Company
Powered is a dedicated social media agency that helps brands become more relevant in an increasingly digital, connected and social world. Utilizing a proven set of best practices and technologies, Powered provides strategy, planning, execution and management that address earned media, Facebook and mobile applications, content marketing, influencer activation, advocacy programs and branded communities. Since 2006, we have executed over 200 social programs, working with some of the world’s largest and most innovative brands. With 80 employees in three offices (Austin, New York City and Portland), Powered brings scale around social media execution and a proven ability to deliver meaningful and measureable results.
Ken Nicolson – CEO/President
Ken Nicolson serves as president and CEO of Powered, where he oversees day-to-day operations and guides overall business strategy for Powered's social marketing solutions. Prior to joining Powered, Mr. Nicolson served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Pluck, an Austin-based developer of social media technologies. He has also served in key executive roles for a number of other technology companies including: Veridiem, Alphablox, Kiva Software, Red Brick Systems, Informix and IBM. Mr. Nicolson received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Duke University.
David Settle – CFO
Mr. Settle serves as Powered's CFO and VP of Finance and Administration where he directs the company's financial business strategies. He brings more than 25 years of experience in financial and strategic operations and has played a key role in the success of several Texas high-tech companies, serving as CFO and co-founder of Mirage Networks and as CFO at Exterprise, Inc. and Dazel Corporation. Mr. Settle also served as the corporate treasurer at Convex Computer Corp. Mr. Settle received his B.B.A. from Texas Tech University and holds an M.A. in International Management Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Ron Green – CTO
As CTO, Ron Green brings many years of experience in steering technology products from initial design to widespread commercial use. At Powered, Ron drives the technology vision and directs all aspects of product design, architecture, and development. His expertise, gained through leadership roles in five startup companies, lies in managing the iterative process of new product development to meet market demands. Mr. Green holds two software patents in DNA identification and has an established record of building and maintaining large, high-performance development teams.
Aaron Strout – CMO
As the CMO of Powered, Aaron focuses not only on day to day marketing activities but also provides a social voice for the company - continuing with his speaking, blogging, podcasting and social networking activities with an eye toward creating awareness and lead generation for the company. Prior to joining Powered, Aaron was the Vice President of Social Media at Mzinga, a Boston-based provider of online communities for businesses. In addition to his knowledge of the interactive and new media landscape, Aaron has more than 15 years of online marketing and advertising experience, with a strong background in integrated and online marketing. Aaron is a founding member and former president of (BIMA) and a member and former board member of the (MITX). Aaron was elected an interim board member for the prestigious Social Media Club and is part of the team responsible for creating standards around social media and community. You can listen to Aaron's weekly Quick-n-Dirty podcast with co-host, Jennifer Leggio every week on Thursday at 3 PM PT.
Joe Jaffe – Chief Interruptor
One of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on marketing, new media and social media, Joseph Jaffe is Chief Interruptor of Powered, where he helps some of the world's largest and valuable brands maintain their relevance and navigate their way through an increasingly digital, connected and social world. Previously, Joseph founded and ran crayon, a strategic consulting practice, which was acquired by Powered in early 2010. Joe is also the author of three books, Life After The 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With A Bold Mix Of Alternatives To Traditional Advertising (Wiley/Adweek, 2005), Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-weary Consumers with the Power of Community, Dialogue and Partnership (Wiley, 2007), and Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones (Wiley, 2010). Joseph blogs and podcasts at http://www.jaffejuice.com and hosts a web video show called "Jaffe Juice TV" http://www.jaffejuice.tv. Follow him on twitter as @jaffejuice or like him on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaffejuice.
Kevin Tate – VP Business Development
Kevin leads Powered's new market development efforts with our clients, agencies and technology partners. As a principal and founder at StepChange Group, he has worked with more than 100 companies on their social media marketing strategy, technology and programs. Kevin has been at creating leading-edge web marketing solutions since 1996, and holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University.
Greg Verdino – VP Strategy and Solutions
Equal parts marketer and futurist, Greg Verdino is a recognized expert on marketing innovation, emerging media and Web 2.0. As VP Strategy and Solutions, Greg and his team are responsible for providing ongoing strategic services for Powered's clients. Greg came to Powered via the acquisition of crayon, where he worked as the chief strategy officer helping companies 'join the conversation' through the power of community, dialogue and partnership. In addition to his work at Powered, Greg is also an author, having just released his first book, microMARKETING: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small. Greg blogs at http://gregverdino.com and tweets regularly at @gregverdino.
Jen van der Meer – VP Planning and Analytics
Jennifer van der Meer is a strategist, teacher, and speaker focused on developing sustainable relationships between people, products and brands. A former Wall Street Analyst and Economist, Jen has held executive management roles at Organic and Frog Design. She has provided brand strategy, research, product design consulting, and technology marketing strategy to clients such as MTV, Chase, Nextel, Interface Inc., Disney, and GE. At Drillteam, Jen serves in the role of lead strategist, and has conducted research and brand engagement plans for Toyota, Nestle, Saucony, Neiman Marcus, and Target. In addition to serving on the boards of the Designers Accord and o2NYC, Jennifer writes and speaks on the topic of green marketing and design, and is an Adjunct Professor at NYU's ITP School. Jen has a BA in comparative religion from Trinity College, and an MBA from HEC in France.
Steve Kleinberg – VP Delivery Services
As VP Delivery Services, Steve's primary focus is to deliver successful social media programs for Powered clients. Prior to Powered, Steve served as the CEO of Drillteam (a Powered company), and helped many notable brands achieve success including Toyota Heya, Target College Engagement Marketing, NY Magazine Event Activation, Nestle Advocacy Programs. Steve has over twenty years senior management experience in sales, marketing and general management of marketing agencies, entertainment properties, record labels, record retail and music distribution companies. Prior to Drillteam, Steve was a senior marketing executive in the music business, helping build the careers of popular music artists for various labels within the Warner Music Group. Steve has a degree in Business and Music from New York University.
Kathy Warren – VP Account Management
As Vice President of Account Management, Ms. Warren leverages her unrivaled knowledge in strategic marketing and program management to help companies develop social marketing programs that deliver measurable ROI by stimulating engagement around products and brands. Ms. Warren joined Powered in 2005 and was responsible for transforming the company's account services group into a strategic planning and management organization. Her many successes include developing best-in-class social marketing and education initiatives in partnership with brands like Disney, iVillage and Sony. Prior to Powered, Ms. Warren held several strategic marketing positions at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) where she was responsible for developing integrated direct marketing plans to support product launches, educating global marketing organizations on relationship marketing best practices, and creating marketing programs that targeted consumers.
Natanya Anderson – VP Content
As Vice President of Content, Natanya guides the development and delivery of creative content to Powered's clients, including HP, Sony, iVillage, Atkins and RadioShack. With her extensive background in education, web technologies, account management and creative delivery, Ms. Anderson is uniquely qualified to integrate Powered's content services into all of Powered's programs. Natanya brings over 15 years of experience developing strategic online content for leading brands, and her team provides engaging knowledge experiences in all formats, from video and rich Flash-based user environments to in-depth courses and engaging web content. Prior to joining Powered, Natanya led the customer training content development team at Pervasive Software. Ms. Anderson has authored more than a dozen books on web technologies and has been on the faculty of several national conferences: including HP World, Mac World, and HP + Interop. Ms. Anderson is certified as a secondary school teacher in Texas; she holds a B.A. in Latin from the University of Texas, Austin.
Greg Rau – VP Operations, Facebook and Mobile
Greg is an entrepreneur with 15 years of web publishing and solutions experience. He leads operations at Finance at StepChange Group. Prior to Founding StepChange Group, Greg was the VP of Sales & Solution Consulting at Unicru, where he was part of the core team focused on a successful acquisition by Kronos. Greg was formerly the Content Director at BigWords.com- an Ecommerce startup focused on selling textbooks and gear online to college students. He was also Founder & Editor in Chief at Computec Media a web & print publishing company. Greg holds a BA in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. You can follow Greg on Twitter at @gdrau or connect with him on Facebook and LinkedIn.
