As CEO of Brightpearl, Derek O’Carroll is responsible for the overall company strategy and for delivering on Brightpearl’s mission to automate retail. Brightpearl is a scalable cloud platform designed especially for high-growth multi-channel retailers wishing to automate and integrate their e-Commerce and accounting operations. He has spent his career developing a highly successful track record of creating value to IT companies in EMEA Specialties including building exceptional teams and creating winning environments, simple messaging, zero ambiguity, and a train for excellence. In 1994 he founded Adnet, Ireland’s first online advertising agency building database driven websites and offering SEO services. In 1999 he founded Vordel, which became a leading provider of XML security solutions and was sold to Axway in 2012.
Listen And Learn:
Ryan DeWard is president and CEO of Unique Truck Equipment, a Michigan-based company that serves the Heavy Duty Trucking industry by providing safety products and tools to help drivers and mechanics work more safely and efficiently. As the company’s leader, Ryan’s responsibilities include strategic planning, sales and marketing, human resources, budgeting, accounting, contract negotiations, and vendor relations. Over the years Unique has grown into a multi-million dollar company and has become proficient in multiple channels including e-Commerce, catalog sales, government sales, and manufacturing/distribution. Under Ryan’s leadership, Unique has positioned itself as a market leader in diagnostics, product knowledge, vendor relations, customer service, pre-sale consultation, and personalized custom solutions.
Listen And Learn:
Erin Dwyer, vice president of digital at the skincare brand, Drunk Elephant, is a dynamic marketing executive with a 15-year progressive career and unique blend of experience that bridges gaps at the intersections of digital marketing, strategy, product, and technology. She is a confident strategist with a contagious passion for harnessing online landscapes, web platforms, social sites, and emerging apps and technologies to reach and engage audiences. Her industry experience includes entertainment, CPG, sports, software, gaming, and technology.
Listen And Learn:
Justin Sessink is director of digital shopping and e-Commerce at Meijer, a regional American supercenter chain with its corporate headquarters in Walker, Michigan. He is responsible for leading cross-functional teams to develop and execute Meijer’s overall digital shopping strategy, including technology, operations, fulfillment, and other key aspects of omnichannel offerings. Justin also leads the site merchandising and product teams that support digital shopping. His team crafts the customer experience for Meijer.com as it relates to curbside pickup and home delivery. Justin also served as product manager for e-Commerce technology advancements developed through the Scaled Agile Framework.
Listen And Learn:
Kevin T. Payne is founder of kevintpayne.com and a growth and content marketing consultant. He helps early-stage startups implement growth marketing campaigns to increase their inbound leads, increase website traffic, and speed up their sales cycles by using marketing automation software. He is the creator of Growth Driven Marketing For SaaS Startups, a 12-week online intensive course for SaaS founders that teaches them how to double their leads, become influencers, and gain their investors’ trust. He also writes for several online publications including HubSpot, BlackEnterprise, Blavity, and Creativelive.
Listen And Learn:
Marshall Rule is president of SCOTTeVEST, a company that designs innovative apparel for people who need quick and convenient access to all of their belongings at any time. Marshall’s primary responsibilities in the company are to manage the operations of every department, oversee general brand strategy as well as leverage opportunities to increase market share, and steadily drive monthly and yearly growth.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE SCOTTEVEST CLICK HERE.
TO FIND MARSHALL RULE ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
Dr. Gustavo Grodnitzky is a speaker, author, consultant, and psychologist whose diverse background brings a unique and multidimensional perspective to his global clients. After obtaining his Ph.D. in clinical and school psychology, he completed post-docs in both cognitive therapy and forensic psychology. He has previously run an inpatient drug rehabilitation unit in a correctional institution and an outpatient mental health center. For the past 15 years, Gustavo has focused his attention on engagements with corporate clients, and he has worked with Global 1000 companies around the world, as well as with smaller, often family-run, businesses. As a consultant and professional speaker, he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations on a variety of topics, including corporate culture, emotional intelligence, anger management, and integrating multigenerational workforces.
Listen And Learn:
TO FIND GUSTAVO GRODNITZKY ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
Connor Wood Bicycles, LLC was founded by Chris Connor in 2012 to build wood bicycles that beautifully combine form and function. Chris, now the worldwide expert on building wood bicycles, is a longtime Denver woodworker and cycling enthusiast. After years of experience building classical guitars and designing and building modern furniture, Chris took his love and respect for the beauty, strength, and durability of wood into the realm of bicycles. Connor Wood Bicycles uses a unique combination of sustainably harvested American White Ash, Black Walnut and Kevlar in curved composite laminations throughout its bikes.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CONNOR WOOD BICYCLES CLICK HERE.
TO FIND CHRIS CONNOR ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
When it comes to the evolving audiovisual industry and witnessing new technological capabilities, Diana Mueller CEO of Image Audiovisuals has a front-row seat. With more than 40 employees in Colorado and Arizona, Diana and her husband and business partner David, have taken part in decades’-worth of live events, ranging from corporate, nonprofit, and medical events to political, entertainment, and sports functions. The company has produced presentations for CEOs and leaders of Fortune 500 companies from all over the country, and helped to craft and manage the AV needs of conferences that featured such noted luminaries as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Charlton Heston, and even Michael Jackson.
Listen And Learn:
Liam is the founder and CEO of TimeDoctor.com, one of the world’s leading time-tracking software for remote teams. He is also the founder and CEO of Staff.com, an outsourcing company that concentrates on providing companies with long-term outsourced labor relationships. Both of these companies are focused on companies getting the best results from their employees, even if they’re working with people who live on the other side of the globe. Liam is a speaker, a writer, a metrics-based marketer, and a consultant for many online businesses concentrating on process design and scaling companies through outsourcing.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TIMEDOCTOR.COM CLICK HERE.
TO FIND LIAM MARTIN ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
After successfully elevating the Oskar Blues Brewery brand nationally for over a decade, Chad Melis has become a brand of marketing professional uniquely his own. With PR savvy and an uncanny knack for brand strategy, Chad has an ironclad grasp on how to provide clients with a roadmap to meet their individual goals. He thrives on instigating innovative thinking and amplified anthems that resonate with your tribe. As a brand strategist, he works to authentically “dial up” the story and engage audiences that matter.
Listen And Learn:
Jojo Collins started making Jojo's Sriracha back in 2010. She was 26, which made her, as she says, “old enough to know I wasn’t taking care of my body but still young enough to try and do something about it.” She took refined sugar out of her diet for a month and started reading food labels and learning about what she put in (and on) her body. Jojo’s Sriracha is a tiny company, often just a crew of two or three, but she’s had the good fortune to create something truly noteworthy with a big reach. The company has been featured in “Sriracha,” the documentary, and on The Cooking Channel. She recently moved her production from shared kitchens in Brooklyn to a 323-square-foot commercial kitchen in Denver, where she works closely with farms in both Colorado and New Mexico to create a unique green chili sriracha that is indicative of the region.
Listen And Learn:
Britton Purser created Vintage Overland out of necessity, out of “the need to grab that romance, passion, and sense of adventure and take it into the middle of nowhere.” Britton, alongside his two brothers, Cody and Cullen, spend day and night in the studio where they meticulously design, shape and assemble each of their custom caravans by hand. It is Vintage Overland’s desire to preserve the quality and heritage of American craftsmanship.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VINTAGE OVERLAND CARAVANS, CLICK HERE.
Rob Andzik is president of AMERGINT Technologies, a company that delivers next-generation technologies to the space industry. The company’s mission is simple: be technically focused and customer-supportive. Rob and his team at AMERGINT solve hard problems through innovation and by building intellectual capital that their customers leverage. Before coming to AMERGINT, Rob worked at Lockheed Martin and RT Logic. He is co-chair of the OMG Space Domain Task Force and co-author of the Ground Equipment Monitoring Service (GEMS) specification.
Listen And Learn:
Jeff Cohen is chief marketing officer at SellerLabs, a cloud-based tool for e-Commerce businesses to source, sell, and provide customer service. Jeff’s goal is to empower small businesses with the tools they need to succeed, provide excellent support and service, and always push to make things better.
Listen And Learn:
Ed Graczyk is an experienced chief marketing officer for start-up companies as well as a 16-year Microsoft veteran where he launched more than a dozen products worldwide. He has built and led high-performance marketing teams and programs for award-winning consumer, enterprise, and business-to-business-to-consumer products and services. He has deep vertical market experience across Internet and online services, telecom and cable, TV and media, IPTV and Internet video, digital entertainment, and financial services, along with a huge passion for the travel space.
Listen And Learn:
Scott Kincaid started at Usability Sciences 20+ years ago with a lofty goal to make the world a little more intuitive, one bit at a time. As to be expected in small companies, he has worn many hats including researcher, operations manager, sales engineer, salesforce.com admin, and executive. In his time of user research consulting, Scott has worked for a wide range of companies including Salesforce, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, and Dell.
Listen And Learn:
Nate Sachs is the founder and owner of Blueprints For Tomorrow. He has four decades of experience in succession, contingency, and key employee retention, and is also an author, credentialed national speaker, and adviser to over three thousand entrepreneurs. Nate frequently lecturers across the country to business owners on various topics, has published over 200 articles, and is a sought-after expert resource for publications about strategic business planning and exit strategies. Out of 150 speakers in their first year speaking for Vistage International, Nate received the Speaker of the Year award and to date, delivers 75-100 presentations a year.
Listen And Learn:
Julie Broad, founder of Book Launchers, is an Amazon Overall #1 Best Selling Author, an International Book Award Winner, and recipient of the Beverly Hills Book Award for Best Sales book. As an entrepreneur and successful real estate investor she was also awarded the Top 20 under 40 Award. Book Launchers helps entrepreneurs and professionals build their brand and boost their business by writing, publishing, and selling a top quality book.
Listen And Learn:
• The importance of finding your ideal reader.
• Defining your “unique hook.”
• How outlining goals at the outset makes the process of actually writing a book much easier.
• SMART Goal setting.
• How to define and live your personal brand.
In May of 2017, W.H. Ranch won the Artisan Challenge, cementing owner Ryan Martin in the history books as the Greatest Jean Maker in the World. Ryan is the company’s CEO, CFO, COO, Head Designer, Head Pattern Maker, Head Sewer, Director of Marketing, Creative Director, Head Buyer, Head of Sales, Head of Research and Development, and janitor. Ryan is focused on creating “Heirloom Quality” jeans. For him, this concept conveys the generations of knowledge, five to be precise, that have been passed on to him that are used on every single product from W.H. Ranch Dungarees.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT W.H RANCH, CLICK HERE.
George Karayannis is vice president of CityNOW, Panasonic North America, where he leads a high-performing team providing sustainable community solutions to municipalities and private developers. He is passionate about providing sustainable solutions, emerging technologies, and working with ultra-high performing teams. He has led sales, marketing and BD teams at F100 firms and leading-edge wireless startups, and is an expert in supply and demand-side energy management, selling Smart Grid (DR, EE & RE) and Smart City solutions.
Listen And Learn:
The eQuilter 15,000 square foot warehouse is located in Boulder, Colorado, and has the largest online selection of high-quality quilt fabrics and related products, with over 22,000 products online and in stock. Luana Rubin, who founded the company with her husband Paul, has a 35+ year background in art, design, and retail. Her eye for color and design – and most especially for identifying trends in the industry – has earned her a coveted membership in the Color Marketing Group and turned her into a world traveler. She has worked in New York and Hong Kong, and been a guest speaker on color and design trends at shows and conferences in Thailand, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, France, England, and Canada. eQuilter's charity program has raised $1.5 million, and eQuilter has helped to organize and distribute over 12,000 donated quilts for disaster relief, orphans and cancer patients around the world.
Listen And Learn:
Dethra U. Giles is an international consultant, best-selling author, and highly sought after keynote speaker. She is the founder of ExecuPrep, a global brand that provides coaching, leadership development, and performance improvement in the workplace. She has worked with multiple industries with hundreds of clients and thousands of leaders worldwide. She is the author of Unstuck: Discovering Career Limiting Actions and Breaking Good Habits and many other featured articles. Her books have greatly contributed to the success of many individuals and organizations in both problem solving and goal setting, and in helping to maximize and maintain personal achievement and productivity.
Listen And Learn:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EXECUPREP, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND DETHRA GILES ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
Robby, the founder of Sana Sano Consulting, is a high-performing transformation leader with experience driving change initiatives from startups to Fortune 100 companies. He has shepherded clients through re-orgs, technology implementations, talent evaluation, strategic planning, and multiple acquisitions. He believes in the power of real teams and is passionate about bringing people together to achieve more. He is an engaging, off-the-charts presenter and teacher, sought after in both organizations and at the university level. Robby's first book, Counter Mentor Leadership, which he co-authored with his father, teaches leaders how to be effective in the chaotic, four-generation workplace.
Listen And Learn:
Robert Galop is SVP, Product and Marketing, for IntelePeer, where he oversees product strategy and delivery to market of IntelePeer’s leading-edge communications products. His career has been focused on the high-tech industry, including roles in application development, project management, and product and marketing leadership. He drives delivery of successful products by focusing on customer value and end-user experience.
Listen And Learn: