Ceridian Stored Value Solutions (SVS)
Clicktools
DBG
edō Interactive
Givex
IC Group
Kobie Marketing
SoundBite Communications
SVM
2012 EXHIBITORS
Acxiom
Affinion Loyalty Group
Aimia
Ceridian Stored Value Solutions (SVS)
Clicktools
Cvent
edō Interactive
Entertainment
FIS
Fiserv
Givex
Ifeelgoods
Loyalty Innovations
Maritz
MovieTickets.com
Points.com
Propco Marketing
RewardStream
SAP
SoundBite Communications
SVM
Tourico Holidays
TSYS
VeraCentra
2012 MEDIA PARTNERS
PYMNTS.com
The Nilson Report
Dave Resnick
Vice President Client Solutions - VeraCentra
Workshop: What’s Possible? What’s Meaningful? How to Turn Data into Actionable Customer Insight
Working with VeraCentra since 1996, David is Vice President of Strategic Partners and a senior consultant. Leveraging his extensive finance, banking, and high-level project management experience, David is responsible for driving VeraCentra’s sales organization, which includes building relationship and revenue opportunities via direct and indirect sales channels, alliances and partnerships. With more than 15 years’ experience in business development, David’s consultative approach underscores his commitment to providing VeraCentra prospects and clients with marketing automation solutions that yield maximum value.
Prior to joining VeraCentra, David was President of RHD Business Services, offering consulting services in executive development and coaching, sales strategies, recruitment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, web utilization and business modeling. Previously, David served as Vice President, Sales and Service at Gary D. Nelson Associates, where he was responsible for creating a new division where he grew revenues in excess of 20 percent and profits in excess of 40 percent per year.
David holds a B.S. in Statistics from the University of California Davis and attended the Competitive Strategies for Service Business program at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Connie Hill
President - VeraCentra
Workshop: What’s Possible? What’s Meaningful? How to Turn Data into Actionable Customer Insight
Connie Hill, President and Founder of VeraCentra, brings more than twenty five years experience delivering strategy and execution services to the marketing community. Ms. Hill’s passion for technology and process drives VeraCentra to innovate new platforms that help marketers manage the complexities of data driven, customer relevant programs and campaigns.
As President, Ms. Hill is responsible for charting VeraCentra’s long term strategic direction and driving daily business operations. Under Ms. Hill’s leadership the company has grown from a boot strap start up to a multi-million dollar industry leader, delivering on the promise of relevant communication, at a price today’s ROI-conscious marketers can afford.
Mike Romano
Senior Vice President - SoundBite Communications’ Mobile Services Business Unit
Workshop: Mobilizing Your Loyalty Program
Mike Romano is a Senior Vice President for SoundBite Communications’ Mobile Services Business Unit. He is responsible for identifying, developing and managing strategic partnerships for our mobile marketing efforts. Mike accelerates revenue and profitability by developing C-level relationships, building high-achieving sales teams and growing strategic partnership channels. Mike Romano is a contributor to the SoundBite Communications blog:
http://bit.ly/u03uIQ
http://bit.ly/rqHlik
http://bit.ly/qsFOGg
http://bit.ly/nl9lDa
Mike Romano’s recent article, “Three Keys to Harness Mobile Marketing and Drive Consumer Engagement” was recently published at CustomerThink.com: http://bit.ly/ttMkPq
Mike Romano’s speaking experience includes:
2010 Retail Marketing Conference
Speaker: Integration Mobile Marketing Into Your Multichannel Customer Strategy
Panelist: Email Creative Critiques
2009 Online Mobile Marketing Summit
Speaker: Mobile Marketing, Couponing, and Customer Loyalty
2007 Direct Marketing Association
Speaker: Mobile Strategies that Drive Channel Response
Phil Rubin
CEO & President - rDialogue
Workshop: Engagement Beyond Transactional Loyalty: The Next Step in Building Customer Relationships
Phil has nearly 20 years of strategic marketing experience with an emphasis on loyalty and relationship marketing, integrated communications, partnership development, promotions and program development.
He founded the loyalty practice at Loyaltyworks and led the spin-off in to rDialogue, where he was worked with clients including Sprint, Leading Hotels of the World, Kimpton Hotels, Caribou Coffee, Palm Restaurants, Merial and several famous companies that can’t be named publicly (e.g., a legendary customer-centric department store and a large global shipping company).
Mark Marinacci
Chief Revenue Officer - edō Interactive
Workshop: A Better Solution to Search? Driving Innovation & ROI in your Media Mix
Mark Marinacci serves as Chief Revenue Officer for edō Interactive, a leader in digital and mobile advertising solutions that leverage everyday payment networks to connect brands with consumers. Prior to joining edō, Mark served in a number of roles at Google, most recently as Head of Retail where he managed a team responsible for some of the company’s largest retail partners. Before Google, Mark worked for HotJobs.com, a recruitment advertising start up that was acquired by Yahoo! Mark earned a B.A. from Georgetown University and taught English in rural Africa for two years after graduation.
Leigh Thornberry
Vice-President, Loyalty & Consumer Engagement - IC Group
Workshop: The Power of Promotional Loyalty
Having juggled three children in diapers all at the same time, Leigh Thornberry is IC Group’s Vice-President of Loyalty & Consumer Engagement and resident mommy marketing expert. Leigh is a published children’s book author and has worked at Golden Books as a writer and then on the new product development team producing preschool toys. Leigh has also managed the development of Parenting and Kids' websites. Now, with over 15 years experience in Marketing to Moms, she leads the IC Group strategy team to develop targeted loyalty programs, eCRM programs, and promotions.
John Preckshot
Director of Member Benefits - Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA)
John Preckshot, RPh, CCN, FIACP, a graduate of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, is the former owner and pharmacist of Preckshot Professional Pharmacy in Peoria Heights, Ill. He now serves as Director of PCCA Member Benefits. John has received numerous honors and awards during his career, including: Central Illinois Pharmacist Association Pharmacist of the Year (1995); PCCA Compounding Pharmacist of the Year (2000); and the DuPont Pharmaceutical Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award (2001). He holds editorial board positions with both the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding (IJPC) and the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, and has been published in Drug Topics, Advance for Physicians Assistants, the Journal of the Illinois Pharmacists Association and IJPC.
Lizzie Dragon
Vice President of Marketing, Education and Member Relations - Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA)
Lizzie Dragon is PCCA's Vice President of Marketing, Education and Member Relations. In that capacity, she oversees the marketing of PCCA products and services, the educational offerings offered to its members, and the overall enhancement of the members’ experience through the Member Benefits program which she designed. Member Benefits is Lizzie's true passion as evidenced by her development of the Member Rewards and Growth Incentive Bonus program. Lizzie has been a prominent presence in the compounding world for the past 10 years. She is a graduate of Tulane University with a BA in communication.
Gerrit McGowan
Founder & CEO - KULA Causes
Gerrit is a passionate advocate for social responsibility, believing that giving can be a true market differentiator for brands that strive for a triple bottom line. Gerrit has a background in consulting for United Nations organizations, governments, Aboriginal communities, NGOs and the private sector in more than a dozen countries on four continents. Gerrit gave up his globetrotting consulting career to found KULA Causes in 2010; now he is a globetrotter in the service of raising awareness of KULA Causes and building partnerships with leading loyalty programs around the world.
Alexandra Best
VP Marketing - RewardStream
In addition to leading the Marketing efforts at RewardStream Alex wears a Product Marketing hat, and is most passionate about helping clients extend their loyalty technology – and thinking – into new realms including social, mobile, and word of mouth. Alex has more than 15 years’ B2B marketing experience, with a reputation for developing marketing programs that drive results. Before joining RewardStream she was a marketing consultant, working with many technology companies on a myriad of marketing initiatives. Prior to that, Alex led the North American Marketing organization for CRM industry veteran Pivotal, (now CDC Software).
Peter Duggan
Managing Director - BNY Mellon Shareowner Services Client Relationship Management
Session: Our Largest Client Just Fired Us - I Thought They Were Happy… What Happened?
Peter Duggan is head of Client Relationship & Business Management for Computerhare Shareowner Services and manages a team of 130 relationship managers and event managers in 12 cities throughout the US. The Relationship Management team is responsible for monitoring ongoing client satisfaction, ensuring that existing services meet or exceed the needs of clients, and developing innovative solutions that will further address the clients' changing needs.
Prior to assuming his current role, Peter served in various positions within the Shareowner Services business at BNY Mellon (recently acquired by Computershare) including acting as the business owner for Corporate Actions, executive sponsor for the implementation and ongoing relationship management of one of its largest clients, and heading up Relationship Management for Transfer Agency clients. In addition, Peter brings more than 20 years of experience in global securities processing, 10 of which had been with The Bank of New York Mellon’s shareowner services business, now Computershare.
Before joining our organization in 1999, Peter was the head of product management for Deutsche Bank's global Corporate Trust business, with staff in New York, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Hong Kong. While with Deutsche Bank, Peter also managed its Depositary Receipt business, as well as the U.S. staff of the International Corporate Trust division.
Peter graduated cum laude from Boston College with a B.S. in English and Mathematics. He received his MBA in Finance and International Business from the NYU Stern Business School. Peter is a member of NIRI, NASPP, The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and the Securities Transfer Association (STA).
Peter Duggan is a member of the board of Creative Heartwork based in Newark, NJ which uses art as therapy to help children and adults cope with traumatic life experiences.
Peter is a dual citizen of both the U.S and the Republic of Ireland.
Karen Posey
Senior Consultant - Geehan Group
Session: B2B-Focused Session: Achieving Customer Advocacy in the B2B World
Karen Posey is a Senior Consultant with an extensive background in executive engagement and facilitation, sales leadership, strategy, coaching, and the best practices that drive BEST (Better Engaged Selling Time).
At Geehan Group, Karen provides thought leadership and execution around helping clients achieve sustainable, predictable, profitable growth through Decision Maker Engagement initiatives (Customer Advisory Boards,Executive Summits and Executive Sponsor Programs) Market Driven Strategy and Internal Alignment.
Kim Hammond
National Director of Client Experience - Quality Technology Services
Session: B2B-Focused Session: Achieving Customer Advocacy in the B2B World
Kim Hammond has extensive experience and success in building and maintaining executive loyalty programs for companies in the dynamic technology space. Her rich background in facilitation, customer relations, adult learning, and process improvement has led companies to achieve greater loyalty and retention.
At QTS, Kim leads the charge of aligning the company’s business strategy of “Focusing on the Client Experience” to content rich executive engagement programs with clients and prospects. Through executing on programs such as QTS Advisory Board, Roundtables, and Summits along with building a strong internal cadence to follow through on client insight, QTS will achieve sustainable, predictable, profitable growth with their most important customers and align the QTS team.
Robert Passikoff
Ph.D., Founder and President - Brand Keys, Inc.
Session: How to Create Loyalty (and the Brands That Are Doing It Best)
Robert Passikoff, Brand Key’s founder and president, is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on engagement and loyalty. He has pioneered work in the area of loyalty and engagement, creating the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, the Brandweek Loyalty Leaders List, the Sports Fan Loyalty Indexâ, and the Women’s Wear Daily Fashion Brand Engagement Indexâ. His first best-selling book, Predicting Market Success, provided marketers with a 21st century perspective on predictive loyalty metrics, and his newest book The Certainty Principle: How to Guarantee Brand Profits in the Consumer Engagement Marketplace examines a predictive approach to Integrated Marketing ROI. In 2007 New York University’s communication school declared Dr. Passikoff “the most-quoted brand consultant in the United States.”
Amy Shea
EVP, Director of Global Brand Development - Brand Keys, Inc.
Session: How to Create Loyalty (and the Brands That Are Doing It Best)
Amy Shea, EVP Global Director of Brand Keys’ Brand Development, has worked with brands for over 20 years, translating research-based insights into effective communications. Her background spans every facet of communications, having led teams in aligning both internal & external communications with a brand’s identity. All this comes with experience in media and a deep background in marketing research. Her work has been recognized with IBM with the David Ogilvy Excellence Award, taking both the Grand Ogilvy and 1st in Category for the research conducted on IBM’s integrated campaign on infrastructure. Amy’s work with the AAAA/ARF Committee to Study Emotional Response in Advertising, Amy led the research and published her findings on what is considered the gold standard in branded entertainment: BMW online films.
A sought-after presenter, Amy brings a direct and creative perspective to the conference stage. She presents on brand development, communications, & differentiation in the US, Europe, and Asia. Her academic background includes an undergraduate degree earned by the University of New Hampshire, with joint studies at Harvard University.
Zain Raj
President and CEO - SolutionSet MediaWhiz Partnership
Session: Brand Rituals: How Successful Brands Bond with Customers for Life
Michael Grasso
Chief Marketing Officer - TXU Energy
Session: Brand Rituals: How Successful Brands Bond with Customers for Life
Michael Grasso is chief marketing officer of TXU Energy, a market-leading competitive retailer that provides electricity and related services to approximately 2 million residential and business customers. TXU Energy is a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp.
Grasso was recruited in 2009 to evolve the TXU Energy brand in the highly competitive Texas market and has focused on refining customer experiences, expanding into new channels including web, mobile and direct sales and leading product innovation for TXU Energy’s residential and business segments.
Prior to joining TXU Energy, Grasso was founder and principal of Heights Marketing, a brand strategy and marketing consultancy that worked with technology services companies and their agencies. Previously, he was senior vice president of brand management with USAA, leading all acquisition and member marketing across the insurance, banking, investment and member services business lines. In this role, Grasso led membership growth, increased the attach rate of services across the portfolio and the repositioning of USAA’s brand in the market.
Grasso started his career with AT&T (formerly SBC Communications,) where he spent 15 years working across a wide range of leadership roles. He led the national rollout and marketing for broadband DSL, DISH and DirecTV video partnerships, long distance calling services and numerous service packages. In addition, Grasso led national marketing and advertising for the residential business and the development of a music and movie sponsorship entertainment platform.
In his last role with AT&T, Grasso was responsible for building and launching AT&T U-verse, AT&T’s fully integrated TV, internet and voice service.
Grasso holds a Bachelor’s of Computer Science and Applied Statistics from St. Mary’s University. He is also a graduate of Washington University, where he earned a Master of Science degree in telecommunications management.
Doug Dwyre
President - Mocapay
Session: Driving Your Bottom Line with Mobile Loyalty, Marketing and More
Doug is a seasoned executive with 24 years of experience in the financial services industry delivering innovative payment solutions to issuers, merchants and consumers around the world.
Before joining Mocapay, Doug was at Voltage Security, a Bay Area enterprise software company, serving as the Payments Practice Executive, and also responsible for Global Business Development and Strategy. Doug also spent more than 13 years as an executive at First Data Corporation serving as SVP Global Business Development and GM to new lines of business related to prepaid and loyalty. Doug was also Chief Financial Officer at Wells Fargo Merchant Services and Bank One Payment Services (now Chase).
Doug has served on the board of the National Branded Prepaid Card Association and is an active member of the ETA Strategic Leadership Forum and holds a business degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Michael Lynch
Director of Loyalty Marketing and Market Research - Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Session: Driving Your Bottom Line with Mobile Loyalty, Marketing and More
Michael Lynch, is the Director of Loyalty Marketing and Market Research at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. In his role, he is responsible for all direct marketing efforts including; strategy, teleservices, Frequent Diner loyalty club, email marketing, website, and operational customer relationship management. Michael is also responsible for research and market survey analysis.
With a career as diverse as loyalty itself, Michael comes from years in both the gaming and hospitality industries. While still in high school, Michael started his career as a chef at the Polynesian Hotel at Walt Disney World. Michael’s restaurant experience includes operations management positions with General Mills and Stouffers Restaurants. Michael moved from restaurants to hotel management positions with Trusthouse Forte, HFS, Holiday Inn, and Embassy Suites. During the 12 years prior to joining Lettuce Entertain You, Michael worked in the casino industry during the advent of the multi-property players’ card. Michael helped with the launch of the Total Rewards Card at Harrah’s Casinos and the Isle One Card at Isle of Capri Casinos before moving on to Trump Casinos in Palm Springs, CA and Gary, IN. Michael has held faculty positions at Louisiana State University, the University of Missouri, Indiana University-Northwest, and currently teaches Foodservice Management and Customer Relationship Management courses at DePaul University.
When Michael joined Lettuce Entertain You in 2006, he brought with him extensive experience in customer modeling, analysis, database marketing and segmentation. Since 1982, Michael has developed and executed highly successful database marketing initiatives through effective messaging, segmentation, and differentiation. He has recently developed the relational database that is at the center of the company’s ability to analyze customer information and behavior and to make critical marketing decisions.
Paul Gilliham
Director of Customer Marketing - Lithium
Session: From Likes to Loves: Sephora’s Social Evolution with Beauty Talk
Paul is the Director of Customer Marketing with Lithium Technologies and has over 15 years online experience working with high tech multinational enterprises. He spends his days working with leading practitioners on their community strategies, and running the Lithium customer community and blogging programs on the Lithosphere. He is a member of The Social Customer Blogger Advisory Board.
In another life, Paul was the European Press Officer for Panasonic/Technics Europe. Outside of work, Paul is a single digit golfer, avid tea drinker and has way too many guitars.
You can connect with him on Twitter (@bladefrog), LinkedIn as well as on Facebook.
Candace Sims
Community/Social Media Manager - Sephora
Session: From Likes to Loves: Sephora’s Social Evolution with Beauty Talk
As Community Manager for Sephora, Candace is responsible for community interaction, moderation and user acquisition with some of the company’s most engaged clients. Across Sephora’s BeautyTalk Community (community.sephora.com/beautyadvice) and their Facebook fan page, more than 2 million people ask the company and each other for advice and product recommendations, as well as sharing beauty tips and tricks.
Candace holds a BA in Psychology and French from Claremont McKenna College, and lives in the San Francisco bay area.
Richard Last
Lecturer in Digital Retail - University of North Texas
Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors - Shop.org
Founder - JCPenney.com (retired)
Richard E. Last is currently lecturing at the University of North Texas where he leads their new Digital Retail major, a unique program among U.S. Universities. Mr. Last has over 20 years of experience in Digital Retailing. Under Mr. Last’s leadership, JCPenney began selling merchandise via the Web in October 1994, the first Department Store online, and by 2005, the first $1Billion Apparel and Home Furnishings website. Prior to jcp.com, Mr. Last led various electronic retailing efforts for JCPenney including online services and interactive TV. He also led JCPenney’s international expansion of its catalog business in the 90’s in the UK, Japan, Mexico, and Chile. From 2007 through 2011, Mr. Last served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shop.org, the world’s leading membership community for digital retail. He continues to serve on the Shop.org Board.. Mr. Last is on the Board of Directors of Commercial Connect, LLC. He also serves on the Advisory Board of TagMan, the Advisory Board of The Abundant Closet LLC, and the Advisory Board of Invodo. He is on the Editorial Board of ROI Magazine (Retail Online Integration). He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation Foundation during from 2010 through 2011.
Al Montalvo
Director of New Sales and Emerging Channels - The Body Shop
Al Montalvo has been the Director of New Sales and Emerging Channels for The Body Shop since 2009. In this capacity he advanced the company’s vision of expanding The Body Shop brand beyond the 300 US retail boutiques. In the past three years, Al has successfully placed The Body Shop's naturally inspired products into more than 1,000 select retail locations in the US and has placed The Body Shop gift cards in more than 25,000 third party retail locations in the US and Canada.
Al has an innovative commercial background as a successful individual and corporate entrepreneur. He is responsible for the development of numerous multimillion dollar business channels that continue to operate today.
Al graduated from the Columbus College of Art & Design with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design.
Charles Wetzel
CEO - Buxton Analytics
Charles is the president and CEO of Buxton, the industry leader in customer analytics, advising more than 1,900 clients in the retail, healthcare, consumer packaged goods industries and the public sector on how to identify and market to their core base. Charles’ expertise in process analyses and strategic planning has enabled Buxton to align its resources and competencies with business goals, and meet the needs of its rapidly growing customer base. Charles was instrumental in creating a strategic partnership with Experian, a global information services company providing analytical and marketing services to organizations and consumers. Charles is responsible for Buxton’s entry into the healthcare space, working closely with the company’s relationship with Florida Hospital to create market planning and marketing solutions for this industry.
Prior to joining Buxton, Charles managed merger, business transformation and strategic advisory services at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Consulting for key players in the communications/media industry such as AOL, Time Warner, Associated Press, Sprint, Verizon and Southwestern Bell. Charles sits on the Customer Advisory Board for Alteryx, formerly SRC. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Southern Methodist University.
Jen Millard
CRO - Truaxis
Jen is recognized industry expert with 20 years of experience as a retail operations executive. She specializes in consumer and channel segmentation, and the convergence of technology and retail innovation that improves retail operations and the customer experience.
Prior to leading Truaxis’ sales effort with national and local merchants, she was the founder and managing partner of Retail Growth Partners LLC, a retail consulting practice focused on helping retailers and brands create long-term relationships with customers. She was also the Executive Vice President of New Business Development for ZoomSystems and has held executive positions at Bed Bath & Beyond, Brown Shoe Group, Sears, Saks Inc. and McMillan Doolittle LLP, a boutique retail firm in Chicago.
Jen studied finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a bachelors from Colby College. She serves on multiple retail and consumer products board of directors and also holds a seat on the Board of Governors to the University of North Texas Retail Merchandising School. She is a member of the National Retail Federation, International Council of shopping Centers (ICSC), Airport Council international (ACI), and was recognized by Chain Store Age as a ‘Rising Star – Top 40 under 40’ in 2007.
Mark Shipley
VP Loyalty - Sears Holdings
Session: Engaging Customers through Relevant Channels
John Kryczka
Session: Loyalty Program Optimization
John Kryczka is a Managing Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Actuarial Insurance Management Solutions Practice in Chicago. His clientele include some of the world's premier airline, credit card, and hospitality loyalty programs. His current role includes assisting clients with the quantification of the costs of its rewards program along with measuring the impact of future program changes. He has advised marketing managers on best practice strategies to optimize profitability using modelling techniques which identify predictors of profitable behaviour. John partners with the PwC Hospitality and PwC Banking practices to ensure alignment of actuarial processes and methodologies with applicable accounting principles.
Mr. Kryczka graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics from Queen's University. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).
Jonathan Kletzel
Session: Loyaly Program Optimization
Jonathan Kletzelis a Principal at PwC. He leads the U.S. Transportation and Logistics practice as well as PwC’s loyalty center of excellence. Jonathan brings 15 years experience helping clients to define customer related strategies, identify operational improvements, execute large transformational initiatives, and define technology/information strategies.
Jonathan’s functional expertise is in loyalty, CRM, marketing operations, eCommerce, and IT. He has extensive experience helping bridge the gap between business and technology leaders to develop innovative and actionable strategies which he then helps to execute. He also has strong transformational skills which he has demonstrated leading the Integration Management Office (IMO) for several multi-billion dollar mergers.
Jonathan’s industry experience spans several consumer facing sectors with a strong focus on travel where he has spent a large portion of the last 7 years helping major airlines, hospitality, and gaming clients with transformational initiatives.
Jay Loeffler
Session: Philosophy on Loyalty: Essential at the Confluence of Mobile, Hyperlocal and Daily Deals!
Jay Loeffler is the Director of Corporate Strategy for Cox Target Media and Valpak. Before coming to Valpak, Loeffler worked at both Wachovia Bank and Turner Broadcasting in both a sales and marketing capacity. He is completing his M.B.A in both Marketing and Economics in the fall of 2010, has a Certificate in Negotiation Essentials from the University of Notre Dame, and is a certified product manager through the AIPMM (Association of International Product Marketing and Management). Jay’s experience includes developing specific sales strategies for national clients such as DirecTV, Netflix, and AT&T; as well as global acquisition strategies for more than 52,000 local advertisers across a 180 market franchise network. This dichotomy of experience provides unique perspective on both local and national prospecting and sales behavior in an ever changing economic environment.
Bob Fetter
Session: Philosophy on Loyalty: Essential at the Confluence of Mobile, Hyperlocal and Daily Deals!
An insightful industry veteran, Bob Fetter is directly responsible for expanding Pluris' leadership position in media and communications, retail, and other key markets where optimizing marketing spend is becoming critical to consumer marketers. With more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations, Bob helps leading marketing organizations implement break through ideas.
Known for his innate ability to quickly identify opportunities for brands to better engage their audience to improve their sales and marketing results, Bob has helped design more than 150 multi-channel marketing programs for major business-to-consumer and business-to-business companies in catalog, retail, healthcare, media and financial services industries.
Barbara Porter
Session: The Spillover Effect – Driving Customer Loyalty through Employee Engagement
As VP of Customer Service and Business Development at Nicor National, Barbara Porter is responsible for a 250-agent Call Center that serves the warranty, energy management, and HVAC needs of the company’s customers. Under her leadership, the Call Center team has earned the JD Power Call Center Certification for 5 years in a row. Barbara is a frequent speaker at industry forums all across the country. She is an ardent believer in the positive impact that employee engagement can have on customer service, as well as the bottom line. She has published several articles for industry publications, including “Employee Engagement: Its Impact on Profitability and the Customer Experience.”
Dr. Gary Rhoads
Session: The Spillover Effect – Driving Customer Loyalty through Employee Engagement
Dr. Gary Rhoads is currently a professor of marketing at Brigham Young University and holds the Stephen Mack Covey Professorship awarded by the Center of Entrepreneurship. As an active researcher in entrepreneurial marketing strategy, Dr. Rhoads' work focuses on identifying marketing tactics that lead to start-up success. Rhoads has taught for universities and for corporations both in Europe and in the United States. He received a B.S. in Zoology with a minor emphasis in Chemistry, as well as an MBA from Idaho State University, and holds a PhD in Marketing from Texas Tech University. He was a founding partner of Direct1.com, a consulting firm for Fortune 500 companies. He is also a co-founder of Allegiance, Inc., a provider of Voice of Customer software and services, where he provides best practice consulting services as a loyalty expert.
Mu Hu
Director of Marketing & Strategic Planning - Golfsmith
Session: Do You Really Need a Loyalty Program?
Mu has more than 12 years experience in applying analytical solutions to customer management problems. As Director of CRM, he leads advanced analytics functions at Golfsmith where he is responsible for developing and implementing CRM strategies and loyalty programs. Prior to joining Golfsmith, Mu was the manager of database marketing at Zale Corporation. Mu holds a Master degree in Business Administration from Texas Christian University (TCU), and a BA in Journalism from Fudan University.
Chris Miller
Session: Do You Really Need a Loyalty Program?
Through the course of his 18 year marketing career, Chris’ roles have spanned many marketing areas.
From professional consulting marketing and business development with Arthur Andersen & Co., to providing strategic lead management services, with Harte Hanks/SMI, he has held a wide array of positions in the marketing field. During his 14 year tenure at Golfsmith, Chris has held progressive responsibility in roles that include ad production and design, visual merchandising, building grassroots partnerships, media strategy and buying, and budgetary oversight for the entire marketing department. Chris has been integrally involved in Golfsmith’s direct marketing efforts including guest acquisition, retention and ongoing guest communication strategies including loyalty.
Chris is an integral member of the trichannel marketing team responsible for driving more than $325 million in sales across a true multichannel platform that includes more than 75 nationwide retail outlets, award-winning websites and industry-leading catalog titles.
Chris graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing/Advertising.