The Direct Marketing Education Foundations (DMEF) has chosen four winners of its 2010 Rising Stars Awards, as well as its 2010 Corporate Commitment Award recipient.
The Rising Stars award recognizes direct marketing professionals 40 years of age or younger. According to the DMEF, recipients have demonstrated superior leadership abilities, including a strong track record of outstanding results and a stellar reputation for giving back to the DM community through education and mentoring.
This year’s four Rising Stars are: Sebastien Bilodeau of Synapse Group; Bryan Eisenberg of Eisenberg & Associates; Mitch Joel of Twist Image; and Alison Shaffer of Cisco WebEx. The Corporate Commitment Award winner is Publishers Clearing House (PCH).
Sebastien Bilodeau is senior VP of sales and account management for Synapse Group, Inc. Bilodeau joined Synapse Group as a college recruit in 1997. After taking on ever-increasing responsibilities and leadership roles, e was promoted to senior VP in just 10 years, an accomplishment earned by no other employee in the history of the company.
Bryan Eisenberg is managing partner of Eisenberg & Associates. He co-founded FutureNow Inc., a company that helps businesses generate more engagements, leads, subscriptions, and sales, in 1998. He is co-author of the books, “Call to Action,” “Waiting for your Cat to Bark?” and “Always be Testing.”
Mitch Joel is president of Twist Image, a digital marketing and communications agency. His newspaper business column, “New Business – Six Pixels of Separation” runs bi-monthly in both The Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun, and his monthly column “Ultraportable” is featured in enRoute Magazine.
Alison Shaffer is group manager of marketing operations and analytics at Cisco WebEx. As chairman of the Cisco WebEx Data Management Organization she helps drive data management methodology training to Cisco WebEx employees. She also participates as a mentor in the Cisco Career Advancement Mentoring Program, and is an active participant at many marketing events including the SVAMA and Email Evolution Conference.
The Corporate Commitment Award honors companies that regularly demonstrate a commitment to excellence in all areas of direct/interactive marketing education, and create a culture that nurtures talent and education both internally and within the broader business community.
This year’s winner, Publishers Clearing House, was founded in 1953 by DMA Hall of Fame member Harold Mertz. In addition to being a multichannel marketer of consumer products and magazines, the company, its employees and officers have a long heritage of service and leadership in both direct marketing industry initiatives and the community at large. Among the initiatives are the company’s monthly Lunch and Learn presentations, Team Connection cross-functional networking groups, and PCH U, which incorporates courses taught by internal subject matter experts, outside facilitators, e-learning, and courses on demand. PCH also offers a tuition reimbursement plan, college campus recruiting, and a summer internship program.
“We are honored that Publishers Clearing House has been recognized this year for our commitment to the training and leadership development of our employees as they grow in their careers,” said Andrew Goldberg, president and CEO of Publishers Clearing House, in a statement. “Over the last two years PCH has been fortunate to hire associates from DMEF’s Next Generation Leaders program. These young professionals represent a whole new generation of business-ready up and comers able to immediately begin contributing to PCH’s success in interactive marketing. We consider DMEF a valued partner as they steer us to the most talented students entering the marketplace.”
The Awards will be presented on Tuesday, June 15 at Bridgewaters, South Street Seaport in New York City during the Digital Marketing Days Conference & Expo.
