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RISMedia’s 2011 Achieve! Conference

May 24 & 25, 2011– Rye Town Hilton, Rye, New York

2011 Speakers

Ken Baris
Ken Baris, president of Jordan Baris Realtors in New Jersey, is among the real estate industry’s most prolific and dynamic leaders. Often featured in national publications, Baris has taken today’s market challenges head-on and the results have been recognized by industry organizations, vendors to the brokerage community and the media. He is the proud recipient of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World 2009 Transaction of the Year Award for outstanding client experience, president of the NY Metro Group of Leading RE, as well as a member of the CRB Board of Directors and Zillow’s Broker Advisory Board. Baris created Top Presenter, winner of the NAR software of the year and is heralded for his creative approach and easy and humorous style.

Tami Bonnell
A 30-year veteran of the real estate industry, Tami Bonnell, president of the U.S. Organization of EXIT Realty Corp. Intl. was instrumental in building three major brands. Among her many achievements, she was recognized by real estate trendwatcher, Stefan Swanepoel, as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Real Estate. She has been a featured speaker at the National Association of REALTORS® convention, The Women’s Council of REALTORS® and RISMedia’s Leadership Conference. She was recently named a finalist in the category of Best Executive in a service business by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Along with several other national and local speaking engagements, Bonnell hosts quarterly webinars educating the general public on real estate issues.

Michael Botefuhr
Michael Botefuhr is the partner relations manger of the Northeast for Zillow, one of the most visited real estate networks on the Web. Botefuhr speaks at events such as RIS Xplode! and Raincamp, in addition to attending trade shows and sitting on panels with competitors representing Zillow across the country. He also visits local brokerages to help agents and brokers leverage online and social media opportunities, while promoting ways to increase their business by marketing themselves on Zillow/Yahoo!.

Joe Clement
As broker/owner of RE/MAX Properties, Inc., Joe Clement attributes part of the company’s ability to survive the current market conditions to his agents being able to handle distressed property sales which represent nearly 35% of the current sales in Colorado Springs. Having been involved in real estate since 1977, Clement has been consistently recognized within the RE/MAX system, receiving the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award, Distinguished Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and being recognized as Broker/Owner of the Year. Last year, Clement and his son Tony—who make up The Clement Team—did over $21 million in sales.

Allan Dalton
Allan Dalton is president of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty (PPSIR). Dalton served for 18 years as president of Murphy Realty Better Homes and Gardens. When Murphy was acquired in 1997 by Cendant, now Realogy Corporation, Dalton went on to become executive vice president for Coldwell Banker New England, then chief executive officer of REALTOR.com. He was later appointed as the president of the Real Estate Division for REALTOR.com’s parent company, Move Inc. Dalton most recently served as chief marketing officer for RISMedia, as well as president of RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Division. Beyond his Corporate Management positions, and throughout his career, Dalton has been respected for continually consulting in the real estate industry. An accomplished keynote speaker, he is also credited with creating the national marketing systems for four brands. Dalton recently authored the highly acclaimed book Leveraging Your Links.

Darryl Davis
What began as a way to support his acting career later became Davis’ true passion and lifelong mission. Davis became a real estate agent at the age of 19 and quickly climbed the ladder to become a Top Producer averaging six transactions a month. He went on to become a licensed broker and manager of a new office that became the #1 listing and selling branch within its first six months of operation. Some of his other accomplishments include: founder of The POWER Program, a year-long real estate coaching program and creator of the nationally acclaimed 3-day program, S.U.R.E. Results. Davis strives to train his students and attendees on how to have more fun and less stress in their business and personal lives.

Scott Dixon
As President of the Real Estate Division of Network Communications, Inc. (NCI), Scott Dixon is responsible for the sales and profitability of the company’s flagship product, The Real Estate Book®, as well as its New Home Finder brand, which serves the builder community and its Mature Living Choices brand, which serves the active adult segment of the market. Prior to joining NCI in 1995, Dixon was employed by Digital Equipment Corporation in a variety of managerial positions, including Product Business Planning, District Business Manager, Industry Business Manager and Marketing Support Manager.

Gee Dunsten
Gee Dunsten has been a senior instructor with the Council of Residential Specialists for over 20 years, having served as their 2001 president, and is also an instructor for the Distressed Property Institute. In addition to teaching CRS and CDPE classes, Dunsten is president of Gee Dunsten Seminars, Inc. His hands-on approach to real estate training with leading-edge ideas and systems has made him a popular speaker at many state and company franchise conventions. He has taught in all 50 states, and as far away as Australia, Chile and New Zealand.

Dan Durochik
Throughout Dan Durochik’s 25-year career with McColly Real Estate, he has held the positions of marketing director and new homes division manager before becoming general manager in 2004. Durochik passionately subscribes to the philosophy behind the company’s mission statement: to create long-term relationships and trust with our customers and clients by developing the talents of individuals with the tools, training and technology required to achieve excellence, growth, fun and profit. Durochik earned the Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) Designation in 1997 and is also a licensed broker in Indiana and Illinois.

William Ervin
William Ervin is the national sales director for the Real Estate Relationship channel at CitiMortgage. His tenured team of sales professionals is responsible for building national and local lending relationships with real estate firms. Over the past seven years, Ervin has worked within CitiMortgage supporting all retail and third-party businesses. Prior to 2004, Ervin co-owned a company called Envision that developed presentation tools for the real estate industry. Founded in 1997, Envision developed a multimedia listing presentation for laptops and private branded it with many national and regional companies.

Matt Fagioli
Matt Fagioli helps businesses gain higher returns and greater results. A self-proclaimed master of real estate industry business development, Fagioli enjoys helping businesses accelerate growth through digital marketing and lead conversion. As founder of the real estate Xplode! Conference, Fagioli connects large groups through conferences and seminars all over the United States. Back home in Atlanta, Fagioli owns a small real estate brokerage called Diamond Dwellings and he’s been succeeding at a high level in real estate sales for the better part of a decade. Some of the successful events he has created include the REtechSouth real estate technology conference—one of the most advanced events of its kind.

LP Finn
A 2nd generation real estate professional, LP Finn is the operating officer for family-owned Coach Realtors, one of Long Island’s largest independent real estate firms with 18 office locations and over 600 sales associates. His expertise as a technology and luxury real estate expert has been recognized by leading real estate networks, and he has been a featured speaker at real estate conferences both in the United States and the United Kingdom. Finn’s comments and insights are often sought by publications such as the New York Times, Newsday, the New York Post and Long Island Business News.

Joe Gaeta
As the Vice President of sales for Obeo, Joe Gaeta has over 20 years of proven sales management experience and over 10 years of leading sales teams specifically in the real estate industry. In 1999, Gaeta started his journey in real estate as the Southeast regional director for one of the first virtual tour companies in the real estate industry. He helped bamboo.com become the fastest IPO in NASDAQ history and believes a large part of his success in real estate is due to the training he was provided when he entered the business. Gaeta’s strongest asset is his ability to capture a room and entertain his audience, while at the same time providing the necessary instruction that helps people see what is slowing them down and then shares the strategies that provide the best solutions.

Marc Gould
Marc Gould has been involved in real estate and real estate education for a decade. Since 2002 Gould has been the vice president of the National Association of REALTORS®’ Business Specialties Group. In that capacity, he has grown the Real Estate Buyers’ Agent Council (REBAC), acquired and integrated the Senior Real Estate Specialist Council and launched NAR’s Green Designation. Most recently the Business Specialties Group created NAR’s Broker Price Opinion Resource Certification for NAR’s more than one million members. Prior to joining the National Association of REALTORS®, Gould was the vice president of Sales and Business Development for Dearborn Real Estate Education, a leading provider of real estate education.

Rick Gregory
As Vice President of Business Development & Operations for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC, Rick Gregory is responsible for overseeing the development of new core service business products and solutions to increase broker profitability as well as acting as the financial liaison within the brand. Prior to joining Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Gregory served as vice president of Affiliate Solutions Group, part of Weichert Financial Services; vice president Business & Product Development, Home Connects Lending Services (A GMAC Company); and SVP of Corporate Development for GMAC Home Services. Gregory comes to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate with over 14 years of experience in the real estate industry.

Peg Guinta
As Projects Director for RIS Consulting Group, Peg Guinta is involved with the company’s broad range of independent relocation consulting services for corporate clients and relocation service companies. Projects include benchmark and marketing research, relocation program design and analysis, RFP development and provider assessment and policy writing. She is especially involved in design, development and analysis of the firm’s survey projects including transferee service satisfaction programs and corporate relocation policy research. Guinta has been a Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) since 1997. She is a member of the Employee Relocation Council (ERC) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Todd Hetherington
Todd Hetherington is CEO of NM Management, Inc., the parent company of Century 21 New Millennium, one of the top ranked Century 21 firms in the country for gross closed commissions. In addition to leading the company along with his business partner, Mary Lynn Stone, Hetherington’s duties involve overseeing the core service companies that support the 525 agents and $1.3 billion in annual real estate sales volume. His proudest professional accomplishment is the unparalleled leadership cadre that he and Stone have been fortunate enough to assemble.

Ed Krafchow
As Chairman of the Board for Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate, Ed Krafchow has been instrumental in the company’s remarkable growth. Krafchow has been closely involved in the development of the company’s proprietary WebTop Intranet, a technology platform that has generated leads and created efficient business processes for his sales associates. Mindful of the changing needs of consumers, Krafchow led his company to a full integration of online transaction management and esignatures in 2010. Krafchow is a frequent national speaker and has been identified by the California Association of REALTORS® as one of California’s top brokers.

John Lim
John Lim, founder and CEO of Life in Mobile, is one of the nation’s leading next-generation business visionaries. A consummate entrepreneur with a track record of success in the promotional, retail and technology sectors, Lim has leveraged his varied and valuable experiences in a successful 12-year professional career in mobile telecommunications and marketing. Using his technical expertise and marketing intuition, Lim has developed cutting-edge interactive, innovative business technology that bridges the gap between traditional advertising and executing the sale. To date, Lim still serves as founder and CEO of Life in Mobile, and its subsidiaries.

Jeff Lobb
As EXIT Realty Corp. International’s Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Jeff Lobb travels across North America teaching brokers and agents the skills they need to get ahead in the ever-changing world of real estate technology. Having been a REALTOR® for 22 years, with 10+ years experience in the Internet and technology fields, Lobb prides himself on delivering hands-on, usable solutions for today’s real estate professional. Fluent in the three languages of English, Real Estate and Technology, Lobb’s diverse background gives him the experience he refers to as “the perfect storm”—all converging at precisely the right time for today’s real estate industry.

Charles Maione
Charles Maione is a licensed associate broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman in New York. Maione has been in real estate for eight years. In 2010, he was the #3 agent in the #1 office in Nassau County for unit production. Maione is in the top 3% of the company with over $200,000 CGI. Maione will be sharing his strategies to find success in today’s new real estate world in the session titled “How to Thrive, Not Just Survive,” moderated by Darryl Davis.    

Jeff Mandel
As Chairman, CEO and President of iQual Corporation, Jeff Mandel has led iQual and the evolution of their flagship service, ApprovalGUARD since December 2007. Prior to joining iQual, Mandel spent almost 20 years working in numerous leadership capacities within the financial services industry. He is an executive with a proven record of using dynamic leadership and strategic thinking to build and grow profitable businesses and relationships. Previously, Mandel was founder and president of Prism Professional Solutions, Inc. which provided strategic advisory services to real estate and mortgage banking institutions through the United States. During this tenure, Mandel was widely recognized as one of the preeminent experts regarding the integration of homeownership services. He continues to be a featured speaker at many real estate and financial services industry events.

Brien McMahon
As Executive Vice President and Chief Franchise Officer for Radian Guaranty, Brien McMahon is responsible for leading the company’s sales, marketing and customer experience strategies. Having served in the financial services industry for more than 25 years, McMahon most recently held the position of executive vice president for Realogy Franchise Group, where he directed sales, training and administration for multiple premier real estate brands, including Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, Century 21 Real Estate LLC®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA® and Sotheby’s International Realty®. Prior to Realogy, McMahon served 14 years with PHH U.S. Mortgage in a variety of roles, including senior vice president of national sales.

Paul Musso
Paul Musso, a licensed associate broker with RealtyConnect USA, is one of the top five agents within a 1,500-agent company. Musso currently has over 40 listings, and is on track to generate hundreds if not thousands in commissions this year. Musso is one of the panelists who will be speaking at the session titled “How to Thrive, Not Just Survive,” moderated by Darryl Davis.

Maya Paveza
An award-winning REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Preferred, Maya J. Paveza has gained national acclaim for continuously redefining the role social media plays in her business. She is a frequent speaker on how the Web and social media have created new opportunities to build brand awareness, generate leads and increase profitability. Paveza is often asked to share her views in social media forums such as the Future of Marketing: 60 in 60, where she presented with Tony Hsieh (founder, Zappos), Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV), Guy Kawasaki (co-founder, Alltop), Jeffrey Hayzlett (former CMO, Kodak), Bonin Bough (director of social media for PepsiCo) and others.

Greg Rand
Greg Rand is a real estate entrepreneur. He has grown one of the largest real estate companies in the nation, closing over 4,000 residential and commercial transactions every year in good times and bad. Rand has learned the secrets of professional real estate investors at the highest levels and reverse-engineered their strategies and intuitions for his readers. Now the CEO of OwnAmerica, Rand is leading a new generation of real estate owners down the path of independent wealth. OwnAmerica has set out to train a national network of like-minded real estate professionals who believe in the asset class of American housing, and wish to enable more investors to secure their financial future by investing in it. He is the author of CRASH BOOM!, a real estate contributor on The Fox Business Network and host of Rand on Real Estate on WABC Radio.

Joseph Rand
Joseph Rand is one of the managing partners of Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, Rand Mortgage, Hudson Abstract and Rand Commercial Services. As Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty’s General Counsel, Rand represents the company, its employees and its 800 agents. His responsibilities include ensuring regulatory compliance, maintaining ethical standards and representing the company and its agents in any legal disputes. Rand is also involved with the company’s extensive new agent and ongoing education and training programs.

Matt Rand
As one of the Managing Partners of Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, Rand Mortgage, Hudson Abstract and Rand Commercial Services, Matt Rand participated in more than $1.5 billion in real estate transactions in New York’s Hudson Valley in 2010, propelling the company to one of the top 60 in the country. Rand has served on the American Red Cross Hudson Valley Advisory Board since 1998, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC) as well as being on the Board of Directors of People to People, a Rockland based food pantry. In 2005, Rand received the Rockland Economic Development Corporation’s “Forty under Forty” award.

John Reinhardt
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Fillmore Real Estate, John Reinhardt provides the strategic leadership that has made the company a regional powerhouse. The company’s influence was enhanced by its recent purchase of more than 1,400 listings from Foxtons, enabling the company to meet its two-year growth goals in two days. Another significant achievement fostered by Reinhardt was the firm’s selection as the exclusive sales agent for MeadowWood at Gateway, one of Brooklyn’s largest condominium projects. Reinhardt, a respected expert, is often quoted in the media and has appeared in the New York Sun, the New York Daily News, the Associated Press, the Real Deal, Real Estate Weekly and Real Estate magazine.

Stephen Schweickart
A self-employed entrepreneur since he was 21, Stephen Schweickart launched VScreen, a leading video services company within the real estate industry in 2006. As co-founder and CEO of VScreen, Schweickart has established himself as a leading expert and pioneer within the world of video marketing. VScreen’s client list boasts the real estate industry’s largest dot com’s, franchises and brokers and their sphere of influence continues to grow rapidly. Located at Universal Studios Florida, VScreen produces custom video, branded technology and turnkey solutions to integrate video into your website, online marketing strategy and social media pages.

John Sculley
At RIS Consulting Group since 1995, John Sculley, vice president/managing director, designs and leads all advisory, research and change management projects for corporate relocation programs and related services. He was formerly a vice president at two major relocation management companies and at an international consulting firm specializing in corporate location decisions and economic development. He was also executive director/CEO of a major Connecticut not-for-profit. From the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council, Sculley has received the Certified Relocation Professional (1990) and Senior CRP designations (2007), its Meritorious Service Award (1997), President’s Award (2006) and Distinguished Service Award (2007).

Marc Siden
As Co-founder and CEO of Onboard Informatics, Marc Siden provides leadership, vision and focus in addition to over 20 years of diverse technology, information services and finance experience to the culture of the company. What began when he saw a need for a company that transformed traditional local information on home sales, communities, schools and neighborhoods into powerful online tools for real estate professionals, the company has grown into a leader in data, content and Web-based research tools for the real estate community.

Nick Smoot
Nick Smoot is the director of business development at Smarter Agent. Five months after he co-founded his first real estate technology company, Toor.me, he found himself in meetings at MIT with executives from across the real estate industry. As a gifted storyteller, Smoot has taken his ability of clearly communicating to the digital world by guiding the development of award-winning tools like Smarter Agent and Toor.me. His perspectives on mobile technology and marketing are refreshingly relevant and useful.

Marty Sorrentino
Marty Sorrentino is a real estate coach at Darryl Davis Seminars in addition to being an associate broker at RE/MAX Innovations. Having been in real estate for 16 years, Sorrentino is currently the top lister within his office and a Hall of Famer for the third year. Sorrentino will be sharing his winning strategies for today’s new real estate world during the “How to Thrive, Not Just Survive” session, moderated by Darryl Davis.

Eric Stegemann
Having obtained a real estate license before reaching his 20s, Eric Stegemann quickly grew passionate about an industry that allowed individuals to be rewarded for their extra efforts. At just 21 years of age, Stegemann built a prototype of what would later become the strategy behind his current venture Tribus, a lifetime client management system from first contact through closing, follow-up and future sales. Using these strategies, he built one of the largest independent real estate companies in the St. Louis area, River City Real Estate. Currently, he is overseeing the finalization of the first mainstream, seamlessly integrated transaction and client management system between real estate brokers and mortgage professionals.

Todd Sumney
Todd Sumney, vice president of marketing at Realty Executives International, has more than 20 years of brand management, positioning and strategic marketing consulting experience. For the past six years Sumney has been utilizing his extensive background to strengthen the Realty Executives brand through a combination of strategy, design and execution in both marketing and technology platforms. Most recently, Sumney spearheaded the design and launch of RE:Connect, a company-wide online and mobile marketing technology platform which has revolutionized the way Realty Executives sales associates are able to market themselves and their listings.

Audrey Whittington
Audrey Whittington is the vice president of Broker Solution Sales for LPS Real Estate Group. LPS Real Estate Group is a division of Lender Processing Services, a leading provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage and real estate industries. Whittington has a long career of introducing and implementing real estate technology solutions to the industry from front office technologies to back office solutions. She is proficient in identifying business opportunities and partnerships for all aspects of the industry, including MLSs, brokers and agents. Her role at LPS is to expand and support the company’s client base while providing technology solutions and revenue generating opportunities that enhance the productivity and growth of their clients.

Brian Wildermuth
As President/Co-founder of SharperAgent, Brian Wildermuth has overseen SharperAgent’s growth from a two-man company in 2001 to a leader in the real estate marketing industry, currently serving over 40,000 users worldwide. Lending his expertise and insight into strategic marketing systems, Wildermuth can teach even the busiest professionals how to better drive communication to their clients and prospects. As a speaker, Wildermuth has presented his innovative marketing ideas to national audiences at RISMedia’s Leadership Conference, Real Trends Gathering of Eagles, and many real estate, mortgage and title conventions, seminars and sales rallies.