Michael Della Penna — Founder & CEO

Michael Della Penna is a respected marketing thought leader with a track record of launching successful marketing, branding and sales strategies for leading B2C and B2B companies. Michael is the founder and CEO of Conversa Marketing, LLC (www.conversamarketing.com) a full service interactive marketing agency that helps leading brands build websites and marketing programs that ignite conversations, cultivate relationships and drive commerce. Michael is also the founder and executive chairman of the Participatory Marketing Network (PMN) (www.thepmn.org) a new industry association established to give marketers the knowledge and know-how necessary to start marketing with customers rather than at customers. Before starting Conversa Marketing and the PMN, Michael served as CMO of Epsilon, a $500 million dollar leader of multi-channel, data-driven marketing services. While at Epsilon Michael led all strategic marketing, branding, market positioning, lead generation and communication efforts, as well as industry and government relations.

Michael's corporate initiatives have significantly bolstered Epsilon's market presence and client base and firmly positioned the company among the marketing services industry elite. Michael has been an active in a number of important marketing industry associations including the AOTA (Authentication & Online Trust Alliance) and the DMA (Direct Marketing Association), where he served as a founding member of the DMA's Interactive Marketing Advisory Board (IMAB), executive chairman of the DMA's Email Marketing Council and the Co-Executive Chairman of the DMA's Email Experience Council. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and is regularly quoted in the media about interactive and integrated marketing.

Prior to joining Epsilon, Michael was CMO of Bigfoot Interactive, which eventually became Epsilon's Interactive Services group after its 2005 acquisition. While at Bigfoot Interactive, Michael established and ran Bigfoot Interactive's marketing services offering including strategic consulting, list acquisition and creative services and played a lead role in the sales process, closing new business from leading brands including Capital One, Citibank, Chase, Discover Card, Disney, Target and Wal-Mart. Before that, he was vice president of strategic development at CNET Networks Inc, where he designed key plans to increase revenue and grow key audience segments for the Internet's leading technology destination. Prior to that, Michael was vice president of marketing at ZDNet, which was later acquired by CNET Networks, Inc.

Michael has been consistently recognized as one of B-to-B Magazine's “100 Most Influential People in Business-to-Business and Interactive Marketing” (2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002) and is credited for his ongoing contributions to establishing industry best practices. Michael currently serves on the Board of Directors at StrongMail Systems, a leading provider of social media and on-premise email marketing solutions.

Michael received a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. from Hofstra University.

THE CONVERSA MARKETING TEAM:

Gina Simon, Vice President of Marketing

Gina Simon has over 20 years experience in advertising, marketing, promotions, publicity, and research. She has worked with b2b, b2c, and nonprofit companies developing and executing marketing programs designed to build brand awareness and drive sales. Her strong research background sets a firm foundation for understanding the interests, behaviors, and needs of customers in order to drive informed marketing strategies for her clients.

Prior to joining Conversa Marketing, Gina worked for CMP, Gannett Publishing, and Young & Rubicam where she lead various integrated marketing programs. Gina holds a BA(English) and an MBA (Marketing) from Hofstra University.

Serena Yam, Director of Community Development

Serena Yam has worked in the interactive marketing industry for the past 6 years and has serviced Fortune 500 clients in the automotive, retail, financial services, consumer products & goods, entertainment & travel industries. Her results driven attitude has led to the development of many successful micro sites, email and social media marketing programs targeted at building loyal brand ambassadors and followers.

Prior to Conversa Marketing, Serena worked for Zeta Interactive, Epsilon, Bigfoot Interactive and barnesandnoble.com where she was project manager, responsible for launching changes to the e-commerce site. Serena graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, earning a bachelor's degree in Legal Studies and a certificate in Dispute Resolution.

Shanella Ramlall, Director of Community Implementation & Technology

Shanella Ramlall has worked in the interactive marketing field for 6 years. Her experience includes managing and implementing numerous marketing and data integration programs for such leading brands as GM, Network Appliance, Century 21, Disney, Citibank, Chase and Discover Card. Her deep technical background and exceptional project management skills has enabled Shanella to build and support some of the world's most sophisticated marketing programs including automated lifecycle email communications and triggers that have driven measurable ROI for her clients.

Prior to joining Conversa Marketing, Shannella worked for Zeta Interactive, Epsilon and Bigfoot Interactive where she managed the technical and marketing integration needs across email and social media marketing program with her client's customer databases. Shanella graduated from Hofstra University, earning a bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

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