The 280 Group Team
Brian Lawley
CEO
Brian's
Resume (PDF format)...
Brian's
Resume (HTML format)...
Summary
of Brian's Career
With over 20 years of experience in Product Marketing and Product Management,
Brian Lawley is a seasoned Marketing Consultant who helps companies in
Silicon Valley and beyond to create breakthrough products and generate
momentum in the marketplace. Throughout the course of his career Mr. Lawley
has helped companies to define, launch and market over 50 award-winning,
highly successful products.
As a Marketing Consultant Mr. Lawley has served as acting Vice President and acting Director of Marketing for clients, as well as working on a project basis. Prior to consulting he held several management positions with well-known companies in Silicon Valley, including Apple Computer, Symantec, Claris (now named FileMaker), Whistle Communications (acquired by IBM) and Digidesign (acquired by Avid).
Mr. Lawley is the former President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association (SVPMA), was awarded the 2008 Product Management Excellence Award for Thought Leadership by the AIPMM and has served on the Board of Directors for the California Coast Music Camp. He is the author of the best-selling book, Expert Product Management, and writes for the PM 2.0 newsletter and blog as well as publications such as SDForum and Softletter. He has been featured on the World Business Review and also the Silicon Valley Business Report.
Mr. Lawley earned an MBA with honors from San
Jose State University and a Bachelors Degree in Management Science
from the University
of California, San Diego with a Minor in Music and Computer Technology.
Dave Dersh VP Consulting & Training
As VP of Consulting & Training at the 280 Group, David is responsible for growing the company's overall services business. David joined the 280 Group in early 2008, having served in a variety of Sales and Account Management roles including Global Account Manager, Business Development Exec, and Territory Sales Representative. He brings over 20 years of technology sales and account management experience to his roles at the 280 Group. Previously he spent 15 years, in various sales and business development roles at Sun Microsystems. Prior to Sun, he was a Sales and Marketing Representative at Apple Computer.
David holds an Bachelor of Science in Information Systems, from San Diego State University and an MBA from University of California, Irvine.
Greg Cohen
Director of Business Development and Principal Consultant
Greg Cohen has over a decade of experience in product management and marketing, with a background in software and application services, e-commerce, spend analysis, business analytics and contract management. He has managed over a dozen products from concept through deployment and end of life. Greg’s areas of expertise include uncovering market needs, analyzing user requirements, defining product specifications, and channel marketing. He has written and spoken on varied topics such as embracing agile development and the strategic benefits of open sourcing your product.
Prior to joining the 280Group, Greg spent nearly five years at Instill Corporation launching innovative products used by top 10 foodservice companies. He has also worked for Idealab! and Pandesic (a joint venture between Intel and SAP.) Greg is the former president of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association (www.svpma.org) and currently edits the associations newsletter.
Greg earned an MBA with honor from Babson College and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with second major in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University.
Mike Freier
Principal Consultant & Business Development Manager
Mike's
Resume (PDF format)...
Mike Freier has over 10 years of experience in product marketing and management with a total of 20 years of high tech experience in both hardware and integrated systems software development. During his career, he has defined market and product requirements, researched and identified new vertical markets, developed a suite of sales collateral/tools, and has been responsible for the life cycle of several products.
In addition to full time work, Mike is President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association (www.svpma.org) and is responsible for strategy and development of the individual and corporate membership program, as well as, securing guest speakers for each monthly event.
Earlier in his career, Mike held positions in mechanical design, applications engineering and sales management. Mike graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on product design and development.
Alyssa Dver
Principal Consultant
Alyssa's Resume
Alyssa S. Dver has over 20 years of experience in software product management and marketing. She is the author of the best-selling book, "Software Product Management Essentials". She is a frequently requested consultant to software companies and she often presents at professional events including Association of International Product Managers and Marketers (AIPMM), Boston Product Management Association (BPMA), Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), and others.
As Chief Marketing Officer for SEDONA Corporation, Dver helped make the startup company the leading customer relationship management (CRM) vendor in the banking market. Prior to joining SEDONA, Dver was the founder of Lead Factory Inc., a Web-based lead management solution, where she conceptualized and led the company to develop a patent-pending product, now installed at over 300 banks worldwide. She has executive management experience in companies of all sizes, including Empresa Inc.(eCommerce and content management), CenterLine Software (application development tools), Cincom Systems (application and database management tools), and Digital Equipment Corporation (high reliability systems and transaction processing tools). She has held key management positions with worldwide responsibilities, based domestically as well as overseas.
As a freelance contributor, Ms. Dver has written business and technology articles for publications including BusinessWeek, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Software Magazine, CRM Magazine and others. She is frequently quoted in the media and in books as a software management expert. She is also the founder and CEO of Wander Wear Inc., a company dedicated to lost child prevention.
Ms. Dver graduated from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a major in Marketing.
Jim Reekes
Senior Trainer & Principal Consultant
Jim Reekes spent the first 20 years of his career developing software. He has extensive knowledge and experience with the entire software development process ranging from very small to very large projects. During his 12 years writing software at Apple Computer, Jim worked at every level of the operating system. As a member of the QuickTime team, he created the company’s innovative audio architecture, earning him two patents and establishing the foundation for countless multimedia products. His contributions include key benefits and innovations found in iTunes and iPod. He was instrumental in designing the user interface and architecture for Kerbango, the world’s first stand-alone Internet radio, winning “Best of Show” at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Jim Reekes was the former VP of Product Management for Meeting Maker, Inc., creating the company’s product vision and strategy. His accomplishments include expanding into new markets while competing against Microsoft. Jim’s efforts resulted in revitalizing the product through new positioning and an exceptional product benefits. He reorganized the company’s product line, and extended it by integration and acquisition.
Jim has been providing consulting services in product management to Silicon Valley for a diverse set of clients ranging from software products to web sites. Jim is often described as “visionary.” Jim has expertise in product strategy, competitive analysis, market driven requirements, messaging and positioning, and brand building.
Phil Burton
Senior Trainer & Principal Consultant
Phil's Resume
Phil has been a consultant and trainer for the 280 Group for several years and has a twenty-five-plus year career in product management and product marketing focused on information security, data communications and networking. His expertise is in product life cycle management with a focus on customizing the product life cycle process to the specific needs and organizational structure of a company. In addition to executing assignments for specific clients, Phil also conducts most the 280 Group's Product Management classes. Phil holds a Civil Engineer degree from M.I.T, and is a certified information system security professional (CISSP).
Phil has extensive full life cycle product management and product marketing experience, with a strong understanding of how to tailor the product life cycle process to the specific needs and organizational structure of a client. Phil has expertise in product definition, launch, messaging and positioning, collateral creation, competitive analysis and sales tool creation. He is also an excellent public speaker for both executive level and technical groups.
Subcontractors
The 280 Group has a select group of hand-picked
subcontractors that work on individual assignments or as part of virtual
teams for clients. The philosophy is to only work with the absolute best
talent available, ensuring that our clients get excellent results.
Company
Company Overview
The 280 Difference
280 Group Team
- Brian
Lawley
- Dave Dersh
- Greg Cohen
- Mike Freier
- Alyssa Dver
- Jim Reekes
- Phil Burton
- Subcontractors
280 Group News
- Announcements
- Press Releases
Partners