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Team : Advisors : General Business
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Dick AmbrosiusDick Ambrosius helped launch a movement in 1981 when he founded a full service agency specializing in marketing to those in life's second half by using an approach he called inclusive or developmental marketing. He was among the first consultants in the nation to specialize in the maturing market and aggressively counter aging stereotypes through his research, products, articles, lectures and workshops. Ambrosius is the co-founder of a mature market think tank group, The Society, and is recognized as an authority on changing population trends and their impact on sales, marketing, customer service and management practices. He has trained, conducted focus groups for, and consulted with a wide variety of Fortune 500 Companies, corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, banking and professional associations in 49 states. Ambrosius is the author of The Art of the Positive, Choices & Changes...a positive aging guide to life planning, The Art of the Possible and co-author of Aging is a Series of Many Beginnings. In 1980, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the youngest member of the National Advisory Committee to the 1981 White House Conference on Aging; and selected as a delegate-at-large for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Ambrosius has a BA and MA in Political Science and is a decorated Vietnam veteran. Scott BarnumScott Barnum has been the CEO of Pyramid Breweries since June 2006, and has been a member of its Board of Directors since February 1999. Prior to assuming the CEO position at Pyramid Breweries, Barnum was President of Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures, a premium chocolate company founded by the creator of Pete's Wicked Ale. Previous to this position, Barnum co-founded Plan B, a consumer marketing consultancy, agency, and "think tank." Barnum's previous experience includes launching the International Division for eBay Inc. shortly after its IPO in 1998. Prior to eBay, Barnum was President and COO of Pete's Brewing Company. His background also includes nearly five years with Miller Brewing Company, where he held several senior level marketing management positions (including responsibility for all of the Miller trademark brands) and where he launched Miller's specialty beer division as its General Manager. Barnum also spent eight years in brand management with PepsiCo Inc. He earned an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelors of Business Administration Degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Washington. David CramptonDavid Crampton is CEO of FitLinxx, which he joined in March 2003. Prior to that, he served as CEO of National School Reporting Services, where he turned it around and built it into a profitable, nationwide-provider of independent assessment data on public schools, partnering with such companies as Yahoo!, Cendant, and Knight-Ridder newspapers. Crampton also led PC Flowers & Gifts, the first online flower and gift company, through rapid expansion and a planned public offering. In each case he worked closely with company founders to help expand the businesses, improve operations, and achieve consistent profitability. Crampton has spent most of the past two decades either leading investor-backed businesses through periods of rapid growth, or consulting for high-growth companies. He started by helping launch CapitaLink Securities, an electronic bond auction network, and spent several years with McKinsey & Co. Crampton has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Columbia University. Thomas MateerTom Mateer is an innovative and experienced communications strategist and executive with significant officer-level accomplishments developing and launching strategic ventures and programs. Mateer played a key role in the successful development and launch of multiple new business ventures and strategic initiatives, most recently Sprint's commitment to wireless, the creation of Sprint PCS, the Sprint PCS Affiliate program, and the integration planning for the Sprint-Nextel merger. Mateer has diverse experience gained in almost 30 years in the cable, local, and long distance telephone, mobile (paging, cellular and PCS), and satellite industries. During this time, Mateer worked closely with or in all operational levels-local, headquarters, and corporate-and functional areas such as strategic and operational planning, business development, marketing, sales, network, customer service, finance, information technology, and customer experience. Before joining Sprint, Mateer held various management positions with the Ernst & Young Telecommunications Consulting Group and McCaw Communications Companies, Inc. Mateer is a graduate of Eastern Washington University where he graduated summa cum laude with a BA in History, focused on modern Europe. Shannon McClenaghanShannon McClenaghan is the President of Jimmyjane, Inc., a privately held consumer products company that develops and manufactures premium accessories and consumables that integrate design and sexuality. Jimmyjane combines sophisticated product development and consumer marketing with proprietary technology to reach an underserved quality and style-conscious consumer. Prior to Jimmyjane, McClenaghan ran her own consultancy and boutique investment bank working with small and mid-sized companies and investors in the consumer and retail sectors, with a particular focus on lifestyle and luxury brands and health and wellness opportunities. McClenaghan has over 15 years of experience and wields expertise in fundraising, finance, market strategy, business development, and rolling out retail stores. She has worked with a variety of companies, including Apple Computer, The Home Depot, Microsoft, Best Buy, Oakville Grocery Company, Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures, IBEX Outdoor Clothing, Akira Technologies and 21 Minute Convenience Fitness. Prior to her own consultancy, McClenaghan co-founded Vectiv Corporation, an enterprise software company for large retail companies, financed by Accenture and sold to Accruent. She began her professional career as a corporate and real estate attorney with Preston Gates & Ellis and Reynolds & Brown. She obtained dual Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Washington and a JD from Golden Gate University, where she is also an adjunct professor of law. Judy MisznerJudy Miszner is an award winning publisher and media expert with over 20 years of experience in leading mid-sized companies through internal and externally driven change. Miszner is a strategic general manager who is adept at delivering valuable content through traditional and digital channels to reach targeted audiences, building reader loyalty, attracting customers and driving revenue and earnings growth. Most recently, Miszner held positions as General Manager, hedgeworld.com, a division of Reuters; Publisher of the Pulitzer-prize winning Village Voce and EPPY-award winning villagevoice.com; and senior marketing and sales management roles at Harmon Publishing and Block Drug Company. Miszner was responsible for successful transitioning the Voice from a weekly print model to an integrated full-service media organization that embraced the opportunities of digital technology. Under her leadership, combined readership grew from 250,000 to over 2.2 million, the company achieved double digit revenue growth, and she had a consistent record of delivering bottom line results. Chuck NyrenChuck Nyren is an award-winning advertising video producer, creative strategist, consultant, and copywriter, focusing on the Baby Boomer Market. Nyren has been a consultant for advertising and marketing agencies and companies with products for the 40+ Market, including Mary Furlong & Associates, AARP, Harris Interactive, and The Omnicom Group. He is a member/consultant (Advertising/40+Market) with The Faith Popcorn BrainReserve TalentBank, a leading trend forecasting marketing firm. Nyren has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, CBS MarketWatch, KIRO-AM (Seattle), Tiempos Del Mundo, Advertising Age's The Advertising Show, Selling to Seniors Magazine, Advantages (The Advertising Specialty Institute), and many other newspapers, magazines and radio programs worldwide. Ray O'BrienRay O'Brien has been involved in the telecommunications industry for over 25 years in all aspects of technology. He is currently the acting COO of Defywire, Inc., a leading mobile and wireless software provider and a member of the advisory board to Secure Telecom Holdings, Inc. O'Brien spent 12 years with Sprint Corp. in a variety of assignments including President of two of their business units. Following Sprint, he was with SkyTel Corp. and in the course of five years grew the subscriber base ten-fold and was recognized as one of the Top 100 marketing people by Advertising Age. After two years in the energy business during which he led the successful repositioning of a $500M energy services company, he became President of Verestar, Inc., a global provider of satellite and fiber-based managed solutions. Gary PattersonGary Patterson has over 30 years senior management experience with high growth technology, manufacturing and service companies. He has worked with over 92 companies - from start-ups to Inc 500 to Fortune 500 - providing high-level strategic guidance and expertise. Patterson's extraordinary track record includes building two start-ups (each achieving $10 million revenue their first year); diagnosing company oversights to save $150K to $3 million annually; guiding a young company through a liquidity search resulting in $25 million in financing; and helping a company broaden its client base 525%, increasing revenue from $16 million to $100 million. His international experience includes serving as European coordinator for the global enterprise-wide application software pilot program for a Fortune 500 company. Patterson is a CPA and holds an MBA in Finance and Operations from Stanford and a BA in Accounting from the University of Mississippi. Ellen PearlmanEllen Pearlman is known in publishing for her ability to launch and run high-quality publications and web sites. She launched four award-winning publications, three online sites and is the co-author of Fast Forward, a book about the impact of the Internet, published in 2000. Through her publishing experiences at Institutional Investor, CMP Media, Miavita.com and Ziff Davis Media, Pearlman has gained expertise in finance, business technology, consumer technology, the Internet and health and wellness. Over the last twenty-five years, Pearlman's publications have won numerous awards and in September 2005, Pearlman received the distinguished Einstein Award for achievements in the high-tech industry. Pearlman has served on the board of Cybergirl, a site dedicated to transforming women's lives through technology, and is currently serving on the advisory board of Care2com, the largest online network for people who want to make a difference. Pearlman is currently Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of CIO Insight, a Ziff Davis Media publication. She received her BA at Brooklyn College in Education and English. Steven L. ShapiroSteve Shapiro is currently Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations at Passkey International, the world's leading provider of software for group reservations. He has over 25 years of financial, capital raising, administrative and operational experience. He is a six-time Chief Financial Officer at public, pre-IPO, start-ups and VC-backed companies. He has successfully raised funds from angels, venture capital funds, institutional investors and financial institutions and has led a successful initial public offering. A CPA since 1982, he brings a unique perspective due to extensive industry and operational experience. He has worked for companies in the retail, high-tech, telecommunication, and bio-science industries and has also led the operations at two software companies. Shapiro is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has a BSBA cum laude from the University of Massachusetts. Joshua ShawJoshua A. Shaw is co-founder and chief operating officer of GoSMILE™, the smile-beauty company. Prior to launching GoSMILE, Shaw successfully helped build and run the multi-media marketing services company, Student Advantage Inc. Over nine years, Shaw oversaw various aspects of the business ranging from marketing and sales to operations and business development as the company grew to an $85 million business with 500 employees, and was instrumental in taking the company public. Shaw was also selected out of one million applicants to participate in the hit reality television show "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump. Shaw received his BS in Marketing and Finance from the State University of New York, Albany. Robert L. VetereRobert Vetere is President of APPMA. Beginning in 2002, he served as the association’s COO and Managing Director. Vetere has made his mark in the industry as APPMA’s chief spokesperson with guest columns in publications including Pet Business and Pet Product News, and television appearances on such acclaimed shows as CNNFN, ABC’s World News Tonight, and CNBC. He has also been quoted in publications including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. Before joining APPMA, Vetere served as senior vice president, administration, general counsel and secretary at Oil-Dri Corporation of America, a publicly traded $175 million international developer, manufacturer, and marketer of brand name and private label products for pets, fluids purification, and agriculture. Prior to his position at Oil-Dri, Vetere spent 25 years at First Brands Corporation, a $1.2 billion publicly traded manufacturer and marketer of consumer products, including GLAD Wrap and Bags, Prestone Anti-Freeze, and Scoop Away and Jonny Cat Pet Litter. While at First Brands Corporation, Vetere held a number of positions including associate general counsel/director of government relations, senior corporate counsel, corporate director of professional development and senior corporate staff engineer. Vetere earned a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall School of Law, an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a B.S. in Management Science from R.P.I. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the American Society of Association Executives. Wayne WillisWayne Willis has spent the last ten years helping dozens of entrepreneurs and investors develop a broad variety of technology-amplified services companies, healthcare information services (HealthScribe, Cyracom, Axonwave), a multimedia internet search service (ditto.com), enhanced telecommunications (FaxNet), unified communications (BeNotified) educational services (HotMath, iDiploma, NetSchools), and several others. Willis has performed a variety of roles: He advises companies, serves as an investor and/or director, and has served in management roles, usually in transitional situations. A co-founder and Senior Partner of Hyatt Legal Services, Willis and his partners took Hyatt from start-up to the world's second largest law firm in just seven years by revolutionizing both the marketing and the delivery of US legal services. After selling Hyatt, Willis became CEO of Voice-Tel, a 5-year-old, $3 million specialty voicemail messaging network, and led the growth of that company to over $60 million in revenues in just four years. Subsequently, the company was sold to a publicly traded firm in Atlanta. Willis has degrees from Yale College and Yale Law School, and a master's degree in administrative sciences from Yale Graduate School. |
