San Jose, CA

Monday, August 15, 2011

New Expanded Board Positions Leading B2B Marketing Association for Ongoing Growth

The Northern California Chapter of the Business Marketing Association (BMA) today announced its Board of Directors for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The all-volunteer Board includes top marketing leaders from Silicon Valley and the Bay Area from the ranks of corporations, consulting firms, and marketing agencies.

"The NorCal BMA chapter is poised to build on the momentum of the past several years," said Josef Chervenka, Chapter President. "We continue to offer an outstanding set of programs and networking activities for business-to-business marketers in Northern California. This includes compelling speakers from leading edge B2B organizations, as well as our popular interactive morning roundtables on a broad range of B2B topics."

The 2011/2012 board includes:

Carole Coleman - Chairperson and Past President

Carole Coleman is a writer and producer of B2B media, as well as an internal communications writer and project manager. She has been working with the NorCal BMA since 2003 as a writer and editor, contributing to the establishment of the chapter's look and feel. Carole served as NorCal BMA President for the 2006-2007 fiscal year and has served as Chairperson since 2008.

Josef Chervenka - President

Josef Chervenka is entering his fourth year as chapter president, having joined the NorCal BMA Board in 2007 as VP of Finance. He is currently the Assistant Director, Global Account Management with Ernst & Young, the Big 4 accounting firm. Josef has over ten years of experience, working primarily in marketing, sales, and consulting positions with both startups and large corporations.

Carl Rudd- Secretary/Director, Partnerships

Carl Rudd continues in his role as Secretary of NorCal BMA, while adding the incremental role of Director of Partnerships. He is the President and Founder of an Internet startup that is still in stealth mode. Carl has over 15 years' experience generating revenues for companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems and several startups by negotiating business deals, as well as managing marketing and strategic alliances with companies such as Microsoft, SAP, eBay, Skype, Palm and Lenovo Computer.



Niti Agrawal - VP, Programs

Niti Agrawal continues in the position of VP Programs for a third year. Niti is President and Founder of Stage 4 Solutions, a marketing consulting and interim staffing firm that serves Fortune 500 and emerging high-tech leaders by providing season marketing professionals for both short and long-term needs. Previously, she was Director of Product Marketing for Agile Software, and she led the HP team responsible for a $400M PC server product line. She is a frequent speaker at both industry events and industry associations.

Linda Popky- VP, Marketing and Communications

Linda Popky continues as VP of Marketing for a second year. The founder and president of Leverage2Market Associates, Linda is a consultant, author, speaker, and educator who helps organizations use marketing to transform their business and dramatically improve the bottom line. She has been named one of the Top Women of Influence in Silicon Valley and inducted into the Million Dollar Consulting ® Hall of Fame. Linda is the Immediate Past President of Women in Consulting (WIC), as well as the first marketing consultant certified worldwide to offer the Private Roster Mentoring ™ Program.

Ernest Khirallah, Co-Director Sponsorship

New to the board this year is Ernie Khirallah, who will serve as co-director of sponsorships. The President of Marketing Plus, Inc., founded in 1992 to provide marketing, advertising, and sales consulting to companies of various sizes and industries, Ernie's background includes management positions with Dun & Bradstreet and a multinational ad agency. Ernie recently relocated to the SF Bay area from Los Angeles, where he continues to run his consulting practice. With expertise in online and traditional marketing and advertising, Ernie maintains long-term client relationships in the financial services, healthcare, insurance, accounting, and business-to-business sectors.

Jim Kaczkowski, Co-Director, Sponsorship

Jim Kaczkowski joins the board as co-director of sponsorships. He is Vice President, Strategic Planning & Business Development for Robinson & Maites, a Chicago-headquartered marketing services agency. Jim's specialties are in the areas of strategic planning and digital customer acquisition and retention, with over 12 years of digital strategy and e-commerce leadership experience. Previously, Jim led long-running engagements for clients such as GTE, Sunbeam, Philip Morris, NutraSweet, Kraft and Procter & Gamble at agencies such as The Leo Burnett Company, Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson.

Nancy Chou – Director, Social Media

Continuing in the role of social media director is Nancy Chou, a nimble and results -oriented VP of marketing and strategic marketing consultant. She's the principal of Nancy Chou Marketing Consultants and a founding partner of the Social Business Consulting Group. Nancy is certified as a Social Media Strategist and is a former marketing instructor at the Stanford Continuing Studies Program. Skilled in marketing, business development, and sales, Nancy has worked with Fortune 500 and startup companies in both B2B and B2C businesses, most recently in the enterprise and consumer security software and green tech markets.

Maureen Spitz – Vice President, Membership

Maureen Spitz has over 10 years of business development, marketing, account management, and public relations experience within the product design, branding, and high-technology arenas, profitably translating the tangible benefits of design and professional services to clients like Pepsi, Nike, Sony, DIRECTV, and Procter & Gamble. She has served in senior business development and public relations positions at leading-edge consultancies IDEO, Fitch, Lunar, and NONOBJECT, among others.

Walt Rossi – Director, Roundtables

Walt Rossi continues to coordinate the activities of the chapter's robust roundtable programs for a second year. Walt has 20 years of experience in marketing and sales leadership with rapid growth, emerging market high-tech companies. He is currently Sr. Director, Business Development at DemandTec, responsible for managing partnerships and identifying new growth initiatives. Walt has led marketing initiatives at both large and small software companies, including HP, Questra, Valdero, Kana/Broadbase, PeopleSoft, Intrepid and Teradata.

Susan Monroe – Director, Facilities

Susan Monroe, principal of Written Right, has more than 15 years' experience as a copywriter and editor. Her industry experience includes banking and financial services, consumer electronics, digital data broadcasting, enterprise application software, networks, professional services, public relations, and software-as-a-service (SaaS). A versatile marketing communications professional, she has been an active member of teams tasked with branding, positioning, and messaging at large companies, such as HP, and at startups.



Kezia Gollapudi - Director, Website

Kezia Gollapudi continues in her role as chapter Website Director. Kezia has over ten years of marketing communications experience in the high-tech industry, with extensive experience planning and executing marketing initiatives at start-ups. Currently, she enjoys a challenging marketing position at a Bay Area start-up in a bleeding edge industry. Kezia is also a member of the Mission College Advisory Committee for the Business Department.

ABOUT NORCAL BMA

Established in San Francisco in 1938, the Northern California chapter of the Business Marketing Association is the leading business-to-business (B2B) marketing organization in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. The group offers a robust set of programs to members and the marketing community at large, including a series of regular roundtables on various marketing topics, as well as monthly educational and social events, networking, resources and B2B job listings.

For more information:

• Visit our website

• Follow us on Twitter

• Become a fan on Facebook

• Join our LinkedIn Group: NorCal BMA

• Email us

Linda Popky

President

Leverage2Market Associates

Redwood City, CA

650 281-4854