Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs at {grow} - one of the top marketing blogs of the world. He has worked in global sales, PR, and marketing positions for more than 30 years and now provides consulting services as Executive Director of U.S.-based Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He specializes in social media training and clients include both start-ups and global brands such as Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Adidas, and the U.S. Air Force.

Mark has advanced degrees in marketing and organizational development and is a faculty member of the graduate studies program at Rutgers University. A career highlight was studying under Peter Drucker while studying for his MBA.He is the author of five other best-selling books, Social Media Explained, Return On Influence, Born to Blog, The Content Code, and The Tao of Twitter, the best-selling book on Twitter in the world. Please join him on The Marketing Companion podcast, which he co-hosts with Tom Webster.He is among the world's most recognized social media authorities and has been a keynote speaker at many conferences around the world including Social Media Week London, National Economic Development Association, the Institute for International and European Affairs, and Word of Mouth Marketing Summit Tokyo. You can stay connected with Mark at www.BusinessesGROW.com and by following his adventures on Twitter: @markwschaefer.