Joseph S. Grano, Jr. President and Founder

Joe has a record of success in providing vision and strategic direction to organizations, especially those experiencing rapid growth and change. He has more than 20 years of comprehensive marketing, business development and public relations experience, having held key executive management positions in healthcare, technology and financial services. His extensive knowledge of strategic marketing and business development comes from years of managing award-winning corporate marketing and communications departments for private, public and international organizations.

Joe is the president and founder of Next-Mark, LLC, which provides marketing, business strategy and communications solutions to businesses of all types and sizes, and co-founder of The Healthcare Marketing Institute (www.healthcaremarketinginstitute.com).  A graduate of the State University
of New York at Buffalo, he has an M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Massachusetts. Joe, who recently co-authored
“The Healthcare Marketing Professional’s Business Manual,” also serves as an adjunct professor of business at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

In addition, he is a sought-after professional speaker, executive performance coach and facilitator. To learn more about how his speaking and coaching services,click here.

 

Alicia Cort

Alicia is an award-winning commercial designer who uses her exceptional communication skills to help clients refine their ideas, making the translation of broad concepts into precise content an easy and enjoyable one. Alicia, who holds a degree in both Graphic and Architectural Exhibit Design, is highly proficient in all Adobe programs, as well as CAD.

At Next-Mark, she specializes in creative design, brand development, trade show graphics and innovative brand strategies. Based in the Venice district of Los Angeles County, Alicia has provided design expertise for a number of national commercials and Hollywood films.

 

Ann Kuhn Grano, J.D.

Ann has extensive legal, community outreach and fundraising experience. A member of the New York Bar Association, her legal practice has centered on commercial real estate. A magna cum laude graduate of St. Lawrence University,Ann earned her law degree at the University of Buffalo.

At Next-Mark, she provides advice and leadership on legal and government issues, as well as writing expertise and financial management services. An active member of her local community, Ann serves on a wide variety of committees and boards, with a focus on education and children’s issues.

 

Karl Grass

With 15 years of successful top executive leadership
in a variety of business models and market conditions,
Karl brings an insider's knowledge to his work. Throughout his career he has been noted for leading and transforming businesses by developing winning strategies, leading organizational and cultural change, driving superior execution, and developing key executives. He has been both an entrepreneur and a leader of businesses that ranged in size from $7 million to $265 million with premier organizations such as Andersen and Intuit. In addition to walking the talk, Karl has learned from some of the most recognized leaders, coaches, and teachers in corporate America.

At Next-Mark he brings these same powerful skills, methodologies, and tools to you and your team via workshops, one-on-one coaching or special projects.
His core focus is helping leaders and organizations reach their highest levels of performance through executive coaching and mentoring, strategy development and implementation, and ensuring effective execution.

Karl is an honors graduate of Duke University and was certified in Florida as a CPA. He has been recognized as a Trendsetter by Florida Trend and as one of the 100 most influential people in Accounting by Accounting Today.

Solutions
Leadership coaching
  • Set goals for change
  • Exploration of gap
  • Planning, practicing, and supporting change
  • Build momentum and measure impact
  • Embed new behaviors for long term success

Strategy development and implementation

  • Strategic reviews and recommendations
  • Pre-implementation organizational readiness assessment
  • Strategy workshops
  • Development of tool kit to lead change and growth
  • Developing visibility into key outcomes and processes
  • Creating accountability
  • Alliance, acquisition, and divestiture evaluation
  • Objective sounding board and reality checking

Jay McGee

Jay is a public relations, marketing communications and special events expert with proven success in agency, corporate and non-profit environments. Jay, who has a strong background in creative development and positioning, has helped numerous clients gain positive name/brand recognition in major media. A graduate of the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Public Relations, his focus at Next-Mark is on creative strategy development and implementation, as well as writing and project management. In 2007, Jay combined his skills with his love of history to create New Heights, a magazine about Tampa’s historic Urban Corridor.

 

Scott Messer

Scott has more than 20 years of senior management experience in industries ranging from service to healthcare. His strong operational background includes strategic planning and organizational development, performance management and employee relations. With significant expertise dealing with business reorganization, compliance and communications for companies experiencing rapid growth and transformation, he also is practiced in customizing group presentations or one-on-one coaching programs.

Scott, who has a Master's Degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Benedictine University, also has served as an adjunct professor and academic coordinator for Wilmington University, teaching business management while directing an off-campus education center.


Curt Werner

Curt has covered healthcare as a journalist and trade press editor for more than 25 years. He has written and/or edited a range of newsletters, newspapers, magazines and websites for a variety of business audiences and been a featured speaker at a number of hospital supply chain-related conferences. Along with his experience as both a writer and editor, he brings to Next-Mark clients a focus on accuracy and clarity together with a dedication to deadlines. And when it’s called for, he’s well-prepared to toss in a pinch of irony or humor into the final product.

Currently, Werner serves as editor of Hospital Materials Management, a monthly subscription-supported newsletter read by materials and supply chain executives at U.S. hospitals. Curt has specialized in the business side
of healthcare, but also has a keen interest in technology, politics, the arts and travel. A native of Brooklyn, NY, he is a graduate of the School of Journalism of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.


Hugh Zaretsky

Hugh began his professional career consulting for Fortune 500 financial services companies. Hugh then joined Getty Images and was promoted to Director of Technology for North America. He fast became an expert in corporate acquisition and integration while leading the Getty technology team through numerous acquisitions and corporate changes. He made presentations to Wall Street analysts, executive committees and senior management teams and successfully negotiated global technology deals with Dell and Microsoft to save the company over a million dollars per year. Hugh also helped lead the technology team to win CIO magazine’s award as one of the Top 100 Agile technology teams for 2004

Deciding to leave the corporate world in 2005, Hugh launched his own consulting company, Royal Empire Ventures, Inc. The main focus of the company was to help entrepreneurs reach there financial freedom through real estate or owning there own business. Hugh has trained over 1,000 professionals throughout the US and has presented to and consulted for some of the top entrepreneurial companies. In 2008, he had sales of over 1.7 million dollars from his events.

At Next-Mark, Hugh’s focus is business growth and development and will be responsible for new business development, technology support and will be integral to Next-Mark’s next phase of business oriented toward integrating new technologies that support businesses.

A sought after professional speaker, Hugh has been retained by some of the largest organizations and conferences including the Learning Annex and the Growing Wealth Network. Hugh will be a featured author in an upcoming anthology from Jack Canfield and Les Brown entitled, The Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose due out in September 2009. A graduate of Binghamton University Watson School of Engineering, Hugh received a degree in Computer Science. Hugh has traveled all 50 states and is an avid athlete; he resides in New York, NY.