About Me
I am a consultant, trainer, writer, entrepreneur, futurist, and motivational speaker, with roots deeply planted in consumer goods marketing, applied internet technologies, training, and consulting. My experience spans twenty five years and thirty five countries, and encompasses marketing, sales, research, strategy, and communication.
Bio
Originally a South African marketing professional, my perspective is global. I spent many years in Switzerland running A. C. Nielsen's international management services operation, training marketing consultants and implementing OD initiatives worldwide. I headed a Zurich-based consulting company specializing in marketing and sales team transformation and culture change. I bootstrapped a UK technology company to build and market innovative simulation products, computer games, and animation properties. In 1998 I started a successful project-management e-learning company in Washington DC, and founded MindRise, my consulting company, soon afterwards.
Clients
Over the years I have worked with dozens of clients, including Cisco Systems, Motorola, IBM, General Motors, Credit Suisse, Nomura, Georgia Tech, Kepner-Tregoe, and many best-of-breed consumer goods companies like Nestlé, Revlon, Gillette and Unilever.
Thought leadership
Since the days of dumb terminals, I have worked with applied computing technologies in sales, research, client servicing, and training, and have pioneered many practical approaches to improving team and individual performance. I am an acknowledged thought leader on both sides of the Atlantic in the fields of e-learning and technology-based performance improvement. But I am a strategist, not a geek; and a pragmatist, not a zealot.
I am an enthusiastic speaker at conferences and corporate events. I am also the moderator of ASTD's E-learning Discussion Board, and a coordinator of Trdev, arguably the internet's most respected training and development discussion group. I write a weekly column (Parkin Space) for the UK's TrainingZONE, and I am a member of the Learning Circuits Blog team. And, of course, I author my own marketing and training blog, Parkin's Lot.
