Listen Now!

Business Talk 24-7

Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





Atlanta Business Radio

Uncategorized

Brian Peters with Citizens Bank, Jay Jhun with AIMA and RJ Harrington with Twenty and 3

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Citizens Bank

 

Brian Peters / Citizens Bank
Southeast Regional Executive

Brian Peters joins Citizens following a successful 20-year career at SunTrust, where he most recently served as Head of National Corporate Banking, leading a geographic expansion that included the opening of seven new offices. Peters has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Indiana University. He will be based in Atlanta, where he has served clients and the community since 1991.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Jay Jhun / Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association
President

Jay Jhun was elected to serve as AIMA’s 2017 President after serving in multiple capacities as a volunteer and board member over the course of the last 6 years. An Atlanta transplant from the SF Bay Area, He has worked at some of Atlanta’s top digital marketing agencies and is now an IBMer working in the Watson Marketing group.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Amanda Sparks / Response Mine Interactive
Director of New Client Development

RMI specializes in acquiring customers through content marketing, social media, SEO and PPC and focuses on enlarging the client bases of companies providing e-commerce, home services and health, wellness and fitness services.

Amanda Sparks’ transition into this position came at the end of three years guiding the recruiting processes of RMI. Many of the prospecting and closing techniques she employed in that capacity adapt well to identifying viable prospects and presenting them with clear, concise convincing descriptions of the benefits our services provide.

In Amanda’s free time, she volunteers as a board member of the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association to plan their social programming events.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

RJ Harrington / Twenty and 3
Lead Creative

RJ Harrington is the Lead Creative at Twenty and 3 – a one-stop creative shop, providing the services required to build alluring brands including brand strategy, photography, and graphic design. Twenty and 3 serves entrepreneurs just starting their business venture, as well as established companies wanting to elevate an existing brand. Success is achieved through simplicity, integrity and innovation.

In addition to her creative work, RJ enjoys helping both large and small audiences improve their personal brand. ‘Brand Talks’ cover first impressions, color theory, and how to magnify your strengths. These discussions improve productivity, boost morale, and encourage participants to move forward in excellence.

RJ is an advocate for community service and sits on the board of Integrity Mentors girls program and serves as a remote Triple M mentor for the Irving, Texas Independent School District. RJ is based in Atlanta and available for world-wide travel.

LinkedIn   Twitter

 

 

Biz Radio U Featuring Rusty Barringer and Andrew Wilkin with HHCard

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Andrew Wilkin

KSUEntrepreneurship

Biz Radio U

Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Andrew Wilkin / Bigger Vision of Athens
Executive Director

Andrew Wilkin is the Executive Director of Bigger Vision of Athens and the Founder of Homeless Help Card. Andrew graduated from the University of Georgia and is making huge waves within the Nonprofit Industry.

 

Rusty Barringer / Homeless Help Card
Co-Founder / Managing Partner

Rusty Barringer is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Homeless Help Card. Rusty is a Senior Management Major at Kennesaw State University and has been involved with the Entrepreneur Center at Kennesaw State from its birth.

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Stan Friedman

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Stan Friedman

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring

 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

 

 

Stan Friedman / FRM Solutions
President

StanFriedmanStan Friedman, CFE is President of FRMSolutions a “franchise-centric: technology company that enables franchisors to better manage relationships with prospective and existing franchisees.

Stan is a Board Member of the Southeast Franchise Forum and a founding board member of the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Diversity Institute, In 2011, the IFA honored Friedman with its Ronald E. Harrison Diversity Award, previously awarded only seven times in IFA’s 5o+ year history.

Stan is also co-founder and Advisory Board Chair of (PAFI) The Professional Athlete Franchise Initiative. PAFI is a collaborative that educates twilight year professional athletes to the potential of franchise ownership, as a follow-up to their athletic careers.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

 

 

Storytelling in Business

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Ria Story

 

Ria Story / Top Story Leadership
Leadership / Resilience Expert

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 went on worked her way through school, an MBA, and a successful career in the corporate world of administrative healthcare.
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.

 

Natalie Joy / Defining Your Joy
Strategic Business Growth Coach

In 2014 Natalie Joy began her journey pursuing her God-sized Dream to help women find more Joy in their personal & professional lives. Six years prior she had been forced to start her life over after a failed marriage involving infidelity and emotional abuse. She took on the last name Joy as a daily reminder that each day we have the ability to choose to have Joy in our lives.

Prior to launching, Defining Your Joy, Natalie Joy worked in the corporate world as a Top Level Strategic Coach and Traveling Corporate Trainer-helping businesses grow at a rapid rate of 20% each year in a market of only an average of 3% growth. Speaking & Coaching others are Natalie’s passions but after 13 years in this industry she desired to make a much bigger impact in the lives of women.

 

Denard Ash / Ash Training & Consulting
Project Management Lead

 

Paul Johnson with Displayit, Kris Casariego with Predictable Success and Casey Graham with CaseyGraham.com

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Predictable Success

 

Paul Johnson / Displayit
Chief Marketing and Product Officer

Paul Johnson joined Displayit in 2014 as head of the Marketing Advantage team. He’s responsible for determining clients’ needs, ensuring Displayit has the right products and services, and making it easy for Displayit Clients to buy.

After working in numerous sales roles – from account manager to vice president of sales and marketing – Paul discovered that true sales success is achieved with a healthy combination of effective product management, smart marketing and consultative selling. Thus, he began his unending pursuit of the “question behind the question,” developing a knack for hearing what others aren’t saying, connecting the dots, and helping people make decisions that solve their problems.

Paul’s never met a Hawaiian shirt he didn’t like. On any given day, there’s a 76% chance you’ll see him sporting one around Displayit’s offices. After work, he enjoys playing guitar, bicycling or learning something new. Paul has a degree in electrical engineering, and once rebuilt a manual transmission with only 4 part left over.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Kris Casariego / Predictable Success
Marketing Director

Kris is responsible for the development and implementation of the marketing strategy for Predictable Success. Before joining the Predictable Success team, she was Marketing Director for meeting facilitation training and consulting firm, Leadership Strategies, where she helped lead the company to more than 40% growth during her tenure.

With a focus on hitting goals, Kris’s areas of expertise include inbound marketing, lead generation, strategic planning and team leadership.

As a thank you for tuning in, you can save 15% on our Public Acceleration Workshop in Atlanta on May 16, 2017. Find out more here! 

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Casey Graham / CaseyGraham.com 
Founder / CEO

Casey Graham is a fired-up entrepreneur with a tremendous passion for helping other business owners. Casey’s transparency and high-energy leadership style have made him the go-to voice in the small business community. As CEO and Founder of The Rocket Company, Casey has developed the 5 P’s of a 7-Figure Business as a template of his success to share with other corporations.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Biz Radio U Featuring Zach Sergio with Zurly

Posted on

Podcast: Download

Zurly

KSUEntrepreneurship

Biz Radio U

Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Zach Sergio / Zurly
CEO

Zach is a recently graduated alumni of Kennesaw State University’s class of 2016 with a degree in Marketing & Professional Sales from the prestigious Michael J. Coles College of Business.

Currently, he works with innovative companies to change the way companies create quality software with QASymphony, and also disrupt the fundraising industry with the Zurly team.

LinkedIn   Twitter

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Derrick Meek

Posted on

Podcast: Download

GreenSeasonGroup

 

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

 

Derrick Meek / The GreenSeason Group
Founder

Derrick founded The GreenSeason Group because he wanted to do business differently.  His family, particularly his mother, influenced his old school way of doing business.  There’s no snake oil here – for Derrick, business is about honesty, helping others succeed and a passion for excellence.  Calling himself a landscape evangelist, Derrick believes there’s something magical about a beautiful landscape and being able to deliver beauty coupled with an awesome client experience is what it’s all about.

Growing up, Derrick’s entrepreneurial talents were always encouraged by his mother and father – something he’s very grateful for as, he laughs, “I never imagined mowing the neighbor’s grass in middle school to support his fishing habit would later develop into a calling”.

If he’s not spending time with his wonderful wife, or chasing his four boys around, he’s nose-deep in a book, or working on what seems like an ever growing honey-do list.  He’ll tell you his inspiration comes from his faith, his family, and a never ending desire to win.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Women in Technology (WIT) Special Edition

Posted on

Podcast: Download

The work of Women in Technology has an incredible impact.

Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT COMMUNITY, WIT Also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEM.

Women in Technology

 

Sandy Welfare /  WIT 

Sandy D. Welfare is the Executive Director of Women In Technology (WIT). Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Cool Girls Inc, an award-winning early intervention after-school program dedicated to the empowerment of girls (2009-2015).

Sandy’s career began in 1989 in Greenwich, Connecticut where she joined Rand Insurance as the Controller. Six years later, she accepted a position with Lucent Technologies, an international telecommunications leader, holding a number of positions including serving as Accounting and Treasury Manager in Singapore (1999-2000) and then as Senior Manager in Australia and New Zealand (2000-2002). Sandy returned to Atlanta in 2002 as Senior Manager of Global Financial Services.

In 2003, Sandy accepted a position as Director of Operations for Xchanging, a business processing outsourcing company. In 2006, her career took her to London, England as Managing Director for professional services, where she managed global business processing services for bank financial transactions, insurance and retail.

Sandy received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She serves on the board of several non-profits, including Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. Sandy resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, Cliff and son, Soloman.

Twitter     Twitter(Sandy)      LinkedIn

 

Derek Johnson / ThoughtWorks
Southeast Market Principal

Derek Johnson is the Regional Director for ThoughtWorks Inc., a global software consultancy. After years developing teams in India and Brazil, Derek now leads teams of designers, developers, and analysts to bring comprehensive solutions to the southeastern Unites States. With a focus on leveraging technology to build solutions for enterprises and communities, Derek and his team maintain ongoing support for Women Who Code, Technologists of Color, and Women in Technology, among others.

Derek is a graduate of Morehouse College, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Kennesaw State University. He has served with both Junior Achievement and the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. He maintains a keen focus on creating opportunities for young people looking to enter high tech careers and thrive as they navigate the corporate world.

LinkedIn   Twitter

 

Kyle Tothill / eHire
Partner & Managing Director

Kyle Tothill is a proven entrepreneur and growth enablement professional focused on helping organizations acquire select talent, build/manage successful recruiting programs and solve tough technical and marketing problems. Kyle is currently a co-founder and partner of three successful business services firms out of Atlanta; eHire, LLC, Make & Build and Collective Insights.

During Kyle’s career he has successfully started four professional services companies and one software firm, all requiring significant capital, creative organizational and start up development skills. Prior to his entrepreneurial career Kyle ran a regional sales organization for a Fortune 500 services firm in Atlanta, GA.

Kyle is an avid Golfer, sports enthusiast and overall general competitor.

LinkedIn   Twitter

 

Digital Marketing Series Episode 05

Posted on

Podcast: Download

 

thomas-jobs-in-sports-img_7419

 

Karyn Mullins / JobsinSports.com
EVP and GM

 

Michele P. Dambach /  JobsinSports.com
Manager Digital Marketing

 

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.

LinkedIn      Twitter

Tony Merendino with ServIT and Chris Markl with Georgia State University

Posted on

Podcast: Download

ga-state-university

 

Tony Merendino / ServIT
CEO

Tony Meredino has over 20 years of experience in Executive level positions in the arena of technology. Tony is the former owner/CEO of BMC Solution and is also a former athlete, playing NFL football with the NY Jets. Tony is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has recently acquired an all organic farm with is producing organic hay and organic angus beef.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

 

Chris Markl / Georgia State University
Visiting Instructor of Social Entrepreneurship

Chris Markl is a Visiting Instructor of Social Entrepreneurship at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Prior to joining Georgia State, he was a Social Entrepreneur Residence at Florida State University’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. A social entrepreneur, Markl founded Kourage Athletics which leveraged the storied tradition of Kenyan runners to create authentically Kenyan running apparel. Kourage sold products to over 20-countries and worked with Kenyan Olympians. Markl also founded and led two charity cross-country bicycle rides. Outside of entrepreneurship experience he has worked as an economic analyst in emerging economies.

LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook