Business Development, Marketing and Sales
Erik AyersVice President of Marketing
MorganFranklin Corporation
Erik Ayers is responsible for leading the MorganFranklin Corporation's marketing strategy and operations. He previously served as President of DBC Public Relations, where he supported strategic growth initiatives, operations and business development. In 1998, Mr. Ayers joined PricewaterhouseCoopers, and as Director of Business Development, played key roles in the marketing and sales of professional services to companies ranging from venture backed start-ups to Fortune 500. He also served as Marketing Manager for the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
Mr. Ayers has been recognized as an active member in the regional business community and has held a number of leadership and committee roles with organizations such as the Business Alliance of George Mason, Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Mid Atlantic Venture Association, among others.
Mr. Ayers holds a B.A. from East Carolina University and a M.S. in public policy from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Bill Clark
Chief Marketing Officer
Deltek
As Deltek's Chief Marketing Officer, Bill Clark oversees the development of all marketing activities, including strategic communications, lead generation, field and product marketing, public relations, analyst relations and business development efforts. With 20 years of experience in the software industry, he brings a unique combination of extensive marketing expertise and technology and communications leadership to Deltek's executive management team.
Mr. Clark previously served as Vice President of Global Product Marketing at Novell, the Massachusetts-based company offering enterprise infrastructure software and services. Before joining Novell, he was Executive Vice President and CMO of Mantas, Inc., a company offering behavior detection technologies that help financial services firms identify areas of risk and opportunity. Prior to Novell, Mr. Clark served as the Senior Vice President and CMO at Hyperion Solutions, where he spearheaded the company's leading position in the analytic applications market. He has also held executive management positions at both IBM and JP Morgan.
Mr. Clark holds a bachelor of science degree from Drexel University.
Mark Pugerude
Chief Marketing Officer
NextPoint
Mark Pugerude brings with him 18 years of product management experience in the telecommunications industry and leads all product marketing and management, branding, communications and business development for NextPoint. He was previously Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Broadwing Communications, LLC, which was sold in 2007. During his time at Broadwing, Mr. Pugerude's responsibilities included product management, marketing, new initiatives, channel sales, competitive analysis, public relations and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Broadwing, he served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at PingTone Communications, where he led PingTone's sales and marketing initiatives, new product introduction and channel development in IP Telephony. Mr. Pugerude also was Vice President of Sales at Blue Ridge Networks, where he established a nationwide sales organization, managed sales channel programs, and developed and led critical partnerships with leaders in the IP services marketplace. He also held executive sales and management positions with NOKIA Networks, serving as the Managing Director of Sales for U.S. East. In this capacity, he sold wireline and wireless infrastructure projects to large carriers. Mr. Pugerude began his career in the telecommunications industry while working for Motorola in the communications and electronics division and selling wireless systems to enterprises and carriers.
Jen Sterling
President
Hinge
Jen is the president and co-founder of Hinge. Over the past 15 years, she has helped clients conceive and deploy effective (and often award-winning) branding initiatives. Jen thrives on making her clients successful and begins every engagement by listening and asking the right questions. She is the past Chairman of the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, the incoming Chairman of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and has been an active member of both organizations for the last eight years. She also serves on the board of the Loudoun Valor Foundation and as an advisor to the Loudoun County Small Business Development Center. She holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Visual Communications and a minor in psychology from George Washington University.
