Listen Now!

Business Talk 24-7

Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





Atlanta Business Radio

Month: September 2012

Davin Green with Green Machine, Inc. and Perry Cantrell with High Touch-High Tech

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Davin Green/Green Machine, Inc.

Davin has extensive experience in Marketing, Information Technology, and Design. He has spent the last ten years following the trends of digital strategy and has established himself as an expert in online marketing, design of digital products, and internet strategy with emphasis on engagement and conversions. Davin’s role at Green Machine, Inc. is to extend brand awareness, ensure quality delivery of services, and manage the execution of strategies and projects both internally and for their clients. Outside of the office, you’ll find Davin helping to promote sustainability initiatives throughout Atlanta, camping in the North Georgia Mountains, or touring around town on his Honda motorcycle.

Perry Cantrell/High Touch-High Tech

Perry Cantrell is a Quality Assurance Manager with High Touch-High Tech. High Touch-High Tech is a valuable tool in helping schools meet their internal academic targets and government imposed testing standards. High Touch-High Tech’s kinesthetic teaching methodology puts the world of science into students’ hands in their own class room, thus leveling the playing field for all students to develop an understanding and inquisitive love for science.

Nicole Monique with That’s What SHE Said Sports and Dr. Jeffrey G. Priluck with Dentistry with a Difference

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Nicole Monique/That’s What SHE Said Sports

Nicole Monique is launching a new sports show “That’s What SHE Said Sports” this fall.  She describes herself as a BIG TEN girl living in a SEC world.  She is a sports fan, wife, host and executive producer.  Nicole is a recent graduate of Kennesaw State University’s EMBA Program.

Dr. Jeffrey G. Priluck, DMD, MAGD/Dentistry with a Difference

Dr. Jeffrey G. Priluck is with Dentistry with a Difference in Dunwoody. Their staff is one of the most important reasons that they make a difference. They have long term, dedicated members who are determined to give the patient the most gentle and efficient care possible. Their technology and thoroughness is evident from the moment from the patient enters the office. They get to know their patients well and strive to learn their dental needs and desires. They can provide all phases of modern dental treatment from one-visit crowns to invisible braces and computer guided implants to replace missing teeth. They are a team whose mission is to give the patient the best dental experience possible. They want their patients to feel they are among friends who are there to serve their dental needs in a caring and warm environment. They pamper their patients with so many amenities: headphones, pillows and blankets, smoothies, warm towels, etc. They have gained their patients’ trust serving the Dunwoody community for over 35 years, and in some cases, four generations of families. They strive to provide a place where patients enthusiastically refer their family and friends for quality restorative and implant dentistry.

 


Join 200 Peachtree for an evening of live entertainment, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres, and networking with some of the brightest stars in Atlanta’s small business community!  September’s event happens on Thursday the 20th from 6pm-8pm.  CLICK HERE to register!

Special Edition: International Show

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Jeff Hannah/Nuance International

Jeff Hannah is the President of Nuance International. He is also a leader, lecturer, consultant, and writer in the fields of international project management, budgeting, design, and cultures. With an accomplished track record of more than 20 years, Jeff has led large, multicultural teams in the strategic development, design, and management of complex projects in over 50 countries. He has managed companies in London, Abu Dhabi and Atlanta. He specializes in understanding the various cultural nuances and the distinct challenges to working in each region of the world and has developed methodologies and processes for mitigating those risks to deliver world-class solutions. Jeff earned his B.S. Degree in Industrial Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Bart Wigman/Gielissen Interiors & Exhibitions

Dr. Bart Wigman is the CEO of Gielissen Interiors & Exhibitions.

Pieter van der Toorn/Netherlands-American Chamber of Commerce

Pieter van der Toorn serves as the President of InterfaceSERVICES, a  subsidiary  of Interface, Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of  environmentally friendly  modular carpeting.  Pieter has been elected President of the Netherlands American Chamber of Commerce for the southeastern United States. A native of The Hague, The Netherlands, Pieter started his Interface career with Heuga, a Dutch carpet tile company that Interface, Inc. acquired in  1988.  He has served in a number of leadership positions in sales  and marketing with Interface and Heuga since 1987.   Most recently, he was  Senior Vice President of Sales for the U.S. modular business.  Pieter has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from  Nijenrode, the Netherlands College of Business, and a Master’s degree in International Business Studies (MIBS) from the University of South Carolina. He earned his LEED® accreditation status in 2006 with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Pieter resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, Deborah, and their two children, Megan and Nicholas.

Lilia Postolachi/WTC Atlanta

Lilia Postolachi is the Membership/International Service Director at WTC Atlanta.  She directs international marketing and business development, strategic planning, program development, needs assessment, internal/external communications and implementation of joint go-to-market strategies for WTC Atlanta members, including: “Genius Consulting”, “Batolii”, “Palladium Legal”, “GolfRascal”, “Birchtree HR” and others.  Lilia manages every aspect of activities of the Center, has increased exposure of the WTC Atlanta locally and internationally, increased area sales by 300%, and increased revenues from organized events.  Lilia elected and applied E-Membership management software system to increase visibility for the WTC Atlanta members, and is responsible for training and placing interns with jobs.  She worked on restructuring of the WTC Atlanta, turning it into a self-sufficient profit generator, and prepared procedures for the integration of the new operational model.  Lilia organized in-bound, out-bound Trade Missions (from 2007-2012) and Creates monthly E-Newsletters to promote business and members of the WTC Atlanta.

John Dickson/World Trade and Development Group

John Dickson is president of the World Trade and Development Group based in Columbia, Maryland. He has founded World Trade Centers in Okinawa, Afghanistan, and has secured a license for Shenyang and Qingdao, China. He is currently developing a WTC project in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. Mr. Dickson is the founding chairman of the World Trade Centers Association’s Committee on Peace and Stability through Trade which organized conferences highlighting the contribution of the private sector to peace and stability. Some of these were held in Geneva, Oslo and the UN Headquarters in New York. John created the first Forum on Globalization and Cultural Identity which became a series held at various venues throughout the world.

John is also active in many NGOs. He is a founder and serves on the executive council for the Native American Leadership Alliance. He is a troop committee chairman for the Boy Scouts of America. John also serves on the International Council of Business Beyond Borders headquartered in the Silicon Valley and he chairs the board of the China Society based in Washington DC. John is the advisor to the offices of private sector partnerships and government relations for the Global Peace Foundation.

John earned an undergraduate degree in architecture at Georgia Tech and earned a Masters of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. He has a second-degree black belt in WonHwaDo Martial Arts. He has been married for thirty years and has five children.

Rick Woroniecki/Ackerman & Co. Commercial Real Estate

Richard C. “Rick” Woroniecki wears two hats; he manages bi-lateral trade with China and international investment in America. Mr. Woroniecki is Vice President of Brokerage Services at Ackerman & Co., a privately held, premier full-service commercial real estate company offering brokerage, development, management and investment services in the Southern United States. Presently, he handles retail, office and shipping/logistics property sales, and leasing.

 Rick is a seasoned professional whose long career in real estate development engineering and environmental consulting led to a keen interest in import/export. He is well-versed in the nuances of this business, having imported hardware and later consumer and medical products from China and Hong Kong for many years. In the past 10 years, Rick further increased his involvement with China imports and sourcing. With his partners, maintaining an office in Shanghai, he now provides import sourcing and logistics assistance to investors seeking to source products from China, as well as providing Chinese investors with acquisition and assistance in setting up operations in the USA for product sales and distribution.

A consummate networker, Rick is no stranger to the broader Euro-Asian and Latino-Hispanic leadership in the Southeast. He can assist bi-laterally with any investor need including real estate, product sourcing and logistics, customs, employment, legal, immigration, sales and income tax, and team up to provide turn-key support.

Gary Whitney with InterContinental Hotels Group, Gwen McPherson with Northside Hospital, and Jerry Eonta with EBSCO Publishing

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Gary Whitney/InterContinental Hotels Groups

Gary Whitney is Vice President of Learning & Delivery for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Gary has been with IHG since 1998 in various facilitation, design, and learning leadership roles. Gary holds an MS degree from Purdue University and a BS degree from Southwest State University.

IHG is an international hotel company whose goal is to create Great Hotels Guests Love. IHG consists of 9 hotel brands, over 153 million guests annually, more than 660,000 rooms in over 4,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries around the world. Hotel brands include Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Indigo, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Even Hotels, Hualuxe, and InterContinental.

Gwen McPherson/Northside Hospital

Gwen McPherson is the Coordinator for the Learning and Organizational Development department for Northside Hospital located in Atlanta, Georgia. She has over 17 years of experience in the fields of Learning and Human Resource Management in the non-profit and retail industries.

Gwen is a certified Instructor for Franklin Covey and a certified Instructor for Employment Learning Innovation. In addition to her certifications she also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Central Georgia Technical College in the school of Business Technology/Business Management.

Gwen has her B.A. from the University of South Carolina and her Masters of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. Gwen lives outside the Atlanta, Georgia area with her husband Clifton and their children.

Jerry Eonta/EBSCO Publishing

Jerry Eonta is VP of North American Corporate Sales for EBSCO Publishing.

 

Join 200 Peachtree for an evening of live entertainment, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres, and networking with some of the brightest stars in Atlanta’s small business community!  September’s event happens on Thursday the 20th from 6pm-8pm.  CLICK HERE to register!

 

Special Edition: Association of Telecom Professionals (ATP)

Posted on

Podcast: Download

The Association of Telecom Professionals, ATP, is a non-profit industry association that provides a thriving environment for professional development, making business connections, thought leadership exchange, and supports the promotion and recognition of Georgia’s leadership, innovation, and excellence in the communications industry.

ATP produces an annual event, the ATP Awards Gala, to celebrate and honor Georgia executives for outstanding achievements in the development and deployment of communications technology and related solutions which further enhance and drive the connected world in which we live.

The 2012 ATP Awards Gala will be held at the Cobb Galleria on November 13, with both the VIP and general reception starting at 5:00 pm, followed by a seated dinner and Awards program.

Gary Humphrey/Prosys Information Systems

Gary Humphrey is a Director for the Association of Telecommunications Professionals, where communications and technology professionals connect. Gary is also the Chair for the 2012 ATP Awards Gala. Gary’s daytime role is in sales with Prosys Information Systems in Norcross, GA. Before that, Gary held sales roles with Centurylink and Sprint. Gary graduated from Dunwoody High School and earned a BA in Economics from the University of Georgia. Gary is a resident of Johns Creek and has two children, Drew and Ginny. Drew is a Senior at Georgia Southern University and Ginny is a Freshman at the University of Alabama.

Val Rahmani/Damballa and 2011 ATP of the Year Award Winner

Val Rahmani is the CEO of Damballa, the next generation of internet security. Prior to Damballa, Val served as General Manager of IBM’s Internet Security Systems (ISS) division after leading IBM’s $1.3 billion acquisition of the company. Before that, Val held several general management roles within IBM, including global multi-billion dollar hardware, software and services businesses. Val was born in the United Kingdom and first came to the United States as Executive Assistant to Lou Gerstner, soon after Gerstner became Chairman and CEO of IBM. She holds an MA and a Doctorate in Chemistry from Oxford University in England, and is a competitive aerobatic pilot.

 

200 OfficeJoin 200 Peachtree for an evening of live entertainment, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres, and networking with some of the brightest stars in Atlanta’s small business community!  September’s event happens on Thursday the 20th from 6pm-8pm.  CLICK HERE to register!

 

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Special Edition: John Hill with Citizens Trust Bank and Lee Jordan with Robins, Eskew, Smith & Jordan, CPA’s

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Today’s show is a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Special Edition highlighting their Small Business Capacity Building Series for entrepreneurs.

John R. Hill/Citizens Trust Bank

John Hill, Business Banking Relationship Manager & Portfolio Specialist with the Commercial Banking Division of Citizens Trust Bank, is a 1996 graduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (Finance concentration).  He has more than 15 years in commercial banking experience and has held management roles for major banking firms such as Merrill Lynch, Wachovia and Lehman Brothers.

John is currently a commercial lender at Citizens Trust Bank (CTB) in Atlanta.  CTB is one of the largest minority-owned banks in the country with close $400 million in assets.

Lee R. Jordan, CPA/Robins, Eskew, Smith & Jordan, CPA’s

Lee Jordan is a CPA and a Partner in the local accounting firm of Robins, Eskew, Smith & Jordan. His firm is a full service accounting firm here in Atlanta with 4 offices, 8 partners and 40 staff professionals. They specialize in meeting the needs of small businesses and individuals in the area of tax, accounting and consulting.

Larry White with The Ritz Group, Dale Sizemore with FLIPSFilm, and Christian Kotscher with MetroTech Net

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Larry White/The Ritz Group

Larry White, President and CEO of The Ritz Group, tells his background story:  “My father was a WW-II veteran who was a 1950 entrepreneur starting his own appliance store growing it to be one of the largest in the state. Part of the Greatest Generation – he worked non-stop. His vision was that I NOT follow in the family business….get a degree and work for a major corporation. I did that..working for Firestone Tire and Rubber, Served as an officer in the Army, IBM, Amdahl and Equifax.

My wife also worked for Majors in Retail (Neimans) and when we moved to Atlanta she couldn’t get a job and opened her own store. She was the first Entrepreneur in our family. She was the founder of Bonnie White women’s specialty stores in Park Place, Perimeter, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and 87 West Paces road. I was the bedroom CFO gainfully employed before turning my entrepreneurial hobby into a business. I launched multiple companies – some successful…some not and in each case found myself torn between running my company, running out of funds and then trying the impossible task of raising funds while my companies went to H___ in a hand basket.

Not sure I mastered the drill, but eventually I fell in love with both the Entrepreneurial business aspects and the fund raising. Now I am attacking the problem from the Fund Raising side.”

Dale Sizemore/FLIPSFilm

Dale Sizemore with Information System Integrators, Inc. (FLIPSFilm) has had a long career in high technology, selling and deploying “first to market” applications and projects. The common denominator has been “getting information from multiple places and in the form they need into the hands of people so they can make timely, important business decisions”. Dale discovered his 30+ years in high technology sales, marketing and executive leadership was about to open the door for a new chapter in his life.

After his last employer was acquired, Dale took the entrepreneurial route and had his “AHA” moment December 8, 2010 while reading an article about how challenging it was for communities to facilitate filming and TV production in their communities. After a deep dive into the issue, Dale said “I can fix this problem” and FLIPSFilm was born.

Christian Kotscher/MetroTech Net, Inc.

Christian Kotscher with MetroTech Net started his career as an assistant financial controller in Frankfurt Germany after graduating from the University of Iowa with a double major in Finance and International Business. After three years in Europe and another in Florida, he and his wife Micki settled in the Atlanta metro in 1995 where they are raising their three girls. During a stint at MetLife, Christian moved into the IT field when he developed an accounting application for large financial systems. After that he joined GE Capital ITS, where he focused on custom application development and project management.

Christian’s first company was an IT development practice that he sold to Romac International/ kforce Consulting. In 2001 Christian joined IBM where he held national and international positions in mobile and wireless computing. It was there that he developed his passion for the Intelligent Transportation Systems Industry (ITS). Christian left IBM in 2007 to develop a video sensor system that would provide real time traffic information for use across many ITS areas. They have deployed their video analytics in California at 100 intersections and are working in other regions on emerging deployments. MetroTech is looking forward to providing you better traffic information for your daily commute and to give you more quality time for the important things in life.