Kathleen Hessert, CSP
Founder and President of Buzz Manager, Inc., a social media consulting and online monitoring and measurement company, as well as Sports Media Challenge, a nationally renowned reputation management firm.
After nearly a decade as an award- winning television anchor, reporter and talk show host, Ms. Hessert changed competitive arenas. Since 1984, Ms. Hessert has been reputation management consultant to C- Level executives in major corporations and government agencies. She has guided the protection and enrichment of the brands of Olympic gold medalists and college gridiron greats, to those in the ranks of the NBA and the PGA.
In 2004, Ms. Hessert became a market leader with the launch of her New Media & Fan Engagement services. Her vision led to the introduction of BuzzMgr™, an online listening service that mines, monitors and analyzes internet word-of-mouth and brand conversations both in good times and those of crises. Kathleen’s social media expertise gained international acclaim surrounding the social media platform, Twitter and she became known as “the woman who taught Shaquille O’Neal to tweet”. Her expertise soon led to expansion into social media consulting including strategy development and execution. Clients have included Bridgestone, McGladrey, the NFL, Madison Square Garden, ESPN, the Miami Heat, PGA Tour, Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli Manning, and NASCAR’s Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon, the Universities of Notre Dame, Penn State and the Big Ten Network. Ms. Hessert is in wide demand nationally as a speaker on social media and traditional media and crisis communications.
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Linda Hutchinson, Executive Assistant
Linda Hutchinson is a native of Charlotte, North Carolina. She started violin lessons at age 9, and followed the music muse to major in Music Education at Appalachian State University. Instead of teaching after she earned her degree, she went into musical instrument repair – at the time, a rare trade for women. She spent the next 30 years at McFadyen Music – a total of 21 years in brass and woodwind instrument repair, and 9 years as Administrative Manager. For two years, she served as president of a national trade organization for instrument repair technicians.
In her second career, Linda worked for Pulte Homes as a sales and marketing coordinator. In this position, Linda used her graphic arts skills to produce sales collateral, assisted the sales agents, and worked with the marketing team on advertising and events.
Now in career #3, Linda serves as executive assistant to Kathleen Hessert, and manages the BuzzMgr/Sports Media Challenge office. In her off time, she pursues interests in jewelry crafts, photography, gardening, and birdwatching. She is an avid fan of Paul McCartney and The Beatles, and owns nearly 2 dozen lava lamps.
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