Lindsay Blankenship
Director, Search Marketing at Razorfish

Lindsay Blankenship is an award-winning leader in the field of Search Engine Marketing. She built an 18 person Search Marketing department in the Central Region of Razorfish, a leading global digital agency, and is currently focusing her efforts on one of the agencies largest accounts. She excels across a wide range of SEM channels including Paid & Organic Search, Mobile & Local Search, Social Search, Analytics and Digital Marketing strategies that has made a great impact in her organization at Razorfish. In 2011, Lindsay's team brought home awards and honors from AiMA, SoFIE, AMY and IAB Mixx Award ceremonies as a testament to using innovative tactics to drive results.

Lindsay also devotes her time nationally and locally to industry and community events with AiMA and SEMPO. As one of the local Atlanta Chapter founders of SEMPO, Lindsay serves as the Atlanta Chapter Marketing Chair and helps coordinate and execute local and nationally simulcasted events. Additionally Lindsay has served as the SEMPO North American Co-Chair since 2009 and focused on the expansion of local chapters in major cities in the US.

Lindsay writes for the Razorfish Search blog, SearchShots and has been a speaker at renowned industry conferences such as Online Marketing Summit, Direct Marketing Association, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), MediaPost Search Insider Summit, eMarketing Association and others. She is Google AdWords and Marin Enterprise certified and well versed in many leading Analytics, Ad-serving, Media Management and Competitive Monitoring toolsets in the industry.

Lindsay is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a Bachelor's degree in Communication with a minor in Psychology.

Twitter: @lcblankenship

Chris Boggs - Chairperson
Chief Marketing Officer, Internet Marketing Ninjas

Chris is a proven commodity in the search space with over 13 years’ experience in online marketing across major industries, working as a consultant and as a leader within large digital agencies. His advanced internet marketing qualifications are steeped in Search Engine Optimization. Since 2005 he has written numerous educational articles and spoken regularly at major marketing conferences, which have enabled him to network and brainstorm with many experts across digital marketing. This has led Chris over the past 3 years to focus on the integration of marketing efforts with desirable user experience and conversion goals, across both online and offline channels.

Chris shares his passion of digital marketing in a number of capacities, and is on the Search Engine Strategies Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of SEMPO (current Chair), and a founding member of the Internet Marketers of New York. He also serves as co-host of the Webmasterradio.fm Podcast "SEO Rockstars." In his early years he participated extensively at Search Engine Watch Forums, and enjoys sharing ideas and disagreements with other marketers through as many mediums as possible. Twitter: @boggles, G+:   104023451920714923588

Bruce Clay
President, Bruce Clay, Inc.

Bruce has been a recognized leader in the search marketing arena since 1996 when, after a long career as a technical executive with leading Silicon Valley companies, he launched one of the first consulting firms devoted to search engine optimization (SEO). His pioneering efforts continue to lead the search industry by providing award-winning SEO training and certification courses, the SEO Code of Ethics and the full-featured SEOToolSet®. He is a popular speaker at major industry conferences including Search Engine Strategies (SES), PubCon, ad:tech and Search Marketing Expo (SMX).

Bruce hosts SEM Synergy (www.semsynergy.com), a weekly half-hour show on WebmasterRadio.fm covering all aspects of Internet marketing. Bruce co-authored the all-in-one desk reference guide for SEO, Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies, and is a principal editor and speaker for SEMJ.org, a scholarly research journal for search engine marketing. Widely recognized as a search marketing expert, he has been quoted in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC Week, Wired Magazine, Smart Money, as well as in several books. Bruce is also featured in many video interviews conducted by industry notables such as WebProNews and Dr. Ralph Wilson.

Mike Corak - Treasurer
EVP of Strategy and the Managing Director, ethology – Phoenix

Mike Corak, a 15-year digital vet, is the EVP of Strategy and the Managing Director of the Phoenix office of ethology, a Tallwave company founded by Jeffrey Pruitt, former SEMPO President and Chair. Ethology is a full-service digital marketing agency heavily grounded in earned and owned media tactics including the intersection of content, search, and social media.

Mike has a true passion for all things digital, and is a frequent speaker and content contributor currently focusing on digital marketing strategy, content marketing, and social media topically for organizations like OMS (Online Marketing Summit) and SEMPO (Mike will be presenting at SEMPO's February Webinar on Content Marketing Strategy development).

Mike has deep roots in the search community. From an employment standpoint, Mike has held a variety of strategy roles, including that of Lead Strategic Planner at iCrossing. Mike has created digital marketing and execution plans for many of the world's leading brands including Coca-Cola, FedEx, Disney, Bank of America, Nike, and more in his career.

Mike currently co-chairs SEMPOAZ, and sits on the AZIMA Board of Advisors (Arizona Internet Marketing Association), a group he co-founded that covers a wide variety of digital marketing topics.

Prior to joining ethology, Mike served as the Director of Interactive Services, Strategy at Mighty Interactive, a Division of Off Madison Ave. Mike was mentored here and replaced Jay Baer, a top 3 social media blogger and President of Convince and Convert (www.convinceandconvert.com).

www.linkedin.com/in/mikecorak

Rob Garner, Vice President
Principal, Rob Garner Consulting

Rob Garner is an independent author, speaker, straegist, and consultant, focused, on search, social, content, and awide variety of other digital marketing disciplines. Garner works with Fortune 500 brands to develop digital marketing strategies that drive visibility, engagement, and results.

A regular Media Post "Search Insider" columnist for four years, Garner is a regularly-quoted expert on the topic of search engine marketing in major business and industry publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Reuters, Adweek, Direct Marketing News, Smart Business Magazine, Search Engine Watch, Clickz, CNNMoney, and The Dallas Morning News. He is also actively involved in a number of professional industry organizations, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Search Committee, SEMPO local task force, and served as president of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Search Engine Marketing Association from 2006-2008. He has also taught the SEMPO Institute course for SES training day.

Garner is also a regular speaker at search engine marketing industry events, and has spoken at Search Engine Strategies (SES), Search Marketing Expo (SMX), WebmasterWorld's PubCon, Search Insider Summit, OMMA, ad:tech, DFW SEM Association, VeriSign's Executive Summit, The Rackspace Customer Event, Domain Roundtable, and the Association of National Advertisers, among others.

Mike Grehan, President
VP and Global Content Director, Incisive Media

IncisiveMedia is the publisher of Search Engine Watch and ClickZ, and producer of the Search Engine Strategies international conference series. Mike was elected to SEMPO's Board of Directors in March 2010.

Formerly, Mike worked as a search marketing consultant with a number of international agencies, handling such global clients as SAP and Motorola. Recognized as a leading search marketing expert, Mike came online in 1995 and is author of numerous books and white papers on the subject. He is also chair of the Search Engine Strategies Global Advisory Board and is currently writing his third book on search marketing.

Mike Gullaksen
SVP, Managing Director, Covario

As SVP, Managing Director, Mike Gullaksen leads Covario's Search Agency Organization - both Paid and Earned Media teams - on delivering the industry's award- winning and most forward- thinking search and social solutions. Mike brings to Covario and its clients more than 12 years of specialized digital marketing experience; inclusive of SEO, Paid Search, Social Media and Analytics. Mike has built a reputation for creating leading-edge Search teams and developing proven Search strategies that have helped numerous Forbe's Global 2000 clients grow their online business, advance their brand and strengthen their online strategy. These advertisers include: Bank of America, Intel, Research In Motion, Lenovo, P&G, Dell, and many more.

Recognized as an industry leader, Mike is a regular speaker at events such as SMX, SES, Search Insider Summit, Social Media Strategies Summit, Search Marketing Now, ad:tech and numerous client programs and events. He is often quoted as an expert on Search and Social topics in major publications, including Bloomberg, The San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, DM News, Target Marketing and BtoB Magazine.

Prior to joining Covario, Mike was the Senior Vice President of Search at iCrossing, where he worked for nine years with a variety of large top-tier advertisers; including Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and Williams-Sonoma.

Kristjan Mar Hauksson
Director Search / Owner, Nordic eMarketing

Kristjan is the Founder and Director of Search & Online Communications at Nordic eMarketing. The company specialises in multilingual online communications, organic search engine optimisation, and marketing through several verticals such as tourism, finance, government, and pharmaceuticals. Nordic eMarketing assists companies to gain international visibility online and to use the Internet as a communication channel, as well as providing consultation in web content management systems and analytics solutions.

Kristjan is the founder of the Iceland SEO/SEM forum, manages the Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference, and is a published author on the topic of Internet marketing. He studied electrical engineering at Reykjavik Technical College in Iceland and has a degree in Systems Analysis from the Computer and Engineering Schools of Iceland and an Internet marketing degree from the University of British Columbia.

Kristjan has been involved in developing Internet solutions since 1996, and involved in search engine optimisation and marketing since 1999.

Brian Kaminski
Chief Operating Officer, iProspect

Brian Kaminski is Chief Operating Officer at iProspect. He leads the firm's 300 person client services, technology, training, and innovation teams, and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of business results and superior client service. Kaminski drives the strategic direction of the firm's service offerings and partnerships, and leads the efforts to grow and develop the firm's talent through continuous learning, innovation, and a focus on an employee led culture. In addition, Kaminski works with the leaders of other Aegis Media organizations to provide integrated solutions for clients.

Since joining iProspect in 2000, Kaminski has contributed significantly to the firm's growth. Prior to his current role, Kaminski was Executive Vice President, Managing Director for iProspect's San Francisco office. In that role, he led iProspect's expansion to the west coast, established and grew an office there, and was responsible for overseeing all activities for west coast clients. Earlier on, Kaminski held the position of Client Services Manager before being promoted to Client Services Director. Prior to that, he started out at iProspect as a Campaign Analyst.

An experienced and polished speaker, Kaminski has presented at client conferences and industry events around the country, including ad:tech, Online Market World, Search Engine Strategies, and Search Marketing Expo Advanced. He has authored articles for numerous industry publications such as BtoB Magazine, DM News, iMedia Connection, and MediaPost, Search Engine Land, and iProspect's monthly newsletter, the Search Marketing Advisor™.

Kaminski earned his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Colgate University.

Frank Lee
Head of Sales, DataPop

Frank Lee is runs sales for DataPop, an SEM creative optimization technology firm based in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to DataPop, Lee ran the client services and media optimization teams for The Search Agency.

There his team managed SEM, SEO, Display, Social Media and landing page optimization for all clients and managed $150MM a year in media. Prior to The Search Agency, Lee was on the Strategic Alliances team at Yahoo! Search Marketing & Overture, where he was responsible for managing the agency programs in the Western region. Lee holds a BA in Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is a member of SEMPO, runs the local chapter for SEMPO Los Angeles and is on the advisory board for MediaPost's Search Insider Summit.

Ian Lurie
CEO, Portent, Inc.

Ian Lurie is one of the world's top experts on internet, search and social media marketing. He is founder and CEO of Portent Inc., an internet marketing agency that has provided internet marketing, including search, social and analytics services, since 1995.

He co-published Web Marketing All-In-One for Dummies and wrote the sections on SEO, blogging, social media and web analytics. He also wrote Conversation Marketing: Internet Marketing Strategies. In addition, he writes regularly for the Portent Blog.

Ian has spoken at various marketing conferences, including Ad::Tech, Search Engine Strategies (SES), Search Marketing Expo (SMX), MozCon, Blogworld and Pubcon. He brings humor, deep insight and actionable advice to every event.

Ian was recently elected to the Board of Directors of SEMPO. He has a B.A. in History from UC San Diego and a JD degree in Law from UCLA. He has lived in New Jersey and Los Angeles, and currently resides in Seattle with his wife and two kids.

John Nicoletti
Director of Agency Development, Google

Since joining Google in 2003, John has held various leadership positions within Google's advertising sales organization. As Director Agency Development for Google John is responsible for developing Google's business strategy as it pertains to marketing, customer support, and overall revenue management for agencies in North America. His group is responsible for helping agencies leverage technology, partnership and education to transform their business offerings and effectively meet their clients marketing objectives. John also serves as the head of Google's San Francisco office. Prior to this role, John was focused on building and managing the Google AdWords customer acquisitions channel for North America including the sales and marketing teams as well as the Google Jumpstart program.

Outside the office John is trying his luck at amateur wine making and occasionally plays drums in a cover band in the San Francisco Scene having shared the stage with the likes of MC Hammer. John lives in San Francisco with his wife Courtney and their daughter Riley Anne.

Michael Y. Xu
SVP, Beijing Gridsum Technology Co., Ltd.

Michael has more than 15 years of digital marketing and financial services experience serving Fortune 500 clients and China's top-tier state owned enterprises in both North American and Northeast Asian markets. He joined Gridsum Technology, China's leading online business optimization company, in early 2008 as Vice President of Business Operations. Michael manages Gridsum Technology's strategic cooperation, business development, and marketing teams, while determining how Gridsum Technology could use partner connections to deliver the best results for clients and the entire ecosystem. Under his leadership, Gridsum Technology successfully initiates solid partnership with iCrossing and Microsoft.

Michael worked in Strategic Investment Department of Sinochem, China's top national oil company, with 19 entries into Fortune 500, from 1994 to 1999, where he got deeply involved with major transactions, including China Unicom, Shanghai Grand Hyatt, Suzhou Industrial Park, WEPEC, and Zhejiang Aoshan National Petroleum Base. He then joined one of China's leading real estate companies as Financial Controller. Before joining Gridsum Technology, Michael was Vice President of one of the world's largest PVC production companies, in charge of North American sales and marketing.

Michael is currently the Co-Chairman for SEMPO's Greater China Working Group and member of Global Committee. Through his coordination, SEMPO Greater China formed an in-depth partnership with Baidu, China's top search engine. He also speaks at conferences on online business optimization and SEO/SEM. Michael received his MBA and MS degrees from California State University in 2003, and his BA degree in Accounting from Renmin University of China in 1994.