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About Business 2 Community

Our goal is to create an open community where professionals and businesses can connect with one another and the consumers of their products and services.

Business 2 Community aims to provide a balanced view of the current business landscape based on industry news and trends, as well as real-life experiences. We feature daily news, information and blogs focusing on the following topics:

Marketing (traditional and online)
Strategy
Branding
Public Relations
Social Media
Mobility / Apps
News / Trends

We are proud to have some of the brightest minds in the industry share their thought leadership and experience with our audience. These contributors provide valuable insights from both a business-to-consumer and business-to-business perspective helping us truly create a “Business-to-Community” experience.

Brian Rice, Co-Founder

Brian Rice is a marketing professional with a decade of experience on both the client and agency side of marketing. He holds a BS, Marketing from Cabrini College and a MBA, Marketing from Saint Joseph’s Haub School of Business and is a member of the International Business Honors Society, Sigma Beta Delta.

Brian began his professional experience as an Intern at the executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles in their Philadelphia office where he maintained their resume search database and assisted on various projects. The next stop in his career was at LexisNexis where he gained experience in direct marketing while supporting in the promotion of LexisNexis’s legal publications and conferences.

At Lasko Products, a large manufacturer of heaters and fans, Brian was a Marketing and Sales Analyst working on accounts such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target and Kmart. It was here that he gained insight into logistics and distribution for consumer products.

Interested in online marketing and a desire for gaining ad agency experience, he joined Unreal Marketing as an Account Executive and quickly was promoted to Account Supervisor where he worked on dozens of accounts across multiple industries. Below are some of the highlights:

FreeCreditReport.com
Wilmington Trust
Citizens Bank
Chase
Peachtree Structured Settlements
Speedo
Majestic
White Flower Farm
Artbeads.com
Cosmetique
Saladworks
Total Merchant Services
Career Education Corporation

Next, Brian was a co-Founder in GREENandSAVE LLC, a provider of environmental news and education, and got a taste of life as an entrepreneur. At the beginning of 2010, he sold his stake in the company and joined SAP, a provider of products and services that empower businesses and helps accelerate business innovation, as an Online Marketing Manager. In November 2010, he was promoted to Senior Manager, Social Media on SAP’s Global Marketing Team. In addition, Brian is an adjunct professor at Cabrini College where he teaches Direct and Online Marketing. The views and opinions expressed here are Brian’s and do not represent those of his employer.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn or email him at brian@business2community.com.

Michael Brenner, Co-Founder

Michael has been working in marketing for over 16 years in various roles serving a diverse group of industries. The one thing that ties his experience together is the use of customer information and market insights to drive results-based marketing strategies and true ROI through higher sales and customer loyalty.

Michael started his career with the Nielsen Company, the global marketing information leader. At Nielsen his roles spanned many functions in client service and sales, regional marketing, and global product management – but shared a common goal – to help the world’s leading retail and consumer brands achieve higher sales, improve their customer and supplier relationships and grow their share of the market through the innovative use of sales and customer survey information.

Michael has also held the senior marketing position with FullTilt, a software start-up acquired by QAD software, and International Communications Research (ICR), a top research company in the U.S. His experience in sales, field marketing, product development, global marketing along with functional expertise in customer insights, database marketing, search marketing, media buying, social media and lead generation provide Michael with the unique perspectives that today’s market requires.

Michael graduated from St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1993 and currently serves as Senior Director of Global Integrated Marketing for SAP, the worldwide leader in enterprise software and software-related services. The view and opinions expressed here are Michael’s and do not represent those of his employer.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

Dan Criel, Co-Founder

Dan designed, coded, and currently maintains Business 2 Community.

Renee DeCoskey, Managing Editor

Renee DeCoskey is a writer and educator from Hollidaysburg, Pa. She holds a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MA in English from George Mason University. In her spare time, she is known to hang out in bookstores, purchase too many books, and spend a lot of time reading. She also enjoys music and road trips to visit friends. She is currently hard at work continuing to write and edit her two NaNoWriMo novels.

Mi6, Partner

Mi6 is a B2B (business to business) marketing & business development agency that is driven to help clients make connections in their markets and with customers. Mi6 programs create relationships, build reputations & generate revenue. We help organizations understand, get and keep customers and build their own social networks. Mi6 is led by CMO, Chris Herbert who is the co-founder of the grassroots social community Silicon Halton.

Social Media HQ, Partner

Based just outside of Philadelphia, Social Media HQ is a full service social media marketing company, offering creative solutions to help business owners and agencies gain a strong Web presence through Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and other Web sites and mobile applications. We are passionate about the power of social media, always staying on top of the latest trends and looking for new and inventive ways to help our clients succeed. Our consultants bring keen expertise, SEO strategy, and professional writing to guide your business toward its goals.