Join 200 Peachtree for an evening of live entertainment, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres, and networking with some of the brightest stars in Atlanta’s small business community! September’s event happens on Thursday the 20th from 6pm-8pm. Click the link to register! http://200-office.eventbrite.com/
PJ Bain, Chief Executive Officer | PrimeRevenue, Inc.PJ received his Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a walk-on member of the varsity football team and was an active member and held leadership roles in Sigma Nu Fraternity and other campus organizations and societies. PJ is actively involved with several charities in the Atlanta area, as well as his church, Roswell United Methodist Church. Outside of work PJ enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities with his family, including golf, snow skiing, bicycling, boating, hiking and many fitness and competitive sports. PJ is married to Susan Bain and has a 10 year old daughter Grace, and a 6 year old son Griffin.
Jared A. Poff, Vice President, Treasurer | Big Lots, Inc.Many organizations are still reeling from the aftermath of credit crisis. The tightened credit market has resulted in less supply of financing andfinancing costs that have been spiraling up. This has meant a decline in viable options for suppliers hoping to enhance cash flow to address workingcapital concerns. Tune in to learn how Big Lots Inc. uses PrimeRevenue SCF to support its global supplier community.
Poff oversees cash management, corporate debt and liquidity, capital markets activity, corporate and retirement investments, corporate and credit risk management, and administration of the company’s equity compensation programs, private label credit program, and vendor financing program.
He brings over a decade of experience and leadership to his role. Prior to joining Big Lots, he was director of finance and investments for Cardinal Health, the leading provider of products and services supporting the healthcare industry. He also held key finance and accounting positions with Abercrombie & Fitch and Senior C.A.R.E. Retirement Centers.
He holds an MBA from Franklin University and earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, specializing in finance and international business, from Bowling Green State University, both in Ohio. Poff is a member of the Association of Financial Professionals and served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Central Ohio Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Additionally, he has been an adjunct professor of corporate finance at Franklin University and a member of the Accounting and Finance Advisory Board for Ohio Dominican University. He has been personally interviewed for and extensively contributed to articles in CFO Magazine, AFP Exchange Magazine, CFO.com, APMatters, and was named one of the “100 Most Influential People In Finance” by Treasury and Risk Magazine.
| Renegade Radio host Andy Lowe is a highly experienced Mindset Coach, Triathlon Coach and Performance Expert for businesses, athletes and top performers. To learn more go to www.renegadeconcepts.com.
Harriett Hollis, Executive Director | Atlanta CEO CouncilHarriett’s background is in communications and strategy, having worked as a writer, editor and producer in television, marketing manager for hardware and software companies and consultant to public relations firms on client strategy and messaging. Harriett has been an active leader in numerous civic organizations focused on strategic planning.
Marty Mercer
Marty Mercer works with organizations that want to grow their sales with high-energy people delivering high-energy presentations.
Several years ago I entered a men’s clothing store for my annual “buy a bigger suit” event. I was great at increasing sales, but I had completely ignored my personal health and so became very good at increasing my weight as well. The salesman told me I needed a “Size 50 suit!” I was shocked, stunned. I knew I needed to change some things in my life.
And so I did! Let me help you and your teams before you wind up in the “Land of the Size 50 suit!” Over the last 20 years I have closed or managed the closing of over $130 million of sales to over 500 customers. From those experiences I have found the best sales processes and sales methodologies. I have discovered the best way to engage your audiences so that when you are done speaking to them, they are moved to action. And, finally, I have realized that yes, you can integrate a busy work schedule with a powerful personal fitness schedule.
My motto is “If I Can Do It, So Can You!” Let me show you how!
404-351-4946 (O) | 770-335-9263 (C)
marty.mercer@martymercer.com | www.martymercer.com
| Renegade Radio host Andy Lowe is a highly experienced Mindset Coach, Triathlon Coach and Performance Expert for businesses, athletes and top performers. To learn more go to www.renegadeconcepts.com.
Join co-hosts Micah Porter, Stone Payton and Lee Kantor on Fridays at 11am EST.
This week on Southern Hospitality, George McKerrow, Jr., CEO and co-founder of Ted’s Montana Grill joins Elizabeth and I in the studio to talk about the story behind Ted’s Montana Grill.
George talked about some of the trends in restaurants now, like “farm to table” and the idea that good restaurants have been doing that all along just without the buzz words. He also talked about the health benefits of bison (who knew it was better for you than salmon? Not me!!) And that women should really be eating more bison — high in anti-oxidants, omega 3’s, etc, etc… (again… who knew?)
When we talked about the manly decor at Ted’s Montana Grill, George said he very much wanted women to feel at home there and explained where the ideas behind the decor came from. I think we coined a new term when I suggested that it was better to have manly decor than “foofy-doofy-girly-whirly” decor. I mean, let’s face it, women will eat in a manly restaurant, or watch an action flick or a mixed-martial arts battle, but it’s much harder to convince a manly man to drink tea with his pinky out or watch a romantic movie, right?
So tune in for some laughs, find out where Ted hangs out, and learn more about this wonderfully innovative group of restaurants! (Paper straws… very cool).
— Dana Barrett
Co-Host, Southern Hospitality
PS – Elizabeth and I wandered over to the downtown location of Ted’s Montana Grill for lunch after the interview and I had my first ever bison burger… guilt free and very yummy!
How successful is your executive leadership in engaging employees and building a culture that elicits innovation and creativity? Do you have employees who seem to have left most of themselves at home but are very much present come pay day? And how fiscally fit is your business or company? Is it sound enough to achieve corporate visions and goals. What might a fiscal check up reveal? Is it possible to undergo a meaningful fiscal diagnosis that will generate a solid treatment plan and lead to an ongoing wellness procedure? And about employees? Is there a way to clearly to generate a “bring it on” attitude in management and employees in order to maintain innovation and creativity?
Today’s guests come with answers, ideas and insights.
Roger Blackstock is Founder and CEO of Peer Synergy Group an executive advisory firm focused on helping CEO’s and Executives in leading self, leading people, and leading culture. He retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of Colonel. He was a Green Beret and Jump Master. Roger is also an Atlanta region Chair for Vistage International, the global leader in the executive performance field and the world’s largest CEO membership organization.
Gary Patterson has more than 30 years of senior management experience and has provided high level strategic guidance for more than 200 companies — from start-ups to Fortune 500. — to provide high level strategic guidance and expertise. His company – FiscalDoctor™ – helps CEOs, board members, executive teams, and private equity investors and owners achieve fiscal health.
Today’s show is a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Special Edition highlighting their Small Business Capacity Building Series for entrepreneurs.
John R. Hill/Citizens Trust Bank
John Hill, Business Banking Relationship Manager & Portfolio Specialist with the Commercial Banking Division of Citizens Trust Bank, is a 1996 graduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (Finance concentration). He has more than 15 years in commercial banking experience and has held management roles for major banking firms such as Merrill Lynch, Wachovia and Lehman Brothers.
John is currently a commercial lender at Citizens Trust Bank (CTB) in Atlanta. CTB is one of the largest minority-owned banks in the country with close $400 million in assets.
Lee R. Jordan, CPA/Robins, Eskew, Smith & Jordan, CPA’s
Lee Jordan is a CPA and a Partner in the local accounting firm of Robins, Eskew, Smith & Jordan. His firm is a full service accounting firm here in Atlanta with 4 offices, 8 partners and 40 staff professionals. They specialize in meeting the needs of small businesses and individuals in the area of tax, accounting and consulting.
It is said that we as humans only use 10% of our brain, and my wife will tell you that in my case, that is being generous. But in this show we talk with two recognized thought leaders on the Brain and Whole Brain® Thinking, and how this approach may be able to help you access more of your Brain and how it is being used to enhance selling in today’s environment.
Tune -in to hear how you can help your sales organization keep from constantly playing catch-up in today’s shifting business environment, and rethink your approach to managing today’s complex sales challenges. Herrmann International’s CEO, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, and Vice President of Sales, Orin Salas, explore on this show, how the company’s Whole Brain® Thinking approach and Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) assessment are helping many of the world’s most successful organizations out think, outpace and outperform the competition.
Listen to hear:
To find out more on how to align your selling and sales management processes for flawless execution! Download a complimentary white paper, Achieving Higher Levels of Sales Performance, click here. In this piece you’ll learn more about using Whole Brain® Thinking techniques to ramp sales people up faster, grow top-line revenue, reduce the sales cycle time, and expand your competitive advantage.
Also please join these thought leaders for an Executive Briefing to find out how you can align your sales performance strategies with what lies at the root of the buying decision – thinking – to get better sales results in an increasingly competitive environment.
Click here for to register for this complimentary event on Oct. 18th.
Until next time, Happy Selling
Larry White/The Ritz Group
Larry White, President and CEO of The Ritz Group, tells his background story: “My father was a WW-II veteran who was a 1950 entrepreneur starting his own appliance store growing it to be one of the largest in the state. Part of the Greatest Generation – he worked non-stop. His vision was that I NOT follow in the family business….get a degree and work for a major corporation. I did that..working for Firestone Tire and Rubber, Served as an officer in the Army, IBM, Amdahl and Equifax.
My wife also worked for Majors in Retail (Neimans) and when we moved to Atlanta she couldn’t get a job and opened her own store. She was the first Entrepreneur in our family. She was the founder of Bonnie White women’s specialty stores in Park Place, Perimeter, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and 87 West Paces road. I was the bedroom CFO gainfully employed before turning my entrepreneurial hobby into a business. I launched multiple companies – some successful…some not and in each case found myself torn between running my company, running out of funds and then trying the impossible task of raising funds while my companies went to H___ in a hand basket.
Not sure I mastered the drill, but eventually I fell in love with both the Entrepreneurial business aspects and the fund raising. Now I am attacking the problem from the Fund Raising side.”
Dale Sizemore/FLIPSFilm
Dale Sizemore with Information System Integrators, Inc. (FLIPSFilm) has had a long career in high technology, selling and deploying “first to market” applications and projects. The common denominator has been “getting information from multiple places and in the form they need into the hands of people so they can make timely, important business decisions”. Dale discovered his 30+ years in high technology sales, marketing and executive leadership was about to open the door for a new chapter in his life.
After his last employer was acquired, Dale took the entrepreneurial route and had his “AHA” moment December 8, 2010 while reading an article about how challenging it was for communities to facilitate filming and TV production in their communities. After a deep dive into the issue, Dale said “I can fix this problem” and FLIPSFilm was born.
Christian Kotscher/MetroTech Net, Inc.
Christian Kotscher with MetroTech Net started his career as an assistant financial controller in Frankfurt Germany after graduating from the University of Iowa with a double major in Finance and International Business. After three years in Europe and another in Florida, he and his wife Micki settled in the Atlanta metro in 1995 where they are raising their three girls. During a stint at MetLife, Christian moved into the IT field when he developed an accounting application for large financial systems. After that he joined GE Capital ITS, where he focused on custom application development and project management.
Christian’s first company was an IT development practice that he sold to Romac International/ kforce Consulting. In 2001 Christian joined IBM where he held national and international positions in mobile and wireless computing. It was there that he developed his passion for the Intelligent Transportation Systems Industry (ITS). Christian left IBM in 2007 to develop a video sensor system that would provide real time traffic information for use across many ITS areas. They have deployed their video analytics in California at 100 intersections and are working in other regions on emerging deployments. MetroTech is looking forward to providing you better traffic information for your daily commute and to give you more quality time for the important things in life.
