Panelists

Panel Discussion | 5:00pm – 6:30pm
McKissick Theater | Clemson University’s Hendrix Center

John Warner

John Warner is CEO of Innoventure, LLC and founder of the Swamp Fox Community. He is a recognized leader in the southeastern innovation and entrepreneurial community.

He has twenty-seven years of experience in leadership positions as senior manager of KPMG, a global professional services firm; President and co-founder of Capital Insights, a successful SC venture capital firm; Chairman of Earth Fare, a highly successful entrepreneurial company, and VP of KEMET, a global NYSE manufacturer.

He has held numerous community leadership positions and has won several awards for his work.
Website: http://www.swampfox.ws/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/swampfox

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Olivier Blanchard

Olivier is Principal at BrandBuilder Marketing, a Greenville, SC-based New Media Consultancy and Marketing management firm.

He has worked in both B2B and B2C, and is known for his work in a variety of industries including manufacturing, retail, foodservice, professional services, sportswear, and IT distribution. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, tech startups and scores of small to medium-sized businesses.

Olivier holds an International Baccalaureate degree from the International School of Brussels and a BA degree from Furman University.

In his not-so-free time, Olivier publishes the top-rated BrandBuilder Blog, has served as Marketing Hub Editor for Corante.com, and is a frequent contributor to Interactive/Media/Design (the Royal Academy of Art’s blog – The Hague), as well as BrandingWire.com and Marketing 2.0. He is completely fluent in English and French (yes, written AN D spoken).

When Olivier isn’t working or hanging out with his family, you can probably find him training for his next triathlon or adventure race.

Website: http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thebrandbuilder

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Phil Yanov

Phil Yanov is a writer, columnist, speaker, podcaster and radio guy who has spent his whole life working in technology. He has been an invited professor at the university level. He has spoken to and inspired packed auditoriums of technology professionals and is the Founder and President of the GSA Technology Council as well as the IT Leadership Council.

He discusses technology issues in his Gears and Gadgets column and may be heard on the Your Day Radio Program which is carried across South Carolina on the NPR affiliate stations.

Phil Yanov has been active in the following organizations:
2008, 2009 – Innoventure Entrepreneur Coaching Committee Chair
2008 – SBDC Regional Advisory Committee
2007-2009 – SBDC Advisory Committee
2006-2008 – Conference Director for SC Statewide CIO conference
2005 – Public Relations Chair for the Innoventure Capital Conference
2005 – Technology Chair for the Upstate Council on Entrepreneurial Development
2004 – Xchange Task Force chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce

Website: http://www.gsatc.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thinkhammer

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Steve Gonzalez

Steve Gonzalez is a entrepreneur and Partner at Rico Media Inc. with a proven track-record of developing and implementing innovative ideas into viable businesses.  Passionate about building highly profitable, cutting-edge companies, Gonzalez also envisions was to marry profitable business execution with empowering people to discover their true, full human potential. Gonzalez’ other passion is running, and he is currently training for a 100 mile foot race.

Gonzalez is the co-founder and COO of SpartX Inc. since 2008, with specific responsibilities for all aspects of the company’s social networks and software. His focus is on sales, business strategy, and development, but he also maintains  responsibility for product management, business operations, corporate development, and marketing. Gonzalez also is directly responsible for strategic planning covering all aspects of company development.

Gonzalez also serves as a business advisor on the Business Advisory Committee of the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, which is an employment agency for people with disabilities.  More than 400 businesses throughout the state of South Carolina work with SCVRD to prepare disabled individuals for the workplace, and hundreds more take advantage of the pool of  qualified individuals for their employment needs.  Members of the Advisory  Committee offer their expertise and guidance to ensure that clients of the SCVRD receive the most innovative, cutting edge training available.

Gonzalez received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from New England College

Website: http://stevegonzalez.tv/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevegonzalez

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Trey Pennington

Since 1988, Trey’s career has been marked by a consistent passion for helping businesses create genuine relationships with their customers. Recognized as one of the region’s leading authorities on social media and using technology to create, connect and nurture relationships, Trey earned an MBA from Winthrop University and a Masters in Education from Bob Jones University.

Prior to leading ShowCase’s Marketing and strategic services team, he spent over a decade helping build family owned and start-up businesses in recording, publishing, fulfillment, and commercial construction. He also spent several years in the non-profit sector, helping organizations serving the needs of children with disabilities.

Trey’s been using social media since Facebook allowed old people to join, though his first venture into social media was through LinkedIn. At the moment he’s at the Facebook friend limit and his profile is ranked #4 of all the profiles “graded” by HubSpot. He shares South Carolina’s top Twitterer designation with Olivier Blanchard and sometimes Tony Morgan.

Trey is a father of six children, is active in the Greenville Rotary Club, and serves on the South Carolina State Board of Nursing.

Website: http://treypennington.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/treypennington

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Lonnie Emard

Between 1989 and 2001, Lonnie worked on several major organizational re-design efforts and began integrating Organization Development Theory into IT. His efforts during this time also included roles as Executive lead recruiter at Georgia Tech and the Atlanta University Center, where he began developing innovative techniques for academic and industry collaboration.

Lonnie joined BlueCross BlueShield in 2002 as the Director of Staff Resource Management for the I/S Division.  He is responsible for the Managing People Program, which includes best practices in Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Talent Management and Talent Retention. Under his direction, the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Information Systems organization successfully grew from 1200 employees and contractors to over 2300 in 7 years.  His introduction of human capital management techniques helped BlueCross BlueShield of SC IS maintain a 93% retention rate at a time when other IT companies were struggling to keep their best people.

Lonnie was named the Executive Director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management in January of 2009.  He was instrumental in the formation of this collaborative organization that brings together IT industry companies like IBM and Computer Associates with universities, colleges and professional development organizations to address the need to grow and develop the talent pipeline for Information Technology.

Website: http://www.gocesm.com/
Linked-In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lonnie-emard