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Leverage your Invested Network: Michael Esposito. Patouillet Consulting LLC: Dr. Lee Patouillet. Barnes & Thornburg: Stuart C. Johnson

 Michael Esposito

Michael Esposito is a native of East Rockaway, New York, having moved to Marietta, Georgia, from Coral Springs, Florida, with his wife Ann (a Registered Yoga Teacher) and two teenage children.  He moved to Georgia to join The Home Depot’s Northern Division as its Director of Associate Relations in 2005.

Mike’s career started in Human Resources and then migrated to law after he earned his Juris Doctorate degree nights from The Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey.  He worked in private legal practice and in-house as a labor and employment attorney before serving as the Chief HR Officer for two multi-billion dollar organizations.  Michael’s current job allows him to integrate his legal and HR experience to help promote employee engagement to drive customer service for a division generating over $25B in sales and boasting of 800 stores and 100,000 associates.

Mike currently serves on the Alumni Board of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Dr. Lee Patouillet

Dr. Lee Patouillet, president of the firm, brings more than 30 years of full-time institutional advancement experience in higher education and nonprofit management to his consulting practice. Patouillet has led three different alumni associations:  the University of South Florida, the University of Pittsburgh and most recently the University of Florida. At all of these institutions, he served on the senior leadership team responsible for all aspects of advancement including two different capital campaigns in excess of one billion dollars each. He is a faculty member at Nonprofit University and a consultant for the Georgia Center for Nonprofits.

Patouillet began consulting in the 1980’s and contracts with other professionals as needed for given projects. The firm works with public and private colleges and universities of all sizes as well as the social sector. Patouillet Consulting LLC enjoys the involvement and support of an advisory board comprised of industry leaders.
Lee earned a B.A. in American Studies with Honors from the University of South Florida, a M.S. in College Student Personnel from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Administrative and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is a charter member of the Council of Alumni Association Executives (CAAE) and is a long-time active volunteer leader for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He is also a charter member of the editorial board for The International Journal of Educational Advancement. The associations led by Patouillet have received more than 10 CASE Circle of Excellence awards.

Stuart C. Johnson

Stuart C. Johnson is the managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Atlanta office, a member of the firm’s Management Committee, the chairman of the firm’s Private Equity Practice Group, and a member of the firm’s Corporate Department. He is a corporate and transactional lawyer, and has assisted clients with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate financing transactions, and general business matters in a variety of industries such as telecommunications, manufacturing, plastics, home building, business services, chemicals, logistics, food services, life sciences medical devices, and healthcare.

Stuart has authored and been quoted in numerous articles relating to mergers and acquisition trends and activities, particularly those related to growth-oriented businesses and private equity transactions. He has organized and participated in business growth and business expansion programs sponsored by institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, the Georgia Society of CPAs, the Atlanta Business School Alliance, the Technology Association of Georgia, Lorman Educational Services, and the Academy of Management.

 Stuart Johnson is also actively involved in community activities and organizations. He is a member of Junior Achievement of Georgia, Inc.’s board of directors and is chairman of its finance committee. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, where he presently serves as Vice President of Finance. He is also a member of the advisory Board of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the City Club of Buckhead.

 Stuart received his B.A. with distinction in 1982 from the University of Virginia and his M.A. of Economics in 1986 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 1987, he earned his J.D. from the University Of Virginia School of Law, where he was named to the Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia.

Helios Partners:Chris Sanders.

Chris Sanders

Chris brings invaluable experience from both the Olympic and college sports industries. With an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and an M.S. in Sports marketing from Miami University, Chris Sanders’ resume was tailored for a career in sports marketing. From his first position with USA Gymnastics, to his five years with Host Communications, and finally, Vice President of TeamMate, Chris brings with him a great understanding of the sports marketplace from multiple perspectives.

In 15 years in the sports business industry, Chris Sanders has involved himself in nearly every portion of international sports business, consistently rising through every organization with which he has been associated.  Today, Chris is the Chief Operating Officer of Helios Partners, an international sports marketing agency based in Atlanta specializing in corporate consulting, property representation, and bid and organizing committee consulting.

Since joining Helios in 2006, Chris has led Helios’ development from a niche Olympic consulting firm to a diversified global sports marketing agency, during an economic period in which small agencies were being gobbled up at best or shuttered at worst.  Helios has seen its staff grow fivefold over the past five years, and it also maintains a network of independent contracting consultants for specific types of projects.  In quantitative terms, Helios has more than tripled its revenue from 2005 to 2010, and the growth is set to continue after the global financial pains of 2009.

Selling to the C-Suite: Steve Bistritz.

Steve is President and Founder of SellXL.com, a global sales training, and consulting company based in Atlanta. Prior to forming his own company, Steve spent eight years as Vice President of Product Development for OnTarget, where he led the development of sales training programs which were delivered to tens of thousands of salespeople worldwide. He also spent nearly 28 years with IBM in sales, sales management and training management positions.

His articles on managing and winning major sales opportunities, selling to executives and other sales and marketing related issues have appeared in numerous publications including Velocity ‐ the Quarterly Journal of the Strategic Account Management Association, Selling Power magazine, the Journal of Selling and Major Account Management, BtoB Magazine and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine.

He has co‐authored a best‐selling sales book called Selling to the C‐Suite which was published by McGraw‐Hill in 2010 and enthusiastically endorsed by Neil Rackham.

Steve received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Master of Science from Stevens Institute of Technology. In 1995, he received a doctorate in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University.

He currently lives in Atlanta with his wife Claire, three grown children and five grandchildren.

Write Choice

Tim Morrison

Tim Morrison, DMin, ND, owner and president of Write-Choice Services, Inc., has had an extensive writing career in addition to experience in education, training and counseling. His publishing credits include articles for New Life Journal, Recycle/SCAN magazine, Group magazine; RECYCLE II Catalogue, Hard Times Catalog for Youth, and a chapter in Maria Harris’ book, Portrait of Youth Ministry.
Dr. Morrison’s third book – A Walk in the Spirit: Creating Dramatic Monologues through Lectio Divina – was released in September 2008. November 2008 saw the release of Crafting Personal Legacy Statements, a book that Tim co-authored with Atty. Don West, Jr.
Healing Plants of the Bible, Dr. Morrison’s first book, was published in 2002. He followed that with three booklets, which he continues to use in his teaching and counseling service: Writing One’s Way to Better Well-being, Playing One’s Way to Better Well-being, and Meditating One’s Way to Better Well-being. His second book, Letters To My Sons, published in 2005, was written to share his life’s journey with his children and to encourage readers to write their own stories for future generations.
In addition to his published writing, Tim has over 25 years of experience in crafting powerful speeches and insightful seminar and workshop presentations. He has also written and coached others in writing monthly, quarterly and annual reports and a variety of newsletters as well.

Betsey Rhame-Minor

Betsy Rhame-Minor began her career as a newspaper reporter while earning a bachelor’s degree in English at Meredith College. Shortly after graduating, Betsy returned to school to earn a Master of Arts in English from North Carolina State University. There, her concentration was British and American Literatures, but she focused specifically on the genres of memoir, autobiography, and oral and family history. For her thesis, she wrote her great-grandmother’s biography.

Betsy was also a marketing and communications writer in North Carolina before moving to the Atlanta area. She has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 2007. Previously, Betsy was also a paralegal.

Betsy enjoys helping writers organize their thoughts on paper, editing their work and participating in the writing process.

In her spare time, Betsy plays tennis and travels. She is an avid reader and loves to cook.