Founders and Key Players

Mike Agron | Bret Smith | Patty Van Hooser | Tamara Williams | Maralynn Adams | Lori Dearman | Carolyn Alley | Terry Lee | Gerry Nason | Jessica Kleppang | Peter Rieks

 

Mike Agron

Founder and Executive Webinar Producer

Mike AgronMike Agron, Co-Founder & Executive Webinar Producer of WebAttract, LLC, is a results oriented sales and business development executive with a 25 year history at top technology hardware and software firms such as Apple, Oracle, MapInfo and deCarta. Mike has worked in the trenches and as an executive, where he led global business development, channel, and partner sales teams that have contributed significant revenue and profitability while opening up new market segments.

In 2008 he launched Agron Business Development (ABD) to help top tier technology corporations, start-ups, and mid-sized firms improve sales execution through partnering and webinar demand creation. At ABD he was instrumental in creating the Directions Media Sponsored Webinar series, which has resulted in a profitable line of business for Directions Media. In early 2009, he and Bret Smith, founded WebAttract LLC, with the singular goal of offering the most comprehensive one stop service for enabling companies in the B2B space to promote their brand, boost thought leadership and drive revenue from fresh new sales leads.

As the Executive Webinar Producer he’s produced and moderated engaging informational webinars for industry leaders such as Dex One formerly known as RH Donnelley, Google, Microsoft, NAVTEQ, Oracle, Underwriters Laboratories including early stage and lesser known regional companies to help them achieve their business and sales objectives through webinar demand creation.

Mike is an accomplished speaker and producer of executive forums, and partner conferences. He is an Executive Advisor for Directions Media; is on the Advisory Board of Chrometa, an up and coming time capture software company; and is considered a trusted advisor to TechCoire, a leading Northern California based business and technology education organization.

LinkedIn Profile

Bret Smith

Founder and Audience Recruitment Master

Bret SmithBret Smith, Co-Founder & Master Audience Recruiter of WebAttract, LLC, is a master of audience recruitment and solution selling. Across 20 years' experience in Global Sales, Marketing, Alliances & BizDev, he has developed considerable expertise around the harnessing of bleeding-edge best e-prospecting practices which leverage the convergence of traditional data sources and social media. His talent in translating abstract features and benefits into meaningful value propositions and delivering them to laser-targeted audiences, delivering millions of dollars in sales for companies like Pitney Bowes, Century Link, Tyler Technologies, Entergy, MapInfo, Sanako US, and many others.

As the "Voice" of the popular LinkedIn WebAttract Thought Leadership Webinars and Webcasts Group, Bret is a prolific blogger. He has also contributed dozens of articles to Bright Hub, Webinar Wire and Virtual Edge and has authored compelling content for Harvard Business Review, Columbia Law List, LAPTOP Magazine, Desktop Engineering Magazine and Directions Media. He is also an accomplished speaker and presently a staple of the 20-city-a-year Integrated Marketing Summit.

Bret is an active member in the eMarketing Association Network, Email Marketing Roundtable, the B2B Lead Generation Roundtable, the Sales Lead Management Association, Friends of the Funnel, the B2B Technology Marketing Community and the FastTrack Business Network. He has also been Email and Social Media Strategist for a senatorial candidate of a major U.S. political party.

LinkedIn Profile

 

Patty Van Hooser

Director of Client Collaboration and Senior Associate Webinar Producer

Patty Van Hooser Patty Van Hooser has 25 years of experience in creating, producing and managing professional events. Her background includes project management of special, informational and focused two day events for executive level attendees as well as being a national conference director for various week long state and national conferences and trade shows for 5,000 to 10,000 plus attendees. Needless to say, she is very detailed oriented in a fast-paced deadline driven environment where she ensures that deliverables and milestones are met.

Patty has enjoyed collaborating with companies like Apple Computer, Microsoft, Government Technology, AT&T, Citrix, Deloitte, HP, IBM, SAS, SAP, SUN, and Unisys to create timely educational events to help them raise brand awareness, thought leadership and increase revenue. By working closely with clients, Patty's expertise and her passion for creating successful events is a big asset to the development and creation of successful webinars.

 

Tamara Williams

Director of Event Development and Associate Webinar Producer

Tamara WilliamsTamara Williams is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and has an extensive background in creating, planning and delivering events and meetings of all sizes. She uses more than 19 years of experience to provide the creative ideas and expert service needed to make your events fall into place.

Training programs, seminars and forums are an integral part of Tamara’s repertoire as are networking events and fundraisers. She has hosted C-level executives, local business leaders and public officials. Speakers at her events have included celebrities and officials such as Congresswoman Doris Matsui; former California State Controller Steve Westly; actors Edward James Olmos and Ed Beagley, Jr.; Coach Ken Carter, the Inspiration for the film Coach Carter; Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the legendary Titanic; author and futurist James Burke; CEOs of major corporations, astronauts, politicians and appellate court justices.

Tamara believes in giving back to the community and has volunteered her time for several local non-profit and community organizations, including:

  • WEAVE (Women Escaping A Violent Environment)
  • Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission
  • Sacramento Advocates for Girls Empowerment (SAGE)

In addition she served a two-year term on the Board of Directors for the American Marketing Association, Sacramento Valley Chapter, as Vice President of Forums.

 

Maralynn Adams

Webinar Logistics Producer & Associate

Maralynn AdamsMaralynn Adams has been a visible force in the event industry for over 15 years. Her passion and creativity, attention to detail and flawless execution ensure that all of the events she manages are a success.

She began her career as a Marketing Program Manager for Oracle Corporation, where she managed partner conferences, executive summits, lead generation seminars and special events. Maralynn has also held Event Manager positions with McAfee, Openwave Systems and Cisco, where she successfully managed events with multi-million dollar budgets that ranged in attendance from 100 – 6,000. She most recently spent two years at Immersa Marketing as a Senior Event Manager and because of her extensive expertise and background, she was placed in key role positions managing several of the company’s largest and most valuable accounts.

As the Webinar Logistics Producer, she utilizes her skill sets to ensure that each client receives the best possible experience to meet or exceed their expectations and outcomes.

 

Lori Dearman, MA

Webinar Content Producer

Lori DearmanA pioneer in the online communication field, Lori has spent much of the last eight years crafting and facilitating high-impact trainings and webinars for delivery to online audiences. A Spanish major from Tulane University with a Masters degree from Columbia University, Lori has lived in Mexico, studied in Madrid and worked in South Korea for two of their most powerful conglomerates - POSCO and Samsung Corporation where she designed and delivered highly-rated soft landing programs for Korea’s fast-track managers and executives.

Lori's background with Citrix, Samsung, Posco, University of California, Virtual Junction, and currently WebAttract gives her a unique skill set that includes experience in the development, design, delivery and evaluation of online training programs geared toward international audiences ranging from university students to ”C-suite” executives, as well as producing large-scale lead-generation webinars with a focus on audience engagement and thought leadership. While at Citrix, Lori logged close to 500 web events and directed their online training efforts with a team of 5 trainers and 2 webinar consultants, touching well over 50,000 customers and employees. Most recently as President and founder of Virtual Junction, Lori has partnered with airport-weary trainers to transform their classroom courseware into a highly interactive and compelling online format.

As a WebAttract Webinar Content Producer, Lori leverages her unique background and skill set to understand your business’ unique story and coach and mentor you and your team as Webinar speakers to ensure that each and every Webinar hits its mark in attracting valuable leads, engaging those who attend, and showing your business in its absolute best light.

 

Carolyn Alley

Manager of Creative Services

Carolyn AlleyCarolyn Alley is a graphic designer and illustrator. She trained in California at San Jose State University and UC Davis in art history and studio art, as well as web design, pre-press printing and multimedia design. Her goal was to be a fine artist or photographer, until she met up with a computer screen, when she traded in her paintbrush and potter’s wheel for a keyboard and mouse.

Creative thinking and design are the strengths she brings to the table, as well as a tenacious nature to get the job done. Knowing how to listen and hear clients’ needs and thoughts, and to interpret them at a high artistic level is her strong suit. In addition to designing web sites and working as an illustrator, she is also part of an award-winning web site “dream team” that helps create educational sites for the California school system.

 

Terry Lee

Director, Pre-Sales Engagement

Terry Lee Terry has over 35 years of experience in sales and sales management, both with large companies and helping build smaller, entrepreneurial enterprises.

He was employee #3 and built the sales organization for one of the foremost companies specializing in communication training and coaching. He now plays a key sales role with WebAttract, working with top-notch companies of all sizes and in various industries.

Terry has lived in Larkspur, California, for 20 years, is married to Linda and has 2 children, Meghan and Ryan. He is active in the Big Brother Big Sisters organization, currently serving as their board chair.

 

Gerry Nason

Manager, Post-Event Sales Engagement

Gerry Nason Gerry Nason, our Manager of Post-Event Nurturing, has spent virtually his entire adult life in consultative business to business tele-sales. Having spent twenty successful years in the executive recruitment field, Gerry developed and honed his skill for getting his sales message in front of decision makers. The first decade was spent winning nine consecutive President's Club Top Achiever's Awards, the second decade as Branch Manager for his firm's Los Angeles and Atlanta branch offices.

The past fifteen years, Gerry has spent mastering the art of sales lead development for a variety of business software products and business services. He attributes his success to a combination of relentless spirit, strong communication skills, and a friendly business style.

 

Jessica Kleppang

Operations Support Coordinator

Jessica Kleppang As the operations support coordinator Jessica attends to a broad spectrum of organizational needs. This includes enhancing the social media presence of Webattract, increasing the size and quality of Webattract's B2B database and assisting in the management of the email marketing platform. She is also involved in content research and development, pre-sales support, and other operational functions relating to Webattract's pre-webinar needs.

With a mix of education and experience Jessica has established herself as a social media communications professional, working to leverage organizations in the social media world. Jessica has a Masters in Strategic Communications from Ithaca College. While attending Ithaca College she conducted several studies and projects on the different aspects of communications, such as strategic planning, marketing, and computer mediated communication. Most of the research focused on emerging technologies and how to best apply those technologies in connection with strategic communications planning.

 

Peter Rieks

Web Services, Design & Development

Peter Rieks Based on his professional career in the software industry in a number of marketing roles, Peter Rieks initially started developing websites as a hobby driven by his passion for creative designs, simple messaging and easy navigation. Quickly, this passion, attention to detail and quick turnaround grew into more than a hobby and Dedita Design was born in early 2009.

Peter's professional career started in Denmark with Borland International, then MapInfo and Vodafone during his 16 years in the UK and most recently with Autodesk and Embarcadero Technologies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

LinkedIn Profile

 

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