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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Mark Fonseca and Mike McCarthy

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Mark Fonseca and Mike McCarthy

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, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Mark Fonseca / Pragmetrix
Co-Founder and Partner

Mark has over 20 years of experience in consultative sales, sales management and client relations. As a top producer at Lanier Business Products, he sold document management solutions to a range of businesses and was prolific at establishing long term relationships.

Mark consults one on one with the most successful CEO’s and Executives in Atlanta and has interviewed thousands of Executives and Business Professionals. He has experience in Sales, Sales Management and Sales Training Best Practice. Currently Mark is the owner of his own private men’s custom clothing and executive image consulting business. He has developed strong business relationships with heads of State, CEO’s, top-level executives and successful entrepreneurs, through one on one consulting and exceptional customer service.

As a Partner in Pragmetrix, Mark is responsible for Client Relations, Business Development and conducting Client Interviews.

LinkedIn

 

Mike McCarthy / Pragmetrix
Co-Founder and Partner

Mike McCarthy has been passionate about delivering exceptional customer service since he started his career in the 1980’s with GE Technical Services Company.   Eleven years on the front lines of mission critical, capital intensive projects at client sites  instilled in him a core belief that every business decision must first and last be looked at through the customer’s eyes.  Mike has since held senior leadership roles in GE and Siemens Corporation and is a veteran of business and operational excellence methodologies such as Voice of the Customer, Six Sigma and the Net Promoter System®.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, in 2004 Mike launched Pirtek Fluid Transfer Solutions in Atlanta. Today it’s the market leader in its industry in Georgia.  In 2011 Mike co-founded Pragmetrix to help small and medium size “B to B” businesses become the Loyalty Leaders in their industries, thus fueling their compound annual growth rate to more than twice that of the competitors.   Mike holds an honors degree in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Ireland and an MBA in Strategic Marketing from Trinity College Dublin.

LinkedIn

 

Joost Rutten with Liaison Technologies, Dwayne Hill with Ashton Woods, Millennial Author Chris Butsch and Matt Thomas with Brawl for a Cause

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Joost Rutten / Liaison Technologies

Mr. Joost Rutten has been Chief Financial Officer at Liaison Technologies, Inc. since January 19, 2017. Prior to joining Liaison, Mr. Rutten held strategic leadership positions at several organizations including SAP SuccessFactors, a leader in the fast growing Human Capital Management (HCM) cloud space which generates more than $1 billion in subscription revenue on an annual basis. As Division Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for leading and managing the SAP SuccessFactors finance team and managing the Global SAP SuccessFactors P&L.

Mr. Rutten is the Co-Founder of Standard Tael BV. Joost worked in Corporate Banking, Investment Banking and Private Equity. Joost started his career at ABN AMRO bank as a management trainee, after which he joined ABN AMRO’s European Leveraged Finance team as an associate. In 2008, he joined the Secondary Investments Team of AlpInvest Partners in Amsterdam as an associate. AlpInvest is the world’s leading independent private equity fund of fund with over USD 50bn under management. At AlpInvest, he was responsible for executing secondary private equity transactions in Europe and the US, such as the acquisition of limited partnership interests and direct private equity portfolios. He served as Chief Financial Officer of a private equity backed start-up company in the US.

Joost holds a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University of Technology. He is also a CFA charter holder.

LinkedIn

 

Dwayne Hill / Ashton Woods

Dwayne Hill serves as Division President of Ashton Woods Atlanta. He is originally from North Carolina and moved to Georgia in 1978 where he graduated with a business degree from Georgia State University. Before finding Ashton Woods, Hill held division and corporate level positions at public and private builders. He began his career at Ashton Woods in 2010 as the Vice President of Sales, later to be named the National Vice President of Sales before becoming Division President of Ashton Woods Atlanta. Hill chose Ashton Woods because of the company’s land strategy and high level of personalization offered to homebuyers.

Outside of work, Dwayne enjoys spending time with his family, including three kids and two dogs. He also enjoys off-shore fishing and classic cars.

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Chris Butsch / The Millenial’s Guide to Making Happiness

Chris Butsch is Atlanta Business Radio’s “Millennial Correspondent.” Author of The Millennial’s Guide to Making Happiness, Chris educates other generations on how to decrypt and connect with his unique generation.

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Matt Thomas / Brawl For a Cause

Matt is a @GAfollowers event manager and writer, covering special events, technology, business, food and travel. An avid startup aficionado, Matt founded Brawl for a Cause, works on @Roadie’s pit crew, and can be found sweating at the Atlanta Tech Village ping pong table.

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Biz Radio U Featuring Jeff Jahn with DynamiX

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Jeff-Jahn

KSUEntrepreneurship

Biz Radio U

Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Jeff Jahn / DynamiX
Founder

Jeff Jahn founded DynamiX in 2005 as a college sophomore. Today it’s one of the most respected website development and software companies in the world, having been recognized with more than 585 awards in just the past three years. More importantly, DynamiX has created significant bottom line improvement for hundreds of amazing local, national and international businesses. DynamiX was named a 2016 Top 25 Small Business, and Jeff was recently recognized as one of three finalists in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Small Business Person of the Year awards, in the experienced entrepreneur category.

In addition to DynamiX, Jeff has founded, or co-founded, five companies, including the world’s first neighborhood-based social media platform. He has contributed to Forbes, Inc. and Huffington Post, among others, and is a regular speaker on entrepreneurship and digital technologies.

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Jimmy Collins Author of Creative Followership

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Jimmy Collins

 

Jimmy Collins / Creative Followership
Founder and Author

Born in an unpainted share-cropper house in the middle of cotton fields, Jimmy Collins dreamed of becoming an executive. His story of the pathway he discovered for the realization of that dream is told in his book, In the Shadow of Greatness. He named that pathway Creative Followership. Jimmy is certain that anyone can use his Creative Followership Principles for their own journey to success and satisfaction.

From his first job of delivering groceries on a bicycle at 12 years old, to establishing his own business as a commercial kitchen design consultant, to his 32 year career with Chick-fil-A, Inc., he learned and applied the principles that you also can learn.

Jimmy retired from Chick-fil-A, Inc. as president, Chief Operating Officer. He describes his role there as the chief follower of the founder, S. Truett Cathy. In year 2000, Jimmy received the prestigious Silver Plate Award as Chain Fast Service Operator of the Year.

He is the founder of Creative Followership L.L.C, and an author.

 

Mack Story / Top Story Leadership

Mack began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership.

With more than 20 years working with and on the front lines, he brings a powerful blend of practical experience and leadership knowledge to his clients. Mack is a published author of several leadership books including: Defining Influence, 10 Values of High Impact Leaders, and Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.

He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

For more detailed information on Mack and to learn about the leadership development services he provides, please click here to visit Mack’s website.

 

Ria Story / Top Story Leadership

Ria is a motivational leadership speaker, author, and a world class coach who has a unique ability to help people develop and achieve their life and career goals, and guide them in building the habits and discipline to achieve their personal view of greatness.  Ria brings a wealth of personal experience in working with clients to achieve their personal goals and aspirations in a way that few coaches have achieved.

Ria’s background includes more than ten years in administrative healthcare, including several years in management and later, Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs for a large healthcare organization.  Ria’s responsibilities included oversight of thousands of organizational policies, organizational compliance with all State and Federal regulations, and responsibility for several million dollars in Medicare appeals.

Like many, Ria faced adversity in life. Raised on an isolated farm in Alabama, she was sexually abused by her father from age 12 – 19. Desperate to escape, she left home at 19 without a job, a car, or even a high school diploma. Ria learned to be resilient, and not just survive, but thrive. She worked her way through school, an MBA, and eventually resigned from her career in the corporate world to pursue a passion for helping others achieve success.

Now a motivational speaker, coach, and author of 7 books, she co-founded Top Story Leadership, which offers leadership development, speaking, training, coaching, and consulting. Ria also coaches authors and speakers on writing, speaking, and more. 

Jimmy Etheredge with Accenture, Maurice Cherry with Lunch and Laura Flusche with Museum of Design Atlanta

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Accenture

 

Jimmy Etheredge / Accenture
Senior Managing Director, US Southeast Region

Jimmy Etheredge is a senior managing director at Accenture responsible for leading the company’s business in its US Southeast region, which covers 10 states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia—as well as the District of Columbia. In this role, Etheredge focuses on bringing innovation to clients, attracting top talent and strengthening the company’s impact in its local communities; he also serves as member of the North America Leadership Team and the Global Leadership Council.

Additionally, Etheredge is managing director for the company’s Atlanta office, where he provides oversight for developing local business relationships, expanding civic presence and fostering employee engagement.

Before being appointed to his current role in December 2016, Etheredge was senior managing director of Accenture’s Products operating unit in North America, where was responsible for Accenture’s business across a set of consumer-relevant industries: Retail; Consumer Goods & Services; Life Sciences; Automotive, Industrial Equipment, Infrastructure & Transportation Services; and Air, Freight & Logistics and Travel Services.

Among the other leadership roles that Etheredge has held during his 29 years with Accenture are global Customer Relationship Management lead for the Resources operating group and global lead for Accenture’s Retail Utilities practice. Etheredge spent six years based in London with global responsibilities before returning to Atlanta in 2007.

A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in industrial engineering, Etheredge is an ardent supporter of his alma mater and a member of the Alexander Thorpe board of directors, the Hill Society and the Georgia Tech Lacrosse Advisory Board. He was honored as an inaugural inductee into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni. An active member of the Boys Scouts of America, Etheredge sits on the Atlanta Area Council Board of Directors.

Etheredge lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children.

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Maurice Cherry / Lunch / Revision Path
Principal, Founder, Editor-in-Chief, Host

Maurice Cherry is the founder and principal at Lunch, a multidisciplinary studio in Atlanta, GA that helps creative brands craft messages and tell stories for their targeted audiences, including fostering relationships with underrepresented communities. Past clients and collaborators include Vox Media, NIKE, Mediabistro, Site5, SitePoint, and The City of Atlanta.

Maurice is a pioneering digital creator who is most well-known for the Black Weblog Awards, the Web’s longest running event celebrating Black bloggers, video bloggers, and podcasters. Other projects of Maurice’s include the award-winning podcast Revision Path, 28 Days of the Web, and The Year of Tea. His projects and overall design work and advocacy have been recognized by NPR, News One, CNN, AIGA, HOW, Print, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, and The Los Angeles Times.

Maurice is also an educator, and has built curricula and taught courses on web design, web development, email marketing, WordPress, and podcasting for thousands of students over the past ten years.

Maurice was named one of Atlanta’s “Power 30 Under 30″ in the field of Science and Technology by the Apex Society, one of HP’s “50 Tech Tastemakers” in conjunction with Black Web 2.0, and was selected by Atlanta Tribune as one of 2014’s Young Professionals.

Maurice holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Morehouse College and a Masters degree in telecommunications management from Keller Graduate School of Management.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Twitter   Facebook   Facebook

 

Laura Flusche / Museum of Design Atlanta
Executive Director

Laura Flusche has been a member of the MODA staff since 2010. Prior to joining MODA, Laura lived in Rome, Italy for fifteen years, where she was assistant academic dean of an American academic program; taught art history, archaeology, mythology, and ancient history to undergraduates; and excavated on the east slope of the Palatine Hill, near the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.

In 2016, Laura received the Business Design and Arts Leadership Distinguished Alumni Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design where she earned a master’s degree in Arts Administration. She also holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Roman and Etruscan Art and Archaeology and an M.A. in Italian Renaissance Art. When asked about the transition from archaeology to design, she fiercely maintains that design is archaeology backwards.

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Lawrence Henderson with Business Operational Support Services

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Lawrence Henderson

 

Lawrence Henderson / Business Operational Support Services, LLC
President

As a Certified Leadership Coach, Teacher and Speaker, Lawrence Henderson draws on over 20 combined years of progressive leadership and team building training in the broad areas of human capital development, conflict resolutions, organizational development, and the fundamentals of change management.

As an Officer in the US Army, Lawrence sharpened his knowledge, skills, and abilities through the practice and study of a variety of leadership teachings, most notably Dr. John C. Maxwell’s foundational 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, to coach and teach hundreds of service men and women. This expertise extends to Federal (Civilian, DoD, and IC), State, and Local Government agencies support in the form of professional and management development training, educational support, administrative and general management consulting services that are supported in the form of workshops, seminars, keynote speaking, and coaching, aiding personal and professional growth through study, and practical application of proven leadership methods.

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Biz Radio U Featuring Joe Guthrie with Avrian, LLC and Bryan Keller with Keller Guitars

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Joe Guthrie
KSUEntrepreneurship
Biz Radio U

 

Joe Guthrie / Avrian, LLC
CEO

Joe Guthrie is a serial entrepreneur and the current CEO of Avrian, LLC. He’s founded several for-profit and non-profit ventures and organizations over the past 18 years. Joe has established himself as a well-rounded business expert with experience throughout the business cycle, from startup to acquisition.

In 2010 Joe founded Avrian Consulting, an Atlanta-based consulting agency with an expertise to help other businesses and their leaders achieve goals through executive coaching, mentoring, and advisory roles.

LinkedIn

 

Bryan Keller / Keller Guitars
Owner

Bryan Keller is a Senior at Kennesaw State University and will be graduating in May with a degree in Business Management. Bryan’s passion is music, specifically guitar, and he enjoys utilizing that passion for worship. Because of this passion, Bryan started Keller Guitars, which sells acoustic and electric guitars that have bible verses burned, or foil pressed, onto the face of the guitar.

Bryan recently began the venture, and will be launching the first line of acoustic guitars, called The Carpenter Series, in March, 2017. The line will display Psalms 95 on the guitar.

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Morgan Chalk with Ronald Blue and Co.

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Morgan Chalk / Ronald Blue & Co.
Private Wealth Advisor

Morgan Chalk serves both the Professional Athlete Division and the Private Wealth division of Ronald Blue & Co. in Atlanta, Georgia and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM certificant. Morgan is a registered Player Financial Advisor with the NFL Players Association.

As a Private Wealth Advisor for the Private Wealth division, Morgan integrates financial planning, investment management, and estate and philanthropic planning into a custom-tailored financial plan that helps clients accomplish their dreams and financial goals. He is responsible for bringing together the expertise necessary to effectively meet his clients’ needs and for building long-term client relationships based on integrity, confidence and trust.

As a Financial Advisor with the Professional Athlete Division, Morgan works with athletes as they build their wealth and assists them in giving generously and managing their financial resources wisely. The Professional Athlete Division of Ronald Blue & Co. employs a customized service model geared to the unique needs of the athlete in their specific sport. Services include coordination of tax and legal counsel, bill paying, cash flow management, financial and estate planning, and philanthropic strategies. Ronald Blue & Co. serves over 100 active and retired players and coaches across the MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, NASCAR and the NCAA.

Morgan earned his BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia.

Morgan and his wife, Libby, are active members of Roswell Community Church and live in Roswell, Georgia with their two children.

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Jeff Jahn

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DynamiX

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, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Jeff Jahn / DynamiX
Founder

Jeff Jahn founded DynamiX in 2005 as a college sophomore. Today it’s one of the most respected website development and software companies in the world, having been recognized with more than 585 awards in just the past three years. More importantly, DynamiX has created significant bottom line improvement for hundreds of amazing local, national and international businesses. DynamiX was named a 2016 Top 25 Small Business, and Jeff was recently recognized as one of three finalists in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Small Business Person of the Year awards, in the experienced entrepreneur category.

In addition to DynamiX, Jeff has founded, or co-founded, five companies, including the world’s first neighborhood-based social media platform. He has contributed to Forbes, Inc. and Huffington Post, among others, and is a regular speaker on entrepreneurship and digital technologies.

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Digital Marketing Series Episode 6

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02-14-17-Thomas-David

David Rones / PromoMatting from Americo
President

A 24-year veteran of the matting industry, David M. Rones is the President of Americo’s Matting Division.  Mr. Rones is primarily responsible for managing the sales and marketing of all matting products to a variety of industries.  David’s background in finance, combined with a true talent for solving business problems in creative ways, often breaks new ground and has led the division to record sales in 9 of the last 10 years.  Prior to Americo, David spent 7 years as a Financial Analyst with Dun & Bradstreet, United Technologies (Carrier Division) and VeriFone.  He also started a successful computer data security sales and service company that he sold in 1992.  Later that year, David joined Americo as Director of National Accounts for the Matting Division.

A few years later, David helped to establish the company’s PromoMatting division, a company focused toward selling to Promotional Product distributors.  Over the past decade, David has been instrumental in facilitating the  purchase of several matting companies, including Hanover Textile Graphics, Pioneer Mat Co., Custom Textile Printing, J.H. Mats, and Shamrock Matting.

Mr. Rones holds a bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Georgia.  He lives in Atlanta with his wife and three sons.

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Thomas Harpointner (Co Host) / AIS Media

Thomas Harpointner is founder & CEO of AIS Media, Inc., an Atlanta-based, award-winning digital marketing firm. Thomas is a recognized subject matter expert on digital marketing strategy development and execution.

Thomas has served as a keynote speaker at trade organizations, conferences, and corporate events. He has appeared on Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNN Radio, CNBC, The Advertising Show, The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. He’s been featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CFO, AJC, Fortune, and Wired.

At AIS Media, Thomas consults executives at leading companies on digital strategy. He’s led hundreds of digital marketing initiatives for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations such as AT&T, Synovus Financial, Emory Healthcare, Wake Forest Innovations, Pfizer, and Maui Jim Sunglasses. Under his leadership, AIS Media has been recognized with dozens of prestigious industry awards.

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