Press Releases

CARBA Annual Cake Decorating Contest to be Hosted at 2012 Chicago Flower & Garden Show Feb 13, 2012 12:24PM

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On March 18, 2012, the finest cake decorators in the Chicagoland area will gather at Navy Pier to compete in the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association’s (CARBA) annual cake decorating competition. The competition, which will be hosted at the 18th annual Chicago Flower & Garden Show, will test the best of the Chicagoland’s cake elite with a series of three challenges, including decorating one rolled fondant cake, a 4-tiered wedding cake, and a sculpted cake, all in the course of 5 ¼ hours. The theme for this year’s Chicago Flower and Garden Show is “Hort Couture,” so fashion, flowers, design and texture will be the focus for the cake competition. The grand prize winner will receive $300, as well as travel and accommodations to the National competition.

Any professional baker and/or cake decorator associated with and employed by a CARBA member bakery is invited to participate. If you are not a CARBA member bakery and are considering competing, please contact Beth Fahey at beth@realbuttercream.com. Applications to participate are due by Friday, February 17, 2012.

CARBA is a non-for-profit organization and an affiliate with the Retail Bakers of America. CARBA’s mission is to further the practice of baking as an art form through collaboration, participation and the exchange of ideas.

While many members of CARBA pride themselves on being local retail bakeries, there is nothing small or simple about what they provide to their customers. CARBA’s membership includes dozens of Chicago’s finest bakeries, united by their explicit dedication to the highest quality and freshness of ingredients, as well as their exceptional customer service.

The Chicago Flower and Garden Show gets over 50,000 visitors every year. CARBA bakeries will be featured throughout the show with cake displays, demonstrations, and the contest will be held on Sunday, March 18th. In addition, participating bakeries will be listed in the Chicago Flower and Garden Show program guide, which is given to every attendee. Take advantage of this great exposure and submit an application for your cake decorator. If you do not submit by February 17th, you will not be listed in the program guide.

For more information or submit your application, visit www.carba.com or contact Beth Fahey, CARBA member and chairperson for the cake decorating contest. Beth Fahey, co-owner of Creative Cakes in Tinley Park can be reached at (708) 614-9755 or beth@realbuttercream.com.

For CARBABeth Fahey, (708) 614-9755beth@realbuttercream.com

Source: Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association

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MRM Announces Global Senior Leadership Appointments Feb 13, 2012 12:23PM

Driving World-Class Talent, Creativity, Performance and Technology for Clients

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MRM, top-five global digital and direct agency, announced appointments within their global senior leadership team. Andy Jacobs, currently EVP Chief Technology Officer, will become EVP, CTO and Director of Global Partnerships; Dave Hohman, currently EVP, Director of Performance, Americas will become EVP, Global Performance Director; Tim Cunningham, currently Managing Director for MRM’s San Francisco office will become Chief Strategy Officer; Patricia Berns, currently Worldwide Account Director, will assume the role of Managing Director for MRM’s San Francisco office; and Andy Queen, current CFO, Easter Region (U.S.), will become EVP, Director of Commercial Operations, The America’s.

Bill Kolb, MRM’s CEO states, “This is a remarkable time in the history of MRM as we continue to deliver transformative marketing solutions and platforms for our clients; partnering with the world’s best brands. The contributions of these executives to MRM and the successes they and their teams have achieved for our clients are outstanding. These combined efforts have contributed enormously to the vitality of our agency.” Kolb continues, “Brands are faced with greater scrutiny than ever before in a highly competitive marketplace. We are proud to be managing and solving critically complex marketing and business problems. These executive changes reflect the depth of talent we have to tap into here at MRM.”

Andy Jacobs, EVP, CTO and Director of Global Partnerships

In this newly created role, Andy’s key accountabilities will be growth across MRM’s technology business, focusing on new business development and driving organic growth within the Agency’s Top 25 global clients, reporting to Bill Kolb.

He will also be leading Global Partnerships, and will ensure the continued quality of the overall technology product across MRM’s Top 10 global clients. Additionally, Andy will lead the ongoing development of the MRM technology community to drive best practices, share key trends, identify key talent and support cross fertilization of technology engagements.

Since joining MRM in August of 2006 Andy has contributed greatly to MRM General Motor’s, Intel and US Army accounts. Prior he was Chief Technology Officer of Euro RSCG 4D, New York, where he helped design and build a marketing automation platform for IBM that is still in use today. In his over 20 years of experience in the successful delivery of enterprise software solutions he provided technology strategy to the marketing groups at CA, Intel, Xerox, Peugeot, Exide, and New Balance and in New York’s financial district where he participated in a number of system implementations at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, and Bear Stearns.

Andy graduated from computer certification programs at both Columbia University and New York University. He has a graduate degree from the Juilliard School of Music and holds an undergraduate degree from Boston University.

Dave Hohman, EVP, Global Performance Director

Dave Hohman will expand his role from the Americas and take on the newly created position of EVP, Global Performance Director. Dave will continue to stay aggressively focused on MRM’s Performance offering and scaled growth and will further his commitments as the key individual responsible to leverage all the great work done across MRM.

Dave is responsible for providing segmentation, predictive modeling, data analysis, campaign tracking and database marketing operations support to clients. He brings more than twenty years of database marketing, and CRM experience to MRM, with specific expertise deploying advanced analytics, and delivering process and systems solutions which optimize the effectiveness and profitability of multi-channel, direct marketing initiatives.

Dave’s ability to deliver the best in behavioral analysis, data mining, consumer insights and strategic planning, in the context of a client’s business objectives, makes him an extraordinarily effective analyst with business savvy that has helped clients like U.S. Army make mission year after year.

Prior to joining MRM, Dave held senior level positions at Wunderman, Medco Health Solutions, Prudential Financial and PNC Bank. His experience spans technology, pharmaceutical, and financial services. He has extensive knowledge of the information technology sector having spent a number of years as Vice President of Global Implementation Services for an international CRM software company, as well as the Global Data Lead on the Microsoft business.

Dave holds an undergraduate degree from Hawaii Pacific University in Marketing & Finance; a masters in statistics from Rutgers University and served in the United States Marine Corp.

Tim Cunningham, Chief Strategy Officer

Tim will be taking on a critical role in leading MRM’s strategic practice, partnering with creative teams to drive better insights and creative. He will report to CEO, Bill Kolb and will work closely with Dave Hohman, EVP, Global Performance Director, as he builds out the agency’s Performance Practice. Tim will be responsible for MRM’s thought leadership position in the marketplace, driving key white papers and points of view.

Tim has played a key advisory role in MRM’s General Motors (GM) relationship, along with global clients Intel, Opel, Wells Fargo, iShares and more. He will continue in his GM role with Bill LaRoe, EVP, Global Executive Account Director for GM.

As Managing Director of MRM San Francisco, Tim ensured strategic and marketing execution excellence to all clients served by the office including Intel, iShares and Microsoft. In addition, he also managed the MRM Strategy Practice for North America.

Prior to joining MRM, Tim was a Senior Vice President at Digitas within the Strategy & Analytics capability. Over his agency career with MRM and Digitas, he has led many high-profile assignments with clients such as Mastercard, General Mills, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Best Buy, L.L. Bean, Wells Fargo Bank and Allstate Insurance.

Before moving into the agency environment, Tim was a management consultant with Accenture for major clients such as Morgan Stanley, Sony Electronics, Deutsche Bank and GE Capital. Tim holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management as well as a BA from Claremont McKenna College in economics.

Patricia Berns, EVP, Managing Director MRM San Francisco

Patricia returns to California as EVP, Managing Director of MRM’s San Francisco office. Patricia has done a spectacular job leading Verizon for the past 5 years, strategically organizing the account to consistently exceed client expectations. She and her team have expanded the business from a pure off line business into a digital, direct, performance and technology relationship. Her leadership was instrumental in the MRM Team receiving Verizon’s prestigious “Supplier of the Year” in 2011.

In her new role, she will be responsible for the operation in San Francisco from growth to client satisfaction to profitability to quality of product to collaboration. Patricia has been a key leader with MRM for many years and has helped MRM evolve from the days of a pure direct agency to the creative, performance and technology powerhouse it is today. She will be reporting to Dave Boede, President, The Americas. Michael McLaren, President, MRM East & Chief Client Solutions Director, will take on the critical leadership role for the Verizon client, with full support from Patricia ensuring a smooth and seamless engagement.

Patricia led MRM’s Microsoft engagement for several years in the Agency’s San Francisco office prior to coming to New York in 2008, to lead and build the Verizon business. As MRM continues to evolve the west coast operation with San Francisco and Salt Lake City, Patricia will be key as they continue growth, resource optimization and drive a world-class agency.

Prior to MRM, she was President of The Strategic Group, working with companies including, IBM, Dell, Oracle, Cisco, AT&T and NYNEX. Patricia is a graduate of Farleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey.

Andy Queen, EVP, Director of Commercial Operations, The America’s

Andy has proven to have a very focused and unique perspective on how to drive, sustain and build MRM’s levels of profitability through contract structure and optimization, resource utilization and the overall commercial operations of the Agency’s businesses. This new position was created to support MRM’s efforts to manage profitable growth, build highly profitable centers of excellence and scale to meet growth goals.

Andy will report to CEO, Bill Kolb and partner with Dave Boede, President of The Americas, with focus on optimizing staffing and realization, contract optimization, consistency of reporting, center of excellence development and critical scaling events. In addition to these core responsibilities, he will be participating in several key initiatives from pipeline management to operational cost efficiency to conflict compliance as well as key Global Partnerships where he will partner with Andy Jacobs.

Andy joined MRM as East Region CFO in May 2006 and has 20 years of financial experience. Before his post at MRM, Andy was the CFO for Margeotes Fertitta Powell (MDC Partners), a full-service advertising agency. His career history also includes eight years with other McCann Worldgroup companies, including his role as SVP, Financial Director for Universal McCann in New York, and prior to that, as CFO for Fitzgerald & Company in Atlanta. Andy is a graduate of North Carolina State University.

About MRM

MRM is a top-five global digital and direct agency made up of a diverse collection of craftspeople focused on creativity, performance and technology. MRM offers a suite of capabilities including branding, strategy, relationship marketing, design, measurement & analytics, mobile, search, social, loyalty programs, platform & application development, system integration, engagement planning, asset production, & asset distribution. The agency has 34 offices in 25 countries and counts Bristol-Myers Squibb, General Mills, General Motors, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Nestlé, U.S. ARMY, Verizon and Wells Fargo among its clients. MRM is a part of McCann Worldgroup, an Interpublic company. For more information, please visit www.mrmworldwide.com.

MRMSue R.E. Geramian, 646-865-6041SVP, Global Brand Communicationssue.geramian@mrmworldwide.comorErin Hughes, 646-865-3308Manager, Global Brand Communicationserin.hughes@mrmworldwide.com

Source: MRM

Film Critic/Producer Dr. Michael Berlin Announces Oscar Predictions and Industry Insights Feb 13, 2012 12:23PM

UC Irvine Extension’s “Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin” Host Dissects the Academy Award Nominations and Snubs

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of California, Irvine Extension is pleased to announce Dr. Michael Berlin, host of the Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin film series, is sharing industry insight regarding the upcoming 84th Annual Academy Awards. With a distinguished three-decade career in Hollywood, Berlin provides information regarding who he believes will be future Oscar winners, the most deserving nominees, the biggest snubs of the year and actors he expects to be nominated in upcoming years.

“This year’s Academy definitely has a select number of films they will favor and a few performances that were highly Oscar-worthy, but will not receive the deserved recognition this year,” said Berlin. “My 2012 Oscar predictions are based on the ever-changing climate of the entertainment industry, the notable Academy favorites and the undeniable brilliant performances given this year by many acclaimed professionals behind and in front of the camera.”

BERLIN’S PREDICTIONS:

• Best Picture: The Artist will win Best Picture, and rightfully so. Berlin believes it was the most “complete and original” film of the year.
• Actor in a Leading Role: Although Brad Pitt gave the best performance of the year in Moneyball, Berlin believes George Clooney will win for his performance in The Descendants. “He is the Cary Grant of this generation and is a very diverse actor who truly loses himself in the role and isn’t ashamed to play even the most unsophisticated characters.” Berlin also states that, “Though he may not have said a word of dialogue, Jean Dujardin gave a memorable performance in "The Artist" and reminded us that great actors convey everything an audience needs to know in a look, a smile, a downward glance - a memorable performance in a special film.”
• Actor in a Supporting Role: Berlin claims that Christopher Plummer will and should win this award for his performance in Beginners. He calls it a “lifetime” role in a mostly unseen movie, yet notes that Max von Sydow also gave a great performance in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
• Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis will most likely win this award. “Davis’ performance in The Help was outstanding and well-deserving of an Oscar; however, I think Michelle Williams had the performance of the year in My Week With Marilyn. After five minutes of watching Williams I thought I was watching Marilyn Monroe herself.”
• Actress in a Supporting Role: Further recognizing the brilliant acting in The Help, Berlin believes Octavia Spencer will win this award for a stellar performance - noting that Jessica Chastain delivered a flawless performance in the film. Berlin predicts that her name will be on the Oscar ballot for years to come.
• People to Watch: Berlin lists Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender and Evan Rachel Wood as stars to watch out for in the near future.
• Biggest Snubs: The performances Berlin thinks are Oscar-worthy but didn’t receive a nomination were given by Charlize Theron in Young Adult, Shailene Woodley in The Descendants and Michael Fassbender in Shame.

“Michael brings a vast array of experience and knowledge of the film industry to our Sneak Preview film series each year, and we are looking forward to seeing how his Oscar predictions will play out as we design our next film screening series,” said Kirwan Rockefeller, executive producer of Sneak Previews at UC Irvine Extension.

Previous “Sneak Previews” series have included both Academy Award®-winning and nominated movies such as “Black Swan,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Juno,” “Atonement,” “Kinsey” and “Hotel Rwanda.” Each engagement is accompanied by interviews and open Q&A sessions with producers, directors, screenwriters and other entertainment industry leaders.

Dr. Michael Berlin, who has a long list of screenwriting and producing credits to his name, has written feature films including “Anguish,” “Breaking Point” and “Robo-Warriors” and for many TV series including “Miami Vice,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “Murder She Wrote,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” “Sisters,” “The Commish,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “Hunter,” “Missing Persons,” “The Exile,” “UNSUB,” “Earth: Final Conflict” and “The Outer Limits.” Most recently, Berlin was the executive producer of “Ars Medicina,” the 2011 winner of best documentary at the Downtown Boca Film Festival.

About UC Irvine Extension: University of California, Irvine Extension is the continuing education arm of UC Irvine. Through thousands of courses and programs offered on campus, online and on site, UC Irvine Extension helps adult learners reach their career advancement and personal enrichment goals —and is celebrating 50 years of providing universally accessible, university-level learning to local, regional, and global communities. Learn more at extension.uci.edu, or join us on Facebook at facebook.com/uciextension.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

For UC Irvine ExtensionTravis Culver, 714-573-0899 ext. 237travis@echomediapr.com

Source: UC Irvine Extension

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