angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Celtic Testing Experts Boosts GA Economy with New Test Center in Kennesaw

March 5, 2012 by angishields

C-Suite Exclusives

Celtic Testing Experts Boosts GA Economy with New Test Center in Kennesaw

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Celtic Testing Experts helps boost GA economy by opening an onshore test center in Kennesaw, GA. President, Kelly Kierans stopped by the studio to talk about how she’s grown the company in a down economy, where they are headed and what it’s like sitting in the C-Suite.

Celtic Testing Experts, Inc. provides Quality Assurance, Assurance Management expertise combined with a proprietary forecasting dashboard, called Foresight.

Hear how the company got started, how they’ve doubled in size and are poised to do so again, about their new facility, they’re processes and employees. Kelly shares about industry trends and why many companies are rethinking offshoring and bringing their testing back to the US and seeing the value and savings in doing so.

Celtic Testing Experts, Inc. core competency is Test Management, Test Process Assessment, Improvement and Implementation. Find out more at www.celtictestingexperts.com

Two Companies That Have Found Success in “Breaking the Rules of Conventional Thinking”

March 5, 2012 by angishields

Renegade Radio

Two Companies That Have Found Success in "Breaking the Rules of Conventional Thinking"

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Thursday’s Renegade Radio will highlight two companies that have found success in being uncommon. First we will speak with Eric French, President of IDR (Internal Data Resources) a technology consulting firm that is responsive and consistent to get positions filled quickly with IT consultants who exceed our clients’ expectations. They are passionate about client service and perform with commitment and tenacity rarely seen in the IT staffing field. Their mission statement: We play to win; Love to live; Create leaders; Give back; Become legendary. Join us as we chat with Eric about how to develop effective leadership.

Our next guests are Cameron Sowder and Mike Orzechowski from Manage Mobility. The Manage Mobility Mission is more than mere words printed on a sheet of paper or shown on a computer screen, it’s their commitment to their customers. It’s about setting proper expectations, continuously striving to work smarter, more efficient, and never settling for mediocrity. Simply put, it’s about providing value and delivering results! They have a clear goal and a defined purpose: Everything begins and ends with our customers. Listen in as we discover the value of Telecomm Expense Management and how Manage Mobility has impressed such clients as Home Depot, Delta Airlines and RBS WorldPay.

If you missed it live, listen to the replay and make sure to

tune into Renegade Radio every Thursday at 12:00 pm EST

Transformational Women Highlights Duriya Farooqui, Interim COO City of Atlanta

March 4, 2012 by angishields

Transformational Women

Transformational Women Highlights Duriya Farooqui, Interim COO City of Atlanta

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“If I have to be 20% smarter than the next guy, then that’s a problem I can solve”. This is the kind of confidence we wish more women leaders would have! We sat down today to talk with Duriya Farooqui, the Interim Chief Operating Officer of the City of Atlanta. Named to the position about 3 months ago, this is Duriya’s first full interview about her story, leadership philosophy and the work she is doing with Mayor Kasim Reed to help serve the people of the City of Atlanta. Listen in to the interview to learn more about the impact she wants to make for the people of Atlanta.

Working for Mayor Kasim Reed, Duriya manages all operating departments including Aviation, Police, Fire, Corrections, Watershed Management, Public Works, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, Planning and Community Development as well as several support departments and external agencies. She led the Atlanta Streetcar project that was awarded a $47M federal grant in 2010 and is set to become the first spur of light rail transit within the Atlanta region in 2013.

Since joining Mayor Reed’s administration in 2010, Duriya has led major mayoral initiatives to completion. She managed development of the administration’s first budget proposal, which added 100 police officers and opened all recreation centers after closing a budget gap of over $40M. She also led the city’s negotiations with Delta Airlines and other carriers in 2010 that amended their lease agreement with the city to add $30M in airport revenues. The lease amendment enabled the timely financing of the international terminal that is set to open in 2012. Duriya also worked with Chief Operating Officer Peter Aman to develop the proposals and analysis for pension reform that passed in June 2011, which is projected to save the City $500M over 30 years.

Duriya began her tenure at the City of Atlanta in the Finance Department in 2007 and completed the city’s first public infrastructure assessment that quantified a $750M backlog in investment. In 2008 she assumed the role of Performance Management Director in the Mayor’s Office to drive the citywide performance management program (ATLStat). She acquired significant experience in citywide operations and performance improvement before joining Mayor Reed’s administration in January 2010 as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer.

Duriya holds a Masters in Public Administration and International Development from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and was awarded a fellowship on merit of professional promise. She received a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Hampshire College, under a full scholarship. Prior to joining the City of Atlanta, Duriya’s experience was focused on international policy

analysis and included positions with the World Bank, The Center for Global Development and the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Her research focused primarily on trade, education policy and impact evaluation. Her work was also cited in the World Bank’s 2004 World Development Report.

Duriya moved to Atlanta from the Boston area in 2004 and enjoys living near Candler Park with her family.

Transformational Women Highlights Kristin Adams, Managing Director Aon Hewitt

March 2, 2012 by angishields

Transformational Women

Transformational Women Highlights Kristin Adams, Managing Director Aon Hewitt

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We sat down to talk with Kristin Adams, Managing Director of Aon Risk Solutions. She has been with Aon for 15 years, beginning her career as a Legal Associate with Aon’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group in New York. Kristin also spent 3 years with Aon’s Capital Markets team, based in San Francisco and Chicago. In this interview she talks about how important it is to focus on and understand the strengths of people you manage on your team.

As a team leader for Aon in Atlanta, Kristin is responsible for delivering solutions to her clients surrounding a broad range of issues including Directors and Officers Liability, Enterprise Risk Management, property and casualty program placement, and a variety of human capital offerings.

Her background in M&A and Capital Markets allows Kristin to bring a wide range of industry specialization, and she has particular expertise with the private equity, financial institutions and real estate sectors.

Kristin graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Law. She also completed post-graduate executive education programs in finance at New York University and Harvard Business School. Kristin is FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed.

Jeff Smythe, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels Atlanta, and Scott Farber, Lest We Forget Video Project

March 2, 2012 by angishields

Eugeria

Jeff Smythe, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels Atlanta, and Scott Farber, Lest We Forget Video Project

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Scott Farber grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player in Chicago. After knee surgeries ended that dream, he went into broadcasting baseball games for both radio and television. After moving to Dallas 30 years ago, Scott went into advertising where he founded SF Media Consultants, and has worked closely with the record labels, the medical industry and professional sports franchises.

Recently, Scott had the opportunity to work on a World War II documentary which led him to launch www.generationslestweforget.com. This website hosts recorded stories from our seniors to preserve them for future generations. Scott works closely with senior communities around the Dallas area to film 15-20 minute ‘mini documentaries’ of their residents (at no cost to them), and he is always looking for more stories to record. If you are interested in having your, or your loved ones’ stories captured, you can call 972-625-5419 x106 or email scott@sfmediainc.com.

A Denver native, Jeff Smythe discovered early on that he wanted to spend his life and career helping people. While in college, he spent time with WorldTeach in Central America. Upon return and graduation from college, Jeff moved to Atlanta for our glorious Spring and Autumn weather. He started working with OpenHand Atlanta, and went on to earn a Masters in Public Administration from Georgia State University.

Approximately ten years ago, he accepted a position with Senior Citizen Services. As the Executive Director of the organization, Jeff takes pride in the fact that the organization serves more than 100,000 meals per year through its Meals on Wheels program, and provides home repair for literally hundreds of Fulton County citizens each year. In addition, Senior Citizen Services offers one of the only Adult Day Health programs for mid-stage Alzheimer’s patients and operates seven neighborhood senior centers. Senior Citizen Services counts on YOUR assistance to continue to serve Atlanta’s elderly population. To find out how you can help, please visit their website at www.MealsOnWheelsAtlanta.org, or call them at 404-351-3889.

We want to thank Griswold Special Care for sponsoring today’s show. Griswold Special Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Dallas and Atlanta for 20 years.

Mike Pennington – President of GEDA

March 1, 2012 by angishields

BRX National

Mike Pennington - President of GEDA

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Mr. Pennington is President of Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) and, in this edition of 200 Office Radio, he speaks to Alan Urech about his varied work experience and how it helps him serve the organizations 700 members. He also talks about why it’s important for Georgia to have the GEDA. One prime example he gives is the new Caterpillar plant which brought 1,400 new jobs to Georgia! Go to GEDA.org for more information or look them up on Facebook or Twitter!

March 6th – The Power of Story to Enhance Our Writing and Our Bottom Line

March 1, 2012 by angishields

Write Here Write Now

March 6th - The Power of Story to Enhance Our Writing and Our Bottom Line

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We constantly hear the power of story: in a job interview share a story of how you tackled a challenge at work and resolved it; when meeting with potential clients, tell a story of how your work or product had a positive impact on the bottom line of other clients; when writing an article or a book, fill it with personal stories. Today’s guests have highly successful businesses, speak often to challenge others to success and are authors. Stories are key to their presentations. Donna Satchell is a Professional Speaker, Success Skills Trainer, Author, and President of STARR Consulting & Training, an organization dedicated to motivating, training, and helping individuals and businesses achieve greater success. Jim Dawson is a nationally recognized, award-winning expert in the area of human functioning in the workplace. His company is ADI Marketing. As a presenter/speaker Jim has addressed and impacted thousands of people and achieved impressive results for his clients. Listen in as Donna and Jim provide insights on identifying the stories in our lives which we can use in our writing, speaking and especially in growing our businesses.

Robert Newcomer of The Lang Legal Group LLC & Green Chamber of the South rejoins ITWC

March 1, 2012 by angishields

Inside the Winner's Circle

Robert Newcomer of The Lang Legal Group LLC & Green Chamber of the South rejoins ITWC

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Robert Newcomer, Esq. is a commercial litigation, environmental and business law attorney with more than fifteen years of experience advising business entities and individual entrepreneurs in clean/green technology and social enterprise areas on a broad range of legal and strategic business issues, including entity formation and governance, contracts, intellectual property, litigation and risk management. He combines his personal interest in social and environmental responsibility with his professional skills to help clients who seek to make the world a better place.

Mr. Newcomer is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) and serves on the Sustainable Building Taskforce for Sustainable Atlanta and the Sustainability Taskforce for Atlanta BeltLine. He is a member of U.S. Green Building Council Georgia Chapter and the Urban Land Institute – Atlanta District Council, where he serves on the Management Committee, Advisory Board and as Chair of the Technical Assistance Program Committee. Mr. Newcomer helped establish and still serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Green Chamber of the South, whose mission is to promote sustainable business practices through education, business development and collaboration, and girltank Foundation, whose mission is to empower young women social-change entrepreneurs globally, and WACSI Environmental Education, Inc. Mr. Newcomer also serves on the board of a 2nd generation family business providing residential and commercial door products and services nationwide.

Mr. Newcomer received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and served as an editor of the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management from Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.

Mr. Newcomer is an avid trail runner and randoneur.

Stephanie Armistead of GreenBusiness WORKS talks sustainability on ITWC

March 1, 2012 by angishields

Inside the Winner's Circle

Stephanie Armistead of GreenBusiness WORKS talks sustainability on ITWC

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In September 2001, Stephanie refocused the direction of her marketing communications agency, (The) Communication Works, to assist nonprofits in recovering from the aftereffects of 911. The agency began to work on meetings and events executing fundraising and development campaigns for Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Athletes for a Better World, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Keep Atlanta Beautiful, and others.

During her work with Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Stephanie learned about Mayor Franklins initiatives for the greening of Atlanta and was inspired to do her part in making Atlanta the Green Capital of the South. As a result, Stephanie founded GreenBusiness Works.

“Sustainable business practices is important to me because of my increasing awareness of climate change and the effect of greenhouse gases on our environment. Concerned, I began looking at the choices I could make to reduce my carbon footprint. After making simple lifestyle changes such as increasing the use of mass transit, composting and recycling, I began to assess my professional life. What changes could we make in our internal operations of the company and how could the company make an impact in the community? With our experience in the marketing communications and event production industry for more than 25 years, it became apparent that we could add another line of business to the 8 year old company, and thus, GreenBusiness Works began.”

To literally walk my talk, I gave up my car Earth DAY of 2010 and write a blog… GOING AWOC… Atlanta WithOut a Car!

Stephanie served on the inaugural board of the Green Chamber of the South and is a volunteer for the Georgia Chapter of the United States Green Building Council as the sponsorship committee chairperson, an ambassador for the Zero Waste Zones (ZWZ) and a liaison for the Emerging Green Builders. She lives in Ansley Above the Park, a vertical community in Midtown, Atlanta, volunteering as co-chair of the AATP Green Team. She enjoys playing tennis, hiking, golf, horseback riding, and any activity with her five nieces, 3 nephews and her two incredibly adorable great-nephews.