May 19 – David Mahmood and Tony Wright

On the May 19 edition of PlayMakers Talk Show, our guests were David Mahmood  – Founder and Chairman of Allegiance Capital Corporation and Tony Wright –  CEO of WrightIMC


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David Mahmood, Founder and Chairman – Allegiance Capital Corporation

David MahmoodAt the age of 33 David Mahmood left the corporate environment and started his first company. By the time he was 50 years old, he had started seven companies from scratch and had some considerable success and a few failures along the way.

At age 60 David Mahmood started his 8th and current company, Allegiance Capital Corporation.   David is a few months from his 75th birthday and operates on the basis that as long as you are still having fun and still learning, you should probably continue to do what you enjoy. Allegiance Capital today has offices in the Helmsley building at 230 Park Avenue in New York, the opera house in Chicago and headquarters in Dallas.

An optimist by nature, Mahmood sees nothing but opportunities to help entrepreneurs grow their business.  And when they reach that point in life when they have had all the fun they can stand and want to cash in, his organization will sell the business.

As a young man, David Mahmood went to work in the Industrial Engineering Department of the largest employer in St. Paul, Minnesota.  At the time, that firm was the largest specialty advertising company and had 118 printing presses. In a matter of a few years, David moved up the corporate ladder quite rapidly turning around a division the company was going to close.

He helped develop the Hoyle Playing Card Company, hired Omar Sharif with the Italian Blue Team who were world bridge champions for 13 years.  He became a purveyor of cards for poker, bridge and other card games.  At the time he sold 32 of the 38 casinos in Las Vegas playing cards and went on to become the first licensee for NFL posters and AFL posters in retail. He hired Peter Max in New York to create a line of psychedelic posters in the early 1960’s and by the time he was 30 years old, was Vice President of sales for the corporation with 1,200 commissioned sales people and a couple thousand people reporting to him.

Allegiance Capital Corporation

Phone: (214) 217-7750

AllCapCorp.com

 Tony Wright –  CEO of WrightIMC

WrightIMC was founded in 2007 by Tony Wright. When asked why he chose to name his company “WrightIMC” he said, “If you look at the successful advertising agencies of the past, almost all had the principal’s name on the door. Most of the newer successful agencies use either an acronym or description as the name of their agency. By combining the acronym for Integrated Marketing Communication – what we actually do – with my name, I wanted to create a place where old school account service meets cutting edge strategy and tactics. In WrightIMC, we’ve done just that.”

With more than 15 years of hands-on and strategic experience in interactive marketing and a background in traditional and interactive public relations and journalism, Tony has spent his career helping companies of all sizes be profitable online.

Tony is a search marketing geek and also has extensive experience in online crisis communication and brand reputation strategy, including corporate blogging and corporate monitoring, most notably directing the online corporate reputation management strategy for American Airlines immediately following the events of September 11, 2001.

Wright serves as the driving force behind WrightIMC while also managing online media strategies, public relations and other interactive marketing projects for clients. He provides valuable input into creative, technical and strategic projects as well, ensuring that the strategic vision of all interactive marketing programs mesh with campaign goals.

WrightIMC

Phone: (866) 509-4717

WrightIMC.com

DSCN0976 copyTony Wright, David Mahmood and Host Steve A Klein

May 12 – Mike Best and Milli Brown

On the May 12 edition of PlayMakers Talk Show, our guests were Mike Best  – COO for Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar and Milli Brown –  CEO of Brown Books Publishing Group


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Mike Best, COO – Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar

Mike Best is the Chief Operating Officer for Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar® (Boston’s), where he has managed the day-to-day operations of the business since 2003.

Prior to his role with the company, Best was the President of MJDesigns, a Dallas-based national arts and crafts retailer, which he joined in 1997 after his role as the Chief Operating Officer of JH Collectibles, a Milwaukee-based retailer of fine women’s apparel.

Best attended St. John’s University in New York where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and he is also a CPA. He has two grown sons and currently resides in Dallas with his wife.

2013 LOGO--Bostons_colorBoston’s The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar®

Phone: (972) 484-9022       Bostons.com

 

Milli Brown, CEO – Brown Books Publishing Group

 

As a natural born trailblazer with an extensive, high-level business background, author and publisher Milli Brown has made a name for herself as the “entrepreneurial publisher for entrepreneurial authors.” What began over twenty years ago with her recognition of a void in the publishing industry has developed into Brown’s very own namesake publishing house in Dallas, Texas.

Brown Books Publishing Group was the first independent, full service book publisher in the country to give authors what is rightfully theirs: full ownership and rights to their intellectual property.  Considered heresy in the beginning and still a radical divergence from traditional royalty publishing path today, Brown’s successful business model of “relationship publishing” is a collaborative partnership between author and publisher from start to finish.

Brown’s novel approach navigates authors through the publishing cycle from manuscript development and creative design to marketing and public relations, as well as fulfillment and distribution, all while the author retains the rights to their book and profits from its sales.

Brown’s client roster is an impressive who’s who of CEOs, business professionals, media personalities and bestselling author’s from across the country. Many Brown books have received prestigious awards including the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize, the Hollywood Film Festival Opus Magnum Award and the Independent Publisher’s Award.

Phone: (972) 381-0009         BrownBooks.com

2013-05-02 17.07.45Mike Best, Milli Brown & Host Steve A Klein