Public Services
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SEMPO 2009 Board of Directors
Jeffrey Pruitt has 15 years of interactive agency and financial services experience serving Fortune 1000 clients. He is currently a partner in Arkon Ventures. He was President at iCrossing, the largest independent search and interactive agency, and worked at Big 6 accounting firm Arthur Anderson in the Audit and Finance divisions. He joined iCrossing in 2000 as Chief Financial Officer and Director of Business Development. Over his nine years at iCrossing he managed revenue teams, client service teams, and operational divisions, along with holding corporate partnerships, and determining how iCrossing would use partner information to create the best solutions for iCrossing's clients. Jeffrey sits on the advisory councils of Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. Additionally, he has served five terms on the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) Board of Directors - two years as President and currently as Chairman. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Yellow Page Association (YPA). Jeffrey is a frequent speaker at industry conferences around the world, including ad:tech, SES, OMMA, and Baidu World in
Sara Holoubek is a corporate strategy consultant, advising growth firms and investors in the interactive technology and advertising sector. Ms. Holoubek is also a contributing editor of DMNews, covering digital trends. In 2009, Ms. Holoubek was elected President of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) board of directors. She also serves on the New York Board of Directors of the Step Up Women's Network. From 2003–2005, Ms. Holoubek served as iCrossing's Chief Strategy Officer, building the firm's New York office and repositioning the iCrossing brand as it raised an early VC round of $13 million. Prior to this experience, Ms. Holoubek held posts in client strategy with interactive agencies Organic and Blue Dingo. Her vertical expertise covers over 10 sectors and includes work with Clickable, Conductor, drop.io, Symposia Group, Levi Strauss & Co, LexisNexis and Texas Instruments, as well as agencies within the WPP family and the Aegis Group family. Ms. Holoubek has been widely quoted in publications such as The Washington Post, WSJ.com, Adweek, DMNews, ClickZ, Internet Retailer, Strategies (France) and PropMark (Brazil). She also serves as a frequent guest lecturer at venues such as SMX, Search Engine Strategies, OMMA, the DMA, Harvard, NYU and Baruch College. Ms. Holoubek also brings an international perspective to her work, having lived and worked in Latin America and Europe , and is fluent in Spanish and French and conversant in Portuguese. She holds a B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from HEC in France. She resides in New York City with her husband, baritone Claudio Mascarenhas.
Ron is an Internet marketing consultant, trainer, and owner of Symetri Internet Marketing, which has provided strategic consulting and Internet marketing solutions for mid- to large-size companies since 1998. Ron is actively involved in the SEM community and speaks at conferences and seminars, as well as hosting regional SEM events where he provides participants SEM training and education best practices. Ron is an Expert Columnist for Search Engine Watch, and writes the SEM.edu column. Prior to signing on as a Board member, Ron served on the SEMPO Institute Committee where he was one of the authors of Fundamentals and Advanced courses. He also served on the Marketing Committee and chaired the Event Subcommittee.
Dave has been with DoubleClick since January 1999. During that time, Dave has worked with DoubleClick's Adserving, email, and search technology in sales engineering, support, professional services, and product management capacities. Dave has also been the project leader for many of DoubleClick's internal reorganization projects, including the Executive Project Manager for the sale of DoubleClick to Hellman and Friedman, as well as the wind down and disposal of two of DoubleClick's product offerings. Prior to joining DoubleClick, Dave was a Consultant at Andersen Consulting (Accenture). He developed and designed applications, as well as managed teams of developers at engagements with United Parcel Service, Reader's Digest, and Time, Inc. The latter two engagements involved the development of systems to expand the flexibility to insert dynamic direct mail promotions in hard cover magazines. Dave graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA. Following college, Dave was a Management Engineer at a large hospital in New Jersey. There, he was responsible for turnover studies in operating rooms, the emergency room, and patient administration. While working at the hospital Dave completed his MBA in Operations Management at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ. Dave's most challenging job was prior to his work at the hospital. He was a supervisor at a juvenile work center in Orange, NJ. The center served men and women who committed crimes as juveniles. Dave lives with his wife and three children in suburban New Jersey.
Chris Boggs of Rosetta (formerly Brulant), is a specialist in search engine optimization and paid search advertising. Chris joined Brulant in 2007 as the Manager of the SEO team. Chris has worked in Search Engine Marketing since 2000, starting in-house and moving into a consulting role in 2002. Chris has worked with organizations ranging in size from small businesses to Fortune 500. Chris is experienced in performing "hands-on" SEO from keyword research to content development and link development strategizing, as well as pay-per-click (PPC) campaign creation and management. Chris is actively involved in the SEM Community. He speaks regularly at major search marketing conferences, is a Moderator and Expert columnist for Incisive Media':s Search Engine Watch Forum and Blog, and is Associate Editor for the Search Engine Roundtable blog. Chris also writes frequent articles related to SEM, and has been published in a variety of online and print journals.
Jessica Bowman is an in-house SEO expert who knows how to start up a successful in-house SEO Program, get people on board, move forward and improve the bottom line. She is an evangelist for companies doing SEO in-house, and specializes in making in-house programs reach their maximum potential. Jessica has managed search engine optimization for up to seven different divisions across North America and Europe, in five different languages. Her diverse experience in project management, website usability, and process analysis has given her unique insight into how to get and keep SEO changes top of mind, in scope and live on the site – the biggest challenges for in-house search marketers. Identified as one of the industry's top in-house SEOs, Jessica has built in-house SEO programs at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Business.com, and Yahoo! Inc., and has a rock solid approach to building an in-house SEO program from ground zero. With multi-million dollar successes in search engine marketing and website design, Jessica is an international speaker, a columnist for Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, and Search Engine Watch, and is featured in Jerri Ledford's SEO Bible. Jessica has a BA in International Economics & Management from Hiram College and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Information Systems Management from Washington University. Jessica travels frequently, kicks butt at the board game Connect Four, volunteers to work with refugees, and plans to move to Europe…one day.
Massimo Burgio is a well-known expert on international online business topics, and a frequent speaker at search and online marketing conferences worldwide. Massimo is a proud founding member of SEMPO, where he Co-Chairs the Global Committee and the SEMPO Latino Working Group, and he volunteers within the SEMPO Europe Working Group. Massimo is also an active member of the Internet Marketing Group at WebGuild, the Silicon Valley-based Forum for Internet Professionals, and dedicates some of his volunteer time to WOMMA, the Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Association. Coming from a mixed background of copywriting for advertising, Massimo's first post-graduate jobs were in direct marketing, and IT security/data protection consulting. He joined the Internet and interactive industry during its early steps in Italy, back in 1996. He contributed to the start-up and launch of some of Italy's biggest Internet portals such as Kataweb, Wind, and RAI Net before moving to the agency side, where he covered Business/Marketing Director positions for two of Italy's top creative interactive agencies, Deepend Rome and Xister. Today Massimo is still part of the Xister Advisory Board, and has an ongoing strong partnership with the award-winning Roman agency. Massimo moved from Rome to San Francisco in 2003 to launch the US branch of Ad Maiora, an Italian search marketing firm. In 2005 he joined the search marketing agency Zunch Communications to help launch and lead the agency's local branch in San Francisco. In June 2006, Massimo set up Global Search Interactive - a start-up that focuses on the integration of search/interactive channels with the potential for international targeting - which serves worldwide brands such as Barilla and University of Rome, alongside with small and medium business from Europe and the United States. Massimo received a Degree in Marketing Communications from the University of Rome (Italy) La Sapienza, with further studies at the University of Hertfordshire (Hatfield, UK) and at the Universidad de Oviedo (Oviedo, Spain), recently integrated by post-graduate courses on Integrated Marketing Communications within the Berkeley Extension Program (California, USA).
Bruce Clay has operated as an executive with several high-technology businesses, and comes from a long career as a technical executive with leading Silicon Valley firms, and since 1996 in the Internet Business Consulting arena. Bruce holds a BS in Math and Computer Science and also has his MBA from Pepperdine University, has had many articles published, has been a speaker at over 100 sessions including Search Engine Strategies, WebmasterWorld, ad:Tech, Search Marketing Expo, and many more, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC Week, Wired Magazine, Smart Money, several books, and many other publications. He has also been featured on many podcasts and WebmasterRadio shows, as well as appearing on the NHK 1-hour TV special "Google's Deep Impact" and many video and MP3 interviews. He has personally authored many advanced search engine optimization tools that are available from the company web sites.
Duane has worked for the last seven+ years in online marketing. Prior to that, it was six years in marketing for casinos owned by Caesars Palace. A history in direct mail and onsite event planning and marketing led to online media buying, pay-per-click advertising, e-mail advertising and, you guessed it, search engine optimization. Today Duane's focus is on in-house SEO efforts for the MSN properties, with a bit of time left over to help SEMPO scope career development ideas in the search world. Duane's book, “How To Make Money With Your Blog” was published by McGraw-Hill in December 2007. Throughout the day you'll find Duane posting at www.sphinn.com, www.searchengineforums.com, http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/,and http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/index.php? as SportsGuy. He writes monthly for Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch from time to time on In-House SEM topics. Duane is currently the Co-Chairman for SEMPO's In-House Committee. He also speaks at conferences on in-house topics and search career planning.
Gord has been working in the search marketing industry since 1996. His company, Enquiro, has grown to become Canada's largest search marketing company. Gord believes that a strong, clear, and focused strategy is the essential foundation for any business activity, whether it's a search marketing campaign, the building of a business, or the running of an organization. Alignment, clarity, and communication allows the strategy to be executed fully. Gord has been a leading voice in search calling for true strategic thinking based on a deeper understanding of consumer behavior. He has freely shared results of previous research with SEMPO membership and has posted as many articles as he's been allowed about the strategy of search to the SEMPO website. While opinions always run rampant through our industry, Gord has been regarded as a respected voice. Through the research and thought leadership undertaken over the past years, Gord has built an interesting network of contacts both within the search industry and in other fields including academia, publishing, technology, and advertising. He believes the future of search lies in maintaining a wide field of vision to spot emerging trends over all these areas, but always bringing it back to be ultimately seen through the eyes of the user.
Bill is responsible a team of brilliant Search Engine Marketing Strategists who spend most of their time helping Fortune 200 companies manage their enterprise Search Engine Marketing programs with a global perspective. Bill is currently regarded as the leading expert in both Enterprise and International Search Engine Marketing Strategy. Bill is an internationally recognized Internet marketing speaker and co-author of the best selling book "Search Engine Marketing, Inc." Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site, published by IBM Press. Bill is also a current Board member of SEMPO and Co-Chair of the Global Committee. Bill earned a B.A. in Asian Studies/Japanese, from the University of Maryland, Tokyo Campus, and a B.S. in International Business, from California State University, Los Angeles. Bill is also a veteran of the Marine Corps.
Kevin Lee, Didit Founder, Chairman & CEO, has been an acknowledged Search Engine Marketing (SEM) expert since 1995. Kevin’s years of SEM expertise provide the foundation for Didit’s proprietary Maestro search campaign technology. Didit’s unparalleled results and client growth have earned Didit recognition not only among marketers but also as part of the 2007 Inc 500 (#137) as well as a #12 position on Deloitte’s Fast 500. Kevin’s “Paid Search Strategies” column for ClickZ is read by thousands, and his book, “The Eyes Have It: How to Market in an Age of Divergent Consumers, Media Chaos and Advertising Anarchy" has been widely praised.
Dana Todd is considered one of the pioneers of the search marketing industry, but her expertise includes all forms of online marketing and interactive visibility. With 13 years of experience in exploring marketing methods in the Internet space, she can happily count herself amongst the “old-timers” who survived and thrived in the Internet new economy. Recently, Ms. Todd helped launch startup Newsforce, which aims to introduce the tactics, technologies and opportunities of online promotion to a whole new audience: corporate communications and PR professionals. Prior, she led SiteLab for 10 years, developing a deep expertise in search engine marketing and highly effective online media. Press, industry analysts and technology leaders frequently tap Ms. Todd for her knowledge of the search engine marketplace. She reports on the widely-varied and frequently changing industry that allows advertisers to "buy their way to the top" of the search engines. Ms. Todd regularly appears as a top-ranked speaker at AD:TECH and Jupiter Media's Search Engine Strategies national conferences. Dana Todd talks candidly about the pros and cons of leading search engine marketing programs, and speaks from experience. Her passion for helping clients understand and dominate the search space, while still upholding core branding principles. Ms. Todd worked as a journalist, news editor and advertising professional prior to joining SiteLab, and holds a Bachelors in Advertising from University of Georgia.
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Jeffrey Pruitt - Chairperson
Sara Holoubek - President
Ron Jones - Vice President
Dave Fall - Treasurer
Chris Boggs - Secretary
Jessica Bowman
Massimo Burgio
Bruce Clay
Duane Forrester
Gord Hotchkiss
Bill Hunt
Kevin Lee
Dana Todd