WIZARD ACADEMY - Key Persons
Bryan Eisenberg is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, USA Today and New York Times bestselling books "Call to Action", "Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?" and "Always Be Testing". Bryan is a professional marketing keynote speaker who has been the keynote speaker for corporate events and conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, Shop.org, Direct Marketing Association, DreamForce, E-consultancy, Emerce, Gultaggen Norway and the Canadian Marketing Association. He is also the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Web Analytics Association (now the Digital Analytics Association). Bryan serves as an advisory board member of Search Engine Strategies, the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit and several venture capital backed startup companies (e.g., Bazaarvoice, UserTesting.com, Monetate, Nomi, TagMan, BoostCTR, OneSpot etc.).
Bryan Eisenberg is an internationally recognized authority and pioneer in online marketing, improving online conversion rates, persuasive content, and persona marketing. Bryan was been recognized by eConsultancy members as one of the top 10 User Experience Gurus; he was selected as one of the inaugural iMedia Top 25 Marketers, and a Marketing Edge Rising Star Award winner in 2010.
Bryan has been a featured expert by The Wall Street Journal and the The New York Times and been quoted in Business 2.0, CXO Europe, Advertising Age, CNN, Forrester Research, Jupiter Research, Miami Herald, Publish, Internet Advertising Report (IAR), Chicago Business Tribune, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur, Target Marketing, DM News, Microsoft's bCentral, MarketingSherpa, the Toronto Star, Smart Money & Internet Retailer for his thought leadership in the critical area of internet marketing and improving online conversion rates.
In 1998, Bryan co-founded FutureNow Inc. (Bryan & Jeffrey are no longer associated in any way with FutureNow); the company has been helping businesses generate more engagements, leads, subscriptions, and sales with its unique framework he helped develop, Persuasion Architecture®. Bryan's proudest professional accomplishments are the thousands of companies, students and clients, including Google, HP, NBC Universal, GE, WebEx, Overstock and Dell, that have consistently enjoyed dramatic improvement in sales as a result of his advice.
Chris Maddock's classes run the gamut: a multi-media writing class that, in the end, will teach you that the media should have little influence on your words; a straight up ad writing class designed to show you precisely what works and why; and an Advanced Wordsmithing class every wanna-be writer should take. Whether you write fiction or Google ads, in Maddock's words, "knowing what about great writing communicates with humans is key."
He lives in Austin, TX with his cactus.
Corrine has been behind the scenes supporting Wizard Academy since its inception. She has volunteered her expansive administrative skills since the early years and has managed to infuse organization into our crazy band of beagles.
Dan Roitman is committed to enhancing the lives of others through a business that has experienced astounding compounded annual growth of over 70% since 2002, and 105% percent growth in the past year.
He is founder and CEO of Stroll, a Philadelphia-based education e-commerce platform company that has been named one of the fastest-growing businesses in America. Beginning in his dorm room at the University of Maryland, Roitman moved the company to Philadelphia in 2003. Stroll is a professionally managed organization with over 160 employees whose 2012 sales of $80 million were up from $35 million in 2011.
Roitman holds incredibly high standards for the operation and growth of Stroll. He is actively seeking educational products to sell through his e-commerce platform, with a goal of becoming a $1 billion + business by 2020.
Roitman's fascination with personal development products began in college when he needed to quickly learn how to build and manage a business. Roitman was able to self-fund the growth of Stroll through his own constant commitment to business improvement and the ability to leverage sophisticated marketing analytics and advanced e-commerce techniques.
Roitman's proof case is Pimsleur Approach, a once forgotten language learning program that he has transformed into the leader in audio-based language learning. Roitman's secret is his ability to cost-effectively market the product to consumers through an array of online channels and an in-house call center located in Philadelphia.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chancellor
- Curator of the Environment
Dave Young is the curator of the environment at Wizard Academy. He oversees all the day-to-day operations as well as the student experience. If you need anything during your time at Wizard Academy, he is the guy to talk to.
Dennis Collins joined what was then Jefferson-Pilot Communications as General Sales Manager of WGBS and WLYF in 1981. He was promoted to Vice President/General Manager in 1984 and elevated to Senior VP/GM nine years later. Collins received an A.I.R. Excellence in Radio Award in 2001 and was named ‘General Manager of the Year' by Radio Ink in 2005. His 42-year broadcasting career also includes positions with Cox Broadcasting in Dayton, OH and Philadelphia.
"Dennis is one of the most driven managers I've ever met," said Don Benson, President/CEO of Lincoln Financial Media. "His passion for both the business and his people has been a benchmark trait of his exceptional career. We're very grateful for his many contributions over the past 30 years with us."
"Longevity in this industry is rare, but I never thought much about it until I blinked and 42 years had passed, 30 right here in Miami," Collins said. "As I get ready to turn the page, I'm grateful to everyone who helped make this amazing run possible. It's due mostly to the good fortune of being surrounded by the best radio pros in the business. I will miss working with all of them."
Dr. Segura is the principal in the OrgScripts Group, which is invested in the study and application of narrative analysis and re-scripting for group and organizational revitalization.
Eugene Adrian Van Zelfden, Jr. is jointly licensed as both a Certified Public Accountant and Attorney, actively practicing in Austin, Texas in both fields since 1979. Adrian is an Eagle Scout, a Distinguished Honor Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy graduate and, a graduate of Case Western Reserve Law School. Adrian's loyal following of diverse business owner clients frequently remark about his friendly, easy-to-understand, insightful approaches to complicated business ownership and asset protection issues.
A prolific writer and much-sought-after presenter and trainer, Adrian's latest work in softbound book format, Fearless Business Ownership……How to Build your Business and Protect your Assets, (coauthored with Laura Fowler and John G. Pearce) is the culmination of a lifetime of experience counseling with business owners in every imaginable field of endeavor. From the food cart vendor to the multinational ad agency, Adrian's delightful observations about his clients' hopes and dreams and fears, describe the issues of and solutions to taxation, risk management, litigation, asset protection and fear in terms everyone can understand and embrace. Adrian says his clients of the last three decades are all the heroes of his book…with all the names changed of course! Published and distributed by North Publishing Company. Go to: www.northpublishingcompany.com and order a copy today.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
Jean is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. She is a founding principal of Carpenter & Langford, PC, an Austin, Texas based CPA firm. The firm began operations in 1991 and she has worked successfully with her business partner, Joe Langford, for twenty years. Her firm specializes in all aspects of accounting, consulting and tax services. Prior to that, Jean had two other successful businesses that began in the early eighties: another CPA firm and a computer company, both of which were subsequently sold. Jean loves to serve in this area and makes the mysterious world of money understandable, fun & easy. Her firm has been recognized by the Austin Business Journal for nine consecutive years as one of the top 25 accounting firms in Austin, Texas.
Jeffrey Eisenberg is a recognized authority and pioneer of Internet marketing strategy; improving online conversion rates for sales and lead generation. Jeffrey speaks Spanish with native fluency and has transacted business in 26 countries.
Jeffrey is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, USA Today and New York Times bestselling books "Call to Action" & "Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?" He has written for the popular marketing optimization blog GrokDotCom, eMarketing & Commerce Magazine & Forbes.com. Jeffrey has been a speaker and delivered the keynote speech at conferences like Salesforce's Dreamforce, Search Engine Strategies, WSI Excellence & Innovation, Shop.org, Direct Marketing Association, MarketingSherpa, AD:Tech Miami, Search Engine Strategies Latino, NAB, Canadian Marketing Association and at corporate events like Intel's retail customer appreciation summit.
In 1998, Jeffrey Eisenberg co-founded FutureNow Inc. (Bryan & Jeffrey are no longer associated in any way with FutureNow) and served as CEO until September 2009. During his tenure at Future Now he helped businesses generate more engagements, leads, subscriptions, and sales with the framework he co-invented, Persuasion Architecture®. His proudest professional accomplishments are the thousands of companies, students and clients, including HP, NBC Universal, GE, WebEx, Overstock and Dell, that have consistently enjoyed dramatic improvement in online sales and lead generation as a result of guidance he has offered.
Lori L. Barr, M. D. practices pediatric radiology and is the author of the best-seller, Think & Grow Well.
At University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Lori secured nearly $.5M in national grants while mentoring thousands of doctors. She is published in 37 medical periodicals and 13 books.
In 1999, Dell Childrens Imaging Center was renovated through a $1M Dell Foundation Grant. As Medical Director, Lori reported results that lead to a $25M 2-for-1 matching grant (and over $50M in community support) that built Dell Childrens Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Austin Radiological Association tripled in size and decreased overhead since Lori became an equity partner. She serves on average 18,127 patients and doctors yearly.
Lori helps professionals design freedom into their careers. Her work is featured on Fox, The CW, ABC, NBC, CBS and as she hosts The Doctor's Mentor Show and The Think and Grow Well Show. She has the ear of leaders, from entrepreneurs to former presidents and first ladies.
Manley Miller was given the nickname "Spiritual Tupac" by NBA All Star guard Jrue Holiday. A pastor, teacher, chaplain, leader, and innovation specialist, Manley is often complimented for being one of the funniest pastors on a ministry platform. His irreverent and insightful approach to breaking down bible teachings combined with his relentless vulnerability and honesty has built a mega church full of people who never thought a church could be relevant to them.
Manley began his ministry efforts in the year 2001 at Celebration Church in his hometown of New Orleans. Since then he has served in every ministry position from Janitor to Senior Leadership.
He currently serves as Pastor of Celebration Church Kenner which he launched in 2014. The congregation has experienced 400% growth since inception and currently serves more than 2000 people on a weekly basis. Manley also leads the innovation efforts for all 11 of Celebration Church's bi-lingual campuses. providing executive level leadership for information technology, production technology, creative, printing, media, design, advertising and video production.
Manley has been the chaplain for the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans since 2011 and the radio host for the daily show Face-2-Face. He served in Disaster ministry following Hurricane Katrina providing key leadership to Celebration Church's Disaster relief center which was one of the largest disaster relief and housing centers on the Gulf Coast.
Manley has also had success in a number of unrelated fields including being awarded for his graphic design, dancing, and journalism. He even received a 27th place ribbon for a swim meet when he was 10 years old.
Manley and his wife Dana met at Celebration Church where all four of the children have been dedicated and currently serve in ministry. Their first date was to a Starbucks where Dana said, "I don't know if you know my dad's story, but he was addicted to crack!" Manley replied, "Well…my mother was addicted to cocaine." They high-fived across the table and have been best friends ever since.
Mark L. Fox is an author and leading authority on teaching practical creative thinking techniques for business.
At age 31, Mark was the youngest person with the title of Chief Engineer on the Space Shuttle Program.
He received NASA's highest recognition of "Launch Honoree" at the age of 23.
Mark has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. Having held top management positions in Rocket Science, Aircraft Hydraulics, Engineering Services, Customer Service, Software, and e-Business, Mark has an extremely diversified background.
He has held positions ranging from Management and Operations to Sales and Marketing and Research and Development.
Some of Mark's unique accomplishments include increasing e-business sales 600 percent in one year; he was also the Chairman of the "orbital debris" committee and an eight-time collegiate "All American" in Marksmanship. Mark also designed and built a 10,000-pound rocket, built his own airplane, and flies hot air balloons.
Mark's interest in creative thinking dates back to the early days of his career when good, practical, creative thinking training simply couldn't be found. Over the years, Mark has developed a unique and practical creative thinking program that really works. The "Sly as a Fox" program was developed out of a need for an effective training program to stimulate creative thinking. The program consists of a set of practical tools that provide a fun and exciting way to learn how to think creatively.
Job Titles:
- Founder & CEO, Promote a Book
Michele Miller has been an avid student of human behavior for nearly 30 years. As a partner in the Wizard of Ads consulting firm, Michele maintains a powerful roster of dynamic businesses across North America, ranging from small businesses to major brands like Best Buy and Timberland.
Pegeen has spent the two decades helping business leaders define their strategic plans and create strong business operations discipline, working with technology teams on program design and execution, building effective teams as a manager and leader, and designing & facilitating leadership development programs. Before entering the business world after law school, Pegeen spent many years working as an actor/singer. As a business leader, Pegeen consistently found her abilities as an artist, communicator and storyteller to be critical tools - these were the game changers, the skills that helped her think around corners. In her work with other leaders and teams, she helps others identify their innate superpowers and game-changing abilities.
Why does Pegeen believe so strongly in approaching leadership first from a sense of identity and creativity? Innovation is often a reaction to market pressure, a need to compete. Art, by contrast, comes out of an unstoppable need to create, to build, to express the thing inherently - and uniquely - you. What if you could learn to innovate not from fear of competition but from the sheer joy of creation? What if, instead of trying to fit into someone else's idea of leadership, you focused on your own voice and looked for those opportunities where your voice is exactly what's needed to make the best music? What if your business could intuitively keep pace with your customers' needs and desires because your team was just as diverse as your customers and understood their world personally and deeply? Think about what that could unlock for you, for your clients, for your business.
Pegeen's industry experience spans from supporting teams as local as one store in one small town learning a new Point of Sale system to building processes for global high-tech teams at companies like eBay, PayPal and Capital One, to helping leadership teams in nonprofits learn how to operate professionally without losing their sense of mission.
Based in Nebraska, Pegeen continues to be active in the local arts scene, though the demands of her leadership practice means these days she is embracing her role as patron more than performer.
If you've walked into a room that made you feel welcome with its beauty and design, then you've enjoyed the work of Pennie Williams. Pennie is the co-founder and driving force behind the direction and spirit of the Wizard Academy.
Rex Williams has captained Sunpop for 13+ years, specializing in online video even during the dial-up era. A goofy jerk who insists on enjoying his job(s). Video Producer. Director. Editor. Inventor. Geek Extraordinaire. He's produced thousands of videos with organizations of every shape and size. Artists and Fortune 500 companies. Celebrities and plumbers. Authors and Olympians. His unique techniques and patent pending tools support a single mission. To help non video professionals make better videos.
Don't have your video department contact Rex for help. It's always awkward. They should know better.
For over fifteen years, Dr. Grant has trained corporate and government officials in effective communication. He is an expert on Myers-Briggs personality analysis and is a very entertaining speaker.
Richard D. Grant, Jr. received his Ph.D. in 1973 from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught an Auburn and Texas A&M universities, and, since 1977, has been a counseling/consulting psychologist in Austin, Texas. He has authored four books, most recently Recovering Connections, with Andrea Miller.
Dr. Grant is a frequent presenter for the executive business programs at the University of Texas, Texas Christian University, Southwest Texas State University, and the Texas Governor's Executive Development Program. His private clients have included The Gartner Group, Perot Systems, IBM, 3M, SEMATECH, Applied Materials and several other technical firms. In 1993, he was the first recipient of the prestigious national award for Innovations in Training and Education from the Association for Psychological type, recognizing his contributions in applying psychological type concepts to business.
Job Titles:
- Chancellor
- Founder
- Founder / Chancellor Emeritus
A lifelong student of humanity, Roy H. Williams has spent a quarter-century asking, "What makes people do the things they do?" And he's been using the things he's learned to stimulate miraculous growth for his small business clients for more than 25 years.
His books and Monday Morning Memos are a constant source of fascination and entertainment for his students and friends around the globe. His first book, The Wizard of Ads®, was voted Business Book of the Year in 1998. His second book, Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, was named the Wall Street Journal's number one Business Book in America in 1999 and became a New York Times bestseller. The third book in the trilogy, Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads" reached bestseller status again in late 2001. His fascinating fourth book, Accidental Magic, is a tightly condensed anthology of writing tips and insights, mixed with artistic examples provided by 106 of his amazing protégés. The Wizard's first fiction book, Destinae, is a powerful allegory aimed directly at the heart of the reader.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Founder and CEO of DigitalMarketer.Com
Ryan Deiss has been called one of the world's leading digital marketers by Shark Tank star, Daymond John. A best selling author, founder of multiple companies collectively employing hundreds around the globe, and one of the most dynamic speakers on marketing in the United States today, he is undeniably a recognized expert on the digital era.
Ryan's entrepreneurial endeavors began while he was a college student at the University of Texas at Austin, launching his first very first website and generating his very first sale from his freshman dorm room. By the time he graduated, this one online property had ballooned into 500, and a hobby had grown into a real business.
Fast forward to the present day, Ryan is the Founder and CEO of DigitalMarketer.com and Founder and Managing Partner of NativeCommerce.com, a digital media and ecommerce group that owns dozens properties including: DIYReady.com, MakeupTutorials.com, SurvivalLife.com and Sewing.com…just to name a few.
Ryan is the creator of the "Customer Value Optimization" methodology and have introduced and popularized many of the digital selling strategies that modern companies now take for granted.
His company, DigitalMarketer, is the leading provider of digital marketing training and certifications. Its community has over 15,000 paid members, and over a half a million subscribers. The company is on a mission to double the size of 10 thousand businesses by 2020.
Ryan is also the founder and host of the Traffic & Conversion Summit, the largest digital marketing conversion conference in North America.
He is also a sought after speaker who has shared the stage with top business leaders and celebrities like William Shatner, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Ferris, Daymond John and Dave Ramsey.
Most importantly, Ryan is a proud dad of 4 children, and husband to Emily (to whom he gives all the credit for everything he has ever done).
Scott has worked since he was 6 years old. He started his first business at the age of 22. Since that time Scott has opened, run and sold several businesses. Restaurants, Nightclubs, Petroleum Stations and Gaming Corporations… each started and run on a shoestring while he developed them into vital, successful businesses.
His innate ability to analyze a business category, seize the opportunities within a market and develop profoundly effective "UFO's" separates the business he works with from their competitors.
As an ex-semi-pro athlete, he takes this ability to the sports arena and his skill development schools. With several Provincial Championships to his credit, Scott is a conduit for [what he coins] "self actualization through sport" - proven over and over again by the kids that he works with.
He's adapted his coaching strategies to the important "people" portion of his marketing - developing and celebrating the talent of the people within the companies and organizations he works with.
Included in his portfolio are the extremely successful events, fund-raisers, and festivals that he has organized, raising over 10 million dollars for charities in a market of less than 35,000 people.
Scott is a proven survivor. A proven thriver. He doesn't just talk it. He's done it.
Steve Rae was President of Raedio Inc. owning and operating radio stations in Canada until being bought out in 2011 allowing him to retire from day to day business.
Steve continues to partner with the Wizard of Ads group, an advertising consulting company in Austin Texas and as one of the Senior partners provides direction and assistance to partner teams for clients all over the US and Canada.
He is on the faculty of the Whisk(e)y Marketing School and is a Whisky Sommelier himself. His Scottish heritage seems to assert itself anytime there is a dram of whisky in his hand.
He and his family have lived in Stratford, Ontario, Canada since 1983 and have been active participants in the Stratford community. He is a Past President of the Stratford Rotary Club, is on the Senate of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. He is known for his auctioning skills as auctioneer at many charity events, is a past President of the Stratford Friends of the Festival, was a founder of Stratford Community Players. He was presented the "Personal Achievement Award" at the Business Excellence Awards by the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce and serves as a board member of the Stratford Perth Community Foundation. He was the General Director and chairman of the 14 th World Festival of Children's Theatre held in Stratford in 2016.
Steve was a contributing author in "Accidental Magic" published by Bard Press and his book entitled "Exercising Your Imagination, Turning Dreams into Reality" was published in 2003. He is also an accomplished singer, songwriter and performer.
Steve was a member of the third ever class of the Wizard Academy when it was still held in the offices in Buda, Texas.
Zac Smith is the curator of the digital world at Wizard Academy. He oversees online classes, the web site, and our communication tools. If our digital bits aren't working as expected, he is the guy to talk to.