Jim Lombardo, Senior Consultant
You couldn’t tell by looking at him, but Bruce is famous … sort of. Bruce was responsible for programming the KISS pinball machine back in the 70s! That machine is now highly prized as a collectible. Unfortunately we can’t say the same for Bruce. However, Bruce’s skills as a programmer and software developer are highly valued by B&M clients. In fact, he has successfully overcome the handicap of initially earning a degree in Engineering, to become a premiere geek in the B&M organization. Engineer to Geek. That’s a stretch. Anyway, when not staring glassy-eyed at his computer monitor, Bruce enjoys hiking and vacationing with his family.
Dale Brown, APR - Chairmen, CEO
Meet Dale Brown - business owner, marketing professional, author, keynote speaker, ventriloquist, racecar driver, Corvette enthusiast … B&M’s humble leader is a busy individual. With more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations, both on the corporate side and the agency side, Dale is able to provide expert advice to clients.
But let’s face it … he’s where he is today because of his wife … who tells him to go to work everyday...well not everyday anymore.
Visit Dale's alternative lifestyle...website, www.dale-brown.com
Leslie Bonk, APR - President
Meet Leslie (formerly Bonk) Brown, the real brains behind the company! Leslie doesn’t show it much since her hobbies include watching Dale race cars, sitting next to him him while he drives the Corvette, watching Dale do ventriloquist shows, agreeing with him in staff meetings, and cooking him dinner. But we all know she’s the boss.
BTW, B&M is applying for WBE status from the state of Wisconsin so companies that need to meet minority contracting requirements can use B&M to fill that need. We will keep you updated.
Lauren Brown, Director of Second Impressions
Meet Lauren Brown - our tribute to nepotism and probably our most “efficient” employee. Lauren is now a teacher at Messmer High School in Milwaukee.
Lauren has been working part time at B&M since she was in high school. Despite learning at an early age the foibles of laboring at a marketing/public relations firm, Lauren has not totally turned her back on the profession. With an English major and journalism minor, she has left the door open to a career in writing, editing or other communications-related fields like public relations. She has learned to put up with both puppets and computer geeks … both of which help to sustain the company that employs her and both of which creep her out. Lauren is a youthful movie fanatic. If there is a movie made after 1990 that she hasn’t seen … it’s probably not worth seeing.
Steve Borgwardt, MCSE, General Manager - IT Division
Meet Steve Borgwardt - our chief computer nerd. Every company has to have one … which is unfortunate. Steve is ours … which is fortunate. He eats, breathes and dreams about computers. If brains were dynamite, we could use Steve’s to blow up a good portion of Wisconsin. If brains were folders, we could use Steve’s to clean up the mounds of paper in Steve’s office. But brains are brains, so Steve uses his to help our clients develop and complete some incredibly complex projects. Chip would explain the projects to you, but he doesn't have the brains. On some rare occasions Steve lets his brains become distracted when he drives past campgrounds. He stops to camp, fish and make enormous campfires. Why? Because he carries a laptop.
Mark Koehneke- B&M Associate (President of M Force)
Meet Mark Koehneke - Mark (who borrowed his bow tie from Chip) has been working with B&M for almost as long as we have been in business. The relationship started when he became a Product Manager at Master Lock. When Mark moved to Newell-Rubbermaid, B&M went with him. When he went to Kohler Plumbing, B&M went with him. Mark formed his own company, M Force, Inc. - to help clients develop new or existing products, brands or channels. B&M worked with him and formed a formal business relationship (that means we have a contract).
His interest in “aging adults” led to the creation of a second company – I M Design Consortium, LLC. Formed in a partnership with IndependenceFirst, a Milwaukee-based non-profit, IMDC specializes in developing products, services and facilities to meet the needs of the Boomer and Senior markets.
Jim Lombardo, Senior Consultant
Jim has been part of B&M for more than 15 years. We’ve moved our offices three times, but he keeps finding us. Jim is a seasoned marketing professional who had the foresight to be among the first to see the marketing and communication potentials of the Web. He embraced the technology. The embrace led to foreplay, which led to first base which eventually led to a whole a new career. His knowledge of programming and the Web are so highly thought of that Jim now teaches classes on those subjects at WCTC. His students view him as a true pioneer … probably because of the coon skin cap that he wears.
