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Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





Santa Business with Santa Claus Atlanta

An in depth and behind the scenes conversation with Santa Claus Atlanta, Santa David

 

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Santa David Doerrier

 

 

About Santa David

To David, Santa is much more than a big red suit.

From the first time he put on the suit, he loved it!  David would be Santa all year long if he could!

He has a passion for bringing authentic engagement and hope to everyone in the room, whatever their age. There’s nothing artificial or make-believe about a great Santa; Santa is always all heart.

For more than 25 years, David has been perfecting his Santa presentation and technique, not just in the Atlanta area, but the world.

If you are lucky enough to have been tasked the assignment of locating a great Santa for your next event and you discovered this site, then consider it an early Christmas present from Santa, because you and your guest are in for a great holiday treat..

Santa David and Ryan Redhawk

Santa David and Ryan Redhawk

 

 

Click Here to view show photos!!

Tom Kuczmarski President & Founder, Kuczmarski Innovation; Co-founder, Chicago Innovation Awards

Thomas D. Kuczmarski, president and founder of Kuczmarski Innovation, is a nationally recognized expert in the innovation of new products and services.

 

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Over the course of his career he has helped hundreds of clients, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations, learn to systematically unlock the value of innovation. Mr. Kuczmarski teaches product and service innovation at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he is Senior Lecturer and Visiting Scholar in the Center for Innovation and Technology. For more than three decades, his executive education courses at the Kellogg School have attracted students from around the world.

Mr. Kuczmarski is also founder, along with journalist Dan Miller, of the Chicago Innovation Awards, which annually celebrates, educates, and connects innovators in the Chicago region. The awards are endorsed by every major business association in the Chicago region and showcase the creative spirit of America’s heartland. In 2013, the Awards expanded to include a new venture, The Innovators Connection, designed to help expand the local economy by creating business connections among the region’s innovators, large and small.

Mr. Kuczmarski is the author of six books on innovation and leadership. Innovating Chicago Style: How Local Innovators are Building the National Economy (Book Ends Publishing), written with Dan Miller and Luke Tanen and published in 2012, profiles the first decade of winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards and the lessons of innovation that they reveal. Apples are Square: Thinking Differently about Leadership (Kaplan), co-authored with Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski and published in 2007, explores the qualities of the ideal leader and how to build those qualities into one’s own career. Innovating the Corporation (NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group) reveals the seven steps for achieving growth through innovation. Managing New Products (Book Ends Publishing), now in its third edition, is endorsed by the American Marketing Association and widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive treatises on the development of new products. Values-Based Leadership: Rebuilding Employee Commitment, Productivity and Performance (Prentice-Hall) was also co-authored with Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski. His book Innovation was co-published by NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group and the American Marketing Association.

He is extensively published and cited on radio, television, and in national periodicals including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, Bloomberg Business Week, The Today Show, Planning Review, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Marketing News, Advertising Age, Crain’s Chicago Business, Business Marketing, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and many more. He has a chapter published on new products and services in the Marketing Encyclopedia, a publication of the American Marketing Association, and serves on the editorial review boards for The Journal of Product Innovation Management and The Journal of Consumer Marketing. In addition, Mr. Kuczmarski is a highly regarded speaker on innovation management and leadership, and lectures nationally and internationally to a broad range of corporations and associations. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and an appointed member of the Illinois Innovation Council.

Before founding Kuczmarski Innovation, he was a Principal at Booz · Allen & Hamilton. While there, Mr. Kuczmarski assisted more than 100 U.S. consumer and industrial goods companies in the areas of marketing, new product development, strategic business analysis and organizational planning. In addition, he led the firm’s in-depth research of the best practices employed by more than 700 U.S. firms in their new product management processes. His prior experience as a brand manager at Quaker Oats Company also provided a solid and broad-based foundation unique to his consulting specialty.

He earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s Graduate School of International Affairs, where he was named an International Fellow of the University. He received a B.A. in French from the College of the Holy Cross.

 

 

Kuczmarski Innovation      Twitter      LinkedIn       Chicago Innovation Awards

 

 

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center Spotlight Episode “Shrimp Tank” on Atlanta Business Radio

About the Kennesaw State University Entrepreneurship Center

We believe that entrepreneurship has the power to change lives. Those who embrace an entrepreneurial mindset will make more money, be happier in life, and have better relationships.

L to R Chris Hanks, Rhonda Duffy, Frank Duffy, Ted Jenkin

L to R Chris Hanks, Rhonda Duffy, Frank Duffy, Ted Jenkin

 

 

Chris Hanks/ KSU EC

Christopher C. Hanks is the founder and executive director of the KSU Entrepreneurship Center. Prior to this, Hanks was the founder and director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of Georgia. He has owned multiple businesses, including music, e-commerce, publishing, and export ventures. He is also the co-author of a best-selling book on low risk entrepreneurship.

Hanks leads the International Entrepreneurship Institute and is certified in business valuation, providing expert witness testimony. Before teaching at UGA, Hanks taught entrepreneurship at Georgia State University and assisted in leading the Russell Center for Entrepreneurship. He earned a BBA from University of Georgia and an MBA from San Jose State University. Before launching his first business, Hanks held corporate risk management positions in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries.

 

Rhonda Duffy/Duffy Realty

Considered as a credible real estate expert and consumer advocate, Rhonda has been interviewed and published in hundreds of articles. She has been in the Wall Street Journal at least 20 times, on CNN, CNBC, on 4 major news channels, on Clark Howard’s Prime Time Real Estate special, quoted on MarketWatch and many, many publications.

 

Frank Duffy/Duffy Realty 
Frank Duffy, co-owner of Duffy Realty of Atlanta, has been a home seller coach to over 20,000 Atlanta clients saving them millions in traditional agent fees.

 

Ted Jenkin/Oxygen Financial 

 

Ted Jenkin has spent the past 22 years giving personal financial advice to thousands of people across the United States. After graduating from Boston College in 1991, Ted spent more than 16 years working for American Express Financial Advisors/Ameriprise Financial. He was one of the youngest people in the history of the company to reach both Field Vice President and Group Vice President level. He managed more than 800 financial advisors throughout 8 states in his last position with the company. He won the premier performer award, leader of the year award, and had the number one office in the country for more than two years in a row. In 2008, Ted founded oXYGen Financial to help revolutionize the financial services industry by creating a new company that focused on serving the X and Y Generation. oXYGen Financial now has more than 1,700 clients throughout 25 states across the country. Ted has been featured in over 25 magazines and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and The Huffington Post. He has six advanced designations from the College for Financial Planning (CFP®, CRPC®, CRPS®, AWMA®, AAMS®, CMFC®) and is an on air radio personality featured on the popular drive time Atlanta radio show The Rock 100.5 Morning Show on Rock 100.5 FM. Ted lives in Milton, GA with his wife Genna and three kids Olivia, Lyla, and Louden.

Atlanta Electric Car Company with Diane Meyer and Paul Jones

VINTAGE BEAUTY +
ELECTRIC EFFICIENCY

Atlanta Electric Car Company makes any car affordable and climate-friendly. We convert gas guzzlers into charge-ready vehicles with the look, luxury and speed you want at low cost to you and the environment.

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Diane Meyer/Atlanta Electric Car Company
CEO & Founder

I am eager to share our business in converting vintage cars to electric and restoring them. Every vintage car has a story – but they need a lot of maintenance to keep running, so let’s turn them to electric and show them off. We started almost a year ago and have opened a second location on Martha’s Vineyard with Clarence “Tripp” Barnes the 3rd. It’s been an incredible journey to create and launch this company, people love it and we have a segment airing on CNN about the “little guys” trying to effect climate change. It’s simple to convert your car, but it’s more than that, convert fleets, trucks, your lawnmower, etc.

 

Paul Jones/ Atlanta Electric Car Company
Founder

 

www.atlantaelectriccarcompany.com     Twitter     Facebook

 

LET’S TALK!

Considering conversion or have a few questions? Drop us a line!

CONTACT

 

 

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Justin Roff-Marsh Author of “The Machine” and President of Ballistix

In The Machine, Justin Roff-Marsh shows readers how to follow the intrepid executives on three continents who have implemented his ideas over the last 15 years, building ridiculously efficient sales functions–and market-dominating enterprises–as a consequence.

 

 

 

justin roff marshJustin Roff-Marsh/Ballistix 
President

Justin Roff-Marsh is the founder and President of Ballistix. He is also considered by many as the thought leader in Sales Process Engineering, a radical new approach to the management of the sales function. Justin is also author of the about-to-be-released book on Sales Process Engineering, The Machine and editor of the popular Sales Process Engineering blog read by thousands of people the world over.
Over the past decade, Justin has presented Sales Process Engineering at events to tens of thousands of executives the world over. He has been guest speaker at scores of industry events, conferences and association meetings. He has facilitated Solution Design Workshops to hundreds of companies in scores of Industries throughout North America and Australia.

Justin’s views are rarely comforting and often controversial. If you are looking for sales training or more of the warm and fuzzy relationship-building workshops that have been driving mediocrity since the 1990s, don’t speak to this guy. If you want to be affirmed that the approach you are taking now is eventually going to deliver the sales results you’ve been hoping for, you won’t get it from Justin either.

If you want a provocative thought-leader who is going to change the way you look at your business, while also giving you a proven strategy to scale your business and grow your revenue, then is definitely the guy for you.

 

 

Twitter     Facebook     The Machine

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Exclusive Interview with Santa Rick

Santa Rick pays a special visit to the Business RadioX Excutive studio and talks to Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson of Atlanta Business Radio and tells his Christmas message of Joy and Happiness. With sparkling blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a jolly personality, Santa Rick is the embodiment of the true “Spirit of Santa”.

 

 

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Santa Rick loves his BRX mug

 

 

Atlanta’s premier Santa for private parties and corporate events, Santa Rick is a professional Real Bearded Santa, who has been perfecting his persona for decades.

He truly believes that “the world belongs to the children” and he loves to spread happiness and good cheer to people of all ages. His enthusiasm for the magic and wonder of the Christmas season is infectious and will leave children and adults alike believing that they have just spent time with the real Santa.

Santa Rick is a graduate of the International University of Santa Claus, the world’s largest Santa school, and is a member of several prestigious Santa organizations including the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas and the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas. He was recently a featured Santa on a Dreamworks set in a 2-story, 5-room Santa house with a 4-D sleigh ride to the Northpole. He was also a finalist for an upcoming Santa reality show to air Fall of 2015. He has appeared on BizLynks.TV and been featured in several newspaper articles. His beard is registered with the National
Beard Registry.

 When he is not at the North Pole, Santa Rick enjoys gardening, singing, metal detecting on the beach, and volunteering. He has volunteered for several organizations in the metro Atlanta area, including:

  • Big Brothers of America, where for the past 41 years he has been an active “Big Brother” to his “Little Brother”, making them one of the longest standing Big Brother/Little Brother relationships in the organization.
  • Boy Scouts of America
  • Cub Scouts of America
  • DeKalb County Judicial Panel Review Program for DeKalb County Juvenile Courts
  • Georgia Aquarium
  • Georgia Supreme Court Commission for Children, Family, and Marriage
  • United Cerebral Palsy

Santa Rick would love to work with you to fulfill your holiday needs and wishes. Please contact him to make your holiday experience unforgettable and make your Christmas event the best ever!

 

 

 

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Santa Rick in The BRX Executive Studio

Amy Merrill and Besty Pass with TrueWealth Management


Named the Best place in 2015 for Women to work in the US by Fortune Magazine


TrueWealth provides the advice that empowers clients to identify their personal financial priorities and make wise decisions about their money. To do that, we apply four guiding principles: TrueValues, TrueTalent, TruePlanning and TruePortfolios. These fundamentals enable us to positively impact the individuals and families we serve.

Betsy Pass and Amy Merrill with TrueWealth Management

Betsy Pass and Amy Merrill with TrueWealth Management

 

 

 

Amy MerrillAmy Merrill/TrueWealth Management
Principal

Amy has extensive experience spanning 20+ years in financial planning for corporate executives and directors. Her responsibilities as principal at TrueWealth Management include overseeing client relationships, developing comprehensive planning strategies, communicating with clients, preparing financial plans, and coordinating implementation. Amys strength in managing all facets of clients financial needs is critical to delivering the high level service clients deserve.

An effective leader within the business and beyond, Amy is married to Jonathan Merrill who is vice principal at Woodward Academy in Atlanta. They have three young boys, Jack, Davis and Will, and the family is actively involved in the Oak Grove United Methodist Church and the boys school foundation. Amy is from Charlotte, NC and she and her family live in the Oak Grove neighborhood of Atlanta.

 

 

 

www.truewealth.com    Twitter     Facebook     LinkedIn

Betsy PassBetsy Pass/TrueWealth Management
HR Support/Marketing

Betsy is TrueWealth’s operations coordinator. She diligently performs the tasks that ensure seamless firm operations and contributes to the successful delivery of wealth management services. A can-do professional with exceptional ability to tackle complex projects and add value, Betsy applies her more than 14 years of experience in accounting and finance environments to benefit clients, partners and fellow team members.

Betsy’s strong sense of commitment to others is evident in her involvement with the Junior League of Atlanta, Ten Thousand Villages and Team In Training. The Chattanooga native was a Peace Corps volunteer in Masasi, a small town in the Mtwara region of Tanzania, East Africa, where she taught chemistry and math. She lives in Decatur with her hubby and two dogs, Buddy and Lily, and loves to volunteer, read and exercise in her free time. Betsy’s favorite quote? “The sweetness of Southern women often conceals the secret deadliness of snakes” (Pat Conroy, Lords of Discipline).

 

www.truewealth.com   Twitter   Facebook 

After Show Photo

Ryan Redhawk and Amy Merrill

Ryan Redhawk and Amy Merrill

Spotlight Episode on Crossfit

A special spotlight episode of ABR featuring;

Marjorie Greene and Travis Mayer
from Crossfit Passion in Alpharetta. We talk all about Crossfit and focus on what it is like to be a successful Crossfit athlete, affiliate owner and more!

 

 

Travis Mayer & Marjorie Greene from Crossfit Passion in Alpharetta

Travis Mayer & Marjorie Greene from Crossfit Passion in Alpharetta

 

 

Marjorie Greene/Crossfit Passion
Owner/Coach/Athlete

Marjorie GreeneMarjorie is an owner here at CrossFit Passion, an experienced coach, a full-time Mom, a fierce event competitor, and an infectious positive energy every day at our gym. She grew up playing softball and enjoyed success in water sports. Marjorie was introduced to CrossFit in 2007 by a good friend who trained with her in a Lifetime Fitness. At the time she was also into cycling, distance racing, and other endurance sports; looking to feed her desire for both competition and fitness. Marjorie realized that this type of fitness never made her strong, so in 2011 she committed full time to CrossFit and has never looked back. She credits CrossFit for allowing her to live everyday of her life healthy and to its fullest potential and truly draws happiness from helping the people she coaches realize their own potential, achieve their fitness goals, and become better humans in the process!

Certifications:

  • CrossFit Level 1
  • CrossFit Level 2
  • USAW Level 1
  • CrossFit Kids
  • USAW Sports Performance Coach

 

passioncrossfit.com   Facebook   Twitter    Instagram

 

 

 

 

Travis Mayer/Crossfit Passion
Owner/Coach/Athlete

Travis MayerTravis Mayer is an owner here at CrossFit Passion, our head coach and programmer, a world class CrossFit Competitor, and all around fun dude. Travis made his second consecutive trip to the CrossFit Games this year (18th and 29th place finishes, respectively) and is currently working toward and looking forward to another trip in 2015. If you come in to our Noon class you can usually catch a glimpse of him putting in some sweat equity and improving himself with the educated guidance of Max El Hag and the Training Think Tank.

Travis grew up a gear head, building and racing motocross from a young age until his late teens. A friend then introduced Travis to CrossFit by showing him some Chris Spealler videos; it blew his mind that someone could move so fast with so much weight. It was then that Travis instead realized he wanted to finely tune humans, not bikes. He put down the wrench, picked up the barbell and has been using CrossFit as his tool of choice to not only improve himself, but the lives of those who buy in to what he teaches.

Certifications:

  • CrossFit Level 1
  • CrossFit Level 2
  • AAAI/ISSA Personal Trainer
  • OPT Assessment/ Program Design

 

passioncrossfit.com   Facebook   Twitter    Instagram    Twitter ( Travis )   Facebook ( Travis )

 

 

Travis & marjorie

Terrilyn Simmons and Gianna Carme with ChooseATL and Metro Atlanta Chamber, Carlos Hidalgo with ANNUITAS and author of Driving Demand

 

 

 

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Carlos Hidalgo, Ginna Carme, Terrilyn Simmons

 

Terrilyn Simmons/ChooseATL/Metro Atlanta Chamber
Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications

An award-winning communications professional with expertise in diverse communications disciplines. A seasoned strategist with the outstanding ability to humanize brands by executing innovative marketing and PR campaigns.

Drive communications strategy for the ChooseATL regional marketing campaign to promote Atlanta (www.chooseATL.com, #chooseATL). Manage external agencies/vendors to ensure vision and strategy is effectively communicated and executed. Lead online and offline marketing initiatives, integrating digital, paid, social, web and earned media to create brand awareness.

Develop and implement internal/external communications strategies to create visibility for MAC president and CEO. Executed an award-winning visibility campaign in support of the president’s first year.

www.ChooseATL.com   Twitter    Facebook   LinkedIn

 

 

Gianna Carme/ChooseATL/Metro Atlanta Chamber
Marketing & Communications Manager

Serve as a lead on the communications component of the ChooseATL regional marketing campaign aimed at telling Atlanta’s story. Manage social media strategy and platforms, as well as collaborate with internal team and vendors to ensure delivery of all marketing initiatives. Deliverables include digital marketing, paid media, brand awareness, campaign website and monthly analytics. #chooseATL www.chooseATL.com

 

 

 

 

 

Carlos Hidalgo/ANNUITAS
Founder & CEO

Carlos is an innovative thought-leader with over 20 years experience as a B2B marketing practitioner and industry visionary. Carlos is widely recognized for his expertise in strategic integrated marketing, Demand Process, Demand Transformation℠ and marketing automation. As CEO and Principal of ANNUITAS, Carlos drives strategy and leads core practice teams to Transform Demand℠ for enterprise clients globally. Carlos has been named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management for the last five years and was named as a Whos Who in BtoB Marketing in 2011 and 2012. Prior to ANNUITAS Carlos was responsible for global SMB marketing at BMC Software and held a similar role at McAfee. Carlos received his bachelors degree in business communications from Cedarville University in Ohio.

www.Annuitas.com    Twitter    Facebook   LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

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Be A Guest In Our Studio

Kashi Sehgal with SuperNova South also Gigabark and Tarby Bryant with Gathering of Angels

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Kashi Seghal and Tarby Bryant

 

Kashi Sehgal/ SuperNova SouthGigaBark 
Excutive Director

IMG_7008Kashi Sehgal is Co-Founder & CEO of Gigabark, integrated mobile solutions company rooted in phone & text messaging technologies. Shes Exec. Director of SuperNova South, largest multi-disciplinary technology conference in the SE. Kashi previously spent time as a management consultant at Accenture, working with government & Fortune 100 clients. She has experience in strategic planning & brand strategy especially pertaining to early stage companies & nonprofits. She helped start several nonprofits including Music For Tomorrow, which provided financial assistance to jazz musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. MFTs now housed as a program of the Afro Cuban Jazz Alliance in NY. She works with Campus Community Partnership Foundation, which promotes education focused on social responsibility. Shes engaged in the local community serving on boards for WonderRoot, Georgias WIN List, Fulton County Career & Technical Education, Amplify4Good, & WINGS for Kids & with groups like Metro Atlanta Chambers Mobility Leadership Council, Choose ATL, Atlanta Regional Commissions Innovation Committee, Lovett Schools Sustainability Committee & as an Advice For Good Advisor. Kashi is a native Atlantan. She attended George Washington University for her undergraduate & GA Tech for grad research. She was selected as an Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 Under 40 in 2014 & a member of the 2013 LEAD Atlanta and LaunchPad2X classes. She volunteers mentoring & with CARE, Acumen & other organizations.

 

www.SuperNovasouth.org   www.GigaBark.com   Twitter   Facebook

 

 

Tarby Bryant / Gathering of Angels
Foounder & CEO

tarby-bryant-goa-240x300Senior Executive with 42 years of Profit & Loss & Cash Flow responsibility, general and operations management, development and finance expertise

Took 501C3 Atlanta Economic Development Corporation from deficit to profitability, increased staffing and scope of operation in 16 months of leadership in mid-80s

Track record of successful real estate ventures to include 8 Luxury Hotels & Bed & Breakfast Inns ( see below)

Innovative problem solver and effective communicator for opening new marketing channels

Excellent in strategic thinking, planning and execution

Natural leader in developing management, marketing and sales teams and motivating to exemplary performance

www.GatheringOfAngels.com

 

 

 

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