Speakers

Debra Thompson is Vice President Marketing for Pitney Bowes. Debra joined Pitney Bowes after a successful career at IBM where she led several global sales and marketing organizations. Debra’s broad background in business strategy and marketing includes mature markets – such as US and Europe, and she also has deep experience in Asian emerging economies. In her current position at Pitney Bowes, she oversees all aspects of SMB branding, marketing strategy, product marketing, pricing, marketing communications, direct marketing and customer retention.

Across her 28 year career, Debra has lead several businesses at IBM and incubated several other start ups, including an Agency for Channel outsourcing and a Software business in Healthcare. While serving as IBM’s VP of Channel Strategy and Management, her achievements were recognized by Computer Reseller News which named her “Top Executive in the Channel” and one of the “Top Women in the Channel”.

Other areas of expertise include small and medium business, solution sales and business development, and systems hardware product marketing & management. Her accomplishments in these roles include successfully managing the overall product portfolio, managing rebranding marketing programs, and innovating new .Com marketing capabilities. Debra also led several transformations in multiple companies for their sales and marketing organizations.

Jane Applegate is Writer/Producer/Consultant for The Applegate Group. Jane is one of America's most respected small business experts. She's the author of four books on small business management, including 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, a Bloomberg Press book published by Wiley & Sons. The third edition of '201' was released in paperback and all digital formats in April, 2011. Jane is not a Pitney Bowes employee and shares her insights on the pbSmart™ Essentials blog as a paid contributor.

A former syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Applegate is the leading small business speaker for Bloomberg Television's 'Idea Exchange' speakers' program. She keynotes dozens of small business events every year.

The Applegate Group Inc, founded in 1991, is a multimedia communications company. TAG produces original web content for a select group of companies including Pitney Bowes, American Express, Cox Communications and Montecito Bank. Applegate also writes and produces documentaries and independent films.

Jane's new site: www.201greatideas.com features ideas from her book and great ideas submitted by small business owners around the world. Jane has been recognized for her service to the business community by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Her national book promotion tour is being co-sponsored by several business organizations including: the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, (SCORE), the Women President's Organization, Springboard and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).

Justin Amendola is Vice President SMB Online Strategy for Pitney Bowes. In his current role, Justin helps PB identify and meet the needs of organizations that rely on regular communications to acquire, serve and build loyalty among customers. This includes regular posts on the pbSmart™ Essentials blog, a resource designed to provide customer communications know-how that businesses can apply immediately.

Justin openly welcomes comments and feedback on his posts, as well as those by other authors on this blog. He shares Pitney Bowes’ goal of taking frequent reader feedback on pbSmart Essentials, in order to continue evolving the experience into an essential everyday customer communications resource.