Speaker Bios

Daniel H. Pink

Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about the changing world of work.

His latest is Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which uses 40 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation and offer a more effective path to high performance. Early reviews say that “Pink’s analysis–and new model–of motivation offers tremendous insight into our deepest nature” (Publishers Weekly) and call the book “important reading . . . an integral addition to a growing body of literature calling for a radical shift in how businesses operate” (Kirkus).

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind is a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 21 languages.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need is the first American business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga and the only graphic novel ever to become a BusinessWeek bestseller. Illustrated by award-winning artist Rob Ten Pas, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko has been translated into 14 languages.

Dan’s first book, Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, was a Washington Post bestseller that Publishers Weekly says “has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations.”

His articles on business and technology appear in many publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor. He has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace.

A free agent himself, Dan held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government.

He received a BA, with honors, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. To his lasting joy, he has never practiced law.

Dan lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and their three children.

Robbie Blinkoff, PhD
Principal Anthropologist and Managing Partner

Robbie is an ethnographer and anthropologist and has overseen operations at Context since founding the company in 1999. Robbie works with the team to create research designs that lead to breakthrough insights and solutions.

Under Robbie's direction, Context has worked with clients such as: American Express, Adobe Systems Inc., Campbell's, Procter & Gamble, Kodak, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark, Fisher-Price, Sony, Microsoft, Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Herman Miller and Nike.

In addition to Context's extensive client work, Robbie has guided several proprietary studies that have helped define American and international culture. Recently, he led a study on consumer behavior in relation to the economic meltdown. The report, entitled, "Grounding the American Dream: A Cultural Study on the Future of Consumerism in a Changing Economy," explores the cultural shift occurring as a result of the downturn. Other proprietary Context studies include work on 9/11 and its impact on our culture, a study on wireless behavior entitled: "The Mobiles: Social Evolution in a Wireless Society," and a study on China entitled "The China Middle: Coming of Age in Consumerism."

In 2003, Robbie was identified by Fast Company magazine as one of its prestigious "Fast 50" innovators, people who are changing the way business is done. His insights into consumer behavior have appeared on the CBS News and the CBS Early Show and in Inc., Wired, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Newsday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Philadelphia Enquirer, and many other publications.

An experienced speaker, Robbie recently presented at Sun Microsystems Brand Summit and gave the keynote address to Adobe Systems Global Marketing Conference in Napa Valley. He's also addressed Universal Pictures on the relationship between consumer trends and the entertainment industry; chaired and spoke at the International Institute for Research's symposium on New Ethnographic Methods; and was a key presenter at Yahoo!'s "Born to be Wired" Conference. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from Rutgers University, where his dissertation focused on ideas of ownership among hunter-gatherers in Papua New Guinea and teaches courses on ethnography at the University of Baltimore and Goucher College.

Jennifer Kammeyer

Jennifer Kammeyer has over 20 years of experience and has coached over 100 leaders on becoming more effective communicators. Jennifer provides individual coaching and conducts workshops on presentation development and delivery. She also teaches communication at San Francisco State University and has conducted empirical research on using PowerPoint to increase audience learning. Jennifer’s coaching includes message development, presentation creation, and delivery rehearsal. For more information, visit www.jenniferkammeyer.com

Pat Gross

Pat Gross has served as Chairman of The Lovell Group, a private business and technology advisory and investment firm, since October 2002.  Mr. Gross is a founder of, and served as principal executive officer from 1970 to 2002 at American Management Systems, Inc., a publicly traded information technology consulting, software development, and systems integration firm.  Mr. Gross is a director of  two ABS portfolio companies, Liquidity Services, Inc., a publicly traded leading online auction marketplace for wholesale, surplus and salvage assets and Rosetta Stone, a publicly traded language learning company.  He is also a director of Capital One Financial Corporation, a publicly traded commercial bank, Career Education Corporation, a publicly traded provider of post secondary educational services, Waste Management, Inc., a publicly traded waste disposal, energy generation, and sustainability firm, and Taleo Corporation, a publicly trade software as a service (SaaS) from providing human resource applications.  Mr. Gross also currently serves on the boards of directors of various private companies.

Suzan Garabedian

Suzan Garabedian is an Executive Coach who works with leaders on a variety of goals that include the further enhancement of management and leadership skills, on-boarding, promotional transition work, and in creating the time and discipline to self-reflect on the impact of what they say and what they do. She is trained and certified through Georgetown University in Washington, DC and with the International Coaching Federation. In addition to her Executive Coaching certifications, Suzan holds a BS and MS from Virginia Commonwealth University with an emphasis in business, psychology and sociology.

Suzan is also a First Vice President with SunTrust Bank, with Mid-Atlantic and corporate-wide responsibilities. She has been a Human Resources Business Partner in the financial services industry for over twenty-five years. Her focus is primarily working with senior managers on the realization of change initiatives, organizational development and talent management initiatives, which include personal development planning and accountability.

She is also heavily involved in her community in the cultural and arts field as a board member, volunteer, and leader. This up close involvement started out in Richmond, Virginia, her home town, with Business Volunteers for the Arts and continues in her current location, Baltimore, Maryland. She is currently on the Board of Trustees for Center Stage and the Maryland Film Festival. Her past board experience includes 1708 Art Gallery, Richmond Arts Council, Funds for Educational Excellence and Federal Hill Neighborhood Association.

David M. Gowel
www.linkedin.com/in/davidgowel

Dave Gowel is the Founder & President of Clearly Creative (www.clearlycreative.net), a marketing firm located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA at the heart of one of the most rapidly growing technology clusters on the planet, adjacent to MIT and Boston. Under Dave’s leadership, Clearly Creative has grown into a highly respected online and offline messaging strategy and implementation provider for clients nationwide. Clearly Creative has been celebrated for their events:
as well as for their social media prowess, led by Dave, in this Boston Globe article calling him a “LinkedIn Jedi.”

As a graduate of West Point, Dave’s leadership experience began while he was an Army Ranger serving as an armor combat platoon leader in Iraq. In addition to Dave’s tactical experience, he was named Deputy Chief of the Executive Services Division of the U.S. Army’s European Headquarters, requiring him to develop, coordinate and execute high end, complex events for multiple commanding European 4 Star generals catering to members of Congress, dignitaries and heads of state. Immediately prior to his honorable discharge from Active Duty, Dave served as an Assistant Professor in the Military Leadership Department at MIT where he refined his expertise in effectively using social media for professional purposes.

To date, Dave has presented to thousands of professionals in various settings on using LinkedIn to achieve tangible business results. He has delivered such sessions at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School, Babson’s Graduate School of Business, the National Venture Capital Association, Private Equity International’s Investor Relations and Communications Forum, at Microsoft and for many others nationwide.  Dave still serves as adjunct faculty at MIT as an Assistant Professor and is earning his Masters Degree in Management at Harvard University.