The 100 Companies
Chris Schroder
Email: chris@the100companies.com
Founder & CEO of The 100 Companies and The Atlanta 100, Chris previously founded PR firm SPR Atlanta in 2002, selling it in November 2017. He established and served as publisher of his own chain of Atlanta neighborhood newspapers in 1994, selling them to real estate developer Tom Cousins in 2002. Prior to that, he worked for six Southeastern daily newspapers, serving as advertising director, creative director, promotions director, editor and reporter – winning awards in several states for his reporting and print advertisement design.
A fifth-generation Atlantan, Chris is a graduate of Westminster and the University of Virginia and the creator and producer of Moments on SaportaReport.com where he was a founding member. He continues to serve clients through Schroder PR, when he’s not riding his bike, traveling the country attending music festivals, meeting potential members of The 100 Companies or visiting with his children, his granddaughter, family and friends.
Anchin
Michael Belfer
Email: michael.belfer@anchin.com
Michael Belfer, CPA, CGMA, is an accounting and audit partner and is the leader of Anchin’s Public Relations and Advertising Industry Group, as well as a member of the firm’s Fashion Industry Group. Michael specializes in working with closely held businesses and entrepreneurial companies.
Michael offers clients a hands-on approach and assists them in developing tax structures, accounting systems, business plans, and financial and budget plans. He has expertise in business operations and solutions for long term business growth and also provides consulting services to emerging companies. Michael works with businesses in diverse industries: public relations and advertising, technology and new media art galleries, diamond and jewelry, import and export, as well as manufacturing and distribution.
Michael maintains strategic relationships with leading attorneys, bankers and business consultants throughout the New York Metropolitan area to assist his clients with their needs.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and advisor to the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Prosper Group
David Bosses
Email: dbosses@prospergroup.net
David has worked on agency M&A transactions for more than twenty years and is experienced in all equity-related deals. Additionally, David has served as CFO/COO to multiple agencies providing invaluable guidance to his partner CEOs over the years. He has a track record of identifying risks and opportunities while maximizing profitability. David’s expertise includes financial management, agency operations, commercial negotiations and performance analytics. He began his career at Interpublic directing M&A terms negotiation, financial analysis and due diligence. David earned his JD and MBA from Villanova University.
Vivo Growth Partners
Molly Eyerman
Email: molly@vivogrowth.com
Molly Eyerman is the founder and CEO of VIVO Growth Partners, a company that helps fast-growing businesses develop their most important assets: their people. Since 2016, VIVO has served as a partner for all talent and HR needs so clients can focus on growing their business.
Molly started her career in public accounting (PwC) and corporate finance (DSW) before moving into the strategic HR consulting and talent management space several years ago. Even when her roles were focused on the numbers, she was always involved in initiatives that supported growth and development of team members, which led to her morphing into “the people” side of business.
Molly also dedicates her time to nonprofit organizations, serving as vice chair of the board of directors for the Haitian Timoun Foundation and on the capital campaign committee and people committee for Columbus Early Learning Centers. She received a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame, and currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.
BizHack
Dan Grech
Email: dgrech@bizhack.com
After nearly two decades as a Pulitzer Prize-winning NPR journalist, Dan Grech reinvented himself as a digital marketer and educator. He’s the founder and CEO of BizHack Academy, which trains business owners in digital marketing. BizHack has been part of accelerator programs funded by Goldman Sachs, The Knight Foundation and Entrepreneurs Organization, and the company was named a top startup in 2019 by The Miami Herald.
Dan is an expert storyteller who worked as a business correspondent at NPR’s Marketplace and PBS’s Nightly Business Report. He has headed digital marketing at billion-dollar companies and software startups, and he’s trained tens of thousands of business owners in online lead generation and advanced digital marketing best practices to help them compete in an increasingly digital world.
Some fun trivia about Dan: His first startup was founded by Eric Reis, author of “The Lean Startup,” he was interviewed for Tim Ferriss’s book “The Four Hour Workweek,” he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at The Miami Herald, and he’s performed for a decade in an improv comedy troupe in Miami.
Prosper Group
Alex Halbur
Email: alex@prospergroup.net
Alex is a former agency owner of industry award-winning firms including Health Care Firm of the Year (Holmes) and Creative Agency of the Year (PR Week). After starting his career at various Omnicom agencies with the role of helping them grow, Alex eventually co-founded and helped build two independent agencies that were successfully sold to Omnicom. After completing a highly successful earn-out and integration, Alex has devoted his career to helping independent agency owners achieve success with their agencies. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a BS in Business Management.
Davis & Gilbert LLP
Michael Lasky
Email: mlasky@dglaw.com
Michael C. Lasky is a partner at the New York City law firm of Davis & Gilbert LLP. Mr. Lasky is founder and chair of the firm’s Public Relations Law Practice Group, the only practice group in the country devoted to meeting the legal needs of public relations and marketing communications firms. The practice includes attorneys with deep industry and legal expertise needed to run a successful firm — employment, executive benefits, intellectual property, new media, and marketing law, corporate, M&A, real estate and litigation.
Mr. Lasky is proud to represent many of the fastest growing independent public relations firms. Mr. Lasky and his colleagues work closely with their clients to design strategies, programs, and agreements to enhance profitability and growth. He prides himself on his ability to counsel clients to help them achieve their business objectives and implement best practices in legal and risk management.
Mr. Lasky is also co-chair of Davis & Gilbert’s litigation department, where he devotes a significant portion of his practice to advising executives and owners of service sector companies on their employment, shareholder and incentive compensation arrangements and disputes. He also is regarded as an expert in the areas of restrictive covenants and the movement of talent between competitive organizations.
Mr. Lasky often collaborates with leading industry trade associations, including The Arthur Page Society (for which he serves as legal counsel), the American Marketing Association and the Public Relations Society of America. He serves as legal counsel to the PR Council (formerly known as the Council of PR Firms) and has done so since its inception in 1998. In addition, Mr. Lasky is widely recognized as a thought leader in the marketing communications and public relations industry, working with clients to implement best practices throughout their organizations, both anticipating and responding to the legal and business changes affecting the industry.
Mr. Lasky is an honors graduate of Rutgers College and Rutgers University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of Rutgers University Law Review. He is a member of the Law School’s Alumni Board of Trustees, the Dean’s Advisory Council. He also serves on boards of a host of other professional, educational and charitable organizations, including Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, the leading legal aid and education organization dedicated to New York artists, and cultural institutions.
Anchin
Terry Pissi
Email: terry.pissi@anchin.com
Terry Pissi, CPA, is an accounting and audit partner at Anchin with more than 30 years of experience. She advises clients in a range of industries including construction, real estate, public relations, wholesale, distribution, advertising and marketing.
Terry takes great pride in truly understanding her clients’ businesses and concerns and how those issues affect their personal financial goals; she asks the right questions, listens closely, and responds proactively to her clients’ needs.
She is deeply involved in the career development of Anchin’s professional staff by providing training and mentoring. Terry chairs both the CARE Committee, which organizes the Firm’s charity and recreational events, and AWIN, Anchin Women’s Initiative Network, which focuses on the professional development of women in the Firm. She has spent her entire professional career at Anchin, having joined the firm as an intern while in college.
Terry is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and Women’s Builders Council (WBC). She also a recipient of the Women’s Builders Council Trailblazer award.
Work Well. Play More!
Marcey Rader
Email: marcey@helloraderco.com
Marcey Rader is a best-selling author, productivity coach, accredited health and wellness expert, and renowned keynote speaker. As the founder of Marcey Rader Coaching and Work Well. Play More!®, she helps individuals and businesses kick their lifestyles back into balanced gear – without sacrificing health.
Marcey learned first-hand that self-management is essential to success in life and business. After a case of high-stress, high-performance corporate burnout triggered three autoimmune diseases, Marcey established her productivity coaching business.
Her unique expertise has turned the spotlight on the intersection between business productivity and wellness, making better use of our most valuable asset – our health. Working with a diverse range of businesses and individuals, she applies proven health and wellness principles to help clients find real balance, purpose, and success in work and life.
Marcey is married to Kevin, a professional drummer, and resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Second Quadrant Solutions
Darryl Salerno
Email: darryl@secondquadrant.com
Darryl Salerno, founder of Second Quadrant Solutions Inc., has more than 30 years’ experience managing professional service firms. He has the distinction of having held the titles of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and chief administrative officer in four of the top 25 public relations agencies. In addition, he has provided strategic counsel to many of the most successful small and mid-sized professional service organizations for nearly two decades. This background allows him to quickly identify core issues and provide custom solutions that will yield permanent, long-term results.
At Second Quadrant Solutions Inc. we understand the challenges managers face and how difficult it is to look beyond the day-to-day demands of running a group, department or business; to do more than just focus on “putting out the fires.” We work directly with top management to identify and address the critical issues that will allow the company to move to the next level.
Although every problem requires a custom solution, our consulting services typically fall into two broad categories: management and financial. We help senior management address manifold business challenges including hiring and inspiring employees; dealing with difficult personnel and client issues; creating effective compensation programs; and preparing the agency for sale. On the financial front, we help a firm fine-tune and streamline existing processes as well as develop new methods for managing finances and improving the company’s profit performance. With our assistance, many of our clients have experienced dramatic financial improvement.
We have also developed the only proprietary budget management software package specifically designed for public relations and related industries, based on decades of experience managing agencies.
