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Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





Brian McBroom with Anago of Atlanta, Brandon Smith with The Worksmiths, Ronald Wolf with That Pie Place, and Joe Ragone with Locals Networking

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Brian McBroom / Anago of Atlanta Linkedin Facebook Twitter

Brian McBroom, 47, is the new Master Franchisor of the decade-old, corporate-owned territory of the Atlanta metro area. With a wealth of managerial and recruitment experience, McBroom will provide more hands-on support to his unit franchisees and hopes to build more networks in the region.

Upon graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration in 1988, McBroom went on to work at All State as a claims adjustor. Two years later McBroom was granted a scholarship from Chrysler, which he put toward a MBA at Clark Atlanta University. After completing his postgraduate studies, McBroom was offered a position with Chrysler, where he worked his way up in various managerial positions for the next 12 years.

As a reflection of his sought-after skills, McBroom was recruited by Cummins Inc. in 2004 to become the design and manufacturing company’s director of corporate staff finance — a position that he held for 2.5 years before being offered the position of director of enterprise risk management & operations excellence. During his time at Cummins, McBroom also managed the Six Sigma program, worked on product re-design and mitigated global risks for the company.

Brian took over as the Master Franchisor of Anago Atlanta in February of 2014.

Anago Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning franchise system supporting over 30 Master Franchises and 2,200 individual franchisees in the U.S. and internationally. After years of refining procedures and creating duplicable systems created in his large commercial cleaning service, David Povlitz founded Anago in 1989 to help other entrepreneurs open their cleaning businesses. Today, its program sets the standard in U.S. commercial cleaning. Anago was ranked the fifth fastest-growing franchise by Entrepreneur magazine in 2010 and 2011, and ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the best franchises in franchisee satisfaction. Inc. Magazine has also listed Anago as one of the top privately-held companies in the U.S. For further information, visit its website.

Brandon Smith / The Worksmiths Linkedin Twitter

Brandon Smith is a leading expert in leadership and management communication. Known as “The Workplace Therapist,” Brandon is the CEO and founder of The Worksmiths LLC, a boutique leadership coaching and culture consulting firm that helps clients craft top-performing workplaces. He is also the founder of www.theworkplacetherapist.com – a resource dedicated to helping each of us eliminate dysfunction at work, improve workplace fulfillment and restore optimism and focus in the workplace. In addition, Brandon combats workplace dysfunction every Friday morning on Georgia Public Broadcasting where Brandon assists listeners with navigating their career and work/life challenges. When he is not out fighting workplace dysfunction, Brandon teaches at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School on topics related to leadership, communication and healthy workplace dynamics.

Ronald Wolf / That Pie Place Linkedin Facebook Twitter 

Joe Ragone / Locals Networking Linkedin Facebook Twitteryoutube

In my previous career in medicine I spent a large amount of my time marketing throughout the community and with other physicians. I had to leave private practice due to a bike accident in 2009, and take my career in another direction. In my new role, I continue to market to local community based businesses. With everything moving online we thought there has to be a better an easier way and we put the wheels in motion to create LocalsNetworking.com

Special Edition: Business Marketing Association Atlanta

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Business Marketing Association (BMA) Atlanta Linkedin Facebook Twitter

Mark Semmelmayer  is the 2014 President of BMA’s Atlanta Chapter and the Chief Idea Officer of Pen & Inc. Marketing Communications, a marketing consultancy he founded in 2013. Mark has over 40 years of broadcast, ad agency and corporate communications experience and retired from corporate life last year after 32 years with Kimberly-Clark.

Jenny Munn is an Atlanta-based SEO consultant who provides customized training and consulting for in-house marketing managers and small to mid-sized businesses. She specializes in helping marketing teams maximize the return on investing in SEO and to learn to integrate SEO into their marketing mix. www.jennymunn.com

Patrick Blanchard is a Key Account Manager and Director of Business Development for TwentySix2 Marketing who helps tailor custom digital marketing strategies for companies, large and small, that provide effective results. TwentySix2 Marketing provides search engine optimization, paid search, social media, content marketing and web design services.

Sean Christopher Jones with Atlanta Broadcasting Advertising Club, Marc Antony Borrelli with Corporate Finance Associates, Jack Scherer with SALESTALENT, Doug Davidson with New South Construction, and Michele Velcheck with Solid Source Companies

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Sean Christopher Jones / Atlanta Broadcasting Advertising Club Linkedin Facebook Twitter

Marc Antony Borrelli / Corporate Finance Associates Facebook Twitter

Marc Borrelli is a Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategy professional with over 25 years of experience. He has completed over 100+ transactions worth in excess $3bn in over 30 countries. In addition he has had strategy responsibilities for international and national operations.

Marc’s specializes in helping owners of private companies maximize their value on exit. This requires planning, preparing for sale, and managing the sales process to maximize the value received. Perception is key! You need a sustainable competitive advantage, a strategy, engaged management, documented processes, budgets and variances analysis, and reviewed financials. I help companies understand the impact of strategy and financial decisions so that they increase their value.

In addition, I help companies develop strategic plans and then develop the tactical steps and responsibilities to ensure effective execution of the strategy and accountability. The aim is to ensure that the strategic plan is built into the budgeting process and all tactic focus is on the sustainable competitive advantage. Marc works with companies to understand their financial performance and what drives their ROI and ROE. In addition, he uses probabilistic modeling and risk analysis to improve financial decision making and increase corporate ROI.

Marc has worked with both domestic and international companies helping them and their various operations around the world. Having lived in five countries and worked in many, he understand the issues working in foreign markets and help companies navigate them. In addition, Marc also helps foreign companies understand the US market and develop their market entry strategies accordingly.

Jack Scherer / SALESTALENT Linkedin

Jack Scherer is an entrepreneur, author and speaker who has been featured in USA Today, Success Magazine, Advertising Age, AdWeek, Franchising World, Folio, Business Opportunities and other publications.

Jack is the Founder and President of SALESTALENT, a sales consulting firm that focuses on strategy, sales recruiting, and development of customized sales training programs.

In 2010, Jack was elected to the Georgia Advisory Council for the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) network for the University of Georgia system. In this position, he and other elected members provided advice and consultation for small businesses in Georgia.

Jack’s community involvement includes being the ministry leader for over 8 years of the Crossroads Network at his church. This group focuses on helping people who may be at a crossroads in their career to find new directions through networking, job fairs, speakers, support and resume development.

Doug Davidson / New South Construction Linkedin Facebook Twitter

Doug Davidson is President and CEO of New South Construction Company. He founded the Company in 1990, and for the past 24 years, under his leadership, New South Construction Company has grown into one of Georgia’s most respected construction firms. For many years, New South Construction has performed construction services for several notable client’s including; Delta Air Lines, The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Field, Druid Hills Golf Club, Wesleyan School, Emory University and General Mills to name a few. New South has been on Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 General Contractors and Top 25 Interior Contractors for the past 14 years and is listed in ENR’s Top 400 Contractors in the nation. Doug is especially proud of New South as a past recipient of the “Top 20 Places to Work in Atlanta.”

Michele Velcheck / Solid Source Companies Facebook

 

Special Edition: PRSA Georgia Chapter

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PRSA’s Georgia Chapter , the second-largest local chapter in the national society, consists of some 850 professionals throughout Georgia. Its mission is to enhance the profession, provide continuing education and offer networking opportunities for its members.

The Chapter has monthly meetings as well as eight Special Interest Groups (Corporate & Employee Communications, Healthcare, Independent Counselors, Leader Board, Nonprofit, Technology, Travel & Tourism, and Young Professionals) that meet at various times.

The Chapter supports nine PRSSA (student society) groups at the following colleges: Berry College, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Savannah State University, University of Georgia (largest PRSSA chapter in the world), and University of West Georgia.

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Elizabeth Salter McMillan / Fiserv 

Elizabeth McMillan, APR, is director, Content Strategy at Fiserv, a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions. She is responsible for the creation, publication and governance of useful and usable marketing content.

Prior to joining Fiserv, Elizabeth spent 12 years at William Mills Agency, leaving as vice president of the nation’s largest independent public relations and marketing firm to the financial services industry. During that time, she excelled at developing and leading strategic public relations plans and social media initiatives for a wide variety of companies – startups to multi-billion dollar enterprises – with business goals varying from securing additional funding to attaining market leadership to becoming an attractive acquisition target.

Elizabeth also took an active role within William Mills Agency, spearheading the evolution of PR planning and client training processes as well as the exploration and execution of social media and marketing best practices.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations. She is also recognized as Accredited in Public Relations, APR, by the Universal Accreditation Board, which she joined as a board member in 2011 and serves as vice-chair for today.

Elizabeth is an active member of the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Georgia), having chaired several committees for the 800+ member organization and currently sitting on the board. She is also a recipient of chapter’s Shining Star Award.

Annette Filliat / Boys & Girls Clubs of America  

Annette Filliat is director of public relations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), focusing on technology, arts and other specialized initiatives within the organization’s Academic Success outcome area. In this role, she manages public relations campaigns for programs and thought leadership initiatives within arts and innovation.

Annette is an award-winning public relations professional with 10 years of experience in agency, corporate and non-profit environments. Prior to BGCA, she served as press & public relations specialist, North America for Barco, Inc., a global high-tech company providing visualization solutions for the entertainment, healthcare and defense/aerospace industries. Before Barco, she was an account supervisor at Arketi Group, a high-tech business- to-business marketing and communications firm, where she managed integrated communications campaigns for a variety of technology clients, securing national media placements in TIME, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

Annette’s work has been featured in PR Week, BtoB Magazine and Oz Magazine, and she has earned more than 15 industry awards. She holds an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is active in the Georgia Chapter of PRSA, serving as co-chair of the Annual Conference. Annette earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Stetson University where she was named a presidential scholar.

Brandie Miner /Georgia REALTORS® 

Brandie Miner is the Director of Communications and Marketing for the Georgia Association of Realtors, a position that she has held for 13 years. In her current role, Brandie manages all aspects of internal communications for the 27,000 member trade association and serves as Editor of Georgia Realtor magazine. Brandie is responsible for the Association’s media relations as well. Prior to her current position, Brandie served as Public Relations Manager for the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.

In addition to PRSA, Brandie is also a member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE), and she is a charter member of the Shepherd Center Society. Brandie is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Consumer Journalism.

Reggie Walker with PwC, Celeste Jonson with Celeste Jonson International for Wind Enterprises, Angel Luis Rivera, Jr with Sixes Pit Bicycle Shop, and Steve Roy Schroeder with IntelaText

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Reggie Walker / PwC Linkedin Twitter  

Reggie is a Partner in PwC who specializes in management consulting in the Retail and Consumer Products industry. Reggie brings over 20 years of experience in working with various retail and consumer products companies, advising them on strategic and operational issues, including new market entry, finance, accounting and internal controls, global business risks, organizational change and the use of technology to enable business operations and customer interaction.

Reggie was recently appointed to Managing Partner of the PwC’s Greater Atlanta market. In Walker’s previous role as the market leader for the Advisory Services practice in Atlanta, he served as the central point of contact for all advisory engagement teams serving the firm’s clients throughout the region. Under Walker’s leadership, PwC’s Atlanta Advisory Services practice achieved double-digit annualized growth over the last five years.

Reggie is also active in the Atlanta community. He currently serves on the boards of the Atlanta Area Council of The Boy Scouts of America, where he has also served as the fundraising chairman for the Peach of an Athlete Banquet and the annual Camp Card campaign, and TechBridge. He has served as the chairman for the annual campaign for The Georgia Center for Nonprofits. He is also an active supporter of The United Way and the Woodruff Arts Center.

Walker received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama.

Celeste Jonson / Celeste Jonson International for Wind Enterprises  Linkedin TwitterFacebook

Angel Luis Rivera, Jr / Sixes Pit Bicycle Shop Facebook 

Sixes Pit is a “One Stop, Pit Stop” mobile bicycle shop that offers everything needed to get out and ride. Whether you have a bike or not, Sixes Pit has you covered from head to toe.

Steve Roy Schroeder / IntelaText Linkedin

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

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Anand Thaker / NeoMarketing Solutions Linkedin Twitter

Dinesh Raturi / GTS, Inc.

Established in 1998, GTS, Inc. specializes in the deployment of Point of Sales Systems at Mega Retailers in USA and is a leading organization in its field of Activity.

Paul Lopez / Element Funding

Dr. Lopez is co-managing principal of Element Funding, a mortgage lending company offering residential mortgages with branches in GA and FL. Paul serves on the Boards of MUST Ministries and for Action Ministries which are non- profits organizations addressing the needs of the poor in north Georgia. He is also the co-chair of a new initiative called TYE University, co-sponsored by TiE Atlanta and the Georgia Small Business Development Centers (SBDC).

 

 

 

Special Edition: Oracle Applications Users Group

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Marci Nessing and Marianna Miller/OAUG

The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) is the world’s largest education, networking and advocacy forum for Oracle Applications users.

Thousands of Oracle Applications users around the world connect through the OAUG. They know that OAUG involvement equips them to:

  • improve efficiency
  • enhance problem solving
  • spark innovation

The OAUG is committed to enhancing members’ return on investment on Oracle Applications by providing:

  • an extensive global knowledgebase of information and solutions
  • outstanding education and professional development
  • unique networking opportunities
  • established channels for communicating and advocating to Oracle

UPCOMING EVENT:  Collaborate 14 — OAUG Radio broadcasting live from the beautiful Venetian and Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada!