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Management
Norm Goldstein, Chief Executive
Officer and Founder
Norman is an entrepreneur with a strong background in licensing,
fashion, direct marketing, and internet concept development industries.
As EVP Licensing and Business Development at Walker Digital
(Walker Digital launched Priceline.com), Norman
managed a large patent portfolio of inventions and business process
patents. Norman is a named inventor on 6 US patents.
As President and CEO of Univex Licensing Group, Mr. Goldstein pioneered,
developed and managed a joint venture with The Sharper Image Corp.
to create 16 licenses of their brand in many categories. Mr. Goldstein
was the founder and CEO of Margin Equities Inc. a manufacturing
and importer of specialty and promotional products for large corporate
accounts such as Disney, American Express, IBM, Merck, and M&M
Mars. Mr. Goldstein was President of Peter Max Licensing Inc. where
he generated 12 licensing agreements for the Pop Culture Artist
in addition to opening a new gallery. Mr. Goldstein is a New York State Mediator and Arbitrator, a Board
Member of Positive Directions charity, serves on the Advisory Board
of the University of Bridgeport School of Engineering, the National
Parents Board of Syracuse University, the Board of Visitors of the
School of Informational Studies at Syracuse University, Syracuse
Campus Community Entrepreneurship Initiative (Enitiative) National
Advisory Board, and Amazing Kids Board of Directors. Norm is also a
Mentor/Coach to business entrepreneurs.
Mr. Goldstein launched By Kids For Kids Co, a company dedicated to
inspiring, motivating and stimulating children to use their
creativity and imagination. He has been recognized by Congress with
the 2005 ET3 TEC Championship Congressional award. He was also named
a “2006 Purpose Prize Fellow” - recognizing him as a leader in the
movement to invent new ways to solve Society’s toughest problems. He
was recently elected as a Board member and Treasurer of the United
Inventors Association (UIA).
Art Shulman, President
Art Shulman leads the transition from ideas to revenue and focuses
on speed to profit. His expertise in identifying engines of growth,
and understanding how to sustain growth, has come from recent work
as CEO of a small software company, from within the Walker Digital
Invention Laboratory, and management of organizations ranging from
start-ups to hundreds of millions in revenue. Fast and smart are his
bywords.
Art helps organizations master their goals in less time, with less
expense, and with the right priorities. He believes that managing
growth involves identifying and protecting assets, and focusing on
efficiency and careful cost/benefit ratios. He believes that
successful cultures incorporate the will to innovate.
Before joining BKFK he was CEO of OPUS-ISM, a pharmacy software
company where he restructured the organization while successfully
positioning it for sale three years ahead of schedule. At Walker
Digital, Art served as President & COO of several key ventures. He
spearheaded the creation and launch of Priceline Gasoline that broke
even and attracted over 750,000 paying customers in just five
months. He was responsible for sales at N.E.W. Customer Services
Companies, a $200,000,000 private firm supporting Best Buy, Sam's
Club, American Express and Visa. His retail career culminated in
becoming CEO of publicly held Harvey Electronics, where he reversed
a decade of losses and created 6 consecutive years of operating
profits.
Laura Ploss, Chief Operating Officer
Laura has had over 24 years in operational management. Prior to
BKFK she was the Director of Operations for eNewsRelease, an online
press release distribution service. She began her career in the
Travel Industry where she spent 18 years in retail and corporate
travel management. While working with Carlson Wagonlit Travel she
established and managed onsite corporate travel offices in General
Electric and Xerox Corporate Headquarters. She managed the travel
coordination for Xerox’s annual Senior Management and monthly
Board of Directors meetings. Laura has volunteered for many years
as production and stage manager in community theatre and youth dance
recitals.
Rebecca Ryan Hunter, Vice President of Marketing
Rebecca brings a great deal of experience in online brand development
and management. She has been in marketing and development since
the early days of the internet, working with non-profit associations
and Fortune 100 companies. In her community outreach work at Rain
Bird, Rebecca was instrumental in developing and producing online
curriculum for rain forest education. During her time as Managing
Producer at Grey Interactive, Rebecca managed global production
and development for P&G and Nortel Networks and was a key new
business development team member. In her time as Internet &
New Media Director at iN DEMAND Networks, Rebecca developed eCRM
databases, developed online marketing materials for video-on-demand
and worked on the launch team for two new high-definition networks.
Christine Casey, Ed.D, Director of Educational
Initiatives
Dr. Casey’s 30 year career in education has focused on creating
educational opportunities for underserved populations through leveraging
creative partnerships with community and private industry. While
serving as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
for the Stamford Public Schools in Stamford, CT, she lead the team
that created one of the first “high tech” high schools
in the nation; the nationally award winning Academy of Information
Technology. Dr. Casey currently consults state wide in Connecticut
and regionally in New York specializing in creating programs for
students with disabilities and underserved populations; grant writing,
developing funding sources and coordinating pilot activities.
Brian Wittman, Creative Director
Brian is the founder of and creative director for Wittman Idea Network
LLC, an established brand image consulting firm. Prior to that he
was with Walker Digital where he created and lead its design team
to define the “look and feel” for the next generation
of its commercialized patents. He was with Priceline.com when it
began and was part of the implementation team for brand strategy
and recognition. Brian's 25+ year career has included clients such
as Jimmy Buffett, Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, World Wrestling
Federation and Scholastic, to name a few.
John Forrester, PR Specialist
Mr. Forrester is an internationally regarded media expert and public
relations strategist. Mr. Forrester possesses a deep understanding
of business and consumer media. He has successfully negotiated
dozens of joint ventures and media partnerships in addition to
voluminous editorial coverage on behalf of his clients. Known for
highly personalized service and attention to detail, Mr. Forrester
creates tremendous value and advantages for clients through
thoughtful and strategic “Storytelling for the 21st Century.”
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