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Midtown Alliance and Blue Goblin

October 20, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Midtown Alliance and Blue Goblin

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Midtown Alliance and Blue Goblin

I hosted Shannon Powell and Ben Hirokawa of Midtown Alliance and Blue Goblin, respectively. Shannon Powell is the COO for Midtown Alliance and Ben Hirokawa is founder and President of Blue Goblin, a plastic foam recycling company.

Created in 1978, Midtown Alliance has been a significant force in the revitalization of Midtown Atlanta, a district that runs from ~Pine St. on the south end to the Peachtree Bridge over I-75 entering Buckhead on the north end, and east-west from I-75 to ~Piedmont Ave.

Midtown Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization and consists of a coalition of local business and community leaders. Each member is committed to establishing Midtown as a leading destination for commerce, culture, education and living.

Midtown Alliance is led by a 71-member board of the district’s leading private sector executives and their mission is to improve and sustain the quality of life for those who live, work and play in this thriving business and residential district. The Alliance fulfills is mission through a comprehensive approach to planning and development, including numerous initiatives to enhance public safety, improve the physical environment, and strengthen the urban amenities giving the area its distinctive character.

Guided by a visionary master plan – Blueprint Midtown – and in partnership with the Midtown Improvement District, Midtown has become a national model for urban excellence.

Ben Hirokawa has been a leader in three different start-ups, including a recent one in South Carolina focused on recycling a variety of household appliances. That enterprise developed technology that would allow them to dispense with the noxious coolant materials and associated fumes/gases safely, allowing them to reclaim the metals and plastics.

Founded in 2014, Blue Goblin is an innovative, environmentally-sound solution for disposal of plastic foams. These versatile foams – found in products ranging from commercial roofing and wall insulation, to refrigerated transport units, to mattresses and other furniture, to many types of packaging – pose significant challenges at end-of-life: they are bulky and difficult to transport and compact, and they can emit significant greenhouse gasses.

Both the U.S. EPA and the California Air Resources Board have recognized emissions from PUR, XPS, and ISO foams

as significant environmental challenges, but currently virtually all of these foams are landfilled. Blue Goblin offers a solution:

• Mobile Service: Blue Goblin brings its processing unit directly to its customers, and begins the process of compacting and recycling these foams on-site, significantly reducing transportation and waste disposal costs

• Environmental Responsibility: Greenhouse gasses are captured and properly disposed

• Convenience and Customer Service: Blue Goblin works with each customer to define the scope of the job and maximize convenience and value

Special Guests:

Shannon Powell, COO, of Midtown Alliance

BA, Urban Studies/Affairs, College of Charlston
Master of City Planning, City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology

Ben Hirokawa, President/founder of Blue Goblin

ME, Engineering Management, Dartmouth College-Thayer School of Engineering
Former President/CEO, Reclaim
Co-founder/Previous VP of New Business Development, MicroPore Plastics

Chamber Roundtable Radio Show! Spotlighting Presidents and CEO’s From 18 Chambers of Commerce – Buckhead Business Radio

July 1, 2015 by angishields

“Chamber Roundtable Radio Show”

Spotlighting Presidents and CEO’s From 18 Chambers of Commerce

Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce

Hans Appen, President & CEO

Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce

Casey Dudek, President & CEO

Buckhead Coalition

Sam Massell, President

Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce

Pamela Carnes, President & CEO

Cobb Chamber of Commerce

David Connell,President & CEO

Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

James McCoy, President & CEO

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce

Katerina Taylor, Interim President

Douglas County Chamber of Commerce

Kali Boatright, President & CEO

Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce

Beth Summers, Executive Director

Georgia Chamber

Chris Clark, President & CEO

Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce

Brandon Beach, President & CEO

Henry County Chamber of Commerce

David Gill, President & CEO

Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce

John Bemont, President

Metro Atlanta Chamber

Hala Moddelmog, President & CEO

Midtown Alliance

Kevin Green,President & CEO

Paulding Chamber of Commerce

Carolyn Wright, President & CEO

Sandy Springs Chamber of Commerce

Tom Mahaffey, President & CEO

South Fulton Chamber of Commerce

Dyan Matthews, President & CEO

Stay tuned for upcoming show schedules etc.

ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

November 19, 2014 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

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ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

This week I got to sit down with another pair of movers and shakers in the technology and payment processing/ merchant services space in Atlanta. William Mills of William Mills Agency introduced us to Ronald Herman, founder of Sionic Mobile. We talked about the cool app the company has developed that gives merchants an elegant way to incentivize their customers to keep coming back to patronize their business. The Loyalty app is designed in such a way that as customers spend money they earn “ions” they can then redeem at any participating merchant. I also spoke with Terri Dennison, Georgia District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) about the upcoming Small Business Saturday and Small Business Saturday Night this coming November 29th.

The William Mills Agency has been in the Atlanta area for over 35 years, providing a suite of PR services, with a heavy focus on the financial services/payment processing technology sector. The company provides public relations, crisis management, brand awareness/marketing strategy, and content marketing. The William Mills Agency leadership team is heavily involved in the TAG FinTech Society. FinTech is a group of professionals representing a broad range of financial technologies as well as a variety of roles within the industry, including executive management, solution specialists, sales and marketing, industry entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. William has worked with 500-600+ innovative technology companies. Even so, he was particularly intrigued by the model put forth by Ron Herman and his team at Sionic Mobile; so much so he became a member of the advisory board for the company.

Midtown Atlanta-based Sionic Mobile markets to smartphone consumers and rewards them for every mobile checkout. The mCommerce company utilizes mobile devices, Bluetooth^® beacons and the cloud to connect merchants with nearby, ready-to-spend consumers. The company is the maker and provider of ION — the first, fully digital mobile promotions, gift cards, payments and rewards apps for phones and tablets. Merchants use ION Loyalty^® to increase traffic, sales & margins, reduce credit card fees and get good customers back more often. Users of the ION Consumers use ION Rewards^® to earn IONs at every checkout, then spend them like cash on anything at any time at nearly 40,000 retail locations nationwide. The free apps support iOS and most Android devices.

The Small Business Administration provides a host of services designed to enhance the likelihood of success for small businesses in the US. Their overarching goal is to increase available jobs through helping small businesses (who make up >50% of US business commerce) grow. I got to speak with Terri Dennison of the Small Business Administration about their initiative to support small businesses through the Small Business Saturday campaign, aimed at encouraging US consumers to include local small business retailers in their holiday shopping. SBA encourages America to support local economies shopping small on November 29^th. At the SBA, they know small businesses are vital to the growth and prosperity of the American economy. Since the recession, small businesses have created two out of three new private sector jobs… these firms are largely responsible for America’s 10.3 million new jobs that have led to 56 straight months of job growth. Accelerating our recovery means creating the right environment and implementing the best policies for small businesses to thrive. The entrepreneurs the SBA works with face many challenges, but among the greatest is getting new customers in the door. That’s why the SBA is proud to be part of Small Business Saturday – it’s a perfect time to promote your business and find new customers. On November 29^th, millions of consumers across the country will participate in Small Business Saturday. More than 70 percent of Americans are now aware that two days after Thanksgiving is a day devoted to shopping small. Last year, nearly half of all consumers who knew about Small Business Saturday…. acted on it … spending an estimated $5.7 billion dollars at local merchants across the nation. So we want to continue this momentum… And we’re asking you to help us promote the message that Small Business Saturday is day when buying gifts for the people we love … supports jobs and prosperity in the communities we call home.

We all have a stake in seeing foot traffic increase on Main Street. We want to encourage shoppers to seek out unique, handmade gifts they won’t find at a big-box retailer. And we want to see Internet traffic spike, too, with purchases of “gifts to ship” – and gift certificates from restaurants and service providers. Everyone can spread the word about Small Business Saturday by recommending their favorite local shops and restaurants via Facebook and Twitter. The SBA is helping to spearhead an effort this Nov. 29 to extend the hours, so to speak, by promoting Small Business Saturday Night. We know many of our small businesses are local restaurants and food purveyors…After a busy day of shopping, we want to encourage consumers to patronize their local small business restaurants and favorite watering holes. The SBA is partnering this year with the National Restaurant Association to encourage families who are shopping small to “dine small” at local restaurants Saturday night. Additionally, we’re encouraging small business merchants to extend their hours so they can take advantage increased nighttime foot traffic on Small Business Saturday Night. So I hope we can create some synergy in this effort to keep Small Business Saturday going when the sun goes down. To help in your preparations, I want to direct you to sba.gov/SmallBusinessSaturday where we have holiday marketing tips, ideas and materials … even for entrepreneurs on a limited budget. And use our hashtags on Twitter: #SmallBizSaturday for Small Business Saturday and #DineSmall for Small Business Saturday Night.

Special Guests:

William Mills, Owner of William Mills Agency

BA Communications, Florida State University
Member, Executive Committee of Florida State University College of Communications & Information’s Advisory board
Has been quoted as an expert for Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Entrepreneur
Contributor for numerous publications

Ron Herman, CEO of SionicMobile

Founder and Former CEO, Urban Informatics Corporation
>19 years of Executive Leadership roles in Technology Start-up to Fortune 500 Companies
Former CEO, Intellione Technologies

Terri Dennsion, District Director, US Small Business Administration Georgia District Office

Former Deputy District Director, US Small Business Administration Indiana District Office
MA Urban Studies, Trinity University
Recipient: Atlanta Business League 100 Most Influential Black Women, 2006-2008
Atlanta Business Chronicle 100 Top Professionals in Banking and Finance, 2007-2011

Gordon Rogers with Edevate, Kevin Green with Midtown Alliance, Karen Kelly with The Childrens Museum of Atlanta and Cherie Fuzzell with Parkmobile USA

November 12, 2013 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Gordon Rogers with Edevate, Kevin Green with Midtown Alliance, Karen Kelly with The Childrens Museum of Atlanta and Cherie Fuzzell with Parkmobile USA

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Gordon Rogers/Edevate

Gordon is a 25 year veteran of start-ups in the field of digital education and learning management, having founded an e-learning software company (Meliora Systems) in 1988. He took the start-up from the bootstrapped stage to an IPO in 1998, through a merger with Paul Allen’s company, Asymetrix Learning, now part of SumTotal Systems, a leading LMS provider. He has spent the last decade working with early stage ventures in the ed-tech sector, including both K-12 and higher-ed markets, as well as start-ups developing innovative offerings in the digital publishing, virtual worlds/MMO games for kids, and mobile learning areas.

He is co-founder and President of Edevate, which creates and operates innovative platforms that facilitate the origination, curation, promotion and credentialing of highly effective outcome-based online education and training programs.

He also mentors at Georgia Tech’s ATDC and Flashpoint programs as well as Managing Director of Vernon Bridge Ventures, an early stage capital/advisory firm. He serves on the advisory boards of Excelegrade, Evirx, and Rapid LD. He is also Past President of Atlanta Technology Angels. He sits on the selection committees for Venture Atlanta and TAG Top 40. He also serves as a guest lecturer and business plan competition judge at Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory and University of Georgia business schools.

He has extensive experience as a non-profit board member (YMCA of Greater Atlanta, Interfaith Outreach Home, Teacher Support Network, The Lionheart School).

Blog: http://startupangel.wordpress.com/

Newsfeed https://www.rebelmouse.com/gordonrogers/

Gordon has a BA in Economics, and an MSc in Engineering Economics from the University of New Brunswick, and an MBA in International Finance from the University of British Columbia.

Kevin Green/Midtown Alliance

Kevin Green joined Midtown Alliance in July 2011. Kevin has been a resident of the City of Atlanta for 25 years and has been working for much of that time to advance livability and economic opportunity in the Atlanta region.

Kevin was previously Executive Director of The Clean Air Campaign, a Georgia non-profit working in partnership with transportation management associations and more than 2,000 public and private employers, schools and universities to implement programs to improve air quality and reduce traffic. Prior to that, Kevin was Vice President of Environmental Affairs with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, where he worked to implement initiatives to improve water resource stewardship, air quality, transportation and land use and development. During his tenure with the Chamber, Kevin managed public-private initiatives that resulted in the creation of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District – now managing water resources for a region of more than 5 million, and the Livable Communities Coalition – where more than 50 organizations work collaboratively to advance smart growth in metro Atlanta. Kevin also practiced law in Atlanta for 10 years, most recently as a partner with Andre, Blaustein & Green, LLP. His litigation experience includes state and federal trial and appellate courts across the Southeast.

Karen Kelly/The Children’s Museum of Atlanta

Karen Kelly discusses The Children’s Museum of Atlanta and its feature exhibit, Moneyville. Chelsea Peterson from PNC Financial Services Group and Robert Parker from Ford Motor Company discuss their role as official presenters for the exhibit, and explain why they support The Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s mission to spark imagination and inspire discovery and learning for all children through the power of play.

Karen has been at The Children’s Museum for six years. She launched the Connected Learning, Connected Communities Outreach Programming and organized a major exhibition, Under the Big Top: You’re the Ringmaster! Serving as the team leader for all exhibition, educational and artistic programming at The Museum, Karen works with advisory committees to enhance and strategize the museum’s programming with an emphasis on literacy.

Karen has served as the chair and founder of the Georgia Museum Educators and the chair for the Southeastern Education Committee. She has also served on the national board of the Education Committee for the American Association of Museums and the programming committee for the Southeastern Museums Conference. In 2000, she was awarded Georgia Museum Professional of the Year. She was also a part-time instructor in the graduate history program at Georgia State University from 2001-2011.

She currently serves on several community advisory groups as well as the Atlanta Partners for Education Board. She is also an active volunteer, both through her church, through her children’s schools and through her neighborhood association. She is married to an attorney and has two children, Claire (aged 14) and Adam (aged 12).

Chelsea Peterson/PNC Financial Services Group

Chelsea oversees grants and sponsorships for PNC in Georgia. She is also the local charitable financial manager. Her team leads the brand alignment during the conversion of RBC and Flagstar to PNC in this market, and she was also the lead on PNC “Grow Up Great” launch in Greater Atlanta; A $1.2MM early education initiative. Chelsea was a key member in transitioning the National City conversion to PNC in Detroit in 2010.

She has a degree from Western Michigan University in Finance and Commercial Law, and she currently resides in West Midtown with her husband, Kent Peterson (and triplet boys on the way!).

Robert Parker/Ford Motor Company

Robert Parker is currently the general manager, southeast market area Ford Motor Company. Named to this position in December 2011, Parker oversees the sales and marketing teams responsible for selling and servicing the Ford and Lincoln brands in the Southeast Market Area.

Prior to joining Ford, Parker earned a bachelor degree from the Northern Arizona University. He started his career with Ford in 1989 and held a variety of positions in the Ford Customer Service Division before joining the Product Marketing group in Germany as the Mondeo Product Marketing Manager in 1998. After launching the Mondeo in 2000, Parker moved to the U.S. where he spent three years in Advanced Product Strategy followed by a year as the large car product marketing manager. In 2006 Parker assumed the role of car marketing manager responsible for collaborating with the Ford North American team to market Ford cars and crossovers. During his tenure, Parker worked on the launch teams of products like the Ford Fusion, Mustang Shelby GT, Shelby GT500 and Shelby GT500KR. In 2008 Parker was named the director of product communications where he was responsible for launching new products and technology for the Ford and Lincoln brands to the media. In 2010 he became group marketing manager leading the consumer and product marketing teams on the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Escape product lines.

Parker is a life-long car enthusiast who enjoys buying and selling classic Ford products from the 60’s and 70’s. He has owned and restored several Mustangs and Broncos and devotes his spare time to tracking down new projects. Robert is a member of the board of World Missionary Press and Northern Arizona University’s Franke School of Business. Robert and his wife Terri have three children and live in Milton, Georgia.

Cherie Fuzzell/Parkmobile USA

Parkmobile is the leading global provider of seamlessly integrated end-to-end solutions for mobile payments, parking guidance using business analytics and parking. Its offerings include mobile payments for on and off-street parking, digital parking permits, real-time enforcement and a seamless transit experience. Their services are used in 500 cities around the world by millions of registered users. Parkmobile USA was founded in Atlanta, Georgia and its call center, engineering team and corporate headquarters are located in the U.S. Parkmobile’s investors include BCD Holdings and Fontinalis Partners. With annual global revenues of $22.8 billion, BCD Holdings is an international market leader in the corporate and online travel, and off-airport and mobile parking industry. Fontinalis Partners invests in and partners with innovative technology companies that modernize and improve transportation. Fontinalis is led by Bill Ford, a lifelong environmentalist and the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company.

Cherie Fuzzell has over 17 years of executive experience in the payments and healthcare industries as well as 7 years of mergers & acquisitions experience with the international law firm Jones Day. Cherie was most recently President and CEO of FirstView and has held senior positions with USBancorp, NOVA Information Systems, Inc. (now Elavon) and Magellan Health Services. Cherie earned a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of Alabama and a juris doctorate from the Vanderbilt University School of Law where she served as Associate Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. She is a member of the Bar Associations of the States of Texas, Ohio and Georgia.