Harold Burson

Harold Burson was named the 20th Century's "most influential" person in public relations by the industry publication PRWeek. He was co-founder of Burson-Marsteller, which became the world's largest public relations firm in 1983. Burson stepped down as CEO in 1989, but he continues to make frequent domestic and overseas visits to the firm's offices and clients in 35 countries. He is regarded as an authority on crisis management, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Burson has advised CEOs on these topics including Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, DuPont, Merrill Lynch, General Mortors, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and the U.S. Postal Service. He also was a public relations adviser to President Ronald Reagan after Reagan left the White House. Burson was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Boston University in 1988. He was honored by The School of Communication at Boston University with the only endowed chair for a public relations consultant.
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Bill Cleary

Bill Cleary is founder and chairman of Cleary and Partners, one of the leading integrative media agencies focusing on building brands in the digital age. The firm has helped build some of the most significant brands in the online and offline worlds on the web, the digital cable universe, mobile phones, digital billboards, DVRs, and practically everything else digital.

Previously, Cleary was co-founder of CKS Group, which became the first publicly traded integrative media advertising agency. He has led branding campaigns that launched or grew to become major digital companies, including Yahoo, Excite, Silicon Graphics, Amazon, AdForce, and eBay. Because of his leadership and experience, Cleary is regarded by many as the technology and consumer-tech branding "guy," and has been involved in the launch of numerous hardware, software and peripheral products.
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Mary Enderle

Mary Enderle, Branding and Web Design Consultant for the Enderle Group, has in-depth knowledge of brand driven design, brand management tools, creative direction, and agency management. As the Worldwide Corporate Brand Identity Manager at Intel Corporation, she helped establish it as one of the top ten most valuable brands worldwide. Enderle also drove the expansion of effective brand management, leading a worldwide team and working closely with her counterparts, to ensure the creation of worldwide tools that were translated into seven languages. She also spent nine years managing the look and feel for intel.com, and consulting across many divisions on both creative and site usability. Since leaving Intel, Enderle has consulted with top tier companies on branding and web design, including Dolby Laboratories, Gateway Computers, Advanced Micro Devices, and Intel's Education group. Enderle has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Design.
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Bill Firing

Bill Firing is Senior Partner, Client Services Directory at OlgivyOne, where he oversees the OgilvyOne team in Los Angeles. Firing's career includes over seven years at OgilvyOne where he was Executive Director of Relationship Marketing Solutions in the New York office prior to his current role in Los Angeles. In New York, Firing was instrumental in helping to build the OgilvyOne Consulting Services organization. Firing joined Ogilvy with nearly 20 years of experience developing and managing multi-channel demand generation and relationship marketing programs for Fortune 100 companies. He was also VP, Marketing Strategy at the Modem Media office in San Francisco. Firing is a former Principal Consultant at Dun & Bradstreet where he worked extensively with senior marketing and technology executives in leading the strategic planning and process design for the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. His educational background includes a BA from Indiana University and an MPA from The American University.
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Stan Latacha

Stan Latacha is a senior retail marketing executive with over 30 years of retail experience in branding, strategic planning, marketing strategy development, and execution of sales promotion and advertising. He most recently headed the marketing for Ashley Furniture HomeStores, the #1 furniture retailers in the US. Prior to that, Latacha headed up marketing for several national and regional retailers, including: Petco, OfficeMax, and Goody's Family Clothing. Prior to his shift into the retailing sector, Latacha started his career in the advertising agency business and had extensive account management experience, serving both retail and consumer package goods clients. Latacha helped build some of the largest and well known brands in the country, such as Sears, Parkay Margarine, Hallmark, Pizza Hut, Craftsman, Hallmark, Hefty, Morton Salt, and Kenmore.
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Sidney J. Levy

Dr. Sidney Levy is a Coca-Cola Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Special Assistant to the marketing department head, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona. His PhD is from the University of Chicago and he is licensed as a psychologist in Illinois. Dr. Levy joined the Northwestern University faculty in 1961 and taught for 36 years, chairing the Kellogg School Marketing Department from 1980 to 1992. He is the Charles H. Kellstadt Emeritus Professor of Marketing. In 1997, HEC-University of Montreal named him a Living Legend of Marketing. In 2000, he received the Converse Award for contributions to Marketing, noting the enduring influence of his 1959 Harvard Business Review article "Symbols for Sale."
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Kenneth Lewis

Kenneth Lewis is President of Tucker Mackenzie & Associates, a consultancy that specializes in marketing strategy and business development for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Prior to Tucker Mackenzie, Lewis worked at Timex Corporation, the number one watch manufacturer in the U.S. as SVP, Americas, participating in the transformation of a historically product driven New England manufacturing company into a world class marketing and sales driven organization. Lewis’ previous experience includes VP Corporate Marketing & Brand Development with The Stanley Works, where he was also President of the Specialty Tools Division and President of Stanley logistics. Over his 30 year career, Lewis also held senior level marketing positions with Marvel Entertainment Group, Walt Disney Attractions, Six Flags Over Georgia, Cohn & Wolfe, and Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey. He holds a BA in English Literature from Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
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Melissa McDonell

Melissa McDonell is a seasoned marketing professional with a passion for consumer insights. A fifteen year veteran of the fast food wars with YUM! Brands, Inc., she has experience in practically every aspect of the marketing mix, including broadcast and online media, direct mail, PR, merchandising, promotional partnerships, CRM and local guerilla marketing programs. McDonell spent a significant amount of her career in field marketing roles where she developed a keen understanding of both operations and franchisee management, playing a critical role in the restructuring of the Pizza Hut US business from 70% company-owned to 70% franchise ownership in a three-year period. Both new product and new concept development are also part of her skill sets, as well as international brand development for the KFC market in Northern Europe. She is fluent in German and conversant in French. McDonell holds a BA (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Texas, and an MBA from the UVA Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
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George Silverman

George Silverman is the author of The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing; How to Trigger Exponential Sales Through Runaway Word of Mouth and considers himself a recovered and reformed psychologist. His primary interest is in word-of-mouth marketing, decision-making, and persuasion. He has been a marketing consultant for over 30 years. Silverman is the world's foremost word-of-mouth marketing speaker, conducting speeches and workshops all over the world. He is a member of the Advisory Board of WOMMA (the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association) and has been a major speaker at most of its conferences.

Silverman is the inventor of the telephone focus group, co-inventor of the peer word of mouth group -- widely acknowledged to be the most powerful marketing method ever developed in the pharmaceutical industry. He is a past Treasurer and Board member of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), and has been Chairman of its Professionalism Committee.
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Scott Wilson

Scott Wilson has worked in a marketing, sales and general management capacity for over 25 years. Currently, he's Group VP of Handleman Company, an international category manager of music for retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears Holding Company, Best Buy and Circuit City. His responsibilities have included sales, marketing, field merchandising, and general management for the United States, Canada and Mexico. He also serves his industry as the Vice Chairman of NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers). Wilson started and led Valassis Communications' customer relationship marketing initiative for their retail, automotive and food service clients. He has entrepreneurial experience as President of Display Creations, a store fixture and decorative distribution company. He also had various brand management responsibilities at Kraft/General Foods, including Jell-O, Log Cabin and Sanka. He graduated with academic honors, including Beta Gamma Sigma, from Michigan State University with BBA and MBA degrees.
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