Judges

The judging panel for the 2009 B2B Twitter of the Year Awards come from a very diverse pool of B2B marketing professionals.  Solid veterans of "Industrial Marketing" to thought leaders in social media, purveyors of high-tech and low tech products and services, all bring interesting insights and value to this serious and enjoyable program.

Judging Chair

Nancy Jacobs @B2BCorpComm

Nancy is currently Defying the Recession as Director of Business Development at Realm Advertising in Atlanta, GA.  She believes that this down economy is the best time for Realm to grow its business and joined the agency in January 2009 to do just that.  With the year almost over, they are enjoying a few new B2B clients to their already impressive roster including UPS, LexisNexis, SunTrust Bank, Georgia-Pacific and many more of Georgia’s largest companies.  Nancy hails from the Jersey Shore (Exit 109) and spent most of her professional career at the center of Silicon Alley during the height of the dotcoms.   Launching the conference division at Jupiter Communications (now Forrester) put Nancy at the heart of such then start-ups as AOL, DoubleClick, CNET, eBay, Google, Amazon, and so many others.  Nancy’s insatiable curiosity has now led her on a quest to find shiny corporate B2B stars hidden in the Twittersphere.

 

Judges

 

Mark Amtower @amtower

Mark Amtower, founder of Amtower & Company, is recognized as the leading authority on marketing to the government.  He is a consultant, speaker, author, CEO coach, program producer and radio host focusing on one market - Government.  Known as "Godfather of government marketing," Mark Amtower is credited for mentoring hundreds of current B2G marketing professionals and coaches C-level execs, consultants and entrepreneurs in several areas: thought leadership, writing - especially writing your first book, and getting publicity. Since his first public seminar in 1991, it is estimated that over 20,000 have seen him speak either at Amtower & Company events or the many conferences he speaks at each year. Ten of thousands more have heard him on his radio show, during frequent guest appearances on other talk shows, or at various business conferences each year. Amtower published Government Marketing Best Practices, based on his most popular seminar of the same name. His second book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, came out in November 2007. Amtower is on the Board of Advisors for The American Small Business Coalition, The Profitability Channel (web TV for small business), and TSI (an Annapolis, Maryland company).

Shashi Bellamkonda @shashib

Shashi Bellamkonda works at the heart of Web hosting company Network Solutions, as their first-ever 'Social Media Swami'. In this leadership role he has helped Network Solutions aggressively move into the online space to actively listen to and interact with its customers. This push paid off when Network Solutions won the 2008 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Award for Online Reputation Management and the 2009 a Gold Quill Award of Excellence in Social Media from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). A self-proclaimed early  adopter, prolific Twitterer, blogger, and product innovator, Shashi lives for technology, testing new innovations and helping people with small businesses to succeed. A self-described 'Internet junkie' and thought leader, Shashi has presented previously on 'Social Media Tools for Small Business', 'How to Sell Social Media to Your Boss' and  "Online Reputation Management – Best Practices & Lessons Learned", at national and regional conferences like SXSW, NewComm Forum (SNCR.org), Online Media Bootcamp, DC Chamber of Commerce, Affiliate Summit, American Institute of Writers, and various Podcamps.

Rohit Bhargava @rohitbhargava

Rohit is a founding member of the 360 Digital Influence group at Ogilvy and author of the best selling new book Personality Not Included, an actually useful (gasp!) guide on how to use personality to reinvent your marketing. He writes the top rated Influential Marketing blog and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and other impressive places. Rohit teaches marketing at Georgetown University and is proud of his reputation as a fun and "non-obvious" keynote speaker who has presented across the world on authenticity, social media, and why marketing is no longer like feeding a baby.

Kipp Bodnar @kbodnar32

Kipp Bodnar is Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard Merrell & Partners, a full service marketing and advertising firm in Raleigh, NC. During his career Kipp has successfully developed and implemented social media campaigns and plans for clients in business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. In addition to his work at the agency, he is the publisher of SocialMediaB2B.com, a multi-author blog dedicated to providing examples and thought leadership for B2B companies planning to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy. Kipp also blogs on technology and social media at his personal blog DigitalCapitalism.com. He also co-hosts TalkSocialNews.com a daily video podcast on social media with Wayne Sutton. His social media experience includes the development of strategy and tactics utilizing corporate blogs, podcasts, online reputation management, blogger relations, social bookmarking, microblogging platforms, RSS, social media optimization, social networks, online video sharing and other web-based forms of communication. Kipp obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, with an emphasis in public relations, from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.

Katherine Ventres Canipelli @kvcanipelli

As a nationally recognized expert in supply chain logistics sector market strategy, Katherine has helped worked companies gear up market development-including CSX, GATX, Shell Fleet Services, iFLEET, G-Log, Pacer International, TranSystems, Odyssey Logistics & Technology, and LoJack Supply Chain Integrity. Prior to launching marketingFOLIO in 2001, Katherine lead corporate marketing at several early-stage ventures that innovated managed services offerings (enterprise technology integrated with operational execution) and has continued work in this niche.  Her forte is structuring research, strategy and integrated campaigns that engage targeted B2B executives in context of their complex buying processes-boosting clients' marketing and sales effectiveness. In early 2009, Katherine launched The Industrious Marketer blog to stimulate thinking and action on middle market business development strategy. Katherine holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and an A.B. in History from Brown University.

Suzi Craig @SuziCraig

Suzi Craig is Director of Marketing & Engagement for Connecticut-based Fathom (www.fathom.net), a brand and creative consultancy that helps forward-looking organizations to cultivate and sustain the value they offer the world. Suzi helps Fathom and clients develop an outreach and engagement strategy that kills the old “one blueprint for all” notion and creates a plan of action to align with business goals, audience expectations and resources.  Suzi also created the Fathom-sponsored CT TweetCrawl, a bi-monthly happy hour event that connects all types of professionals at hot spots in all corners of Connecticut.  Suzi started her own consulting company WallFly Marketing and co-founded group88, a coworking office and workspace for independent professionals. Without a budget, she began using grassroots marketing tactics and social media to develop a community and customer base.  As a speaker for the business community, Suzi is often brought in to help marketing directors and outreach professionals develop an online and event strategy that utilizes the best of the old world sensibilities and new world possibilities.  Suzi lives in West Hartford, CT and writes for Fathom’s blog, The Deep End, as well as EContent magazine. She is currently an active member of the Associate Board for the Greater Hartford Arts Council, Navigating Change thinktank for media and business professionals and the MiTown Film Group based in Middletown, Connecticut.

Nigel Dessau @NigelDessau

Nigel Dessau is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of AMD. He is responsible for the company’s global marketing, brand and communications campaigns and strategies, including leading a team responsible for AMD’s social media engagement. Dessau joined AMD in March 2008, bringing more than 22 years of technology sales and marketing leadership experience. Prior to joining AMD, Dessau was senior vice president of Storage Marketing and senior vice president of Alliances and Licensing at Sun Microsystems. Prior to that, he was chief marketing officer of StorageTek and before that spent 19 years at IBM, most recently as Business Unit Executive for IBM Virtualization Solutions. While at IBM, Dessau managed the worldwide launch of IBM eServer zSeries, and headed up marketing programs for the S/390 brand. As part of the Corporate Marketing Team, he led the marketing strategy behind e-business and the transition to On Demand Business.  Nigel also contributes to the AMD Blog and the 3 Minute Mentor.  Born and educated in Nottingham, England, Dessau resides with his wife in Austin, Texas.

Rebekah E. Donaldson @b2bcommunicate

Her advice has appeared in American City Business Journals, The Sacramento Bee, Bacon's Navigator, NAWBOTime, and other outlets. The American Marketing Association (AMA) recognized Donaldson in 2006 for integration of marketing and sales at client companies. She leads Business Communications Group LLC; a firm that's helped dozens of B2B companies generate better leads since 2001.  In November 2009 she'll release a new ebook: "Hiring A Marketing Consultant - Get What You Pay For."  Check out her b2b blog, Red On Marketing.  When it comes to Twitter, Rebekah Donaldson has "loves" and "hates."  She loves funny industry pros and loves making fun at herself. She hates B.S. and hates vanity. Rebekah holds a master's in Philosophy from UC Davis and a bachelor's in Philosophy from the University of Rochester.

Ben Hanna @B2BOnlineMktg

Ben is Vice President, Marketing for R.H. Donnelley Interactive (RHDi), where he oversees online marketing, communications and social media for local search leader DexKnows.com and the top B2B online directory and business buying resource, Business.com. Drawing on his more than 12 years of experience connecting business buyers and sellers online, Ben blogs about B2B online marketing topics and recently led Business.com’s 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study, the largest study to date of business social media usage involving nearly 3,000 North American respondents. Prior to j oining Business.com in 2006, Ben led the eBay Business team supporting nearly $3 billion in business buying on eBay's U.S. site in 2005, was the founding VP, Marketing at IronPlanet, a leading online marketplace for used construction equipment, and co-founded a B2B strategic marketing agency in the Silicon Valley specializing in product launches, company launches and corporate repositionings for high-tech companies in the semiconductor, telecommunications and Internet industries. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Business from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Casey Hibbard @casey_hibbard

Casey Hibbard is the founder and principal of Compelling Cases, Inc. Over the past decade, she has created and managed nearly 500 customer case studies and success stories for dozens of companies, including Level 3, USA.NET, Jobfox, Qwest, Great-West Healthcare, Vocus and Verio. She is the author of the first published book on the topic of customer stories, Stories That Sell: Turn Satisfied Customers into Your Most Powerful Sales & Marketing Asset.  Her Stories That Sell Blog, a companion to the book, highlights best practices in creating, managing and using customer stories.  Prior to starting Compelling Cases, Casey held positions in marketing communications and business reporting.  She earned her BA in Communications from Trinity University.

Kent Huffmann @KentHuffmann

Kent is is recognized as one of the pioneers of business-to-business marketing on the Internet. Currently serving as the CMO for BearCom Wireless, he is responsible for expanding the company's presence in its target markets, as well as driving all marketing strategies and tactics. Prior to joining BearCom, Kent held the position of VP of Marketing for CompuCom Systems, a $2B computer hardware and software reseller, where he managed the entire corporate marketing function, including partner, media, and industry analyst relations. Before CompuCom, Kent led the global marketing communications team at Perot Systems, a Fortune 1000 IT services company, where he received a number of national and international awards for the quality and performance of the company's various integrated marketing initiatives. In late 2008, Kent was selected by Thomson Reuters to author a chapter for Aspatore Books and its latest C-level title, "Inside the Minds: Maximizing Your Marketing Efforts." Kent has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Texas State University. He has written a number of marketing-related articles and blog posts, and is accredited as a Certified Business Communicator (CBC) by the Business Marketing Association. He is also a member of the CMO Council and sits on its newly formed Customer Experience Corporate Advisory Board. In addition, Kent recently became an Advisory Associate for Social2B, an association of top industry marketing, media, and information technology professionals dedicated to helping B2C and B2B brands leverage the explosive growth of social media marketing.

Chris Koch @CKochster

Chris Koch is the Associate Director of Research and Thought Leadership at the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA). He works closely with ITSMA's leadership team, executive councils, business partners, and subject matter experts to develop and package compelling research on marketing and sales trends, solutions, and technology industry issues. An award-winning writer and editor, Koch brings over 20 years of experience in journalism, and more than 10 years covering information technology and business. Koch most recently served as executive editor for CIO, a trade magazine for chief information officers and other IT leaders. Before CIO, Koch was a communications manager in marketing for Computer Sciences Corporation, where he developed and wrote thought leadership content on business and IT strategy for internally-generated publications and the general press. He also helped edit and market The Discipline of Market Leaders, a best-selling book on business strategy.

Sheri Larsen @shlarsen

Sheri Larsen (also @sherilarsen and @northernlight) is a passionate B2B social media evangelist who thrives on helping her friends, clients and colleagues learn how to leverage the tools of the social Web – blogs, microblogs, RSS feeds, wikis, bookmarking, collaboration tools and social networks – in their professional and private lives.  As VP of Client Applications at Northern Light, a provider of hosted marketing and strategic research portals to Fortune 500 companies like HP and Verizon, she heads up the planning, marketing and operations of all Northern Light products and custom client applications.    Sheri has had success in making Web 2.0-style collaboration tools accessible and indispensible to researchers at large companies – many of whom are complete novices when it comes to the social Web.  Sheri writes for several blogs including News & Views from Northern Light (blogs.northernlight.com), Flying Cloud (www.sherilarsen.com) which covers social media and marketing, and Mom on the Run (http://fun.sherilarsen.com) which is her forum for discussing her non-business life.  Sheri has an MBA from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College and a BA from Gordon College.

Mike Moran @MikeMoran

Mike is a freelance consultant and public speaker who also serves as Chief Strategist for Converseon, a leading digital media marketing agency based in New York City. Prior to this position, Mike spent 30 years at IBM, rising to Distinguished Engineer, an executive-level technical position. Mike held various roles in his IBM career, including eight years at IBM's customer-facing Web site, ibm.com, most recently as the Manager of ibm.com Web Experience, where he led 65 information architects, Web designers, Webmasters, programmers, and technical architectsaround the world. Mike is the co-author of the best-selling 2005 book Search Engine Marketing, Inc. (along with fellow search marketing expert Bill Hunt), which is now in its Second Edition (2008). Mike is also the author of the acclaimed Internet marketing book, Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules, named one of best business books of 2007 by the Miami Herald. Mike also writes the Biznology newsletter and blog, and columns for Revenue Magazine, Search Engine Guide, Internet Evolution, and WebProNews.

Jessie Paul @jessie_paul

Jessie Paul is considered an expert in brand internationalization and frugal marketing. In 2009, Jessie published No Money Marketing, Tata McGraw-Hill’s fastest selling professional book on marketing. As Chief Marketing Officer of Wipro’s IT business and as Global Brand Manager at Infosys, she has been recognized for her contribution towards putting the Indian IT industry on the global map. Jessie is now launching Paul Writer Strategic Advisory focused on marketing strategy for B2B firms and building the relevant marketing infrastructure. With over 15 years in services marketing, including a stint with Ogilvy & Mather, Jessie has been named one of the most influential business women in India. She runs a popular blog on marketing and was India’s first CMO on Twitter.

Maria Pergolino @InboundMarketer

Maria Pergolino works as Inbound Marketing Manager at Marketo, leading their efforts in adoption of social media channels for brand awareness and demand generation. She has worked in marketing for over ten years, and specifically in online marketing including social media, search marketing, and lead generation and nurturing for the past six. She has a Marketing Degree and MBA from the School of Business at Rutgers University, is a salesforce.com Certified Administrator, and a speaker at numerous marketing events. Maria also writes for many marketing blogs, and is a frequent contributor to Marketo's popular blog, Modern B2 Marketing. Most recently Maria has presented on an AMA webinar with over 3,000 registrants about how B2B companies are using Facebook and has also contributed to the success of Marketo's Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing, which has been downloaded by over 5,000 B2B Marketers in less than two months.

Tom Pick @TomPick

Tom Pick is an online marketing executive with KC Associates, a marketing and PR firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focused on b2b technology clients. He helps clients improve business results through search engine optimization (SEO), search marketing, interactive PR and social media programs. Tom also writes the award-winning WebMarketCentral, a blog about B2B lead generation, social media, interactive PR, SEO and search engine marketing. Prior to joining KC Associates in 2006, Tom served in technology marketing leadership roles with supply chain outsourcer Zomax, ERP vendor SoftBrands, and digital prepress supplier Printware. His work has been recognized with industry awards in website development, online/interactive marketing and PR, as well as blogging, and he's been named one of the 50 most influential b2b marketing thought leaders. In addition to his blog, Tom has authored numerous articles on web marketing and social networking for various publications and presented at blogging and social media conferences. He also serves as an advisor to FYIndOut.com, a B2B-focused social media site, and B2BMarketingZone.com, a portal site for B2B blogs. He has an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree in engineering from St. Cloud State University.

Joe Pulizzi @JuntaJoe

Joe Pulizzi is nationally recognized and leading author, speaker and strategist for content marketing. Previously an executive for Penton Media, Inc., Joe founded Junta42 to help marketers create and develop better content marketing. Joe serves as Chief Content Officer for Junta42, in addition to being President of Z Squared Media, LLC (Junta42's parent company). Junta42 is the "eHarmony for content projects", matching up businesses in need of custom content with expert content providers. Joe is also co-author of the book Get Content Get Customers (McGraw-Hill), which helps teach businesses why and how to create their own compelling content to drive their businesses. Get Content Get Customers has been called THE handbook for content marketing. Joe also serves on the board for the Custom Publishing Council and is Chair of the Custom Media Committee for American Business Media. An accomplished speaker, Joe travels around North America and Europe teaching audiences about content, publishing and social media. Among his many awards, Joe was recently voted "Custom Media Innovator of the Year" by American Business Media. For more about Joe's activities, see Joe's blog, The Content Marketing Revolution or JoePulizzi.com.

Charlie Riley @CharlieRiley

Charlie Riley is a marketing and social media Adjunct Professor at Saint Bonaventure University, along with serving as the Marketing Director at Buffalo, NY-based Block Club, a boutique design, media agency. Throughout his career, Riley has successfully developed, planned and implemented social media campaigns for clients in the business-to-business arena such as energy & gas, franchising, government and more. Before Block Club, he was the Marketing Manager for Exhibio Digital Signage, improving B2B sales in an emerging marcomm category, Senior Marketing Manager for Chicago Fire Soccer and worked for global consulting firm Accenture, supporting high-level communications tactics for B2B clients. A freelance writer for several publications, Riley also serves on the Advertising Club of Buffalo Board of Directors, the regional chapter of the AAF and boards for several non-profits managing their marketing needs. Riley has an MBA in Marketing /Management and a BA in Journalism/Mass Communication from St. Bonaventure University.

Alex Romanovich @social2b

Alex Romanovich has more than 20 years of leadership experience helping build domestic and international B2B brands, bring service and product innovators into new markets, and guiding top-tier companies.  Currently, he is the Chief Marketing Officer for Social2B, a leading Social Media Marketing Consultancy for the Enterprise, and he serves on the Advisory Board for Social Media for The CMO Club.  Alex has achieved numerous company and product turnarounds and is recognized for his success in growing sales and profits. As Marketing and Business Development executive for companies such as IBM, Silicon Graphics, Bertelsmann AG and others, he has managed numerous sales, marketing, product launch, and market entry initiatives in US, Europe, and CIS countries with expertise in product development, marketing strategy, social media, technology, and business expansion.  Alex is a regular speaker on topics of international and multicultural marketing and business strategies and has appeared on CNBC and CNN International. He has been interviewed by and quoted in a number of publications including Business 2.0, Economist, Aviation Weekly, Prague Post, Forbes and others. Alex has a degree in Engineering and Computer Science and did postgraduate marketing and public relations work at Fordham and Harvard Universities.

Michael Sweeney @mjsweeney

Mike is an accomplished marketing professional with nearly 15 years of experience leading in-house marketing teams and serving as a consultant to a variety of organizations in industries such as software/technology, professional services, media and entertainment, retail and telecommunications. This experience led Mike to launch Right Source Marketing, a marketing consulting firm that provides clients with a unique blend of strategic consulting and interactive marketing services. Prior to founding Right Source Marketing, Mike served as the Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Angel.com, a subsidiary of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), one of the largest software companies in the Washington, D.C. area. Prior to Angel.com, Mike served as the Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Sandbox.com, one of the leaders in the online gaming space that was eventually acquired by NBC Universal. Mike received his BBA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame, and is a member of a variety of national organizations including Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO). He also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Interactive Marketing at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies, and is one of the creators of and frequent contributors to the Marketing Trenches blog.

Scott Townsend @unitedlinen

Scott is the brain and brawn behind @UnitedLinen, the winner of the 2008 B2B Twitterer of the Year award. He is currently the Marketing Director and a 10-year employee with United Linen & Uniform Services, Scott has been responsible for developing customer relationships at United Linen through the use of social media strategies as well as with more traditional forms of marketing. United Linen has been recognized for its use of social media tactics in such major publications as Businessweek.com, Forbes.com, the book Twitterville by @ShelIsrael and in The Wall Street Journal. Scott has also written a short essay on the subject of online privacy for the book, Age of Conversation 2. Scott sits on the Board of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra's Marketing Committee, the Price Tower's Community Advisory Committee and is on the Donations committee of the Bartlesville Noon Rotary Club. He is a founding member of the Bartlesville Marketing and Communications Assoc and currently serves as it's Co-Program Chair. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Scott is also proud of the fact that he left his mark at Oklahoma State University by winning the contest to name the horse that carries the Spirit Rider after each OSU touchdown, Bullet.

Debbie Weil @DebbieWeil

Debbie Weil is the author of the original and definitive book on corporate blogging, THE CORPORATE BLOGGING BOOK (Portfolio 2006). She is a DC-based corporate social media consultant and speakerwho has advised clients such as GlaxoSmithKline and the American College of Radiology on how to embrace and execute social media marketing. She has been blogging since 2003 at debbieweil.com/blog and was named by Washingtonian Magazine as a DC Top 100 Tech Titan. She is a Top Twitterer in DC with over 6,000 Followers. Debbie has parsed the implications of Web 2.0 for thousands of marketing, communications and PR executives at conferences in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Europe, the Middle East and China. She has been quoted on the topic of corporate and CEO blogging in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Business Week, CNN.com, The Guardian and numerous other publications. She is working on a new book that is a narrative story of Government 2.0 (the use of social media to make government transparent, participatory and collaborative).

Peacock Sponsors

Bluebird Sponsors

Nightingale Sponsors

Meadowlark Sponsors

Canary Sponsors