She’s the “founding mother” of Cause-Related Marketing, a pioneer in marketing communications for thousands of national brands, and I am lucky enough to have her on Dialogue’s Advisory Board. Welcome Carol. (insert virtual hug here).

I met Carol at my second job out of college and worked for her company for three terrific years. I learned a bit about CRM, how to build a brand, how to brainstorm great ideas for clients, and how to have fun while doing it.

Carol’s got this energy that’s downright contagious. As a hustling young account executive, I put in my hours. But they were never more than Carol.  She was always there before I arrived, and burning the midnight oil after I left.

As hard as I worked, I wanted more. I’d do anything for Carol. The day I left Cone (we PR people tend to hop around a bit) I remember feeling a tinge of regret – “did I make the right decision? “should I have stayed with her and her company?”

Now almost ten years later, I don’t have any regrets, because well, I get to work for/with her again. I’m thrilled and honored to have Carol on board. Here’s a brief look at her incredible background.

Carol Cone, CEO, Cone, Inc
Carol is nationally recognized for her work in the Cause Branding® and strategic philanthropy arenas. As the Chairman of Cone, Inc., she has embraced a steadfast commitment to building substantive and sustainable partnerships between companies and social issues for more than 25 years. Cone has pioneered vibrant new alliances for private/public partnerships to create signature programs for a host of Fortune 500 companies, including the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, ConAgra Foods’ Feeding Children Better, PNC Grow Up Great, the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women program, Reebok’s Human Rights Awards, Rockport’s Fitness Walking, and the Gillette Prostate Cancer Challenge, among others. Overall, Cone’s signature cause programs have raised more than  $1.2 billion for various social causes.  Today, Cone, Inc. is acknowledged as the nation’s leading Cause Branding consultancy.

Since her student days at Brandeis University during the turbulent and socially conscious Vietnam era, Cone’s career has been ignited with a keen passion for social justice. Intuitively grasping the benefits of authentic links between companies and social issues, Cone, Inc. helps companies and nonprofit organizations integrate values and social issues into brand equity and organizational identity to gain significant bottom-line impacts. Cause Branding, a term trademarked by the firm, creates dimensionality for the brand that cannot be easily replicated, vibrancy within the organization that builds pride and loyalty, and a bond with consumers and communities that leads to trust and long-term commitment.

Carol is also considered one of the nation’s experts in the field and is often solicited by the national media, including USA TODAY, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, BusinessWeek and the Harvard Business Review.

Cone’s recognitions include (this is a truncated list because the list is WAY too long)

The 25 Most Powerful Professionals in the Communications Industry – PRWeek 2007
One of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Public Relations, PRWeek
Entrepreneur of the Year, Arthur Young/Venture Magazine

Carol was a contributing writer to the Big Moo, a collaboration of 33 of the world’s smartest business thinkers and their best ideas on how to be remarkable, edited by renown author Seth Godin.  The book made the Wall Street Journal bestseller list within two weeks of its release.  Cone was also a contributing writer/editor to Cause Marketing for Nonprofits by Jocelyne Daw.  Carol was selected by the prestigious Cannes Lions International Marketing Awards to be one of two US judges in their inaugural year of adding an entire public relations division to the competition.  She was also selected to be a chairperson for the 2009 Jay Chiat Awards in the Social Strategy Category.

She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.S. in Fine Arts, and Boston University with a Masters in Communications. In 1991, Cone completed the Owner/President Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Carol is a Board Member of Net Impact, a global organization of students and professionals using business to improve the world.  She also serves on the Business Advisory Council of Simmons School of Management and is a board advisor to the International Social Media Association and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

Hometown: Weston, Mass and Wellington, Florida

Favorite Book/Recommended Reading: Built to Last by Jim Collins

How I Relax: Ride horses, cuddle cats, prune trees, rollerblade and arrange flowers

Words to Live by/ Words of wisdom: Be courageous, remember it takes 9 no’s before you get a yes

To be a good leader, manager or entrepreneur, it’s always good to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. Along this line of thought, I asked myself- “who’s smart” “who’s an entrepreneur who’s been in the trenches”, and “who is a friend (and neighbor) who I can turn to for advice from time to time” That person is Stephen Dimarco

I first met Stephen about 5 years ago here on the North Shore. After sitting around his firepit, enjoying some of his homemade BBQ, and listening to him wax poetic about marketing strategy, I figured I should stick close to this one.

Here is someone who’s a marketer, a business strategy guy, who just so happens to be Chief Marketing Officer at Compete. If you are one of the few people  who haven’t yet heard Compete’s story, or what they do, take a peak at their website.

I’m thrilled to have Stephen on the Advisory Board for Dialogue, and looking forward to learning more.

Here’s a quick look at his background.

Stephen DiMarco, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Compete

Stephen has more than 15 years of marketing and client management experience. With Compete, he has management oversight of Compete’s award-winning consumer services and emerging vertical markets. Stephen also oversees marketing of Compete’s intelligence and targeting services to fortune 500 companies. Previously, Mr. DiMarco was a co-founder of the Internet strategy consulting firm ZEFER and directed business development and marketing initiatives for News Corporation, where he negotiated multi-million dollar distribution agreements for the company’s cable programming subsidiaries. Prior to News Corporation, Mr. DiMarco managed the creation of consumer campaigns for Comedy Central, a joint venture between Time Warner and Viacom.

Stephen holds a BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

]]> http://enterdialogue.com/2009/10/26/stephen-dimarco-of-compete-joins-advisory-board/feed/ 0 http://enterdialogue.com/2009/09/10/court-chilton-joins-dialogue-advisory-board/ http://enterdialogue.com/2009/09/10/court-chilton-joins-dialogue-advisory-board/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:33:13 +0000 tgoodridge http://enterdialogue.com/?p=775

I’m very pleased to have a friend and mentor join the Dialogue Advisory Board. Please welcome Court Chilton from Court Chilton & Associates.

Court’s company specializes in helping people-intensive businesses boost productivity.  His company, very simply, helps delivers business results through people.

That’s a bit of what I do here at Dialogue. Social Media delivers business results through people as well, just through different channels. So, when I met with Court a few months ago, I managed to convince him of that same message, and to join the Board.

I think (I hope!) it was an easy answer for Court. We’ve been family friends for years, and I look forward to turning a personal relationship into a mutually beneficial professional relationship for both of us.

So, thank you Court, and welcome to Dialogue.

Court Chilton, Court Chilton and Associates
Court has helped large organizations produce business results from learning, coaching, and enterprise-wide change efforts for the last 20 years.  His clients have included GE Capital; KPMG; Goldman Sachs; Deloitte; Fidelity; Genzyme; Shire Pharmaceutical; TJX, Home Depot, Clifford Chance; Orrick; and McDermott, Will & Emery.

Court has worked internationally on a wide variety of business-building initiatives: creating “branded client experiences;” relationship management and service improvement; sales training and leadership development; executive education and coaching; implementing Six Sigma; practice management, and re-engineering the learning function.  In the course of these initiatives, he has also developed computer simulations, on-line 360 feedback, and in-process e-learning.  He is an effective facilitator and coach for senior management teams.

Prior to working as an independent consultant, Court was a senior vice president of The Forum Corporation, based in New York and Boston.  In the course of 14 years at Forum, he was responsible for the firm’s core leadership, teaming, and total quality offerings.  He also managed the $20M+ mid-Atlantic region for the firm and several strategic client relationships.

Court donates part of his time coaching MBA candidates at Northeastern University and consulting to educational institutions such as Cambridge College (higher education for those who have been denied or lacked access to it) and Mitchell College (a 4 year private college with a special expertise in helping kids with learning disabilities). He also collaborates with the District Management Council, an organization devoted to transferring for-profit management practices to public school systems.

Court received a B.A., magna cum laude with High Honors from Middlebury College in 1978, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School in 1986.  Between college and graduate school he worked in book and magazine publishing in a variety of marketing roles.   He lives outside Boston with his family.  He has served on his town’s Finance Committee and currently serves on the town’s School Committee.

Hometown: Grew up in Wilmington, DE, Greenwich, CT, and Atlanta GA with stops overseas (Argentina and Switzerland).  Currently live in Weston, MA.

My Favorite Book/Recommend Reading: Mountains Beyond Mountains, Three Cups of Tea, anything about people making change happen in alien environments

How I Relax: Playing racket sports, running, cycling, watching my daughters play soccer, basketball, and lacrosse

Words to Live by/Words of Wisdom: Guts are rewarded–go for it!

Have you ever met a connector, a giver, a person who seems to be at the center of conversation all the time? That person is Aaron Strout, and I’m thrilled (and humbled) to have him on Dialogue’s Advisory Board.

The next time you are in Austin, NYC, Boston or beyond, try tracking him down at an event and taking the time to meet him.  Undoubtedly, he’ll have a circle of friends and business colleagues around him, and he’ll be holding court and guiding the conversation on the latest and greatest social media platform or technology. Then he might invite you for a beer, or some BBQ, or some animated discussion about the Red Sox (full disclosure, I am a Yankees fan, but Aaron and I have agreed-sort of- not to let that tarnish our relationship)  :-).

Want to learn a bit more about Aaron, and what makes him tick?

Read below!

Aaron Strout: VP Marketing.  Powered Austin, TX

Aaron recently joined Austin, TX based, Powered as the VP of marketing. As the CMO at Powered, Aaron focuses not only on day to day marketing activities but also provides a social voice for the company. In this role, Aaron continues with his speaking, blogging, podcasting and social networking activities with an eye toward creating awareness and lead generation for the company.

Prior to joining Powered, Aaron was the Vice President of Social Media at Mzinga, a Burlington, MA-based provider of online communities and social networks for businesses. In his role, Aaron focused on tapping into the power of social media for business. In addition to his knowledge of the interactive and new media landscape, Aaron has more than 15 years of online marketing and advertising experience, with a strong background in integrated and online marketing.

Before joining Mzinga, Aaron worked at Fidelity Investments in their retail division, with a focus on online and acquisition marketing. Aaron’s work at Fidelity revolved around Web strategy & marketing, as well as the development of interactive and print campaigns, including direct mail, e-mail, banner & print ads, and event marketing.

Aaron is also a founding member and former president of (BIMA) and a member and former board member of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX). Aaron was also recently elected an interim board member for the prestigious Social Media Club. He is part of a team responsible for creating standards around social media and community

Hometown: Melrose, MA used to be my hometown. I know call the place affectionately known as the ATX or Austin, TX home. Yes it’s hot but it’s not rainy.

Favorite Book/Recommended Reading: I could be snarky and tell you to look at my Facebook bookshelf but I won’t be. I love two types of books… action thrillers like Mystic River and fun business-oriented books like Freakonomics and Blink. I read other stuff too but those are my favorites. Oh yeah, I’m also a big fan of Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon. I’ve collectively read that book to my three kids no fewer than 2,347 times.

How I Relax
Grilling, swimming with the kids, watching good flix with my wife, hanging by the lake up at my parents cabin in ME and sitting with the earphones on at a local cafe listening to the Red Sox or something on iTunes.

Rule to Live By/Words of Wisdom…
It may sound corny but I’m a huge fan of Karma in the “Pay It Forward” sense of the word. I believe in helping people out proactively whenever possible because it can only help you in the long run. This means mentoring people, taking the time to comment on their blogs, overtipping at restaurants, always taking the time to stop at kids’ lemonade stands and helping friends and friends of friends look for jobs.

DIALOGUE has evolved from a passion for social media, building relationships, and educating and inspiring others to learn and engage in this fast-moving space. But it hasn’t been without the help of some friends along the way…

So, I’ve been assembling a list of Advisory Board members to help guide the company and to offer up their personal expertise in different functional areas. I’m very grateful for their ongoing support and advice.

So, over the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing the team to you….

So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce the first member of the Advisory Board- The Savviest of Aunties- Melanie Notkin.

I first met Melanie (virtually) about a year ago, days after the launch of her company.  SavvyAuntie.com just celebrated their one year anniversary last week, and, well, she’s come a LONG way. I will let her bio tell you the rest of the story. Thanks for joining the board Melanie!

Melanie Notkin, Founder and CEO, SavvyAuntie.com
Melanie is the founder and CEO of the 2009 Webby Award nominated SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for cool aunts, great aunts, godmothers and all women who love kids. Before launching Savvy Auntie, Melanie was an interactive marketing and communications executive for global Fortune 500 companies, including New York Times Digital and American Express, as well as L’Oréal.

Melanie is a regular panelist on the Strategy Room on FoxNews.com and a contributing editor to Toy Wishes Magazine. She and Savvy Auntie have been featured on NBC and CBS and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, The Charlotte Observer, More Magazine, Huffington Post, Mashable and TechCrunch, among others. SavvyAuntie.com was ranked as one of Springwise’s Top 10 Entrepreneurial Ideas of the Year (2008) and Melanie was recently named a Heeb Magazine HEEB 100.

When Melanie first became an Auntie in 2001, she found herself concerned by the lack of resources for modern Aunts. Realizing the size and understanding the needs of the market of women like herself, she launched SavvyAuntie.com in July 2008.

She is a Savvy Auntie and Auntie by Relation (ABR) to a number of wonderful children who are the loves of her life. She is also an Auntie By Choice (ABC) to all of her friends’ kids, who come in a very close second. Melanie resides in New York where she is surrounded by the very best the city has to offer.

You can find Melanie at Twitter.com/SavvyAuntie, Friendfeed.com/SavvyAuntie and at Blog.SavvyAuntie.com

Hometown:
Raised in Montreal, Canada, now living in New York City

Favorite Book/Recommended Reading
Eat, Pray Love. I read it when I was starting my business. It helps to follow another’s journey to inspire our own.

How I Relax
In the summer, I take the train one hour away to the beach and read the paper and head back home. Just putting myself in new surroundings inspires me. In the winter, I get off the subway a stop early just to walk and enjoy a little of my favorite city.

Rules to Live by (my words of wisdom)
Listen to your heart, your mind, your body, your soul. You’re the only who can hear them.