SocialSphere Strategies

As a hands-on Managing Partner, John oversees the day-to-day operations of SocialSphere, while also working closely with clients to develop big picture Web 2.0 strategy and insights.

For John, starting SocialSphere was the natural evolution of his career as a "serial entrepreneur." He has spent the majority of the last 18 years at the intersection of politics, research, strategy and technology. He officially entered the world of politics during his junior year of college, when he took on a variety of roles in the 1988 presidential campaign. In the years that followed, he traveled the country, working with well-known political pollsters, strategists and candidates over the course of three more presidential campaigns.

Eventually, John moved back to Massachusetts and created his first company which helped mainstream the use of "dial-testing" technology as a tool for political and corporate communications campaigns. During that time, John's clients included President Clinton, a number of U.S. Senators and the Prime Minister of Greece. His corporate and media clients included Bain & Company, Guinness World Records, Pfizer, United HealthGroup, Scientific Games, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Princess Cruises and Good Morning America.

Over the past seven years, much of John's work has focused on the impact of new media, Web 2.0 and the Millennial Generation on international politics and business. In 2000, John partnered with undergraduates from Harvard to start the Biannual Youth Survey of Politics and Public Service at the Institute of Politics. This survey is now considered one of the seminal pieces of research on this emerging generation.

In addition to his full-time responsibilities at SocialSphere, John also manages to serve as Director of Polling at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

Personal insights:
John lives outside of Boston with his wife and three children. He enjoys coaching youth sports, including baseball and softball. After his son was seriously injured when he was hit in the face by a line-drive off a metal bat (thankfully, he is now fully recovered), he became a national advocate and spokesperson for encouraging youth baseball leagues and associations to switch to safer metal or wooden bats.

Favorite online communities and blogs:

• Futuremajority.com
• Techpresident.com
• Techcrunch.com
• Web-strategist.com
• Linkedin.com

Mark is responsible for maintaining the high quality and effectiveness of SocialSphere's marketing strategies and creative product. He brings with him over 20 years of experience in both image advertising and direct marketing.

Mark has worked as a creative director in all traditional and online mediums-from print and broadcast advertising, to consumer and b-to-b direct mail, to eMarketing and Web development. He has built a reputation in the Boston market for being an insightful and dynamic creative leader, with cross-industry and cross-segment experience.

Prior to joining SocialSphere, Mark was Vice President, Executive Creative Director at PreVision Marketing, where he was responsible for the Creative, eMarketing and Production departments. A few years earlier, in 2000, Mark founded and managed a successful eCommerce development shop called Type T. Before starting his own business, Mark worked at various Boston agencies including Mullen, HollandMarkMartin and Ingalls, where he was the Creative Director of IngallsGroup 121 and the founder of Ingalls Interactive.

Over the course of his career, Mark and teams have created award-winning programs and communications for a breadth of nationally-known brands, including Bose, Bayer, CVS, Dunkin' Donuts, Fidelity Investments, General Foods, Fleet Bank, Genzyme, Harvard Business School, Intel, Maserati, MCI, John Hancock Funds, Monster.com, Radisson Worldwide, and Raytheon Systems.

Personal Insights:
Mark's favorite creative projects are his three sons—ages 2, 6 and 18. He and his family live by the beach in a small town south of Boston. He's an avid year-round surfer and is likely to be found riding waves from Cape Cod to Northern New Hampshire. And yes, before you ask. there are good waves on the east coast. You just have to know when and where to find them.

Favorite online communities and blogs:

• www.nesurf.com
• newengland_longboarder@yahoogroups.com

With over 20 years of entrepreneurial, strategy consulting and CEO experience, Craig brings a focus on measurement, ROI and creating enterprise value to all of SocialSphere's work. Craig has served as Partner at both Bain & Company and Bain's non-profit affiliate The Bridgespan Group, where he developed and helped implement competitive strategies in a number of industries. He has also been the principal in his own consulting firm where he supports loyalty, social and political entrepreneurs.

Craig was founder and CEO of The Loyalty Group, the Canadian company that created and runs the AIR MILES Reward Program—one of the most successful coalition loyalty programs in the world. While at Loyalty, Craig developed over 20 innovative database marketing programs designed to maximize the value of the program's CRM assets to sponsoring companies, including Safeway, American Express and Bank of Montreal. He also took the lead in launching airmiles.com, the first loyalty program on the Internet. After building up The Loyalty Group, Craig led the sale of the company to Alliance Data Systems, now a very successful public company (NYSE ADS). Craig was also a founding board member and served as interim CEO of Sports Loyalty Systems and a co-founder of Year Up, the innovative work force development program. He has played major roles in the start-up of three nonprofit organizations.

In addition to over 100 Air Miles Sponsors, Craig's clients have included AC Nielsen, Sarah Lee, Baxter Healthcare, numerous hospitals and health care providers, Upromise, the College Board, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Alliance Data Systems, and several sports teams and leagues. He has also advised several Boston area VC's including Bain Venture Capital and IDG Ventures.

Personal Insights:
Craig demonstrated an interest in political science from the time he was a college student. He went on to earn an M.A. in Politics, Economics and Philosophy from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Today, in addition to his work at SocialSphere, Craig is in the process of developing a new fundraising platform for the 2008 presidential contenders.

Favorite online communities and blogs:

• Cases 2.0
• Techpresident.com
• Web Strategy by Jerimiah
• Charlene Li
• Compete.com blog
• Politico
• Linkedin.com

Ken brings over 25 years of executive-level marketing experience to the SocialSphere "table."

He is an industry veteran who has guided and developed brand, marketing, and sales strategy for world-leading companies, such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, EMC, AstraZeneca, Charles Schwab, Hilton, Kaiser Permanente, and IBM, to name a few. Ken has advised these and other global brands from strategy and leadership positions at Arnold Worldwide, Rapp Collins, Hill Holliday, and Epsilon. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cohn Godley Norwood, a leading mid-sized advertising agency in the Boston market.

With his breadth of industry experience, Ken is frequently called upon by leading marketing organizations to share his insights on brand, marketing and measurement strategy. He has served as featured speaker for the American Marketing Organization, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Direct Marketing Association, Travel Industry Association, and many other renowned organizations. In addition to being an accomplished speaker, Ken is also a published author whose writing and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Forrester and Gartner Reports, and several other leading publications.

Personal Insights:
In addition to an impressive resume in marketing, Ken has a long record of community service. He currently serves on the National Board of Directors and Executive Committee of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), which provides high school students with the tools they need to deal with underage drinking, other drug use, impaired driving and other destructive decisions. Ken also serves on the board of Community Servings, an organization that delivers meals to people homebound with acute life-threatening illnesses.

Favorite online communities and blogs:

• pitchforkmedia.com
• linkedin.com
• politico.com
• ducttapemarketing.com
• metacritic.com

Jonathan gives SocialSphere a real edge in the discipline of analytics. His responsibilities include developing and implementing research, analytic and measurement plans that help clients fully understand their own web presence and who their constituent communities are, how they interact, and what they're saying. Jonathan utilizes a number of tools ranging from ethnographic research, media content analysis, market research techniques, web analytics, Internet content monitoring and financial modeling to create comprehensive views of organizations and their stakeholders. His current and past work has put him at the cutting edge of using new and innovative metrics to measure brand and message presence.

In addition to analytics, Jonathan is an expert in the gaming industry and gambling economics, working with a variety of clients across all sectors of the industry in a number of capacities. A graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Social Studies, Jonathan has an extensive understanding of nationalism and community formation theory.

Personal Insights:
In his free time, Jonathan is an avid NBA statistician who has worked to develop new sets of advanced metrics that evaluate roster construction and financial team management.

Favorite online communities and blogs:

• Web Analytics Demystified
• John Hollinger's Blog
• Two Plus Two Medium Stakes Limit Hold'Em

Born in West Africa to foreign service parents, Nicco Mele, Partner, was Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign webmaster and is a leading internet strategist.

Nicco has broad experience working with NGOs and non-profits, including as webmaster at Common Cause and at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, in addition to his time as producer of the Shadow Conventions website and live streaming webcasts during the 2000 presidential election cycle.

As part of Gov. Dean's presidential campaign, Nicco managed technical, functional and design aspects of Gov. Dean's national web presence.

In December of 2003, he was named one of America's "best and brightest" by Esquire magazine. Nicco teaches in the Johns Hopkins University graduate communications program and has presented for Harvard University's Berkman Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Nicco Mele is the founder and president of EchoDitto, a leading internet strategy consulting company with offices in Washington DC, New York, and Boston. EchoDitto's clients include the Clinton Foundation, Seventh Generation, Rosie O'Donnell, and SEIU.

After spending a summer at SocialSphere, Leigh decided to continue on as the company's Web 2.0 research assistant during the school year. She is currently a sophomore at Harvard College, where she studies Psychology and English and American Literature.

When she's not at the office or in the library, Leigh spends her time doing volunteer work through Harvard's Phillips Brooks House Association. She also pursues her interest in women's leadership by staying involved with Harvard's Women Business Organization and the Institute of Politics. And if that's not enough, Leigh is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Society.

Max joined SocialSphere in January, 2007, after completing an internship at Prime Group, LLC. He is currently a senior at Bowdoin College, where he is majoring in Mathematics and Government and finishing his thesis on the effect of the Internet on campaign fundraising. At SocialSphere, Max focuses on technology, including implementing a corporate wiki and researching Web 2.0.

Max is also proud of the fact that he was the first person at SocialSphere to get an iPhone. He predicted that SocialSphere founder John Della Volpe would "conveniently" lose/break his regular cell phone within 30 days of the iPhone's release (to give him an excuse to purchase one for himself)-and he was right.

Chen juggles his internship duties at SocialSphere with the rigors of pursuing an Economics/Computer Science degree at Harvard College. He is an active participant of several on campus student groups, including HCEF (Harvard College Entrepreneurship Forum) and HDOT (Harvard Distributors of Technology). During his freshmen year, Chen co-directed the HSYLC 2007 educational conference in Shanghai, a nine-day summit which invited 300 Chinese high school students, forty Harvard student seminar leaders, and a dozen prominent professors, leaders, and politicians to participate in a unique cultural & educational exchange.

Outside of school, Chen "lives" on TechCrunch, DownloadSquad, SimpleSpark, and many other entrepreneurial sites in constant search for the "next big thing." Since the summer of 2007, he and a fellow classmate are working a new online service LadderToHeaven.com.

Nevin is a second year student at Harvard Law School. He has worked in several industries including video games, real estate, financial services, healthcare, and software, and has worn various hats in marketing, IT, finance, strategy, and legal. Nevin is a Longhorn from the University of Texas at Austin (2004) and graduated with BBA in Management Information Systems and Business Honors and a BA in Government.

Nevin hearts all things Web x.0. He also cheers for the San Antonio Spurs and is trying to move his ping-pong game to the next level.

Will joined SocialSphere as an intern in his sophomore year and in addition serves as Co-CEO of the Harvard College Association for US-China Relations, an organization that holds an on-campus event to promote knowledge and awareness of China as well as a summer conference attended by 40 Harvard student-teachers and 300 Chinese high school participants. He has traveled and worked extensively through Asia, teaching and giving presentations in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.

Expecting a degree from Harvard College in 2010, he has taken coursework including the Sociology of Organizations, Economics, and Globalization. His entrepreneurial experience includes serving as a product manager of a radio plug-in device for powered paragliding enthusiasts and a web enterprise he is currently developing with a fellow student.

Besides living it and loving it on the fourth floor of College House, Jian spends her time being a junior at Harvard University, pursuing a joint-concentration in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Economics with a minor in Computer Science. Jian has a passion for entrepreneurship, from founding the first science competition club at her alma mater Boston Latin School, to creating a Massachusetts Junior Achievement Company of the Year jewelry company, to co-founding the Harvard College Association for US-China Relations and managing its inaugural HSYLC conference in China in 2005.

Since retiring from the presidency of HAUSCR this year, Jian has enjoyed more time to read (Wall Street Journal remains her favorite), meditate, do pottery, and continue her second year as a proud member of the Quincy House crew team. Jian also conducts atmospheric modeling and pollution research with the Harvard University Atmospheric Sciences Division and the Harvard China Project.

Joe Trippi, heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who "reinvented campaigning," began his political career working on Edward M. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1980. In 2004, he was National Campaign Manager for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, pioneering the use of online technology to organize what became the largest grassroots movement in presidential politics. Through Trippi's innovative use of the Internet for small-donor fundraising, Dean for America ended up raising more money than any Democratic presidential campaign in history. Trippi's innovations have brought fundamental change to the electoral system and will be the model for how all future political campaigns are run.

Joe Trippi has been profiled in GQ, Wired, Fast Company, The New Republic, and The New York Times Magazine. He is an MSNBC political analyst and former Harvard University fellow. He currently heads the Washington, DC political consultancy, Trippi & Associates.

In addition to his work in politics, Trippi works with a number of high-tech companies including Wave Systems, Progeny Linux Systems, and Smart Paper Networks. He also authored a best-selling book: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet and the Overthrow of Everything."

Scott is a veteran in interactive marketing with 20 years of experience building and managing sales, marketing and client services teams. Over the past decade, Scott has been working with world-class brands to help them acquire and retain customers through the online channel.

Scott is currently the Vice President and Chief Client Officer of Compete. He has management oversight, strategic direction and P&L responsibility for the company's vertical businesses including the Automotive, Financial Services, Travel and Telecommunications & Media practices. Prior to joining Compete, Mr. Ernst served as Vice President of Sales, Corporate and Business Development for Personify, a web analytics and behavioral profiling software company. Previously, Scott was Vice President of Sales at AdKnowledge, a marketing software and interactive media management firm, which was later acquired by CMGI/Engage.

Tim is a founder and Managing General Partner of Alta Communications. He joined the predecessor firm Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. in 1989, and has been leading Alta's involvement in the online media and wired and wireless telecommunications sectors. In this capacity, Tim has served on numerous Boards of Directors of media and telecommunications companies including South Texas PCS (STPCS), Telemedia Communications Inc. and Jumpstart Automotive Media.

In addition to his online and telecommunications focus, Tim has significant investing experience and has served in a board capacity in the radio, television, cable and security monitoring industries. He began his career in 1986 at the Bank of Boston in the Acquisition Finance Division, where he structured and monitored the performance of management buyouts in cash flow industries.

Tim is currently the chairman of the board of both Year Up (yearup.org) and The Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay.

David is founder and Managing Partner of Dace Ventures. Over the past 28 years, he has built up a successful track record as an entrepreneur, CEO and investor in technology-based software and services. He has invested in and/or sat on 21 Boards of Directors of technology companies, ranging from start-ups to publicly traded companies. He currently serves on the board of directors of several public and private companies, including TerraStar Corp. (Nasdaq: TSTR) and Affinnova, Inc.

Prior to founding Dace Ventures, David accumulated venture investment and consumer-focused industry expertise through a variety of high profile positions at companies such as Flagship Ventures, Affinnova and CMGI.