Board of Directors

Chairman: 

Virginia Miracle

EVP Professional Services, Spredfast

Virginia leads the Customer Success team at Spredfast - a leading Social Media Management software company located in Austin, TX. In her role, she works with large enterprises as they socialize their organizations - assisting in everything from technical expertise around the SaaS Spredfast platform to training and change management.

Prior to Spredfast, Virginia was EVP of Digital Strategy at Ogilvy PR Worldwide where she led the North American footprint of the agency's social media and word of mouth marketing practice – 360° Digital Influence.

Prior to Ogilvy, Virginia led WOMM at Brains on Fire and served in multiple positions at Dell, Inc - where she is believed to be the first person to hold a Word of Mouth Marketing title at a Fortune 50 company. She began her career in marketing at Trilogy Software.

Virginia earned a B.A. in English from Princeton University and was named as one of PR Week's 40 Under 40 in 2008.

Past Chairman: 

David Witt

Director, Global Digital Marketing and Brand PR, The Hershey Company

David recently joined The Hershey Company, where he leads the brand public relations and consumer engagement efforts for the company. 

Prior to his current role, he worked at General Mills, where he led social media and the company's WOM efforts. During his time at General Mills, he also led brand public relations for various brands, including Yoplait, Progresso, Hamburger Helper and Old El Paso. He also created the company's three consumer engagement networks – MyBlogSpark, Pssst… and MyGetTogether. 

David is President-Elect of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and a Hershey's representative on socialmedia.org (formerly the Social Media Business Council). 

Additionally, David worked for eight years as a concert and festival producer and promoter in California, focusing mainly on classical and jazz musical events. He also worked in sports and event marketing for Blue Cross Blue Shield and worked in brand public relations for clients including Reynolds Consumer Products, Home Depot, Virginia Beach Tourism and Amelia Island, at a public relations agency in Virginia. He received his MBA from Azusa Pacific University in California.

Chairman-Elect: 

Brad Fay

Author & Word of Mouth Marketing Expert

Brad is the Chief Operating Officer of the Keller Fay Group (kellerfay.com), the award-winning word of mouth research and consulting company he co-founded with CEO Ed Keller. He is also the co-author, with Ed Keller, of The Face to Face Book, scheduled to be published in March 2012 by the Free Press imprint of Simon & Schuster.

In The Face to Face Book, the world’s pre-eminent word of mouth marketing experts demonstrate how in-person social networking, not just online social media, is the key to soaring revenues. Based on his firm’s extensive research, the book includes illuminating social marketing case studies drawn from leading companies such as Apple, Best Buy, Dell, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark, LL Bean, MillerCoors, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota.

Brad is the winner of the Grand Innovation Award from the Advertising Research Foundation for the development of Keller Fay’s TalkTrack®, the first continuous measurement system for all word of mouth, including the 90% of WOM which occurs offline. In 2011 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Connecticut Graduate Program in Survey Research, where he received his Master’s degree.

Brad is a member of the Board of Directors of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, a member of the Market Research Council, and has lectured about survey research at Rutgers, Yale, and Boston University.

Prior to founding the Keller Fay Group, Brad served as managing director at RoperASW (and its successor companies), where he supervised a variety of business units, including Roper Public Affairs, Starch Communications, Financial Services, Technology, and Media.

Brad lives with his two teenage children in Montgomery Township, NJ, where he served four years as a member of the town’s council, including one year as deputy mayor. He is a cum laude graduate of Colby College in Waterville, ME, and holds a Master’s in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.

Secretary: 

Gemma Craven

Executive Vice President, NY Group Director for Social@Ogilvy

As New York Group Director, Gemma leads the Social@Ogilvy team in New York focused on leading a team that develops and executes on scalable social media and word-of-mouth strategies for clients from Amazon Fashion to IBM, IKEA The Gap, DuPont and American Express. 

She leads senior client relationships with UPS and LG, focusing on thought leadership, strategic direction and ensuring creativity and effectiveness across all work. She is particularly passionate about the intersection of social and business, and how today’s enterprises are embracing the new connected status quo throughout their business transformation.

She also runs a wider social working council at Ogilvy NY, focusing on progressing Ogilvy’s seven social business solutions.  Social@Ogilvy is focused on the design integrated social solutions that combine deep disciplines like CRM, public relations and shopper marketing and rooted in what drives behavior.

 Her experience in advising and leading clients on the development of community, conversation and reaching key influencers comes from twelve years working with brands including BBC, News Corp, Microsoft, IBM and GNC. Prior to Ogilvy she was global digital communications lead for IBM’s US joint venture with Ricoh, InfoPrint, and Broadcom, the chip company powering many of the innovations currently coming to market in today’s smartphones.

Gemma moved to the US in 2007, from her role as Head of Technology and Digital Media at Midnight, a digital boutique in her native UK where she worked with AOL’s Advertising.com, Fujifilm, wireless network provider iBahn, Greenlight SEO and one of the first social networks, Nordic-based LunarStorm.

A French speaker, Gemma also specializes in planning and executing global campaigns, having spent time living and working in France, working with Microsoft and Hackett Group, a Paris-based consulting firm. 

Treasurer:

Rod Brooks (Member at Large)

Vice President & CMO, PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company

Rod has enjoyed tremendous success during his 35 year career in sales, marketing, and business development roles since graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Washington State University in 1975. He is known for his vision, leadership, and ability to transform vision into effective corporate strategy and unique implementation plans. Rod has been the marketing force behind successful start‐ups, emerging growth companies, and well established businesses such as Schuck’s Auto Supply, Egghead Software, WordPerfect Corporation, and Coinstar. 

In 1999, Rod took the marketing helm at PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company. With the role came the opportunity to help transform an analytical operations‐based organization with a predominantly commoditized product into a dynamic customer‐centric, market‐driven and results‐oriented mutual organization. Now, 10 years after joining the company, Rod calls the insurance business one of the biggest marketing challenges he’s faced, and he views PEMCO’s current campaign as one of his most rewarding. 

Rod has served in numerous volunteer leadership capacities and as the currently longest standing member of the Washington DECA Board of Directors. His service and contributions were recognized in 2009 when he was presented the Washington DECA Award of Merit ‐ the organizations highest recognition for volunteer service. 

Rod has been active in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association since 2007 and was elected to the WOMMA board of directors and executive committee in 2008 where he currently serves as President.

Leadership & Charitable Participation
• Board of Directors, President, Word of Mouth Marketing Association
• Board of Directors & President Emeritus, Marketing Communications Executives International, Seattle
• Board of Directors, Washington DECA (Past Chairman)
• Dean’s Advocacy Board, Washington State University’s College of Education
• Advisory Board, School of Business, University of Washington
• Board of Directors, PEMCO Life Insurance Company
• Board of Directors, PEMCO Insurance Agency
• VP & Chief Marketing Officer, PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company

Deborah Holland (Member at Large)

Executive Vice President for Publishers Clearing House

As the Executive Vice President of Publishers Clearing House, Deborah is responsible for planning, direction, execution and coordination of company communications, creative, public relations and consumer affairs across all channels, including social media.   Her career with Publishers Clearing House has spanned over thirty years of experience in virtually every aspect of direct marketing and she has been featured as the company spokesperson at industry functions, media interviews (including on-camera appearances) and high-level governmental and legal negotiations, as well as in promotional communications and interactive social media.

A dedicated brand enthusiast who enjoys conversing with customers, colleagues and friends, she is a champion of social media and was instrumental in its start up at Publishers Clearing House nearly four years ago.  She is actively involved on a daily basis on all levels, from strategic planning and management to being a direct practitioner via blogging and Facebook Fan interaction.  From the very beginning, she initiated and participated in formal training, self-education and industry outreach to ensure best practices in their social media program, consistent with the high ethical standards of the company. 

She is an enthusiastic supporter of WOMMA and an active member of the WOMMA Brands Council, and a graduate of WOMMA's Online Certificate Program.

She is a graduate of Muhlenberg College where she studied English and French, attained her MBA from Adelphi University and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Additionally, she has extensive board involvement in industry organizations and non-profits.

Chetan Bhargava

Senior Manager, E-Commerce & Consumer Direct for The J. M. Smucker Company

Chetan has over seventeen years of progressive experience which spans across digital marketing, social media, e-commerce, international and general business management.

He started his career as a merchant marine for a European shipping company, where he worked with professionals from a wide range of nationalities, languages and cultures while traveling extensively around the world. In an attempt to pursue new opportunities during the “dotcom” and “Y2K” era, he joined the University of Akron to pursue a master’s degree in business management.

Since then, he has led digital marketing, social media and e-commerce activities at The J. M. Smucker Company. He has been responsible for the strategy, planning and execution of digital marketing for brands such as Smucker’s, Folgers, Jif, Crisco, Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Eagle Brand, Millstone and Café Bustelo… to name just a few. He has managed the e-commerce business including company-owned online stores as well as opportunities with pure-play e-tailers and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

Chetan has a passion for developing strategies that drive business results and empower the organization for future success. He has a “Center of Excellence” philosophy with a curiosity for emerging trends and technology to drive innovation. Today, he primarily focuses on the future of digital and the opportunities in e-commerce. He recently launched initiatives in the areas of mobile and social commerce.

Christine Cea

Brand PR Director, Unilever, U.S.

Senior communications executive bringing business-minded strategic approach and creative vision to account leadership. Twenty years public relations experience in client growth, campaign and people management -- most recently as Consumer Practice Director for Porter Novelli UK.

Oversight for public relations across Unilever’s U.S. portfolio of foods and personal care products, which include some of the world’s most iconic brands: Dove, Lipton, Vaseline, Hellmann’s, Sauve, Axe and upwards of thirty more. Working closely with the company’s brand marketers and PR agency partners, Christine and her team, provide the gamut of communications counsel from PR program strategy and stewardship to issues and crisis management.
 

Mark Bisard

Vice President & Senior Counsel, American Express

Mark is American Express' "cyberlawyer." He leads the Cyberlaw Unit in its support of the company's wide-ranging cyberlaw needs including those involving emerging technologies, social media, web 2.0 programs, e-contracting, paperless initiatives, web site accessibility, digital best practices, SEO, affiliate marketing, key "interactive" vendor agreements, mobile projects, and more.

Rob Key

CEO, Converseon

Rob is founder and CEO of Converseon, the leading international social media consultancy that helps brands harness the value of social across the enterprise. Founded in 2001, Converseon was the industry's first pure play social consultancy and has garnered an enviable reputation for innovation and excellence for leading brands around the world.

Converseon provides a unique "listen, operationalize, engage, measure" framework via a combination of "next generation" proprietary technologies, management consulting and agency services. Converseon's Conversation Miner™ technology was recently recognized at category "leader" in Forrester's Wave (Q3) on listening platforms. It is also one of the very few providers with the full Twitter Firehose. Its consulting services provide industry-leading services and best practices for brands to integrate social into the fabric of the enterprise. It's activation services, which include the full range of paid, earned and owned" solutions have been well recognized for excellence. Awards include the 2009 Forrester Groundswell B2C "Talking," an OMMA for Best Use of Virtual Worlds, WOMMIE for Best Word of Mouth Program and multiple SAMMY's including "Best Social Agency." Clients including Hilton Hotels, IBM, 3m, Siemens, Yahoo! among many others. Converseon's work has been featured in leading publications including Fortune, CNN, Financial Times. Converseon's leadership hails from a wide range of leading organizations, including Digitas, IBM, Accenture and others, bound together to help create a new generation of solutions for its clients in a nimble, fast moving environment.

Headquartered in New York, Converseon's team extends to Detroit, San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Copenhagen and Shanghai (via partnership).

Prior to Converseon, Rob was head of the Innovations Group at a division of Young & Rubicam and a member of the WPP.com board. He has been deeply enmeshed in digital marketing since the early days of 1995. Rob speaks frequently at a range of leading conferences in North America, Asia and Europe about the transformative nature of social media, including the Conference Board, 4As, iBrand Summit(s), Search Engine Strategies, Adtech, Word of Mouth Marketing Association (where Converseon is a governing member), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA International), Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), Affiliate Summit, among many others. He was a 2010 ARF Great Mind Award Honoree, a member of the CASRO submittee on social listening ethics and a founding Fellow at the Society of New Communications Research.

Christine Morrison

Group Social Media Manager, Intuit

Christine Morrison drives the end-to-end social strategy for Intuit TurboTax, a 1.5 billion dollar business. In her role she sets both the long- and the short-term strategy for how to partner with customers to get great business outcomes. Her innovative campaigns and product features create incremental revenue in the multi-million dollar range each year while creating customer delight and delivering on Intuit’s brand promise to customers. As a pioneer in the field, she’s been a frequent speaker on the “social” circuit. She is currently both an ANA West coast social committee co-leader and a WOMMA board member.

In prior lives she has been a product manager, web developer, and a marine biology teacher. She’s married to a gifted video game artist and is Mommy to an active 2-year-old boy. Sometimes while sitting at her desk she still marvels that she used to actually get paid to teach kayaking and snorkeling. She is widely regarded as the slowest, most awkward runner her friends know.

Rick Murray

President, Chicago for Edelman

Rick’s principal areas of expertise include business and marketing strategy; brand positioning, social business strategy and influencer engagement. Today, he provides strategic and creative counsel to many of Edelman’s clients including RIM, Kraft Foods, Best Buy, SC Johnson and PepsiCo.

In June 2010 Rick was appointed President of the firm’s Chicago office. Today, Edelman Chicago is the largest PR operation in the Midwest and home to more than 600 people, each of whom are proud to help a wide range of clients with smart, results-driven Consumer Marketing, Corporate Affairs, and Health, Technology and Digital initiatives.

Since joining Edelman in 2001, he has served as general manager of the Edelman’s Diversified Services unit; president of me2revolution (a pioneering social media lab); and president of Edelman Digital, which he built into a global business that now represents 15% of Edelman’s fees.

Rick has previous experience as executive vice president of GolinHarris, and as president of two leading experiential and sales promotion agencies, Motivation Media and TPN. He started his career in a series of sales and marketing roles at Ocean Spray Cranberries, and then moved to Pepsi-Cola International where he directed Canadian marketing efforts for Brand Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7-Up.

Rick is a frequent speaker and media spokesman on social media, social networks, word of mouth marketing and the future of communications. He’s an active member of the Board of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce; a Trustee to the Chicago Architectural Foundation; and serves in an advisory capacity to Syncapse, GenConnect and Auburn University. He holds a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Vermont. 

An endurance cyclist, amateur chef and garage-band musician, Rick lives in Northfield, IL with his wife Lea and [occasionally] one or more of their three daughters. You can find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Skype as rickatedelman; on Twitter, he’s @rickmurray.

Tanuja Singeetham

Digital and Social Media Marketing Manager, Nestlé USA 

Tanuja Singeetham is currently Digital and Social Media Marketing Manager working in the Communications Division of Nestle USA working on various interactive and social media efforts across all of Nestle.
 
She recently held the role of Interactive and Relationship Marketing for the Nestlé USA Beverage Division, for the past 7 years supporting key brands, such as NESCAFÉ ® TASTER’S CHOICE®; NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE®; NESTLÉ® NESQUIK®; and NESTLÉ® JUICY JUICE®. She was also a co-lead for the Nestlé Family marketing initiative, a multi-brand effort geared toward parents that includes brands such as NESTLÉ TOLLHOUSE, STOUFFERS, NESTLÉ PURE LIFE, and NESTLÉ WONKA.

Tanuja has been with Nestlé for 19 years with roles in Consumer Promotions, Marketing and Relationship Marketing supporting the PetCare, Confections & Snacks and Beverage Divisions. Her skills and aptitude of digital media have proven invaluable in keeping the Nestlé USA Beverage Division on-trend with emerging media and technology, and have helped Nestlé reach new heights of consumer engagement.

She began her foray into the interactive world when she launched the first FRISKIES PETCARE Division website in 1998 called FriskyPet.com. Since then, Tanuja has worked on more than 50 websites throughout Nestlé and across categories that include pet food, confectionary, diabetic products, beverages and corporate efforts. Her award-winning work has included efforts in mobile, email marketing, social media, online advertising, word-of-mouth marketing, blogger outreach, gaming and consumer advocacy.

Tanuja received her Bachelor’s of Business Administration in management from California State University, Fullerton. She is also a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association and volunteer for FreeArts.

Ekaterina Walter

Author

Social Media Strategist

Ekaterina Walter is a social innovator. A recognized business and marketing thought leader, she is a speaker and a regular contributor to Mashable, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and other leading-edge print and online publications. She is an author of the book “Think Like Zuck: The Five Business Secrets of Facebook's Improbably Brilliant CEO Mark Zuckerberg”. Walter has been featured in Forbes and BusinessReviewUSA and was named among 25 Women Who Rock Social Media in 2012. She is an active member of the Thunderbird Global Council at Thunderbird School of Global Management. 

Ted Wright

Dave Balter (Observer)

Pete Blackshaw (Observer)