Heather is the widely acclaimed speaker, trainer, and consultant who literally wrote the book on search engine marketing. Two books, in fact—The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing and the brand new Thumbonomics: The Essential Business Roadmap for Social Media & Mobile Marketing. Her writing and in-demand keynotes are delivered with the same witty, "no-geek-speak" style that has managed to demystify internet marketing for countless business owners. Breaking free of corporate "cubicle" jobs over ten years ago with nothing more than a dream of entrepreneurship and a computer in the basement, Heather built her business into a multimillion dollar company—the Findability Group. Today she leads a dedicated and slightly obsessed team of search marketing pros—their mission—to connect clients with their perfect customers online.
Traci L. Brown, is a persuasion expert and Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistics, Hypnosis and Huna. Ms. Brown is a 3X US National Collegiate Cycling Champion and former member of Team USA. Through sports, she learned that peak performance in any arena requires emotional balance, mental clarity & focus. For ten years, she has dedicated her career to assisting athletes, businesses, teams & individuals in achieving desired goals and enhancing performance by turning to the power within.
Lynne earned her Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Cal State University Long Beach and began her hospitality career in the hotel industry. She worked her way up through the ranks and eventually became the youngest General Manager of a hotel at the time in Beverly Hills, California. Lynne then moved into the Private Club Industry with ClubCorp, Inc. and held the positions of Vice President, Private Events and Vice President, Membership and Sales. She has 21 years of private club experience.
Lynne joined the team at Beverly Clark Hospitality Training in June, 2007 as the Sr. Vice President, Business Development and Education. In 2011, Lynne founded and is the Executive Director of the Association of Club Catering Professionals. It is the first association dedicated to education for catering professionals in the private club industry.
Lynne has written for industry publications including Boardroom Magazine, Catering Magazine, and Activate e-newsletter and publishes a monthly newsletter with a following of 26,000 industry professionals. She is a nationally recognized speaker and has trained people around the world in the art of catering and golf tournament sales. Lynne has an absolute passion for what she does and for helping the people that she works with to perform at their maximum level.
President
Pipeline Golf Marketing | Pipeline 360
Shannon is President of Pipeline Golf Marketing, a firm specializing in sales and marketing outsourcing, mentoring and training for the golf industry. She is also President of Pipeline 360, a company that provides unique sales software specifically designed for golf courses and private clubs, and is powered by the Salesforce.com CRM platform.
Shannon began her career in the hospitality industry where she directed the catering sales efforts for Northwest Hospitality Group. Three years later, Shannon shifted her career path towards the golf industry where she took on a Regional Sales Management role at American Golf Corporation. She quickly moved up the ranks of the sales and marketing organization and capitalized on every opportunity to learn more about the business of golf, including serving as General Manager of Persimmon Country Club in Portland, Oregon.
Her career at American Golf ultimately culminated in her oversight of one of the largest sales organizations in the golf industry. She successfully led the company's sales efforts and was responsible for upwards of $200 million in sales revenue and over 300 catering, tournament and membership sales team members. During this time, she successfully created a professional sales culture through the development of sales and service standards, innovative tools, training and employee recognition programs.
She attended Oregon State University where she studied Business and Hospitality Management, and has served on the Board of Directors for Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI).
Founder and President
Dionco Inc.
James Dion (Jim), founder and president of Chicago-based Dionco Inc., is an internationally known Retail Speaker & Trainer, Retail Consultant, and the Author of the best-sellers Retail Selling Ain't Brain Surgery, It's Twice As Hard, Start and Run a Retail Business and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Retail Store.
Jim consults, trains and speaks on consumer trends, retail technology, selling and service, retail merchandising and operations, marketing and leadership.
With a BS, MS degree in Psychology from Chicago State University and a Ph.D. (abd) in Industrial Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology combined with over 30 years of progressive retail experience working at Sears, Levi Strauss and Gilmore Department Stores, Jim is one of the most sought after Retail Consultants and Retail Speakers in the US and internationally.
As a Retail Consultant, he has helped hundreds of retailers large and small successfully reposition their retail business, including Ritz-Carlton, Harley-Davidson, Hummer, Poster Plus, The Hat Shack, and Potomac ABC to name a few.
A PC expert and a Microsoft Developer, Jim has conducted major retail system and POS installs at retailers nationwide. He also studies and evaluates new retail POS, EDI, merchandising systems and relationship marketing software. He has been a judge for the Microsoft© Retail Developer Awards as well as for CIO Magazine Top 100.
As a Retail Speaker, Jim has delivered hundreds of keynote speeches, seminars and workshops for some of the largest companies in the US and internationally. Companies like Microsoft, Maytag, Vestel (Turkey), IBM, Honey-Baked Ham, Williams-Sonoma, ASICS, JDA, Swarovski, Macy's and others have all benefited from Jim's insights on retail selling, merchandising, technology, and consumer trends. Jim is also a frequent Retail Speaker for leading associations, including the National Retail Federation, the Association of Golf Merchandisers, Narta (Australia), the National Shoe Retailers Association, the National Sporting Goods Association and many others. He is a faculty member in the MBA program at Harley-Davidson University and works with Harley-Davidson dealers around the world.
Jim is consistently ranked at the top for his insights and practical advice. He has also appeared on NBC, Fox News, First Business and CNN US and Turkey.
Area Manager
U.S. Small Business Administration
North Florida District Office
Ed Ramos is the area manager for the U.S. Small Business Administration assigned to the Orlando alternate worksite. He is responsible for the following:
Marketing to lending institutions, economic development organizations (State, local and county governments; chambers of commerce and trade associations; Colleges and Universities) and other organizations
Outreach to clients interested in SBA services (counseling, orientation, and/or other specialized assistance)
Training, marketing and outreach to SBA resource partners in Central Florida (SCORE, SBDC, WBC)
Portfolio management of section 8(a) Business Development program companies
Assistance in activities related to the SBA Disaster program
Collaboration with other Federal agencies in activities impacting small and medium sized businesses
Ed is a graduate of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (1982) where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree (magna cum laude) with concentrations in Biology, Mathematics and Aerospace Science. He also graduated from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps with a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force where he served as a Communications Staff Officer until 1995. He completed a master's degree in public administration from the Madrid, Spain campus of Troy State University, and has attended numerous courses in leadership, management and administration with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mr. Ramos is also a board member of the U.S. Selective Service representing Orange County, Florida.
Adam Berg is the Senior Vice President of Membership and New Business Development for the International Licensing Merchandisers' Association. Although delighted to have joined LIMA just recently in this capacity, he has been affiliated with, and active in, the organization throughout his Licensing career and was elected to its Board of Directors where he served from 1997 to 2000.
He is a Licensing Industry veteran with 25 years experience as a licensing agent working for leading industry firms Hamilton Projects and Equity Management Inc. As an agent, Mr. Berg worked on behalf of many corporate and media brands including Coca-Cola, General Motors, Jack Daniels, Hanna-Barbera, and The United States Postal Service in categories as varied and diverse as electronics, video games, housewares, and toys. During this tenure he was responsible for substantial licensing activities on an international basis, having established major licensing businesses in the European Union, Japan, Hong Kong and China.
A native of New York City, Mr. Berg holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in Montreal and a Masters of Business of Administration from Fordham University. He is an avid skier, fencer, golfer and model railroad enthusiast. He lives in Wayne, New Jersey with his wife Diane and their three sons.