Jeff joined Tibbett & Britten Group as Director of Development and was key to the rapid design and deployment of Wal-Mart’s Third Party distribution and transportation network supporting their successful entry into Canada in 1994. In 1997, Jeff launched Strategic Logistics Partners providing unique and innovative services to firms on the leading edge of logistics, SCM and RFID. Jeff’s most recent prior role was Vice President Logistics/Supply Chain and Retail & Consumer Products Advisory Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Canada. Jeff currently leads the SCN Project at Strategic Logistics Partners also providing direction and content for the SupplyChainNetwork.com site. He is also Founder/Director of WORLD a relief logistics charity and a Founder of the Airship Z-Prize to recreate cargo airships.

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Laura Click @LauraClick Blue Kite Marketing

Laura Click

Laura is founder and chief innovator of Blue Kite Marketing, a Nashville-based firm that develops strategies to help service-based businesses take flight. A natural problem-solver, Laura is passionate about helping businesses create memorable and extraordinary experiences for their customers.

Throughout her career as a marketing and public relations professional, Laura has worked with Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profits and government agencies. She has also developed award-winning marketing campaigns and has spoken to groups about how to leverage social media.

A writer at heart, Laura received her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri, which also explains why she’s an avid Mizzou fan and president of her local alumni chapter.

To learn more about Laura, check out her blog or connect with her on Twitter at @lauraclick.

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Bryony Cole @BryonyCole Bryony Cole

Bryony Cole

Bryony currently works at Yammer in New York, supporting some of the East Coast’s largest enterprises to roll out an enterprise social network inside their companies. I’m fascinated by the way humans behave online and aim to help organisations overcome the challenges of an unengaged workforce, lost productivity and corporate culture by bringing social to the enterprise. Big believer in this equation: open + connectedness = happiness + productivity

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Sam Decker @samdecker – Mass Relevance

Sam Decker

Prior to Mass Relevance, Sam Decker was founding Chief Marketing Officer at Bazaarvoice, the leader in Software as a Service (SaaS) social commerce technologies serving over 1,000 brands. Decker was responsible for building the company’s brand, products and platform. Before joining Bazaarvoice, Decker spent seven years of leadership at Dell, Inc. in marketing, online, CRM, and customer-centricity strategy. From 1999-2003, he led Dell’s consumer web site, building Dell.com into the largest consumer eCommerce site at $3.5B in annual sales, and established global best practices in merchandising, analytics, product management, and operations. Sam pioneered Dell’s customer-centricity strategy and customer segmentation using Six Sigma methodology.

Before Dell, Decker spent more than six years in the Bay Area leading marketing, sales and product strategy at B2B and media startups. Decker has authored two books on word of mouth marketing, serves on the digital advisory board for P&G, served on the board of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), and posts occasionally at deckermarketing.com or @samdecker.
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Phil Fernandez @philf1217 – Marketo

Phil Fernandez

Phil Fernandez, president and CEO of Marketo, is a Silicon Valley veteran, with 30 years of experience (including a couple of successful IPOs) in building and managing breakout technology companies. Prior to Marketo, he was President and COO of Epiphany, a public enterprise software company known for its visionary marketing products. Before this, Phil was COO and SVP of Products and Services at Red Brick Systems, a pioneering data warehouse vendor. He has also held leadership positions at Metaphor Computer Systems, Stanford University Medical Center, and Masstor Systems. In both 2009 and 2010, Phil was named to the Sales Lead Management Association¹s list of “50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management.” Phil holds a BA from Stanford University.

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Sam Fiorella @samfiorella– Sensei Marketing

Sam Fiorella

Sam Fiorella is a globetrotting interactive marketing strategist who has earned his stripes over the past 20 years in senior management roles with corporate sales & marketing teams as well as consulting for more than 30 marketing agencies around the world. Sam’s experience with over 1600 Interactive projects during the past 15 years spans the government, finance & insurance, manufacturing, national retail and travel/tourism sectors. Currently, Sam is the Chief Strategy Sensei at Sensei Marketing, where he is charged with strategic campaign guidance and marketing technology development that power the Sensei Customer Lifecycle Methodology. Sam is a respected blogger and popular keynote speaker on marketing, branding and social media communications having presented at more than 200 conferences in the past 2 years. Follow Sam on Twitter or Connect with him on LinkedIn.
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Molly Flatt @MollyFlatt1000heads

Molly Flatt

Molly is WOM Evangelist for 1000heads, the leading global specialists in word of mouth marketing. A passionate advocate of the value of sustained and authentic brand conversations, Molly helps companies understand why word of mouth should be at the heart of every aspect of their advertising, and ensures that 1000heads remains at the cutting edge of creative and strategic developments in the industry. She collaborates with consumers and researchers to produce insights into the psychology and behaviour behind word of mouth and social media, and how these can be transformed into effective long-term brand strategies.

Molly is also President of WOM UK, the independent organisation representing the word of mouth marketing (WOMM) industry in the UK. Partnered with WOMMA in the US, WOM UK promotes ethics and best practice in the industry, and offers skills development and access to the leading practitioners for members ranging from data bureaus and research firms to creative agencies and bluechip brands.

After graduating from Warwick University with a degree in English Literature, Molly worked as a writer, stage actor and corporate acting coach before joining 1000heads in 2007. Starting out as a linguist and strategist for the 1000heads creative team, Molly has worked at the coalface engaging, meeting and collaborating with social media voices from across the world, and has overseen the creative direction of long-term and award-winning campaigns for clients such as The V&A, Nokia, Canon, 3 and STA travel.

By day, Molly works for leading global word of mouth agency 1000heads, helping brands such as Nokia, 3Mobile, Sainsbury’s and Cancer Research UK listen to and stimulate consumer conversation on and offline. By night, she writes about arts and culture for the Guardian, Finch’s Quarterly Review, and her own blog Hitchcock Blonde. In her dreams, she fights the forces of evil dressed in a Jean Paul Gaultier suit of armour.

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Eric R. Fletcher @ericfletcher – McGlinchey Stafford

Eric Fletcher

Eric is the Chief Marketing Officer of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, a national corporate law firm. A former broadcaster, advertising agency creative director and partner, and founder of his own professional services consulting firm, his marketing / communications career spans more than twenty-five years in business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketing endeavors. A little more than a decade ago the primary focus of his work began to shift to the development of strategic marketing, communication and business development initiatives for professional service consulting, accounting and business law firms.

Eric’s approach is rooted in the belief that, at its core, successful marketing is relationship-based, rooted in the art and discipline of dialogue. His great interests – family, friends, music, (even basketball), and the pursuit of what really matters – provide the best learning environment in the world for his professional adventures.

He and his wife, Darlene, and their eighteen year old daughter, Lindsay, reside in the Dallas, TX area.
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Rachel Foster – @CopywriterTO – Fresh Perspective Copywriting

Rachel Foster

Rachel Foster is a freelance copywriter who helps B2B technology marketers and professional service providers generate more leads and sales. She has a BA in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo and over 10 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations. Rachel has developed copy for technology companies, software products, architects, engineers and consultants.

Rachel also publishes Fresh Marketing, a free monthly e-newsletter that reveals how B2B marketers can improve their communications to generate more business.

Marriage brought Rachel from the U.S. to Canada in 2007, and she decided to take advantage of the opportunities for entrepreneurs in Toronto by launching Fresh Perspective Copywriting. Since then, she has gone through intensive entrepreneur training with the Toronto Business Development Centre and studied B2B copywriting with American Writers & Artists (AWAI). She received second place in the AWAI 2009 “B2B Rising Star” copywriting competition.

When Rachel is not creating persuasive copy for clients, you can find her engaging with the B2B marketing community on Twitter, where she shares the latest B2B trends and copywriting tips. Rachel also enjoys dancing Lindy Hop, doing Pilates and watching Mad Men.

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Anne Gallaher – @AnneDGallaher – Deeter Gallaher Group LLC

Anne D Gallaher

Anne is owner and CEO of the Deeter Gallaher Group LLC (www.deetergallahergroup.com), an award-winning creative services firm that grows its clients’ businesses through the well-orchestrated use of Powerful language. Smart marketing.℠

Driven by measurable performance, Anne and her team create award-winning results for clients in mechanical contracting, engineering, IT, banking, commercial real estate development, legal, music entertainment, and the automotive industries.

Active on The Salvation Army Harrisburg Capital Region advisory board and the Harrisburg Regional Chamber/CREDC board, Anne is also a member of The Wall Street Journal’s Women in the Economy Task Force and the founder of Harrisburg Social Media Club. Published in The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Ragan Communications, and a contributor to the international blogs of The Social CMO and Crowdshifter, Anne holds bachelor degrees in English and Communications/Journalism. Honored in 2007 as one of PA’s Best 50 Women in Business, she is a frequent speaker and writer on entrepreneurship, women in business, social media, and PR/marketing.

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Glen D. Gilmore – @TrendTracker – GBN – Gilmore Business Network

Glen D Gilmore

With over 65,000 followers on Twitter, Glen D. Gilmore is a recognized leader in the field of Social Media. He has been included in the Top 100 of the “Twitter Elite” ranking provided by Twitter Grader and has been identified as one of the “Most helpful people on Twitter” by the highly-regarded “Twitter_Tips.”

Having served as a Social Media Advisor to prominent individuals, public entities, non-profit organizations and businesses, Glen D. Gilmore offers a wide array of personalized advisory services to achieve success.

Glen also serves as the Senior Social Media and Community and Governmental Affairs Advisor to the Howell Marketing Strategies, LLC, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The Howell Marketing firm’s clients range from Fortune 500 to small businesses and prominent individuals.

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Karima-Catherine Goundiam @KarimaCatherine – Three.angels Marketing

Karima-Catherine Goundiam

Before social media was a coined term, Karima-Catherine was building online communities.

She has worked for over a decade in the fields of digital strategy and product management, social media and online marketing. Her experience spans from working with large organizations to small and medium-sized companies to agencies. Heavily involved in the social media space, Karima-Catherine is very well regarded in the online world as someone who – to put it mildly – knows what she’s doing.

Karima-Catherine joined Deloitte’s online team in July 2011 as Social media and online communities manager within the Brand team. She heads up the social media efforts for Deloitte Canada and is responsible for internal and external adoption of social media strategy.

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Chris Herbert – @b2bspecialist – Mi6

Chris Herbert

A B2B Marketing leader and founder of MI6, the B2B Marketing Agency, Chris has a track record of achieving industry leading results in the highly competitive Information Technology industry. Chris is the co-founder of Silicon Halton and ProductCamp Toronto. He loves marketing, playing squash, technology and helping people and businesses be successful.

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AmyHowell @HowellMarketing

Amy Howell

With over 25 years of PR and marketing experience, Amy Howell serves as CEO of Howell Marketing Strategies (HMS). HMS is a PR and marketing firm that combines traditional and social media to offer clients integrated and effective engagement and communications, brand monitoring, media relations, employee communications, crisis communications and creative, strategic
business planning and implementation.

Since founding HMS in Memphis in 1994, Amy has worked on national projects and expanded her business to include clients in industries such as pharmacy management, aviation, real estate, technology and entertainment. Prior to founding HMS, Amy gained over 12 years of corporate experience in architecture, accounting, real estate and law. That experience provided her
with a business-based springboard in marketing professional services. Her areas of specialization include: media relations, strategy, key message development, crisis communication, social media strategy and policy as well as networking.

Amy has expanded her services to clients by combining her expertise in traditional marketing and PR strategies with new online and social media. She is featured regularly as a guest blogger online, has been featured in national publications and shares her own experiences on her blog: www.howell-marketing.posterous.com. She has recently been featured as a
keynote speaker on social media at business meetings and conferences.
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Kent Huffman @KentHuffman – BearCom

Kent Huffman

Kent Huffman is an accomplished marketing executive and the father of Systemic Marketing, an empirical, best practices-based model for business-to-business environments. He has built a reputation as a corporate marketing turnaround specialist, having achieved significant, measurable results in several turnaround situations during the past ten years.

Currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer for BearCom Wireless, Kent is responsible for expanding the company’s presence in its target markets, as well as driving all marketing strategies and tactics. Prior to joining BearCom, Kent held the position of Vice President of Marketing for CompuCom Systems, a $2 billion computer hardware and software reseller, where he managed the entire corporate marketing function, including partner, media, and industry analyst relations.

For the past five years, Kent has served as a thought leader in integrated marketing and search engine marketing for international research firm Frost & Sullivan. He is also a member of the CMO Council and sits on its newly formed Customer Experience Corporate Advisory Board. In addition, Kent recently became an Advisory Associate for Social2B, an association of top industry marketing, media, and information technology professionals dedicated to helping B2C and B2B brands leverage the explosive growth of social media marketing.

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Anneliza Humlen @ADHumlenSocialVoiceR LLC.

Anneliza Humlen

Anneliza has 20+ yrs experience as brand strategist, development leader and culture-change catalyst. She created the proprietary SocialVoice® program for building brands in 2009 as co-founder of the Emotional Branding Alliance. Today as founder and President of SocialVoice LLC consultancy/global alliance, she helps businesses humanize brands through social engagement, corporate culture, and the mentored development of brand ambassadors.

Anneliza has worked with clients such as Coca-Cola, IBM, P&G and BMW. She’s led the development of CSR programs such as Travelocity’s Travel for Good. And most recently, she created an employee development program for Samsung that leverages social engagement in building corporate culture.

She’s a member of the World Brand Congress Advisory Council. Endorsed by leading industry forums such as the Toronto Sustainability Speakers Series for excellence in CSR and social communications. And her work has been featured in esteemed publications such as the Journal of Brand Strategy.

Find out more about her work and the SocialVoice LLC team, by visiting www.socialvoicebranding.com.

LinkedIn account: http://www.linkedin.com/in/annelizahumlen

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Dr. Harish Kotadia @HKotadia

Dr. Harish Kotadia

Dr. Harish Kotadia has a Ph.D. in Marketing Management. Subject of his doctoral thesis was Customer Satisfaction and it involved building a statistical model to predict satisfaction of clients with services of their ad agency. His educational qualification also includes M.B.A. and B.B.A. with specialization in Marketing Management.

Dr. Harish has about ten years’ work experience as a hands-on CRM Program and Project Manager implementing CRM solutions for Fortune 500 clients in the US. He also has about five years’ work experience as a Research Executive in Marketing Research and Consulting industry working for leading MR organizations.

Dr. Harish currently lives in Dallas, Texas, USA and works as a Consultant focusing on Social Media CRM and Analytics.

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Yuchun Lee @IBMSmrtCommerce – IBM

Yuchun Lee

Yuchun Lee is vice president, Enterprise Marketing Management (EMM), in the Industry Solutions division, IBM Software Group. EMM is comprised of Coremetrics and Unica technologies, providing the foundation for solutions to help companies automate, manage, and accelerate core business processes across marketing and demand generation.

Mr. Lee was co-founder and CEO of Unica, a marketing and analytics software firm. Unica’s software helps companies across different industries—financial services, insurance, retail, telecommunications, travel, hospitality—do things like personalize their marketing campaigns, manage interactions with customers, and analyze the behavior of website visitors to optimize sales.

A world-renowned expert on marketing technology, Mr. Lee serves on the Direct Marketing Association’s board of directors. A born entrepreneur who started his first software company in high school, Lee is also a former member of the famed MIT blackjack team, “loosely” depicted on the big screen in the film “21.”

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Chuck Martin @ChuckMartin1

ChuckMartin

Chuck Martin is a New York Times business bestselling book author of eight business books, has been Editor in Chief of four national magazines, a journalist at five daily newspapers, and was Vice President of IBM’s publishing and advertising division. Chuck was the founding Publisher of Interactive Age, the first publication to launch in print and on the Web. He is currently Director of the Center for Media Research at MediaPost in New York, teaches at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hamphshire, and is the Co-Publisher and Editor in Chief of Social Media Marketing Magazine.

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Venessa Miemis @VenessaMiemis – emergent by design

VenessaMiemis

Venessa Miemis is the author of Emergent By Design, a futurist, media theorist and researcher. MA candidate in Media Studies at The New School. Venessa’s main area of interest is in exploring the impacts that social technologies are having on human culture and society. Her passion has led her to begin developing a framework dubbed ‘metathinking,’ which consists of a series of methods and strategies for understanding an increasingly complex and changing world. She is a member of the Space Collective community, and has contributed guest posts to Blogging Innovation, MediaRights, gnovis, Memebox and now part of TheSocialCMO Crew!

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Billy Mitchell @BillyMitchell1 – MLT Creative

Billy Mitchell

Billy Mitchell is a partner and senior creative director at MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based B2B marketing agency with a northeast office in Rhode Island. As a B2B marketing specialist for more than two decades, Billy brings creativity and leadership to his team while serving national clients. Billy is a recognized expert in B2B inbound marketing, and is very active on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. He is also the curator of the top two B2B marketing lists on Twitter, and his lists are number one on both Listorious and Mashable. He contributes regularly to the B2B Ideas@Work blog for MLT Creative.

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Scott Monty @ScottMonty – Ford Motor Company

ScottMonty

The best way to describe Scott is “Renaissance Man.” Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master’s in Medical Science from Boston University’s School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU’s Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term “tweetup.”

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Amber Naslund @Ambercadabra – Radian6

Amber Naslund

Amber Naslund is a social media and marketing practitioner, and the Director of Community for Radian6 social media monitoring. There, she’s responsible for client engagement, community building, and helping companies build sound strategies for social media listening, measurement, and engagement.

She’s spent the last 15 years or so working with businesses of all sizes, from the Fortune 50 to startups and local nonprofits, and enjoyed a diverse career as a fundraiser, client services professional, corporate marketing director, and an entrepreneur.

Amber is also a frequent speaker at conferences and private events, talking about the practical applications and business strategies for the social web. An avid writer and passionate content creator, Amber blogs at AltitudeBranding.com, focusing on community, communication, and the rising tide of social business. She’s been recognized among Forbes’ 20 Best Social Media and Marketing Blogs By Women, as PostRank’s top community management blog of 2009, and among the AdAge Power 150.

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Steve Olenski @SteveOlenski – Oracle
Steve Olenski
Nicknamed The CMO Whisperer by the former CMO of Walmart for both his close relationships with many CMOs of the world’s biggest brands and for his real-world marketing expertise – @SteveOlenski is a true unicorn having served in roles ranging from agency creative director to senior marketing roles in companies such as Prudential and Oracle to a contributing writer for Forbes where he established himself as a highly-influential journalist in the marketing, advertising, and branding space. Born and raised in Philly, Steve is the father of two kids – Samantha and Josh, who are the heart AND soul of his life. He’s an avid sports fan, true crime aficionado and he drinks entirely too much coffee.

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Trey Pennington @TreyPennington

Trey Pennington

Trey Pennington is a marketing pro, business connector, and storyteller for business who’s passion is helping folks uncover their hidden treasures and put them to work. He uses social media to connect with audiences around the world. HubSpot ranks his Facebook profile as one of the most influential in the world and his Twitter profile in the top 0.01%. He’s helped start ten Social Media Clubs in the US, UK, and Australia and routinely speaks to group of using social media to make connections and have conversations leading to commerce.

His book, Spitball Marketing: Using What You’ve Got to Get More of What You Want is due out in early 2010.

On September 4th, 2011 Trey Pennington passed away, here is our farewell and tribute to Trey.

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Alex Romanovich @social2b – Social2b

AlexRomanovich

Alex Romanovich has more than 20 years of marketing leadership experience helping build domestic and international brands, bring service and product innovators into new markets, and guiding top-tier international companies. His senior-level marketing and demand generation executive leadership is always driven by innovation and measurable performance. With combined background in marketing, technology, analytics, and international business development, Alex has deep experience in software, media, online marketing, social media, and professional service segments. Alex has proven himself as a key performer on functional and executive teams that created in excess of $200Million of new value for IBM, Bertelsmann AG, Silicon Graphics (SGI+Cray), UNIFIED Technologies, and media/marketing agencies, driving internet marketing and business intelligence solutions. Currently, Alex is advising businesses globally on development and optimization of social and mobile marketing strategies, as well as execution through brand and ‘digital footprint’ development, social value chain optimization, online traffic growth, and content monetization strategies.

Alex is one of the founding members of the Advisory Board for The CMO Club – the first ‘Social’ Professional Network for over 800+ Chief Marketing Officers globally. He has a degree in Engineering and Computer Science from Brooklyn Polytechnic (currently Polytechnic University of NYU) and did postgraduate work in marketing and management at Fordham and Harvard Universities. He is fluent in three Slavic languages and enjoys international travel.

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Ted Rubin @TedRubin

Ted_Rubin

Ted Rubin is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Brand Evangelist, and Acting CMO of Brand Innovators. In March 2009 he started using and evangelizing the term ROR, Return on Relationship, hashtag #RonR. Ted left his position as Chief Social Marketing Officer of Collective Bias on August 31, 2013. He remains the 5th largest shareholder.

In the words of Collective Bias Co-Founder John Andrews… “Ted, you were the vision, heartbeat and soul of Collective Bias, thank you for building a great company. From innovations like cbSocially to the amazing relationships you built with the blogger community, clients and employees, you drove the epic growth. You will be missed!”

Many people in the social media world know Ted for his enthusiastic, energetic and undeniably personal connection to people. Ted is the most followed CMO on Twitter according to Social Media Marketing Magazine; one of the most interestingCMOs on Twitter according to Say Media, #13 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers, and number #2 on the Leadtail list of Top 25 People Most Mentioned by digital marketers.

ROR, #RonR, is the basis of his philosophy…It’s All About Relationships! His book, Return on Relationship was released January 29, 2013. His latest book, How To Look People in the Eye Digitally, is being released December 2014. Connect with Ted… http://TedRubin.com or @TedRubin.

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Judi Samuels @ChiefLemonhead – Maritz Canada

JudithSamuels

Throughout her progressive marketing career – spanning more than 10 years, Judi’s passion for delivering creative individualized brand experiences continues to drive her as an architect and interior designer of marketing strategies.

For Judi, the brand is about the lifestyle! Judi challenges the brand to go beyond the “one-hit wonder” that is the bottom line. Marketing is about the brand being integrated into the consumer’s lifestyle.

Today, Judi is Manager, Corporate Communications at Maritz Canada where she focuses on sharing the breadth of Maritz’ thought leadership – from Engagement Marketing to Consumer Loyalty and Sales Channel Enablement. The integration of these platforms is what drew Judi to Maritz, as it was a clear indication that Maritz was dedicated to the same marketing values that Judi holds.

Judi is a student, a teacher and a leader of the art & science of marketing… believing deeply that marketing has a much deeper role to play than simply delivering a single revenue number on a single product or service.

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Ryan Sauers @RyanSauers – Sauers Consulting Strategies

Ryan Sauers

Ryan T. Sauers is President and Chief Marketing Officer of Sauers Consulting Strategies. He has a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership;
Bachelors degree in Communications/Marketing; and studied abroad at Oxford University. Sauers is a Certified Meyers Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI), Strong, and DiSC Practitioner which are some of the most widely used personality profile instruments in the world. He uses this knowledge to help organizations become better marketers. He also uses this strong academic knowledge and blends it with a great deal of diverse professional experience to help bridge the world of human relations theory with  real world application.

Ryan is both Director & Founding member of the Certified Marketing & Sales Professionals Association. He is one of less than a thousand people worldwide to have achieved the Sales Marketing Executives International CME (Certified Marketing Executive) certification. In addition, Sauers obtained the CGASR (Certified Graphic Arts Sales Representative) designation and is one of less than 100 to have done so. He writes many feature articles in various media outlets in regard to topics areas such as sales, marketing, communications, leadership, and human relations. In addition, he writes two recurring monthly columns, one on marketing and the other on leadership strategies, for regional publications.

Sauers is a regular conference speaker at a number of different industry meetings and events. He is widely “quoted” as a thought leader in the graphic communications and promotional products industry and spends time helping bridge the diverse worlds of new communications such as Social Media with time tested traditional media such as Printing. He authors a blog, www.ryansauersblog.com titled Differential Leadership, Marketing, and Communications Solutions that helps organizations position themselves in the most effective manner.

Sauers serves on the Atlanta Community Food Bank board and was recently recognized as Who’s Who in Marketing and Communications. He is an Ambassador speaker for the March of Dimes, serves as an advisor on the March Of Dimes Communications/Leadership board and is a past Lay leader in his church. Sauers is the Chairperson of the local elementary School Council Board, and on Gwinnett County School System Oversight Committee, coaches his kids soccer and basketball teams, is announcer for the neighborhood swim team, and is a frequent teacher and/or facilitator of various seminars, webinars, and college classes. Ryan will begin working on a Doctorate in Executive Leadership in 2011 and has a unique new book on sales/marketing– due to come out in 2012.

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Mark W Schaefer @MarkWSchaefer Schaefer Marketing Solutions

Mark Schaefer

Mark W. Schaefer is an author, consultant and college educator with nearly
30 years experience in B2B marketing. He is currently CMO for Freesource
Inc and Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. His blog, {grow}
< www.businessesGROW.com> is a respected forum for social media marketing.

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Kathy Snavely @ProfS www.lightkeeper.net

KathySnavely

Kathy Snavely owns Lightkeeper Consulting in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania; a third generation entrepreneur, Snavely specializes in “lighting the way for small business,” particularly microenterprises (10 or fewer employees) in the areas of business and strategic planning, marketing, and special events. A regional Republican political strategist, Kathy has led candidates for township supervisor, city council, state senate and state representative races to victory; she runs the American Medical Association’s Political Action Committee’s Candidate School in Washington, DC annually, under the auspices of Diane Cromer Enterprises.

Honored to be one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business and recipient of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Athena Award, Kathy is also an adjunct professor and business counselor at Harrisburg Area Community College’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Additionally, she serves as a part-time instructor for Pennsylvania State University, teaching those wishing to serve their communities in public office how to run a political campaign. Saluted as one of the top 60 marketing professors on Twitter, she is a LinkedIn TwitFace!

Snavely publishes “This Week in Mt. Gretna” in the summer months, serving the thousands of visitors coming to Lebanon County’s number one tourism destination. She serves as secretary and summer programs chair of the Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania Chautauqua Board of Managers, which has been offering summer programs since 1892. Kathy is most proud of her husband Cliff (to whom she has been married for 27 years), her four stepchildren, seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

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Brian Solis @BrianSolis FutureWorks

BrianSolis

Brian Solis is the author of Engage, the complete guide to build, cultivate, and measure success in the social web. Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has influenced the effects of emerging media on the convergence of marketing, communications, and publishing. He is principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media agency in Silicon Valley, and has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and Web 2.0 startups.BrianSolis.com is among the world’s leading business and marketing online resources.

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Susan Spaight @SueSpaight www.spaighttalk.com

SusanSpaight

Sue is a 20-year agency veteran and advertising refugee turned SVP of digital strategy. She spent the better part of her career helping build brands like American Airlines, Gateway computers and Harley-Davidson, as well as numerous Midwestern regional and local brands. Her expertise is in finding and expressing the heart of a brand and integrating it into all marketing and communications channels. Currently, Sue plans so-called “traditional”, digital and social marketing for her clients and trains and coaches them on how to use social marketing strategically. It has been said by others that Sue likes to “poke people in the eye and make them think” and “call B.S. when needed.” Sue is a frequent speaker on digital and social marketing strategy, including upcoming sessions at the Ungeeked Elite retreats in Toronto, San Francisco and other cities.

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Jeremy Victor @jeremyvictor – Make Good Media

Jeremy Victor

With 15 years experience working in technology based organizations, some would say Jeremy has a fascination for all things digital, internet and marketing related. In June of 2009, Jeremy focused that passion and entrepreneurial drive and founded – Make Good Media.

Make Good Media is a publisher and new media marketing agency advising businesses how to integrate and operationalize social media and content marketing with their traditional marketing practices. The firm helps clients blend traditional marketing tactics with the new tools available through the social web to attract, nurture, engage, and convert customers in the brave new B2B world of the social, mobile web.

Jeremy also serves as the Editor In Chief for the online magazine, B2Bbloggers.com. The goal of the online publication is to engage, educate, and make it easier for B2B marketers to find the information they care about to do their jobs successfully. The site has over 50 contributing B2B bloggers and it aggregates more than 1,500 blogs related to B2B marketing.

Prior to founding Make Good Media, Jeremy’s industry experience includes print and online publishing, enterprise software, and consumer e-commerce. Having held senior level roles in Marketing, Operations, Customer Support, and Training, Jeremy provides his clients a partner with not only strategic marketing and operations expertise, but also an unending desire to help them please their customers at every brand touch point.

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Viveka von Rosen @LinkedInExpert – Linked Into Business

Viveka von Rosen

As CEO of Linked Into Business, Viveka enables business professionals to make personal connections in a professional manner. When her clients make strides in their careers, she has met her objective.

“It’s all about relationship building and showing my clients how to transform existing relationships into channels of exposure and income.”

The social media movement makes sense to her because she believes that people – at personal and professional levels – ultimately connect with other people. Viveka saw LinkedIn’s potential early on, and pursed connections and learning opportunities persistently.

Viveka maintains that there are plenty of free or inexpensive ways to grow a business. The hardest part? Undertanding the different platforms, cultures, and strategies, and then actually doing the steps it takes to succeed with focus.
Viveka is VERY active on Twitter @linkedinexpert.

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Renée Warren @Renee_Warren
Spark Boutik Inc.

ReneeWarren

Renée Warren plays Ultimate Frisbee and volleyball and is a genuine geek in stilettos.

With over 10 years of small business experience, Renée has seen the shift from traditional marketing to a much more socially connected and user/customer generated marketplace. She has been quick to adopt to new methodologies and technologies to help her clients achieve well rounded marketing strategies.

A high powered entrepreneur, Renée co-founded and runs the San Francisco office for Spark Boutik, a boutique social marketing company.  Specializing in Ideation, Attention Management, and Reputation Management, Spark Boutik is positioned to be one of the top niche social marketing company’s between Toronto and San Francisco.

An up and coming social media “it” person with a great online personality, Renée blogs at Reneewarren.com and SocialFresh, sits on the advisory board of ZeroFootPrint, is a lead organizer of WordCampToronto and a member of the founding team of Bee Media Inc.

Renée started working in her own small business at 17 years old, running a restaurant and a jewellery company with her sister. After university she traveled to Australia, Fiji and Mexico growing a love of art, culture and ethnic foods. Returning to Canada, she attended school for Marketing Management. After a stint as manager of a co-working incubator she was recruited by BizLaunch Media Inc. to help preserve the nation’s passion for small business success.

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Deborah Weinstein @debweinsteinStrategic Objectives

Deborah Weinstein

Deborah is co-founder, partner and president of Strategic Objectives, an international award-winning, full-service public relations agency that delivers smart ideas and better solutions to many of Canada and the world’s leading brands. Headquartered in Toronto, Strategic Objectives is IABC Toronto’s PR Agency of the Year 2009 and employs more than 40 top public relations professionals.

Master communicator, marketer and entrepreneur, Deborah, who received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Canada and the Communication Industry, started her career as a broadcast journalist at CBC and CTV networks. Today she leads her team and her clients in conceiving and implementing breakthrough integrated, results-driven marketing strategies and programs that build brand awareness, acceptance and sales.

Deborah’s multi-facetted responsibilities include developing primary goals, operating plans and short- and long-range objectives for the agency. She also hires, appoints and directly oversees the senior management team and represents the organization at a high level with clients, the media and other stakeholders…in addition to working as a hands-on PR consultant.

Deborah is active on Twitter @debweinstein. Check out @SO_pr and www.strategicobjectives.com for more info.

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Jeff Wilson @jeffthesensei – Sensei Integrated

Jeff Wilson

Jeff Wilson is the founder of Sensei Integrated, a firm specializing in online demand generation and social experience design working with leading global B2B and B2C enterprises for the past 12 years.

Jeff and Sensei’s work is based on a deep understanding of the emotional side of human behavior and how to influence people online in social media environments and enterprise websites to drive measurable growth in qualified leads, revenue and positive brand presence.

Jeff has been perfecting his craft over the past 12 years with some fantastic Fortune 500 clients and some great agency partners. The secret to Sensei’s success in online environments and application development is being able to understand the end customer’s perspective and how that must manifest itself through the online customer experience, and now even more importantly, the social (media) experience.

In addition to online demand generation, Jeff has designed, developed and delivered unique marketing and social media applications for some of the world’s top software companies. These applications focus on filling important niche needs around taking action on information to enable marketing and sales teams to improve performance.

Among Jeff’s current passion projects is a booking the works applying Darwin’s laws of Natural Selection to social media environments. It will be a highly unique perspective on what it takes for large enterprise to build a socially dominant brand and avoid social extinction.

Find out more about Jeff at www.themountaintop.ca.

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Rick Wion @rdublife – McDonald’s

Rick Wion

As Director of Social Media for McDonald’s Rick is lead conversation strategist for one of the world’s most well known brands.

Beyond reminding folks how yummy the fries are, Rick’s efforts include social marketing campaigns, long-term branding, issues management, customer service and employee engagement. Using new trends and technologies to enhance digital storytelling around McDonald’s balanced menu options is also a key driver behind the brand’s endeavors.

Prior to McDonald’s, Rick was Vice President of digital and social media for GolinHarris in Chicago where he implemented digital-communications strategies for Fortune 500 companies including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and BP among others.

Rick is also a former lifestyle/travel reporter, proud graduate from the University of Illinois, beer snob, die hard Cub fan and lover of the McRib.

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9 thoughts on “Who Are We?

  1. Lead on!!. thanks for putting this together. Should make it easier for me to see what my favorite thought leaders are saying . . .in an extended format.

    thanks again.

    AF

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