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Board of Directors

Leadership: Board of Directors

Larry Weber | Chairman of the Board

Chairman, W2 Group, Inc.

Larry Weber is Chairman of W2 Group, a global marketing services ecosystem that helps CMOs in their new role as builders of communities and content aggregators. W2 Group includes public relations agency Racepoint Group, social media marketing firm Digital Influence Group and branding company Two Martinis.

A public relations visionary, in 1987 Larry established The Weber Group, which within a decade became the world's largest technology public relations firm. Interpublic purchased The Weber Group in 1996 and in 2000, Larry was named Chairman and CEO of Interpublic's Advanced Marketing Services group. In 2001 Larry built Weber Shandwick, which today is the world's largest public relations firm.

Larry serves on a number of boards for corporations, non-profit organizations and academic institutions. He is co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX), the largest interactive advocacy organization in the world.

Larry has also published three books about next-generation business. Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click was published in July 2009 from Wiley & Sons. Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business was first published by Wiley in 2007 with a second edition in 2009. The Provocateur: How a New Generation of Leaders Are Building Communities, Not Just Companies was printed in 2002 by Random House.

Emily Nagle Green | Vice Chairman

Chairman, Yankee Group

Emily Nagle Green is chartered with continuing Yankee Group's leadership in navigating the global connectivity revolution as the president and CEO. She sits on the Board of Directors for Yankee Group. She is also author of the book ANYWHERE: How Global Connectivity is Revolutionizing the Way We Do Business, which offers an unprecedented road map for how ubiquitous connectivity will impact our lives.

Before joining Yankee Group, Green was CEO of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), the preeminent research and consulting firm in the energy sector, and led its sale in 2004 to IHS Energy. Previously, Green served for nine years in leadership roles with the IT advisory firm Forrester Research, helping the company grow from a privately held boutique to a publicly traded market leader. From 2001 to 2003, she was managing director, Forrester Research North America; she also launched and built the company's European operations from 1998 to 2001.

Green is a communications technology and research veteran, and her tech-sector experience includes a variety of engineering and marketing leadership roles in computer-generated special effects, broadband communications and video services. She is a frequent speaker on the challenges and opportunities in connectivity change. Green is also the vice chairman of the board of MITX, New England's premier trade association for digital technology, marketing and media professionals.

Green holds a B.S.L. degree in linguistics from Georgetown University and an M.S.E. degree in artificial intelligence and computer graphics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Vic Petri | Treasurer

Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

A Business Assurance Partner in the Technology, InfoComm and Entertainment practice, Vic is also the PwC Client Experience Leader for the US Firm. He was previously the leader of the Technology, InfoComm and Entertainment (TICE) practice for the firm's Northeast Region and the Global Leader for the Software and Internet Sector. His clients have ranged from start-ups to multinational companies, including closely and publicly held, high growth companies.

His educational background includes a MS in Accounting and a BS in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany (SUNYA).  Vic is a member of the Curriculum Advisory Board for the Accounting Department of SUNYA. He is a Board member of The Massachusetts Interactive Multimedia Council and an active member of the Massachusetts Software Council.  He is also a member the American Institute and Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Michael K. Barron | Clerk and General Counsel

Partner, DLA Piper

Michael Barron is a Partner at DLA Piper in the Corporate and Securities Department. Mr. Barron focuses on providing legal services to emerging technology and life sciences companies and to investors in emerging technology and life sciences companies, in addition to providing trademark and licensing services. Mr. Barron is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Mr. Barron is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the International Trademark Association, the Licensing Executive Society, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the MIT Enterprise Forum, and the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (Board of Directors). Mr. Barron is the founder and general counsel for the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX).

Dave Balter

Founder & CEO, BzzAgent, Inc.

Dave Balter is the founder and CEO of BzzAgent, Inc. BzzAgent activates social influence to drive return for brands.  He launched BzzAgent in late 2001, and today 600,000 consumers have joined the company's network, which spans North America and the United Kingdom.  Since its launch, BzzAgent has been featured everywhere from the CBS Evening News to the BBC to The New York Times Sunday Magazine. 

Dave co-founded the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), and he currently serves on its Executive Council and as Chair of the Association's International Committee.  The author of two books on the subject, Grapevine and The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II, Dave lectures around the world on trends in word of mouth and social media.

BzzAgent is the subject of two Harvard Business School cases, and in 2007 the university dubbed him one of Boston's "Hottest Technology CEOs."  In 2008, Dave was recognized as a Future Legend by the AdClub and he was named to the "40 under 40" list by The Boston Business Journal and Advertising Specialty Institute.  Dave also sits on the advisory boards of the Wharton Future of Advertising Project, Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, Mass Technology Leadership Council, Social Media Advisory Council, FitnessKeeper, Crowdsprout and the Boston Boys & Girls Club Marketing and Communications Committee.  
Sean M. Belka

SVP, Director, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology

Sean Belka is Senior Vice President, Director of Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT), a unit of Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans and a leading online brokerage firm.  FCAT's vision is to serve as Fidelity's idea and innovation catalyst, helping Fidelity's employees and businesses to imagine and realize the possibilities of emerging technologies and new ideas.
 
Mr. Belka joined Fidelity in 1993 to lead marketing and product development for Fidelity Trust Company.  In 1997, he became Senior Vice President of mutual fund customer marketing for FPI.  In 1998, he transitioned to FPI's Core Segment, where he led Fidelity's efforts to better understand and serve its mass market and mass affluent customers.  From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Belka served in FPI's Online Brokerage unit, where he was responsible for Fidelity's strategic partnerships with online content providers, marketing partners and online capabilities providers.  From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Belka led FPI's market research, database marketing, CRM, lead management and customer analysis and modeling functions.  From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Belka led FPI's customer strategy and marketing efforts for Emerging, Engaged, Established, High Net Worth, Active Trader and Corporate Employee segments and was also responsible for FPI's direct acquisition efforts and online marketing.  Prior to his current role, Mr. Belka was Senior Vice President, Online Strategy, where he led the re-design of fidelity.com, transforming it into a more content rich and engaging experience.

Prior to joining Fidelity, Mr. Belka was a senior vice president for Digitas, LLC in Boston.  His responsibilities included client engagement with start-up and blue chip companies, providing strategy, CRM, Web and direct marketing services.  Previously, Mr. Belka was a marketing director for Advanta Credit Cards (now Bank of America) in Philadelphia, where he led customer acquisition, new product development and customer development and retention.  He previously worked in strategic planning and new product development at Sallie Mae.  Mr. Belka began his career at Citibank, where he was a member of the Management Associate program and a marketing executive in the credit card division.
Jeffrey Bussgang

Jeff is a General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners whose investment interests and entrepreneurial experience are in consumer, Internet commerce, marketing services, software and wireless start-ups.  He currently represents the firm on the boards of BzzAgent, ClickSquared, DataXu, digitalArbor, i4cp, Mall Networks, oneforty, Ready FinancialSimpleTuition, and Transpera and was previously a director at Brontes Technologies (acquired by 3M), go2Media, and PanGo Networks (merged with InnerWireless).

Jeff was recently appointed to serve as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School's Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.  He is also on the board of MITX, the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange and is a Founding Executive Committee Member of FirstGrowth Venture Network, a network of venture and angel investors supporting first and second time entrepreneurs building exciting companies in the New York area. 

Jeff's popular blog on helping demystify the venture business for entrepreneurs, "Seeing Both Sides", can be found at http://www.seeingbothsides.com/, which is syndicated by BusinessWeek.com, Reuters.com, PE Hub and others. Jeff's book on venture capital and entrepreneurship, Mastering the VC Game is an insider's guide for entrepreneurs on financing and company-building.

Prior to joining the firm in January 2003, Jeff co-founded Upromise (acquired by Sallie Mae), was an executive at Open Market, an Internet commerce software leader that went public in 1996 and grew to nearly $100 million in revenues.  He also worked with the strategy consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group, and served on the executive team of Athena Design, an object-oriented software start-up.

Jeff holds a BA in Computer Science from Harvard University where he graduated magna cum laude and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and a Ford Scholar.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bussgang.

Elisabeth Bentel Carpenter

SVP, Global Services & Support, Brightcove

Elisabeth is responsible for defining and executing Brightcove's go-to-market strategy, including working with major publishers, marketing and distribution partners. Elisabeth joins Brightcove from News Corporation's British Sky Broadcasting subsidiary in London. Over nearly a decade at News Corporation and Sky, Elisabeth held a variety of senior management roles, including directing Sky's broadband and new technologies strategy and operations, its new media division, corporate development and strategic planning roles. Elisabeth was also instrumental in the initial launch of Sky Digital, Sky's breakthrough digital satellite video distribution platform. Elisabeth also worked directly in the office of the CEO, helping to launch global joint-ventures as well as leading Sky's sports rights acquisition deals.

Elisabeth was a Fulbright scholar, a graduate of Harvard University, and has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD from Columbia School of Law.

David Clark

Managing Director, The Jordan, Edmiston Group

David Clark, a Managing Director with JEGI, provides M&A advisory services to traditional and technology-enabled marketing services companies. Mr. Clark's focus and transaction experience also includes companies in adjacent markets, such as business information, market research, application software and information technology services.

Mr. Clark has nearly 20 years of experience in investment banking and business development consulting. Prior to joining JEGI, he was a Managing Director at Deloitte & Touche Corporate Finance and a senior member of Deloitte's global TMT (Technology, Media & Telecom) industry practice. At Deloitte, Mr. Clark acted as financial and strategic advisor to US and international companies on cross-border M&A assignments, joint ventures and growth capital financings. Previously, he served as Vice President of the Bank of Tokyo's New York Investment Banking Group where his responsibilities included managing the bank's US venture capital and private equity relationships and investment portfolio.

In 2008, Mr. Clark was elected to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Information & Technology Exchange (MITX), the leading industry association bringing together digital technology, marketing, and media professionals to engage in "what is next" for the web and how it impacts the marketing and business worlds.
Mr. Clark earned an MBA from the University of Virginia-Colgate Darden School of Business, an MA in International Studies from the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences, and a BS in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Clark is a certified NASD representative.
Chris Colbert

CEO & Co-Creator, Holland Mark

Chris Colbert is one of the founding partners of Holland Mark, and until his decision to re-launch the agency in 2007 he was the managing partner of Pile and Company, one of the leading advertising industry consulting firms.  From 1986 to 2001 he was the president of Holland Mark Advertising and a principal in its sister company BeNow, a marketing database technology firm.
 
In his various roles, Chris developed significant expertise in consumer brand strategies and integrated communications from his work with Blue Cross, TJ Maxx, Universal Studios, Ameritech, Polaroid, Liberty Mutual, and the Boston Globe; in database and relationship marketing, working with brands like Polaroid, Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA), Scholastic, and Compaq; and a strong competency in addressing the challenges and opportunities in the interactive realm, from his direct involvement with tjmaxx.com and redlobster.com.
 
In addition to his leadership responsibilities, Chris is Chairman Emeritus of the Advertising Club of Greater Boston.  He holds a BA in History from Connecticut College and an International MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

Martha Connors

SVP & GM Online, IDG Enterprise

Martha Connors is responsible for leading the online operations and editorial for both Computerworld and CXO, the two leading brands in enterprise IT. In this role, she is the primary driver of online strategy and direction and is charged with overseeing the dramatic growth these organizations are seeing in all areas of online media.

Prior to coming to Computerworld, Connors worked for 10 years at Technology Review, an MIT enterprise, where she was instrumental in transforming the once-small magazine into a leading independent media company. Starting out as circulation director at Technology Review, she worked her way up to executive vice president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for the online business, circulation and operations. During her time there, she put Technology Review online in 1994, making it one of the first 10 publications on the Web.

Connors joined Computerworld in 2005 as vice president and general manager, online, and in 2006 she was given the added responsibility of overseeing the online properties of CXO Media, including CIO.com and CSO.com.

Connors currently serves on the board of directors at MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange), and she has served on the Massachusetts Board of Education's technology subcommittee and on the board of her alumni magazine. Connors received her bachelor of arts degree in English and journalism from the University of Massachusetts.
Jim Crowley

President & CEO, Turbine, Inc.

Jim Crowley is Turbine's president and CEO brings a wealth of operational experience to Turbine and is responsible for the vision and day-to-day operations of the Company.  As Chief Operating Officer of m-Qube, Crowley helped turned m-Qube into one of North America's largest mobile media companies.  Prior to m-Qube, Crowley was Chief Operating Officer of Network Plus, Inc., one of the country's largest publicly traded competitive telecommunications and data providers.  Crowley is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Connecticut College.
Brian Cusack | Head of Display, Retail and Canada

Head, Online Video & Display, Google

Head of Online Video & Display, Retail Technology - Google 2009 - Present. Boston.
Display Regional Sales Manager - Google 2007 - 2009. Boston.

Regional Sales Director AOL MN - 2004 - 2007. Boston. Managed New England team and relationships with New England partners.
 
VP Sales - IMN (formerly IMakeNews) - 2002 - 2004.  Managed Outside and Inside Sales, Reseller relationships, as well as Client Support for IMN, a Marketing Services ASP. IMN provides an emarketing publishing solution including newsletter publishing, blogs and RSS distribution to over 1000 customers in the US, and partners with International  resellers. (2 years)

VP Sales - 2000 - 2002. Newmediary. Newmediary created private label buying directories which were housed on branded websites. Newmediary then sold advertising and sponsorship programs in these directories. Managed Inside and Outside Sales, as well as Customer Support. The assets were sold to CNet and became the foundation of a very successful White Paper Directory and publishing offering. (2 years)
 
Dartmouth College - Bachelor of Arts, Economics

Resident of Marblehead, MA, married to Michele, father of two - Morgan and Liam.
Scott Ernst

President, Compete

Scott is a veteran in online marketing with deep experience in advertising, analytics, digital media and Web technology and over 20 years of sales, operations and management experience.  Over the past decade, Scott has been working with world-class brands to help them improve their business performance through the online channel. 

Compete online measurement company that helps advertisers, publishers and agencies improve both their online and offline marketing effectiveness.  The company has won numerous awards and had been recognized as one of the fastest growing private companies by Deloitte, INC Magazine and earned Honomichl Top 50 status before being acquired in early 2008 .  Now within the world's largest marketing services company, the company is at the intersection of WPP, Kantar and Kantar Media digital strategies.

As President, Scott oversees the company's overall strategic direction, integration into Kantar/WPP, global expansion and day-to-day operations.  Under Scott's leadership the company has achieved average YOY revenue growth more than 50%, is the fastest growing internet measurement company with over 1,000 clients, is a recognized leader/brand and is profitable.  Joining Compete in 2002 as a member of the founding management team, Scott has been integral in building the company's vertical go-to-market strategy, aggressive product expansion, launch of Compete PRO, sale of the company and building both the domestic and international businesses.  Before taking over as President in 2008, Scott held the roles of Chief Client Officer and VP of Sales and Business Development. 

Prior to Compete, Scott served as Vice President of Sales, Corporate and Business Development for Personify, a web analytics and behavioral profiling software company.  Joining in 1999, Scott launched the original sales model (enterprise and SaaS), built the team including direct, partner and OEM channels, and lead strategic partnerships including an acquisition, fund raising and sale of the company. 

Prior to Personify, Scott was Vice President of Sales at AdKnowledge, a digital marketing company offering ad serving, targeting, tracking and analytics technology which was acquired by CMGI/Engage.  Joining in 1997, Scott was a member of the founding management team and built the sales team and partnerships selling to both advertisers and agencies.

Over a period of ten years prior to AdKnowledge, Scott held various sales and marketing leadership roles in healthcare and health information technology companies.  This experience included both large and small company experience which most notably includes the sale of Cemax to Eastman Kodak PACS division in 1996.
Scott is a recognized leader with passion for the business and his team.  He is an active speaker and advocate for digital businesses.  Scott holds several board positions including advisory roles with Performable, SocialSphere and is a member of the WPP Digital Advisory Board.

Scott received his BS in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.  While a Penn Scott was a varsity athlete, All Ivy League award winner, member of Phi Gamma Delta and Friars Senior Honor Society.  Scott is also a graduate Phillips Exeter Academy.

Scott lives with his wife and children in Concord, MA and on most weekends can be found either coaching or cheering on local athletes.

 

Sarah Fay

Sarah Fay served as the CEO of Aegis Media North America, overseeing the operations of all of the Aegis Media operating units in the US and Canada.  Sarah previously served as the CEO of Carat and Isobar U.S.  Carat, a leading media and marketing services agency reinvented the agency model in 2007 after merging digital marketing powerhouse Carat Fusion with leading diversified media agency Carat USA.  In her role with Isobar, Sarah managed the growth and integration strategies for Molecular, iProspect, Freestyle Interactive and Ammo Marketing.

She is also a 20-year industry veteran of the media services business and a vanguard on media integration, Sarah established and managed an online media practice following roles in traditional media early in her career.  Sarah is the recipient on many prestigious awards, including ad:tech's 2007 "Industry Achievement Award," Advertising Age's "25 Women to Watch," Media Post's "Top 100 media Influentials," and OMMA's "Top 50 To Know in Online."  She was also one of B2B Magazine's Top 100 Business Marketing Influencers in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and recently was named a "Future Legend" by the Ad Club. 

Jennifer Floren

Founder & CEO, Experience, Inc.

Jenny founded Experience in 1996, at the very dawn of the Internet era. Following her personal experiences with on-campus recruiting as a student and later as an employer, she knew that the laborious, complex and resource intensive approach to connecting students with employers wasn't working - especially for the students, who needed far more support in order to make informed career decisions.

While Experience is consistently recognized for its leadership in technology and innovation, the mission of Experience is "to educate, assist and inspire" the next generation of talent - which encompasses far more than online career management systems or making job listings easier to find. Jenny's groundbreaking vision for how to enlist educational institutions, companies, governments and citizens around the world toward this important mission has been recognized by national press, and by industry leaders throughout academia and enterprise.

The author of the upcoming book, The Innovation Generation:  The Gen Y Way & How New Thinking Can Reclaim the American Dream, Jenny is a frequent speaker at nationwide universities and major business events to share her unique perspective on the up-and-coming workforce. She earned a BA in psychology from Dartmouth College and was a management consultant with Bain & Company in Boston prior to starting Experience. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Jobs for the Future and the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.
John Francis

President, Ontios

John Francis is an entrepreneurial veteran of the interactive services industry having founded and/or managed several innovative interactive services firms over the past 15 years.  John focuses on the intersection of business and online strategy, technology and website development.  His work has been instrumental in positioning Technology and Thought Leadership groups as well in the creation of several high performance interactive services groups. 

While serving on the MITX Board, John has co-chaired the MITX Technology Awards program for the past 5 years and collaborated on the initial two MITX market-sizing studies.  He is a frequent judge for MITX (and other) web and technology competitions and serves as an adviser to several technology and technology services companies.   John has also been a frequent guest lecturer at the Babson Graduate School of Business.

Prior to founding Ontios, Mr. Francis served as President of Boston Interactive, an award winning interactive design and development firm.  Prior to joining Boston Interactive, John was the President of CodeLab Technology Group where he was brought in to lead the repackaging and repositioning of CodeLab, while helping to grow and sell the firm in a very successful M & A transaction.  Mr. Francis had previously served as VP of Marketing and Business Development at a venture-backed firm developing advanced desktop virtualization tools as well as co-founding and serving as President of ReadyAbout Interactive, an innovative interactive design and development firm that he lead from 1997 - 2002.  Mr. Francis previously worked in the ERP software industry (System Software Associates), after starting his career at IBM.

He has a BS and a BA from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the Tulane University A. B. Freeman School of Business.

Jeffrey Glass

Managing Director, Bain Capital Ventures

As a Managing Director at Bain Capital Ventures, Jeff focuses on wireless, digital media and consumer marketing technologies.  He has led investments for the firm in LinkedIn, Targetspot, ScoreBig and BlipNetworks.  He also serves as a board member of a number of companies and industry associations including; Loc-Aid, Bzz Agent,  and the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX).

Prior to joining Bain Capital, Jeff was co-founder, President & CEO of m-Qube, Inc., a Bain Capital Ventures portfolio company acquired by VeriSign Inc.   He led the company from start-up to becoming the leader in the North American marketplace for the management, delivery and billing of mobile content and applications.  The company was named in 2005 by the Boston Business Journal as the fasted growing business in New England.  Jeff was voted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in New England and his business success and contributions to non-profits were recognized when he was named to the BBJ's "40 under 40" list.

Jeff also held positions as Founder and President of Transactive Solutions/ Zooba, a consumer internet content and marketing company that was acquired by Bertlesmann.  As Chief Operating Officer of Travelers/NETPlus, Jeff helped build a national sales and marketing organization with over 200 sales people. Prior to that he spent a couple of years as a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group where he focused on multimedia and convergence technologies.   Jeff received an M.B.A from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Amherst College.

Jeff's entrepreneurial experience started before college when he learned to sell office furniture to corporations as a commission salesmen cold calling NYC corporations.  He then started a direct marketing business while attending Amherst College that expanded across several other campuses.   He later co-founded a second college marketing business shortly after graduation. 

He is active in fundraising for a number of non-for-profits organizations including the Brain Tumor Society, Amherst College and the Mobile Giving Foundation, a non-profit where Jeff was a Founding Board Member. 

Jeff has spoken on numerous occasions on the state of wireless, the impact of digital advertising on traditional media and entrepreneurship more broadly.  As a "recovering" entrepreneur Jeff enjoys helping young entrepreneurs to get started and established CEOs think about the challenges of maintaining growth.  Jeff lives in the Boston area with his wife Amy and has three children. 
Joe Grimaldi

President & CEO, Mullen

Joe is president and CEO of Mullen, a leading interdisciplinary agency whose clients include the likes of JetBlue, Zappos, Swiss Army, Panera, Alberto Culver, BASF,  Olympus, Stop & Shop, SC Johnson, and Timberland among others.

Joe was one of the original partners at Mullen, joining the firm 27 years ago when it had 10 employees and didn't make the top 50 agencies in New England.  No stranger to change and transformation, Joe has led Mullen through numerous economic booms and implosions as well as dramatic transformations in the advertising industry, rebuilding the agency after a devastating fire, then rebuilding it after losing 50% of his business in one year, selling the company to the Interpublic Group 11 years ago, expanding to multiple offices and, most recently, moving the agency headquarters to Boston after 40 years on the North Shore. Throughout, he has championed and evolved a strong and distinguishing company culture that is its engine for success.

Joe started his career in media at Benton & Bowles and moved on to account work at Ted Bates. He was recruited to Boston by Hill Holliday in 1981. Joe's an Italian immigrant who's been a latch-key child, a near hoodlum, a construction laborer, a rock musician, a Harley-Davidson bike builder, a staff accountant and a shoeshine boy in his uncle's barber shop in Queens, NY. Each experience has added invaluable perspective to his life, which he loves to share with young people. Today he spends most of his time at the agency defining strategy and inspiring people to dream and exceed expectations. He also serves on, and has chaired, numerous boards in and out of the industry.
Brian Halligan

Brian Halligan, Founder and CEO, HubSpot

Brian Halligan is CEO of HubSpot, a marketing software company he co-founded in 2006 to help businesses transform the way they market their products by "getting found" on the internet.  Since its founding, HubSpot has already accumulated over 2,800 customers.  He is author of a book entitled Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs, which is in its fourth printing and has been translated into 6 languages.  He is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at MIT.  In his spare time, he sits on a few boards of directors, follows his beloved Red Sox, goes to the gym and is learning to play guitar.

If you want to know what Brian was up to prior to HubSpot, check him out on LinkedIn.  If you want to know what Brian is up to right now, check him out on Twitter.

David Hayes

President, HireMinds LLC

David Hayes is the President and Founder of HireMinds, a professional and executive search firm specializing in the areas of digital marketing, technology, and science.  In his role, David is responsible for the strategic leadership neccessary to ensure the achievement of HireMinds' performance goals and preservation of the core values established over a decade ago including fostering true partnerships with hiring clients and job candidates.  
 
David was a graduate of Columbia University with a Bachelor of Philosophy and entered the search profession with Source Services after beginning his career in marketing with IBM.  In his first year, he was named Rookie of the Year and went on to be one of the top producing search consultants in the firm.  He took on increasing responsibility, culminating in his role as Managing Director of the New York region until the firm was acquired by Kforce.
 
A recognized leader on employment, leadership, and workplace related issues, David is regularly quoted in the Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, The Wall Street Journal, Boston.com, and Mass High Tech.  David is personally passionate about helping others achieve their goals, whether client, job candidate, or employee.  He serves on the Board of Directors for MITX and is an active member of BIMA and MassBio.  He is also a committed volunteer to the Cambridge based East End House community center.
Jeff Janer

Co-Founder & CEO, Spring Partners

An experienced digital technology, media and marketing executive with a proven track record of identifying and developing new opportunities and new markets, Jeff Janer is Co-founder and CEO of Spring Partners, a venture backed consumer internet company responsible for Springpad (http://springpadit.com/).

Prior to founding Spring Partners in January, 2008, Janer was CMO, Third Screen Media, a mobile advertising technology and services company, where he was responsible for the company's marketing and product management initiatives.

Before joining Third Screen Media, Janer was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Britemoon, an online marketing solutions provider. In 2000, he was a founding partner of Traverse Partners, a firm providing strategic consulting and interim operational management to VCs and emerging growth companies. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President of Fidelity eBusiness. He was also President and CEO of Larry Miller Productions, a marketing communications firm acquired in 1998 by iXL, an Internet professional services firm, where he was an Executive Vice President.

Janer holds a BA in International Relations from Brown University.

Troy Kelley

Chief Digital Officer, Arnold Worldwide
 
Troy has made a career out of getting clients excited about the transformational impact of digital technology on their businesses.  Over the last 20 years, he's worked with over 50 clients in every industry category, helping to create award-winning digital marketing, eCRM and eCommerce solutions for IBM, British Airways, Six Flags, Novartis and Pfizer. 
 
In his current role as Arnold Worldwide's Chief Digital Officer, Troy leads the agency's award-winning Digital and Social Media capabilities.  He focuses on business development, account leadership and strategy for the agency's pharma, retail and travel clients, and management of a 55-person team across Arnold's network offices.  
 
Troy relocated his family to Boston after two years as the Digital Director in Arnold's NYC office.  Prior to joining Arnold, he ran his own digital agency, Moving Pixels, and earned his stripes serving in strategic, operational and global account roles at OgilvyInteractive and Agency.com - helping both agencies achieve ADWEEK Interactive Agency of the Year status during his tenure.

Troy and his wife Denise are avid runners and snowboarders. Along with their children, Dylan and Amélie, they're New Jersey transplants adjusting to their new life in Boston. 

David Martin

Innovation Center Executive, IBM Interactive

David Martin is currently the Innovation Center Executive for IBM Interactive's Boston/NY Offices.  Mr. Martin has over twenty years of experience in the areas of management and technology consulting. He has a thorough understanding of on-line B2C, B2B and B2E trends and directions. His Innovation Center responsibilities include managing interactive service delivery programs and maintaining executive-level client relationships.  He has work with some of the leading Financial Services, Manufacturing and Distribution firms.  He has extensive experience working with global companies. 

Representative Experience

Operations Management - Mr. Martin is responsible for managing consulting operations and delivery for IBM Interactive's Boston/NY office.  Prior to current position at IBM, he directed consulting operations for a $24 million global consulting services company and for a $15 million international e-Commerce professional services company.  Key management responsibilities include:  developing and managing Business Plans; Business Development (Sales, Marketing and Strategic Alliances) and Employee Development.

Solution Provider - Mr. Martin has extensive experience managing the selection, development, implementation and integration of eCommerce, Financial, Operations, Sales and Planning Enterprise Solutions for Fortune 500 companies.  Solution team sizes ranged from 5 to 50 creative, business and IT consulting professionals.  Sample projects include:
  • On-Line Channel Vision, Strategy and Roadmap for 4 year, $200M transformation program for Global Financial Services Firm
  • Creative and technical design, development and deployment of multi-channel Agent Portal solution for a large U.S. P&C Insurance Company.
  • Creative and technical design, development and deployment of an innovative on-line banking solution for a large U.S. Bank.
  • Internet Architecture redesign initiative for a large U.S. based Insurance Company.
  • Design and delivery of a global B2B solution for a large multi-national Auto Manufacturer.

Areas of Expertise

  • Organization Management
  • Business Development
  • Interactive Solution Delivery Transformation Management
  • Business Process Reengineering
  • IT Strategy and Planning
Education

Mr. Martin has his M.B.A and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut.
Don McLagan

Don McLagan is an information industry entrepreneur.  Now he is advising start-up CEOs and writing poetry.  Previously, he was Chairman, President and CEO of Compete, Inc. which was successfully acquired by Taylor Nelson Sofres in March 2008.  Don serves as an advisor or Board member to the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX), The Echo Nest, Performable, RunKeeper, Visible Gains, and Visible Measures.

Don has been an innovator of business information services for forty years.  He was the founder, Chairman and CEO of NewsEdge Corporation (1988-2000).  Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager of the Information Services Division of Lotus Development Corporation (1985-1988); he was a founding employee and Executive Vice President of Data Resources, Inc. (1969-1984); he started the Advanced Computer Techniques Group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Comptroller (1967-69).

Don has both B.S. (1964) and B.S.M.E. (1965) degrees from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1967).

Adam Medros

VP, Product, TripAdvisor

Adam Medros heads worldwide product development for TripAdvisor and is a member of the company's management team.  Since joining the company in 2004, Medros has led efforts in search marketing and revenue optimization and has overseen developments to product functionality, merchandising, and acquisition integration.  He was instrumental in TripAdvisor's 2007 launch of travel applications onto the Facebook Platform.  These applications - Cities I've Visited, Local Picks, and Traveler's IQ Challenge --  have introduced the TripAdvisor brand to millions of new people around the world and generated a high volume of new content for the core site. 

Prior to joining TripAdvisor, Medros held Senior Analyst and Product Manager positions at Nordstrom.com, Amazon.com, and The Parthenon Group.  He serves on the board of oneforty.com, the Twitter app store and is an advisor to Care.com. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. 

Richard Prenderville

Head of Global Brand Marketing, Reebok

Richard Prenderville is Vice President of global brand marketing at Reebok International, where he is responsible for marketing, media and advertising for the brand on a global scale.  He joined Reebok in September 2006 from Reebok's parent company adidas where he was vice president of media and new media.    

During 2007, Richard managed the launch of two very successful Reebok campaigns that dramatically improved brand metrics.  Taking a new approach to the category and to consumers Richard and his team created landmark digital media campaigns in Second Life and Facebook that saw them win a number of awards, including:
  • WebAward: Run Easy, Outstanding Online Community
  • MIXX Award: Silver, Run Easy Search Campaign
  • OMMA Award Winner: Reebok Football, Best Expandable Banner
  • OMMA Award Winner: Reebok Custom, Best Search Campaign
  • The Create Awards: Reebok Run Easy, Best of use web technology
  • MITX: Interactive marketer of the year
  • MediaWeek  Campaign award "Run Easy" best media
In March, 2008, Richard and his team launched a three-year strategic strategy that will see over 2000 retail stores across Asia and Europe showcase new concepts for the brand.      

In 2009, Richard launched the "Easy Tone" campaign that led the industry in toning communication and dramatically increased sell thru of the advertised product to never seen before levels.  In 2010, he and his team launched "REE", the company's first new branding effort in two years.  This brand campaign has been iconic for Reebok because it puts the brand's point of view right in the center of the consumer conversation. This campaign was the centerpiece for the industry leading Reetone campaign for Easytone toning shoes and the ReeZig launch for the Zig Tech line of footwear.  In addition to that, he also oversaw the brand's communication efforts with the Emporio Armani product collaboration.    

During his time at adidas, Richard was directly responsible for the brands global media operations in addition to creating and integrating their worldwide digital media strategy.  He was the driving force behind core media developments at adidas including the successful creation and delivery of the company's digital media strategy and branded content partnerships, such as Xbox and MTV.     

His work at adidas contributed to a team that won numerous industry awards including a Global Cannes Gold for the best advertising brand in 2006, over 10 Cyber Lions for excellence in digital media campaigns and brand websites in 2005-06 and Media and Marketing Gold for the best outdoor and interactive campaign in Europe 2005.    

An experienced public speaker in the area of digital marketing, brand development and new media, Richard has spoken at leading industry events including The Media Festival in Venice Italy, Yahoo Global Conference in Palm Springs, US.  He is a past jury member of the 2009 Festival of Media awards in Valencia, Spain.    

Richard is heavily involved in athletics in both his business and personal life, and has competed in over 30 marathons and 60 triathlons, including completion of an Ironman distance triathlon.  He holds dual citizenship for the United States and Republic of Ireland.
 
Jim Savage

Partner, Longworth Venture Partners

Before co-founding Longworth, Jim Savage spent 20 years launching and building venture-backed internet & digital media companies. As CEO of PlanetAll, Inc., a pioneering social networking service, Jim directed the company from its first round of venture funding through to a successful acquisition by Amazon.com.

Previously, Jim was a founding executive at ZDNet, a leading web media company, which enjoyed a successful IPO and was later acquired by CNET.  Before ZDNet, Jim was an Executive Vice President at Thomson (formerly Prentice Hall), where he managed the online services of the tax publishing division. Jim started his career managing digital media initiatives at McGraw-Hill.

Jim's investments include Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT), uTest, Grab Networks and Softricity (acquired by Microsoft).  In addition, he serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) and Boston's Museum of Science.

Jim graduated from Harvard University.
Scott Savitz

CEO,  Shoebuy.com

Scott Savitz is Chief Executive Officer of Shoebuy.com, an operating business of IAC.

Scott Savitz founded Shoebuy.com in 1999 and serves as Chief Executive Officer. Under his guidance the company has quickly become one of the largest retailers of footwear and related apparel on the internet partnered with over 1,000 brands representing over 800,000 products.

Prior to founding Shoebuy.com, Mr. Savitz was a Director at BancBoston Robertson Stephens specializing in the investments of large high tech corporations totaling more than $6 billion. Previously, Mr. Savitz was in the mortgage business where he originated more than $100 million in mortgages in one year. In addition, Mr. Savitz managed a full service marketing company specializing in direct mail, telemarketing and list maintenance.

Mr. Savitz serves on the board of directors of Simple Tuition, Two Ten, lighterliving, and MITX. He received a B.A. in English from the University of Colorado and currently resides in Boston, MA.  Mr. Savitz is a frequent industry speaker and has received numerous awards and accolades including Ernst & Young's New England Entrepreneur of the Year.

Niraj Shah

CEO & Co-Founder, CSN Stores

Niraj Shah is the CEO and co-founder of CSN Stores, a $200M+ online retailer. CSN Stores owns and operates 200 online retail stores including BedroomFurniture.com, Cookware.com, CSN Lighting and AllModern.com. CSN Stores was founded in 2002, and today offers over 1,5000,000 items from over 4,000 brands, and is one of the largest online retailers of home goods in the United States. CSN is headquartered in the Prudential Center in downtown Boston, and has additional offices in London, Munich, and Galway, Ireland.

Prior to co-founding CSN Stores, Mr. Shah was the co-founder and CEO of Simplify Mobile, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Greylock Partners, and the co-founder and CEO of Spinners, an IT consultancy. Spinners was sold to iXL, a publicly traded technology consulting firm with over 3,000 employees. Mr. Shah went on to become the Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors of iXL.

Mr. Shah holds a BS from Cornell University, and lives in Boston, MA, with his family.

 
Simeon Simeonov

Founder & CEO, FastIgnite, Inc.

Simeon (Sim) Simeonov is the founder of FastIgnite where he helps entrepreneurs shape promising ideas, raise capital, build teams and execute across all stages of the startup lifecycle. Sim is also co-founder of San Francisco-based Thing Labs (previously, Plinky) and technology advisor at Polaris Venture Partners in Boston. Sim blogs at blog.simeonov.com and lives in the Greater Boston area with his wife, son and an adopted dog named Tye.

Prior to starting FastIgnite, Sim spent seven years as technology partner at Polaris where he made investments in the enterprise, online and mobile sectors and helped start four companies that Polaris invested in. Prior to joining Polaris, Sim was vice president of emerging technologies and chief architect at Macromedia (now Adobe). Earlier, Sim was a founding member and chief architect at Allaire, one of the first large Internet platform companies. Sim's expertise covers the gamut from strategy definition and positioning to R&D execution to go-to-market and alliances development. He has played a key role in more than twenty v1.0s and M&A and spinout transactions. Sim's innovation and leadership have brought about category-defining products with significant market impact: the first Web application server (ColdFusion), a pre-cursor to Web services and AJAX (WDDX), the best open-source Web services engine (Apache Axis) and the first rich Internet application platform (Flash/Flex).

Sim's past investments include 8th Ring (a company he co-founded), Allurent, Archivas (a company he helped create which was sold to Hitachi Data Systems), Meridio (sold to Autonomy) and Veracode (a company he helped create). He serves on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX), the largest technology non-profit in New England, and on the advisory board of the Nantucket Conference.

Sim has a master's degree summa cum laude in computer science from Boston University and bachelor degrees summa cum laude in computer science, economics and mathematics from Macalester College. His research interests have ranged from microcode simulation to soft artificial intelligence to shared multi-user virtual environments to economic modeling of Russian privatization.

Steve Vinter

Engineering Director, Google, Inc.

Steve Vinter is currently Engineering Director at Google, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Steve started his career as a software engineer at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, developing software for the statistical analysis of survey data. After receiving his PhD from UMass, he became a Senior Scientist at BBN Technologies.

He later held a Lectureship position at Tufts University, was Manager at Siemens-Nixdorf, Director at D&B Software, Vice President of Engineering at Software.com, and Director at Openwave Systems. He has focused on developing products and services for users of mobile and cloud computing used by hundreds of millions of people.

Since joining Google in March, 2007, the office has grown from 50 to over 250 people, with an engineering team working on Book Search, Image Search, Chrome, ChromeOS, YouTube, and networking infrastructure.

Steve is an Officer and Board member of the Kendall Square Association, is an Executive Committee Member and Talent Sub-Group Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Tech Hub Collaborative, is on the Lt. Governor's STEM Advisory Council, and is on the Advisory Council of MIT's Office of Engineering Outreach Programs. Steve received a B.S. in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Michigan in 1978 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1983 and 1985, respectively.

Gus Weber

Community Relations & Business Development Manager, Microsoft

As the Community Relations and Business Development Manager for the New England Research Development Center, Gus holds responsibility for Microsoft's engagement and interactions with the local Boston and technical communities.  In addition, Gus is responsible for the centers relationships with Redmond based businesses and works with Microsoft leadership to actively grow and continue to make the New England Research and Development Center a first class center of Innovation for Microsoft. 

Prior to his current role, Gus spent 3 years as an Academic Evangelists where he worked to create awareness and to drive use of Microsoft technology and innovations among students and educators to enable them to enhance learning, grow the knowledge economy, pursue career goals, and explore their personal interests.
 
Immediately prior to joining Microsoft, Gus was an Assistant Dean and the Director of Corporate Relations for the Golisano College of Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology.  In this role, as a member of the college core leadership team, Gus worked to build sustainable and mutually beneficial research and strategic partnerships with key corporations and partners as well as holding responsibility for, and managing the team that drove the college's efforts around public relations, communications and marketing. 

Gus serves on numerous boards of non-profits and academic departments, is an alumnus of the Rochester Institute of Technology and resides in Clinton, MA with his wife and son. 
Dean Whitney

Founder & CEO, Dean Whitney Interactive

An early pioneer in interactive media, Dean Whitney is the Founder and CEO of Dean Whitney Interactive. He oversees all strategy, user experience and development using systems and processes developed over 15 years of experience.

Dean was recently the President of Garfield Group Interactive; a digital marketing agency with offices in Boston and Philidelphia. Dean was an early adopter of Web 2.0 and a social media evangelist at Digitas. Prior to Digitas started two successful technology companies and directed interactive marketing teams at global Fortune 100 companies. Dean is on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX); the world's largest professional organization for digital media, marketing and technology professionals and adviser for several start-ups, non-profits and conferences.

Dean has worked with many of the world's most recognized brands including Cisco, Fidelity, GM, Microsoft, Royal Carribean and collaborated with top agencies such as Leo Burnett, JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi and Starcom.

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/deanwhit

Blog: www.deanwhitney.com/blog

Robert Wood

Chief Development Officer, Akamai

As Chief Development Officer, Robert leads Akamai's corporate development and strategic partnership activities, as well as long-term planning and strategic finance. He brings over 15 years of deal experience in technology covering a wide range of strategic transactions.

Robert joined Akamai's Business Development group as it was being formed in 1999. Since that time, he has led Akamai's acquisitions of businesses including Speedera Networks, Nine Systems Corporation, Netli, Red Swoosh, and acerno.  He has also overseen the development of joint ventures, spin-out transactions, international expansion, and numerous strategic partnerships.

Prior to Akamai, Robert helped found the corporate electronic commerce and Internet practice at Alston & Bird LLP, one of the nation's leading law firms. He has completed more than $25 billion worth of acquisition transactions of technology companies and financial institutions.

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