The Open Boardroom

Ryan Barnhart is the Director of Alumni Relations for California University of Pennsylvania. I am an alumnus of Cal U and have had the great fortune to interact with Ryan several times since graduating with my B.A. For Ryan’s part, he is working in one of the competitive industries in the United States—higher education—and he is tasked with driving top tier engagement without the mega pool of resources often available to much larger universities.

In this podcast, we talk about:

• Triaging your marketing ideas to layer new ideas and initiatives on top of each other overtime
• The changing dynamics of multi-generational marketing campaigns
• How businesses can leverage alumni organizations in their own marketing
• What business leaders can learn from what’s working in alumni engagement

To learn more about Ryan, connect with him on LinkedIn.

To learn more about Cal U’s alumni organization, visit their website.

Sam Dyer is a career designer who turned a passion for classic video games into a blossoming publishing business. Bitmap Books takes product experience to a new level, which is high-praise for a medium as old and as competitive as books. Sam built a book experience that appeals to the true super fan, investing in high-end touches that most publishers ignore.

Eric Catalano is an Account Executive at LinkedIn, where he works with some of the biggest brands to help them find success with LinkedIn advertising. We also went to high school together, but as far as Eric’s accomplishment’s go, that’s probably pretty low on his list of successes. His career in advertising goes far deeper than LinkedIn, and his insights into marketing on and off the LinkedIn platform are relevant for any business owner.

In this podcast, Eric and I talk about:

• What social media advertising looks like from inside of LinkedIn
• Best practices for leveraging the LinkedIn ad network
• What social media advertisers can expect in the future (LinkedIn and beyond)

To learn more about Eric, connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericcatalano/

To learn more about LinkedIn advertising, visit their website: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions#/

John Pojeta and I have worked together for several years now. As we have done a range of work for the PT Services Group, I have gotten to know John and have had the fortune of learning from his deep experience in sales and business growth. John got his start as a financial advisor, grew a business, and then transitioned into his current role as VP of Business Development for the PT Services Group, a Pittsburgh-based appointment setting firm with clients in every corner of the United States.

In this podcast, John and I talk about:

-Appointment setting and its role in business growth

-Learning to sell and how to continue improving

-What he’s learned from his own work and from his clients

-Trends in sales and growth that impact businesses of all types

-The role that content plays in PT’s marketing efforts

John has a ton of knowledge to share, and I’m excited that we got to capture some of that in this episode.

To learn more about John, connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpojeta/

To learn more about the PT Services Group, visit their website: https://www.theptservicesgroup.com/

Jason Brown currently serves as the Interim Director for the Carnegie Science Center, an iconic science and education destination in Pittsburgh. Prior to managing this sprawling organization and its ever-changing programs, exhibits, and initiatives, Jason was an educator and a business owner, and he draws upon those experiences each day to move the organization forward.

In this podcast, Jason and I talk about:

-The challenges of managing a large organization with multiple teams and departments

-How the Ca

Dan Hudock has decades of sales experience and is the owner of a Sandler Franchise. Dan has worked with hundreds of business owners and sales leaders to help them grow their businesses, and I was fortunate enough to meet Dan through a mutual client and to then become of his students. It was the best business decision I ever made.

In this podcast, Dan talks about:

• How technique is a part of a larger picture of what ultimately makes a salesperson effective

• How to think about and how to approach sale

Ben Goldstein has been creating content for more than a decade. Building on a foundation in journalism, Ben was one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts reporting. Though his work looks much different now, many of the key insights into effective digital content that made successful then are driving his success now. Today, he is a Content Manager for Nutshell, a breakout CRM, and uses content marketing to capture new customers in a hyper-competitive space.

My conversation with Ben covers a wide range of to

Nichole Castillo has been behind the scenes in the mixed martial arts world since 2005, and in that time she has been responsible for some of Pennsylvania and Ohio’s most successful events. As a matchmaker, she coordinates the bouts for the events, which means managing everything from picking exciting fights to recruiting fighters, to following-through on a litany of responsibilities to both the event promoter and to the state’s athletic commission.

Though Nichole’s business is not a traditional one

Brian has been on both sides of the marketing agency dynamic. At Coca Cola, he was deep behind the scenes as a Group Director, helping to manage and execute Coca Cola’s international marketing efforts. From there, he transitioned into the agency world and saw the business of marketing from the other end of the relationship. Now, in his work as the CEO of Agency Spotter, Brian is working to bridge the divide between brands and agencies, helping every stakeholder to find the right partners and to collaborat

At the helm of the Taylor family’s many business ventures, Trey Taylor wears many hats but in all roles takes a deep focus on leadership. Through The CEO Academy, Trey coaches and mentors CEOs across the country to make them more effective business leaders. That work, combining experiences that span multiple industries and meshing Trey’s own insights as the CEO of Taylor Insurance Services with the best practices of some of the greatest minds in business, is forming the basis of Trey’s upcoming book,