***The Marketing & Sales Team***
Samantha Rufo, Communicator, President
Visionary, Storyteller, Intuitive, Demanding, Fun, Passionate, Curious, Computer Geek, Hostess, Skier
Sam is a catalyst. She started nxtConcepts with a mission. This mission is a collaborative mix of strategy, communications, design and technology that are the company's cornerstones. Sam's penchant for great strategy, big ideas and up-tempo client service is ideally suited to the vigorous, entrepreneurial environment of the small business environment.
Samantha started working in the ski industry in 1996 as the Marketing & Sales Director at Mad River Mountain, OH. For 7 years she was an active force in creating integrated marketing & technology programs. Many ski runs and an armful of awards later, she won a reputation for pushing the boundaries of traditional marketing thinking and program development. Before Mad River, Sam developed and oversaw the centralized sales and marketing department for a $20 million commercial cleaning company. Looks like that Political Science degree from the University of Dayton has come in real handy!
In 2004 she transitioned from her management position at this Peak Resorts facility to President of nxtConcepts. She has successfully managed thousands of traditional and new media campaigns.
Campaign results in the double and triple digit growth categories are not uncommon in Samantha's portfolio. Samantha is not only used to getting results. She has won numerous awards for both her company and her clients.
As the President of nxtConcepts she has been the driving force behind developing the company's goals, objectives, policies, and initiatives for the short term and long term growth and profitability of the organization. Besides keeping a hand in the day-to-day work, she is also an active and outspoken author and public speaker on the web.
Samantha is a great believer in giving back to the community. To further skiing in Ohio she has acted as the Ohio Ski Reporter every winter since 1998. She has also served on the Board of the Greater Columbus Habitat for Humanity as the PR Director and the Columbus Chapter of the American Marketing Association as the VP of Communications.
Dominic Russo - Creative Director Dominic is responsible for spirited creative. He has twelve years of agency experience and over twenty years of experience in advertising and graphic design. His unique background which includes print, photography, corporate identity, web, and broadcast makes him a seasoned Creative Director. Dominic's inspirational fountain is fortified daily by his wife Christine and his four "highly creative" children. Dominic received his BFA from The University of Dayton, and his Post-Baccalaureate in Education from Cleveland State University. Dominic's painting work has been show cased in The May Show (Cleveland Museum of Art) as well as local galleries. His advertising work has been awarded an Addy by The Cleveland Advertising Club. He is a contributing member of AIGA Design Education Association, which comprises educators at the college and postgraduate levels who address issues of curriculum, school accreditation, program development and teaching standards; as well as The Icograda Education Network (IEN) which brings together the worldwide community of graphic design educational institutions - for exchange, sharing, collaboration, and advancement of teaching methods and research opportunities. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Notre Dame College, OH.
Artist, Dad, Ideas, Values, Spirit, Tenacious, Boy Scout
Feeler, Storyteller, Spark, Planner, Contagious Enthusiasm, Candid
Michelle's Media philosophy is not always about out-spending the competition, it's about out-thinking them. Michelle has been planning and buying media for local, regional, national and international accounts for over 19 years. Her buying knowledge includes a mix of consumer and business-to-business. Experienced in buying: cable, Internet, newspaper, outdoor, radio, television, consumer and trade publications. Responsible for co-op and promotional tie-ins.
Her experience varies from Consumer Related companies with budgets in the $40,000-$1,850,000 range such as the Cincinnati Zoo, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, McDonald's, Meijer, and Paramount Pictures/Paramount's Kings Island. She's also worked for some of the top Advertising Agencies such as Fahgren & Martin, Freedman-Gibson & White, Mann-Bukvic-Gatch & Partners, Stockton-West-Burhart, and Westerkamp-Giles & Partners (now known as Bridge.)
Jody Ruhl - Marketing Assistant
Ideas, Energetic, Self-reliant, Contagious enthusiasm, Organizer, Passionate, Spirit, Skier
An Ohio native with a "second home" in Colorado, Jody knows details and how to keep a project on track. Have a mailing to go out? Need quotes? No matter what the detail, Jody always has it under control.
In between her regular visits to Aspen to ski, she assists clients with the day to day details of their marketing and sales campaigns. She's also a key driving force in coming up with new and exciting programs that focus on kids and families.
Justin Turner - Sales Director
Born in the Bronx , raised in New Jersey, schooled in California, Justin now calls Ohio home. His Dad even had a farm in upstate NY. That meant in the summers he'd take on the job as a farmer (he can shovel cow crap with the best of them). It was college that called him to the West Coast to go to UCLA on a wrestling scholarship. But his wife Molly that brought him back to NJ and eventually Ohio. Justin's sales experience is quite impressive. When he worked in the steel industry, he was used to closing million dollar deals.
Justin keeps the sales programs and materials on track for nxtConcepts. Famous for his 30 minute sales calls and very high close ratios, he's fond of reminding us, "Just say your piece and SHUT UP." Although part-time, (we couldn't afford him any other way) Justin's experience and talent are evident in the tremendous sales growth nxtConcepts has seen since his arrival.
Bio's Coming Soon...
...Dominic Russo, Designer
***The Technology Team***
Michael T Kiehl, Technology, Selectus Consulting
Doer, Catalyst, Leader, Tireless, Bold, Strategic, Family Man, Gadgets, Skier
Mike is an expert at guiding companies through the complicated maze that leads to technology strategy and systems integration. As leader of the nxtConcepts technology practice, Mike provides IT business strategy, planning, organizational development consulting, Web development and implementation that meet the needs and goals of clients and their customers. Mike focuses a lot of his time and energy on educating business leaders so they can make informed decisions about today's technology tools.
Mike has been in the technology industry since 1987. His international experience with web hosting, systems integration and his various designations across multiple platforms give him a broad base of knowledge and incredible insight. Besides working for world class companies like Siemens, he's created or been a part of teams that have developed numerous, one of a kind applications and systems. At home either on the slopes, or in a boardroom, Mike's the "go to guy" for anything with a processor or a plug. Mike is a devoted husband of 14 years who still likes to regularly bring his wife flowers. He's also the lucky and proud father of three beautiful young ladies. Women definitely rule his house!
Todd Brown, Support, Selectus Consulting
Entrepreneur, Fun, Sea Captain, Self-Reliant, Demanding, Values, Scrapper, Spark, Intuitive, Justice
Todd's diverse background in both the corporate world which includes working for the State of Ohio, Gold Circle Stores, and Wendy's International combined with the private sector have given him the expertise to handle any project at any size. He's right at home finding the right people for the job. He manages the placement of IT people in a commercial environment, having formerly done it for AEP and Nationwide Insurance. Although, he's most used to working with people, he's right at home installing new software packages, working with production control, programmers for production issues, and negotiating sales with leading suppliers as an authorized re-seller.
Among some of the many accomplishments Todd can call his own include: the winning bid for the City of Cleveland Y2K Contract and forming the Distributed Computer Services group whose employees were responsible for installing and maintaining both the Novell and NT networks. He attributes his greatest success to surviving his long time friend, Mike.
For questions call 888-215-0820 or for a free marketing analysis go here.
