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Accelerator Avenue

Month: February 2011

Kevin Skedsvold, Esq., Partner of Skedsvold & White, Workers Compensation Specialists, appeared on the Noon Show, Friday March 4.

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Kevin O. Skedsvold was born in Williston, North Dakota on August 20, 1963. He was raised in Augusta, Georgia and moved to Atlanta in 1985. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Augusta University (1985) and his law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law (1988). Kevin was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1988.
Kevin has focused his practice on Insurance Defense Litigation with a particular emphasis on defense of Employers and Insurers in workers’ compensation matters in the State of Georgia. He serves as state-wide counsel for numerous large and small insurance companies as well as many private and self insured corporations. Kevin holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV rating for expertise and ethics.
As part of his law practice, Kevin is actively involved in presenting seminars to his clients in an effort to keep them apprised of new developments in Georgia law on a wide range of topics including insurer bad faith, risk management, claim investigation, insurance coverage, trial practice and workers compensation issues. He has been approved by the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Office to provide continuing education seminars to insurance adjusters for credit. Kevin is also the only Attorney in the State of Georgia to be selected by Wickstrom Insurance and Risk Training Center, a nationwide firm providing general workers compensation and state specific worker’s compensation training, (www.wirtc.com) as an instructor for certified workers’ compensation training on matters pertaining to Georgia Law.

http://www.skedsvoldwhite.com/

John Kibbe, Benefits Advisory Group appeared on the Avenue Friday, March 4, and discussed the rapidly changing world of Employee Benefits.

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John Kibbe is an Employee Benefit Consultant representing the Benefits Advisory Group in Atlanta, Georgia. He provides insurance services to corporations and individuals. These services include integrated healthcare solutions, financial business strategy, plan design, underwriting, administration, employee communications and carrier selection.  John consults regularly with executives from a variety of fields to help create synergistic solutions for our clients.
John began his thirty year career representing major health insurance companies in sales, marketing, underwriting and national account management.  Prior to joining the Benefits Advisory Group, John provided out source Benefit and Human Resource administration and consulting services to major corporations and healthcare plans throughout the U.S.
Raised in Scituate, Massachusetts, a graduate of Boston College, John and his family moved to Atlanta in 1982

http://benefitsadvisorygroup.biz/

Lance Ledbetter, President of MJL Benefit Communications plus Ed Gutowski, Director, Sales, and Jackie Warren, Director of Operations, Communit-Y Health Network (CHN) were on the new NOON (EST) Broadcast, Friday 2/25.

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MJL Benefit Communications:       http://www.mjlbenefit.com/

MJL’s objective is to improve your company’s bottom line and enhance employee’s morale by delivering employee benefits and a benefits communication program that is customized, comprehensive, and consistent. MJL supports your broker/agent’s efforts by offering valued services at a competitive and flexible price.

Communit-Y Health Network:      http://www.chn-corp.com/

Jackie Warren, RD, LD, Director of Operations.  Ms. Warren became a CHN coach in 2007 and was promoted to Director of Operations in 2008. Prior to working for CHN, she was in private practice as a licensed dietician.

Edward Gutowski, Director of Sales.  Ed has over 25 years of healthcare experience in underwriting, account management, and sales in Employee Benefits, Case Management, Disease Management, and Wellness Services.

At Communit-Y Health Network (CHN) we are redefining the health management industry. Traditional wellness and disease management programs have been around for years, but have not been effective in improving the health status of participants. In addition, most health management programs have failed to make a positive impact on healthcare claims cost.

We know a full continuum of care should incorporate early medical intervention and treatment to produce the most cost effective model. Our face-to-face, one-on-one coaching program enables the participant to make behavioral and lifestyle changes needed to embrace a healthier way of life. At CHN, we know that healthier employees file fewer health claims. Our health management programs produce results unmatched in the industry. Not only do we have a high participation level, but our coaching reduces health risk and those changes are documented in the first 12-week coaching session.

CHN Health Management Programs benefit companies or organizations of any size. Whether your goals are a healthier, happier, more productive work force, or reduced health plan costs, CHN Health Management is your best choice.

Our Friday 2/25 2:00pm EST Show wasn’t just a good show……….it was BLAMTASTIC!!!!!

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Lily and Melanie Sandler….Blamtastic Executives

http://blamtastic.com/

Lily Sandler, 12
Company Founder & Blam Designer,
BLAMtastic® Natural Lip Balm
When Lily was just 10 years old, she was having trouble finding her lip balm. She said, “Mom, where’s my lip blam?” Lip BLAM? Brilliant. Lily’s mom said that would make a great name for a lip balm company. BLAMtastic® Natural Lip Balm was born. Lily has a strong work ethic shared by few and she loves working to grow her company. She has a passion for riding horses and she loves drama and volleyball.

Melanie Sandler, 10
Company Founder & Blam Designer,
BLAMtastic® Natural Lip Balm
Melanie has a natural gift for creating amazing flavors. Kids go crazy for them. She has been doing so since the company began when Melanie was just 9 years old. Since launching the business in 2008, Melanie has balanced designing for BLAMtastic®, playing guitar and bass in her band, staying active in sports, and maintaining good grades in school.

 

Renee Sandler – Age – Young at Heart
President and Head Cheerleader,
BLAMtastic® Natural Lip Balm
As the mother of these two bright girls, it saddened her to read in 2007 that only 12 of the Fortune 500 CEO’s were women when more than 50% of the American workforce is made up by women. Not everyone is destined to run a corporation. However, Renee wanted her daughters to know that anything was within their reach. She suggested they start a business of their choosing. They not only started a business, but they set a standard by which businesses should be measured. They created BLAMtastic® Lip Balm. With great awareness of the ingredients they use, the economy they support (BLAMtastic® is always made in the USA) and the community in which they live and work, these young ladies have taken an idea and turned it into a popular international brand

Today,  Sandler and her girls are the masterminds behind Blamtastic, a lip balm company with over 1,000 retail accounts.

L.S. (Narsi) Narasimhan, Co-Founder and CEO of Paalam joined Jay Tramonte, Founder and President of Maven Brands (Savida Sangria) on 2/18. Chris Hooper, Frazier & Deeter co-hosted.

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Narsi is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Paalam, Inc., an Atlanta based offshore outsourcing firm that specializes in Software Services (software programming, applications maintenance, QA and testing), and Call Center/Business Process Outsourcing, using partners in India and other countries.
Narsi serves as the Chairman of Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC). He also serves on the Leadership Team of Kettering Executive Network, a networking group of more than 700 executives who meet certain criteria.

Narsi has served on the advisory boards of Add2Home (an online retailer), Buildspan (an ecommerce engine), Axiom Sales Force Development, SoftQuiz (online skills assessment) and Dilato (AI for process industry). He used to serve as Director on the Boards of BOSS, Inc. and Proalgen Biotech Limited (formerly ACL Chemicals Ltd.) in Chennai, India.

He obtained his Ph.D. (Management Science) degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1988. His undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering is from the Indian Institute of Technology (IT-BHU), Varanasi, India. Before becoming a consultant for major corporations such as MCI, Southwire, SynQuest and Edwards Baking Company, he served on the faculty of the School of Management, Georgia Tech for five years.

As a faculty member of Georgia Tech, in addition to teaching various courses in Management Science, Management Information Systems, and Systems Analysis & Design, he has published several research articles in scholarly journals such as Pattern Recognition, Opsearch, Social Choice and Welfare, and Manufacturing Review. He also co-advised a doctoral dissertation at Georgia Tech. In 1992, he was conferred the Full Member status by the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA). In addition, he has taught (as visiting professor of management) at University of Texas at Dallas and Rutgers University at Camden.

Narsi is very active in community service. He is the founder of the Indian Professionals Network (IPN), an informal networking group of over 3000 professionals in and around Metro Atlanta area.

http://paalam.com/

Jay Tramonte is the founder of Savida Sangria which launched in Atlanta in July 2009.  Savida Sangria is an all natural sangria that blends premium California wine with specialty fruits and no added sugar.  The brand is available in GA, TN and NC with an additional 8-15 states scheduled for launch in 2011.

Jay is an experienced entrepreneur in the wine and spirits industry that has been interviewed by and featured in the New York Times, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta Journal Constitution and Forbes.com.  Previously, he founded Excelsior Imports, which grew its Água Luca product into the nation’s leading brand of premium Brazilian rum within 18 months.  In 2007 he sold Água Luca to Heaven Hill Distilleries, the largest privately held U.S. spirits company.

Before Jay entered the beverage industry he worked in investment management at JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.  He graduated summa cum laude from Georgia Tech with at B.S. in Management and a certificate in Finance.

http://www.savidasangria.com/

Lisa Owen, CORE Benefits Solutions and Alex Membrillo, Cardinal Web Solutions appeared on the Avenue Friday Feb 11, 2011

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Lisa Owen is the founding partner of CORE Benefit Solutions and has over 15 years of experience in employee benefits brokerage and consultation for both corporations and individuals. Lisa started her career with Northwestern Mutual in Tallahassee, Florida and moved to Atlanta in 1995 where she gained valuable experience working under a General Agency umbrella. She became a partner in 2003 and was promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing in 2005. Her business knowledge and industry expertise, paired with her innovative ideas and commitment to client satisfaction, have earned her notable credibility in the insurance industry.
Lisa is licensed in various states for Health, Life & Accident insurance and is a member of business and industry focused organizations, such as the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), Vistage International, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), North Buckhead Civic Association, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Buckhead Club, and Assurant Most Valuable Producer (MVP) program. She is a Board Member of the National Association of Women’s Business Owners (NAWBO) and founding member and chair of the Benefit Resource Council. Lisa has also served on numerous broker advisory boards for carriers such as Blue Cross, Kaiser, and Assurant and spoken to numerous industry associations such as but not exclusive to SHRM, Chamber Programs, and IMA

www.corebenefitsga.com

Alex Membrillo is a co-founder of Cardinal Web Solutions, one of Atlanta’s leading Internet marketing agencies.  Cardinal Web Solutions’ services include Search Engine Optimization and Pay per Click Advertising.  Cardinal Web Solutions measures their success by their client’s results.  They always maintain ethical Internet marketing practices and transparency, while focusing strategies on meeting the client’s bottom line.
Cardinal Web Solutions works with businesses in all types of industries which are primarily located throughout the southeast.  From national hotel chains such as Hilton Garden Inn, Sheraton, and Hampton Inn, to Atlanta area doctors, lawyers, and consumer service companies, Cardinal Web Solutions provides customized full service turn-key Internet marketing solutions.
Recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, Alex’s extensive knowledge base makes him a valued asset to brands of all sizes. He draws on many years of Internet marketing experience where he has worked to refine industry best practices.
Alex grew up in Johns Creek, GA, a northern suburb of Atlanta, where he attended elementary through high school.  Alex is a graduate of Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business where, after putting himself through college, Alex earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Managerial Sciences, with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship.
Born in San Antonio, TX, as the son of a travel agency owner Alex had the good fortune of living abroad in Spain and Cyprus before returning to the United States in 1990.  While on holiday, Alex enjoys visiting his family’s ancestral home in Madrid, Spain.

www.cardinalwebsolutions.com