Larry Kihlstadius / Kinetix HR 
Solutions Czar

Larry is responsible for the solution generation of new clients for Kinetix. Kinetix is the leader in recruiting driven by cutting edge recruitment marketing. Kinetix is at the forefront of developing talent once hired. Larry has led sales, consulted, and run P&Ls at several Global 1000 companies. He is a pioneer in the Human Resources Outsourcing market and developed the first Recruitment Process Outsourcing model to become commercially viable.

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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

Mark Fonseca / Pragmetrix
Co-Founder and Partner

Mark has over 20 years of experience in consultative sales, sales management and client relations. As a top producer at Lanier Business Products, he sold document management solutions to a range of businesses and was prolific at establishing long term relationships.

Mark consults one on one with the most successful CEO’s and Executives in Atlanta and has interviewed thousands of Executives and Business Professionals. He has experience in Sales, Sales Management and Sales Training Best Practice. Currently Mark is the owner of his own private men’s custom clothing and executive image consulting business. He has developed strong business relationships with heads of State, CEO’s, top-level executives and successful entrepreneurs, through one on one consulting and exceptional customer service.

As a Partner in Pragmetrix, Mark is responsible for Client Relations, Business Development and conducting Client Interviews.

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Mike McCarthy / Pragmetrix
Co-Founder and Partner

Mike McCarthy has been passionate about delivering exceptional customer service since he started his career in the 1980’s with GE Technical Services Company.   Eleven years on the front lines of mission critical, capital intensive projects at client sites  instilled in him a core belief that every business decision must first and last be looked at through the customer’s eyes.  Mike has since held senior leadership roles in GE and Siemens Corporation and is a veteran of business and operational excellence methodologies such as Voice of the Customer, Six Sigma and the Net Promoter System®.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, in 2004 Mike launched Pirtek Fluid Transfer Solutions in Atlanta. Today it’s the market leader in its industry in Georgia.  In 2011 Mike co-founded Pragmetrix to help small and medium size “B to B” businesses become the Loyalty Leaders in their industries, thus fueling their compound annual growth rate to more than twice that of the competitors.   Mike holds an honors degree in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Ireland and an MBA in Strategic Marketing from Trinity College Dublin.

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Joost Rutten / Liaison Technologies

Mr. Joost Rutten has been Chief Financial Officer at Liaison Technologies, Inc. since January 19, 2017. Prior to joining Liaison, Mr. Rutten held strategic leadership positions at several organizations including SAP SuccessFactors, a leader in the fast growing Human Capital Management (HCM) cloud space which generates more than $1 billion in subscription revenue on an annual basis. As Division Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for leading and managing the SAP SuccessFactors finance team and managing the Global SAP SuccessFactors P&L.

Mr. Rutten is the Co-Founder of Standard Tael BV. Joost worked in Corporate Banking, Investment Banking and Private Equity. Joost started his career at ABN AMRO bank as a management trainee, after which he joined ABN AMRO’s European Leveraged Finance team as an associate. In 2008, he joined the Secondary Investments Team of AlpInvest Partners in Amsterdam as an associate. AlpInvest is the world’s leading independent private equity fund of fund with over USD 50bn under management. At AlpInvest, he was responsible for executing secondary private equity transactions in Europe and the US, such as the acquisition of limited partnership interests and direct private equity portfolios. He served as Chief Financial Officer of a private equity backed start-up company in the US.

Joost holds a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University of Technology. He is also a CFA charter holder.

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Dwayne Hill / Ashton Woods

Dwayne Hill serves as Division President of Ashton Woods Atlanta. He is originally from North Carolina and moved to Georgia in 1978 where he graduated with a business degree from Georgia State University. Before finding Ashton Woods, Hill held division and corporate level positions at public and private builders. He began his career at Ashton Woods in 2010 as the Vice President of Sales, later to be named the National Vice President of Sales before becoming Division President of Ashton Woods Atlanta. Hill chose Ashton Woods because of the company’s land strategy and high level of personalization offered to homebuyers.

Outside of work, Dwayne enjoys spending time with his family, including three kids and two dogs. He also enjoys off-shore fishing and classic cars.

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Chris Butsch / The Millenial’s Guide to Making Happiness

Chris Butsch is Atlanta Business Radio’s “Millennial Correspondent.” Author of The Millennial’s Guide to Making Happiness, Chris educates other generations on how to decrypt and connect with his unique generation.

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Matt Thomas / Brawl For a Cause

Matt is a @GAfollowers event manager and writer, covering special events, technology, business, food and travel. An avid startup aficionado, Matt founded Brawl for a Cause, works on @Roadie’s pit crew, and can be found sweating at the Atlanta Tech Village ping pong table.

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