Transformational Women

Transformational Women Highlights Karen See, Susan O'Dwyer and Mary Barton

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Do you know how to grow your business in these tough times? If you’re wanting to start a business, what are the critical traits required to be an entrepreneur? Hear from powerful business developers who know how to Pitch Like A Girl and win!

Karen See is co-founder of two companies: Abovo Partners, an opportunity catalyst consulting firm specializing in fund-raising and sponsor/member strategy for not-for-profits, trade associations, political and educational organizations. With her partner, based in Washington, D.C., they have worked for such organizations as the Smithsonian Institute’s National Zoological Park, National Institute of Health, AARP, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, the National Commission on Orthotics & Prosthetics Eduction, Merrill Lynch, and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

ClarityClose, is a strategic win consulting firm for business-to-business enterprises who have complex selling environments. Working with executive teams, the firm focuses on ensuring successful “sales closings” by conducting win/loss performance audits and analysis, “deal-based” strategic planning, competitive differentiator messaging, and sales material asset packaging. ClarityClose clients include Skanska, Datex Corporation, Carefx, North Highland Group, Prenova, and ThanksAgain.

Prior to starting ClarityClose, Karen was CEO of Abovo Group for over 11 years. Abovo Group, a marketing and branding firm reached $15 million in service fees and 70 employees within its first three years, earning the company a spot as the 7th fastest-growing, privately-held company and 4th fastest-growing, female-owned business in Atlanta. Karen’s corporate positions include serving as Sr. Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for HOK, Southeast Area Director of Marketing for KPMG, Director of Marketing Communications for First Data Corporation’s Health Systems Division, and as a sales representative for Xerox Corporation.

Karen has served on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards, (including  three years as a member of the WIT board). She holds bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Kansas State University.

Susan O’Dwyer is responsible for driving business development across the various sectors that her firm Habif, Arogeti &Wynne, LLC serves. She has over 30 years of experience with professional services firms, specifically in the high technology industry, in both Silicon Valley and Atlanta. Previously, she served as the National Director of Venture Capital Research for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ MoneyTree (a quarterly survey of over 1,000 venture capitalists that measured venture capital activity) throughout the country, including benchmarking work with various constituencies: venture capital investors, C-level executives of technology start-ups, governmental economic development units, universities, and the media. She was responsible for designing and managing all industry-focused, firm-sponsored events, including a major fund-raising effort for Tech High (Atlanta charter school), alumni relations and the “AJC Top 100” program. She also served, for 15 years, as the Program Director for the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia. She represents HA&W in the community and performs liaison work with industry trade associations.

Susan received her BA degree from Fresno State University in Journalism. She is a Board Member of B&TA (Business & Technology Alliance), ICAPP (University System of Georgia’s economic development program), and GIFT (Georgia Industrial Fellowships for Teachers, a program of Georgia Institute of Technology). In addition, she is on the Executive Committee of the CEO High Tech Council and the chairperson of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Marketing Committee’s Venture Capital Program. She serves on the National Council for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and was a mentor for the 2011 Ambassadors class at High Tech Ministries. In addition she is on the Board of Advisors for InVasc Therapeutics, an Atlanta-based drug development company. She serves as President of the Georgia Alumni Chapter for Fresno State University. Susan is also a lifetime member of Sigma Delta Chi and Phi Kappa Phi.

In addition to her work, Susan is the proud mom of her kids including James O’Dwyer who was recently recognized by Nickolodeon TV in the work he did marshalling resources when Alabama was hit with tornadoes in April 2011. His work was followed by Taylor Swift who declared him her “hero”. More about this here. http://www.teennick.com/videos/clip/teennick-halo-awards-2011-hero-spot-taylor-swift.html

Mary Barton has been collaborating to reach marketing goals with clients for almost three decades. Her marketing communications expertise has expanded as the number of channels available to marketers grew. Today, she is expert at integrated marketing, lead generation, lead nurturing and getting the attention of C-level decision-makers. She has worked with an impressive list of clients in many industries including:

• Manhattan Associates, a recognized leader in supply chain software.
• Fiserv, a multi-billion dollar financial leader.
• Porsche North America, one of the finest luxury automobiles in the world.
• Motorola, an innovator in smartphone technology and more.
• Coca-Cola, consistently lauded as one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Mary occupies a unique position, because she has run her own successful business plus she has worked in the corporate world. Currently, she is a Senior Account Executive at Standard Press. Mary chose to come on-board at this long-time leader in print because they are an innovative company committed to providing customers with strategic thinking, flawless execution and a superior customer experience. At Standard Press, Mary is able to leverage her knowledge about marketing and print to create campaigns that get results.

Prior to her position at Standard Press, Mary was CEO of Mary Barton Productions. She grew the company from the start-up phase with $0.00 sales to a thriving business that employed 12 people and had over $3.5 million in billings.  In 2006, Mary merged her business into a $55 million dollar company. After it experienced an unexpected economic event, she came to Standard Press.

Over the years, Mary has given back to the community in many ways. She has served on the board for the Business Marketing Association, and also chaired the print committee for Share Our Strength, an organization committed to overcoming hunger. She’s also been involved in Women in Technology, the Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia and High Tech Ministries.

Mary’s personal philosophy about client and personal relations has served her well over the years. She believes you should surround yourself with the best people, operate with integrity in the client’s best interests and be passionate about what you do. Mary believes that what you give will come back, so give to the fullest extent.