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Jay Ferro with Earthlink and Matthew May with Acuity

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Jay Ferro / Earthlink
EVP, Chief Information and Product Officer

Mr. Ferro has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Products since July 2016. From January 2012 to July 2016, Mr. Ferro served as the Chief Information Officer for the American Cancer Society, a volunteer health organization. From August 2011 to January 2012, he served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for AdCare Health Systems, a health care facility management company. Prior to joining AdCare Health Systems, Mr. Ferro spent seven years at American International Group (AIG), including as Vice President and Chief Information Officer for AIG Aerospace, an aerospace insurer. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Operations and Systems for AIG Aerospace.

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Matthew May / Acuity
Managing Partner

I have experience adding value to companies by helping navigate tax and accounting rules. Prior to coming to Atlanta, I was a part of the Austin technology community both as an advisor and as a part of a start-up that had a successful $100 million exit in November 2000.

I am an active leader in the Georgia technology community and serve on the selection committees for Venture Atlanta, the Technology Association of Georgia’s Top 40 Innovators, and the Association for Corporate Growth’s Georgia FAST 40. I have also taken community leadership roles with Georgia Aquarium’s Next Wave Society, New American Pathways, and Venture Atlanta.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Cody Hicks

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KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks and Ted Jenkin.

 

 

 

cody-hick-headshotCody Hicks / Atlanta Eats
Chief Brisket Officer

With over ten years of experience working with some of the world’s largest and  most recognizable brands, Cody Hicks was at the helm of the brand integration  and content marketing movements long before they became industry buzzwords.  His distinguished career began at 790 the Zone, Atlanta’s leading sports talk  radio station, where he developed custom multimedia marketing promotions that  effectively connected major national brands – such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot,  KIA and AT&T – with fans of Atlanta’s professional and collegiate sports  properties. After his tenure at 790 the Zone, Cody went on to pursue another of  his passions: food. He co-founded Bread n Butter Productions, a video  production company with a focus on food and dining, where he oversees all sales and marketing efforts. With a client roster including Las Vegas Sands, the  Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Jamestown Properties, Bread n  Butter Productions has quickly established itself as one of the country’s premiere  video production and content marketing companies. Cody also oversees all  facets of business for Atlanta Eats, a multimedia company showcasing Atlanta’s dining scene via a weekly television show, radio program, live events, and digital  and social media platforms.

 

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Ashley Daniele Carestia

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KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks and Ted Jenkin.

 

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Ashley Carestia / Bark Fifth Avenue
Founder

Ashley Daniele Carestia is a Florida native and has been a successful fashion model since age four.  She is currently signed with CLICK models and has been making headlines and covers with her new business venture, Bark Fifth Avenue LLC, a luxury dog boutique in Buckhead Atlanta. With Ashley’s strong passion for fashion and dogs, she has created a world where upscale pet owners can treat their four-legged family members to only the best in fashion, travel, and accessories.

 

Walking runways and dressing pets are things that Ashley has done since childhood.   As a model turned CEO, she balances work, play, and family life in Buckhead with her husband, prominent litigator Michael Carestia. The two were married in 2015 in Bora Bora. Ashley has her degree in Nutrition & Exercise Science, which she decided to change after three years of pre-law.  She felt very “Legally Blonde” during her path toward her legal career, so she refocused her course of studies.

 

Today, she serves as Proprietor of Bark Fifth Avenue and continues her career as a fashion model. Ashley started Bark Fifth Avenue in 2013 as an online boutique and opened her first brick and mortar in October 2015. Since then she has been asked to sponsor many pet events including Star 94.1’s famous Woofstock where she was the sponsor of the VIP (Very Important Paws) area and the Atlanta Pet Expo where she took on the sponsorship and creation of their VIP area. Ashley has graced several covers of local area magazines and is now the fashion columnist for Atlanta Pet Life magazine where she writes about current trends in the pet fashion world. In addition to her various commitments and world travels, Ashley is involved socially and politically in Atlanta.  She supports many charitable and church organizations, including The Humane Society, GlobalX, and Angels Among Us. She currently serves as a mentor at Woodson Park Academy through her church at Northpoint Ministries (Buckhead Church).

 

Ashley lives by the motto that “Everything happens for a reason” and the philosophy that “Money will never make you happy. Love your friends, love your family, and love the things that make you happy. Have morals and values. Hold strong to the things you believe in.  If puppies, glitter, and rainbows make you truly happy, then chase those as they are more attainable.  Most importantly, love yourself and never let anyone ever make you feel bad about yourself.” Ashley’s determination to succeed as well as her sense of humor and spirituality allow her to live life to the fullest.

 

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Bark Fifth Avenue

(404) 803-1771

ashley@barkfifthave.com

info@barkfifthave.com

690 Miami Circle NE

STE: 625

Atlanta, GA 30324

www.barkfifthave.com

 

Also on today’s program, Ali Farnum, student at KSU majoring in Business management and with a minor in  entrepreneurship.

Grant Wainscott with the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Lara O’Connor Hodgson with NOW Corp

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Money20/20 is the world’s biggest, boldest and best event covering payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. 

 

 

Grant Wainscott / Metro Atlanta Chamber
Director of Technology

Helping build and globally promote metro Atlanta’s technology ecosystem within the clusters of FinTech, Cyber Security, Software, and Digital Media/Entertainment Tech.

Seasoned global executive with extensive experience in economic and community development, chamber of commerce and organizational development. Significant international trade mission knowledge, including planning and executing successful cross-border initiatives and partnerships.

Excellent background in business and entrepreneur development, project management, and commercial real estate site selection.

Detailed film industry experience, specializing in community film office management, location scouting, pre and post production assistance, production recruiting and sound stage leasing.

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Lara O’Connor Hodgson / NOWaccount Network Corporation
Founder, President and CEO

Lara has launched product and service businesses, raised capital, and served in executive management roles with Nourish (a patented consumer product for children), Insomnia Consulting LLC (an infrastructure development company), Dewberry Capital Corporation, DCH (a $400M private equity firm in which she was a founding principal), Dunk (a performance footwear and apparel brand), and iXL, an Internet development company. Lara has extensive experience in brand development, corporate strategy, business development, marketing, and operations, Lara has worked with companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Keds, and others.

 

 

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Donna Grindle

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Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

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Donna Grindle / Kardon Compliance
Founder & President

After 30 years in IT, Donna Grindle has seen a lot of changes.  As a self-professed techno-nerd, she has been thrilled to test out new tech as it has come along.  Donna started in Healthcare IT as a programmer for Atlanta based, Millard-Wayne, Inc. in 1987.  When the company was acquired in 1997, Donna was Vice President of Operations.  

In 1999, Donna formed the technology consulting firm, Kardon Group, LLC, with her now wife and business partner Karla Kreitner.   Today, doing business as Kardon Compliance, they help companies manage their HIPAA compliance programs.

Donna is also a speaker, blogger, and podcaster on topics concerning HIPAA compliance as well as technology and cybersecurity for small business.  Donna and Karla are active in a variety of community organizations such as For The Kid, Health Initiative, Atlanta Independent Women’s Network, and more.  They live in the Tucker area with their sheltie, Chantz.

 

 

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk (Host) / bbr Marketing
President

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk has been a member of the creative and marketing services community for over 20 years and does not appear to be leaving it anytime soon. As president of bbr marketing, she has relished the challenges of entrepreneurship as she worked to grow and nurture a new business. Since the firm’s inception in 2009, Bonnie has led the young company to become widely recognized and respected within the professional services marketing niche, with award-winning client websites and an outstanding history of business success having worked with clients in 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Clint Brewer with U.S. Commercial Service, Bettina Gardner with The City Of Atlanta, Angelica F. White with ZIPPYAR LLC,

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Clint Brewer / U.S. Commercial Service
U.S. Commercial Officer

After graduating from Syracuse University in May 2003 with a degree in International Relations
and Spanish, Clint Brewer moved to New York City where he started his career in international
business working with the second largest insurance broker in the world, Aon Risk Solutions. Soon after completing a two
year training program with Aon, Clint was selected to participate in a foreign exchange program that placed him in Madrid, Spain for a period of three years, where he acquired professional language proficiency in Spanish and obtained experience advising multinational clients on their commercial insurance needs in Spain.

 

 

 

Bettina Gardner / City Of Atlanta
Deputy Director Of International Affairs

A native of Stone Mountain, GA, Ms. Bettina Gardner is a proud alumna of Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Multinational Business and Spanish. Shortly after undergrad, Ms. Gardner completed her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

Ms. Gardner has taught English abroad in both Spain and Chile, as well as worked at the US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal. She spent 6 months in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil studying Portuguese as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Ms. Gardner has worked at the Georgia Department of Agriculture in the International Trade office,  managing inbound buyer delegations and planning trade missions for Georgia and southeastern agricultural companies. Her role included assisting Georgia food businesses in their exporting endeavors.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Gardner worked as a Global Business Meeting Consultant for the largest educational travel company in the US, WorldStrides Capstone. There she organized high level business meetings across the globe for top MBA programs and universities, serving as the liason to C-suite executives at companies such as Maersk, Coca-Cola, Port of Valparaiso, Gulfstream Aerospace, Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, the Intercontinetal Exchange and many more.

As Deputy Director of International Affairs for Mayor Kasim Reed, Ms. Gardner organizes meetings with inbound/outbound delegations, coordinates overseas trips and interacts with the City of Atlanta’s global community, including the over 70 Consular offices located in the metro area. A few of the  key programs she has organized include: the  2014 Inaugural Americas Competitiveness Exchange, Mayor Reed’s trade mission to Brazil, FinTech Trade Mission to London, Mayor Reed’s Mission to the Inauguration of President Varela of Panama, Young African Leaders Initiative in Atlanta, and the annual export seminar. Ms. Gardner holds an MS in International Affairs from Georgia Tech. She has over ten years of experience in government, educational and corporate foreign exchange programs, speaks Spanish and Portuguese and has lived in both Europe and Latin America. She currently serves as Interim Director of International Affairs.

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Angelica Figueiredo White / ZIPPYAR LLC
Founder and CEO

“Angelica White is the founder and chief executive officer of ZIPPYAR, which enables products to directly stream unique video messages to consumers. We also allow consumers to respond in a crowdsourcing like platform using mobile devices. We believe customers are one of a kind and so is the message we empower brands to deliver. ZIPPYAR patent pending technology is at the intersection of Near Field Communication, QRCode, CLOUD, Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) augmenting the relationship of brands and consumers.

Angelica likes to identify herself as an inventor, entrepreneur, business consultant and mother.  She holds a bachelor of science in Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Executive MBA from Goizueta Business School. She is the 2010 class Entrepreneurship Award recipient and LaunchPad2X 2015 program graduate. Angelica has extensive experience delivering innovative solutions to companies such as Titleist, PepsiCo Brazil and Fidelity Investments. She is visionary, strategist, personable and determined.  Angelica relocated from Brazil to the US to immerse herself in an English program with final objective of attaining an MBA to starting her own business. She was awarded her first patent acting as her own patent lawyer, and is passionate about delivering social good while developing profitable businesses.

In September of this year,  ZIPPYAR was accepted into the Amazon AWS Activate Portfolio Program joining notable startups, including Airbnb, Lyft and Spotify, to name a few. Participation in this program will allow ZIPPYAR to accelerate its product development, and provide the infrastructure to quickly scale.”

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Independent We Stand Special Episode

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Andy Darnell / Howard Brothers Hardware
Director of Marketing and Communications

I am the Director of Marketing for Howard Brothers, a locally owned and independently run True Value Hardware store and Outdoor Power Equipment company with several locations in the Atlanta area. I’ve also had the opportunity to help develop and implement web content strategy with some of the largest hospitals and healthcare systems in the country.

On a personal level, I help small businesses develop and implement best practice web presence strategy. This involves architecture, design, content creation, web development, SEO, SEM, social media integration… Basically tell the story of who they are and why they are passionate about their business.

I live in Peachtree Corners, Georgia with my incredible wife and two amazing daughters.

 

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Scott Cannon with Skanska, Jeremy Sharp with Rocket Software and Dr. Dionne Colbert with Great Expressions Dental Centers,

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Scott Cannon / Skanska
Executive Vice President/General Manager Georgia & South Carolina

Scott has 19 years’ experience in construction with Skanska in various leadership roles. As General Manager of Georgia and South Carolina, Scott oversees all office functions, with specific emphasis on implementation of all management control systems, overseeing the preparation of value management studies and cost estimates, as well as field activities, and for the continued development of project management responsibilities. While Scott has most recently served as Account Manager in San Antonio, TX, he is originally from Georgia and has thorough understanding of the market as well as a diverse market background in healthcare, corporate commercial, higher education, K-12, government, and light industrial.

Scott’s project experience includes the $168 million, 600,000-SF replacement hospital Ambulatory Care Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio; the $70 million, 181,200-SF Tri-Service Research Laboratory in San Antonio; the $51.9 million, new 215,000-SF building for Alamo Colleges in San Antonio; the $41.3 million 144,000-SF HCA Pearland Medical Center in Houston; and the $40 million, 142,000-SF HCA Alliance Alliance Medical Center in Ft. Worth, TX. Scott has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Jeremy Sharp / Rocket Software

With more than 16 years of Software Sales and Management experience, I am a skilled sales, marketing, business development, and information technology executive with extensive experience in solution selling, channel sales experience, divisional management, program management, systems planning, strategic planning, and services delivery. I have managed sales organizations, as well as regional consulting teams, closed a variety of major software transactions and software service agreements, created personnel training programs, and developed strategic marketing plans.
Throughout my career, I have consistently overachieved quota, increased revenues, enhanced customer relations, and developed valuable staff members.

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Dr. Dionne Colbert / Great Expressions Dental Centers

Dr. Dionne Colbert has been a practicing dentist for 23 years and has been at the Eagles Landing location for the past 6. She is a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville. She also is one of the clinical partners for Great Expressions Dental Centers, overseeing GEDC dental practices in Atlanta.

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Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Sarah Assalti

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Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

 

Sarah Assalti / Sage

Sarah Assalti has been a member of the marketing services community for almost 20 years. Her experience has run the gamut from nonprofit giants like American Cancer Society, to small startups, to Fortune 500 companies such as Sage. After leaving the nonprofit arena in 2008, Sarah dove into the world of marketing automation, exploring how technology can be a friend, not a foe, to marketing and sales teams. As the Manager for Marketing Automation at Sage, she has enjoyed creating processes where none existed and removing roadblocks so strategies can move forward effectively.

Outside of the marketing world, Sarah enjoys traveling, writing, and spending time with her husband, her young son and their three dogs. Sarah volunteers and raises money for several nonprofits throughout the year including Relay For Life and various humane charities. She hopes that someday soon she will finally understand string theory and master the Rubik’s cube.

 

 

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk (Host) / bbr Marketing
President

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk has been a member of the creative and marketing services community for over 20 years and does not appear to be leaving it anytime soon. As president of bbr marketing, she has relished the challenges of entrepreneurship as she worked to grow and nurture a new business. Since the firm’s inception in 2009, Bonnie has led the young company to become widely recognized and respected within the professional services marketing niche, with award-winning client websites and an outstanding history of business success having worked with clients in 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

 

 

Jeffrey Keppen with CBRE, Dyron Dinsmore with Bank of America Plaza, Kevin Bray with Deputy and Bryan Stillwagon with Sherman and Howard

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Jeffrey Keppen / CBRE
Senior VP

As a Senior Vice President for CBRE’s Atlanta Brokerage Group, Jeff Keppen, oversees the marketing and leasing for a number of office projects located throughout the metro area including Piedmont Center 5-8, Wildwood Center, University Office Park, 201 17th Street, 271 17th Street, Royal Ridge and Peachtree Center.

Since joining Asset Services in 2005, he and his team have completed more than 3.5 million rentable square feet of office leasing consisting of more than 600 transactions. Clients include CBRE Global Investors – Strategic Partners (CBREGI), Parkway Properties, KBS Realty Advisors, Granite Properties and DRA Advisors.

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Dyron Dinsmore / Shorenstein Properties
General Manager Bank of America Plaza

Dyron’s career in the real estate industry spans almost three decades. He began his career just out of College in 1985, with Noble Properties-Aplomb; the firm that developed Lenox Square Mall in 1956. Shortly thereafter, Dyron joined Cadillac Fairview – now Prentiss Properties – in the development and opening of what was then referred to as the IBM Tower; known officially as One Atlantic Center. Still with Prentiss, he relocated to Irvine-Newport Beach, CA to join the Prentiss team in fee management for a portfolio of office properties run by The Irvine Co. Dyron’s next move brought him to Dallas, TX where he joined the management team for what was then First City Center, now 1700 Pacific. In 1990, he returned to Atlanta and joined Cousins Properties in the opening of 191 Peachtree Tower and what was then called C&S Plaza, now Bank of America Plaza. After a few years’ hiatus working in land brokerage, Dyron has returned to his former profession at Bank of America Plaza, some 20 years after having opened the project in 1992.

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Kevin Bray / Deputy
Director of Customer Success

Talented sales professional with a strong background in mobile Internet, telecommunications and information systems. Proven track record in developing high profile customer relationships and delivering creative solutions to complex business problems that result in positive ROI. Strong problem-solving, project management, communication, and negotiation skills.

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Bryan Stillwagon / Sherman & Howard
Labor & Employment Partner

Bryan Stillwagon is a partner in the Labor and Employment Department at Sherman & Howard. He is based in Atlanta. His experience covers a broad spectrum of issues affecting the employer-employee relationship. In addition to defending against numerous claims brought by plaintiffs and the EEOC under Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA, Bryan has spent significant time advising and defending clients in exempt status and independent contractor matters under the FLSA on both an individual and collective action basis. His litigation experience also includes representation of companies and high-level executives in lawsuits involving the enforcement of employment agreements and restrictive covenants.

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