Christos Cotsakos, founder, chairman and CEO of Pennington Ventures, says the focus shouldn’t be on the traditional debits and credits that businesses deal with on an everyday basis.  Instead, Cotsakos says advancing technologies allow smaller businesses to reach a wider client base at a reduced cost.

“Social media tools provide a company, regardless of size, with opportunities for global reach, infinite accessibility, simple usability, and immediate impact at minimal cost,” says Cotsakos, who led E*TRADE Group, Inc., to pioneer the personal online investment market and is considered one of the pioneers of e-commerce and e-finance.  “With the advent of social media, one-to-one marketing has now become a reality for both the business and the consumer.”

Inc.’s GROWCO Conference has showcased some of the brightest and most forward-thinking executives in business since it was first introduced in the ‘80s as the Growing the Company Conference.  Drawing upon Inc.’s decades of in-depth and on-edge business reporting, the GROWCO Conference harvests Inc.’s rich network of seasoned executives and thought leaders and is an invaluable opportunity to gain real, practicable advice on how to grow a business.

Joining Cotsakos on the panel is Gay Gaddis, president and CEO of T3, the largest female-owned independent advertising agency in the country.  Gaddis started her company in 1989 on a shoestring budget, and uses social media tools both in improving communication within her own company as well as in advising and producing work for clients because she recognizes how important social media tools are to the future of her and her clients’ business.

“They’re changing businesses, both big and small, from an operational standpoint and in how businesses engage customers,” says Gaddis, recognized as one of Inc.’s ‘Top 10 Entrepreneurs of the Year.’  “Social media can be used to increase engagement and contact with customers and companies can use social media to help consumers feel closer and more loyal to a product.”

Inc.’s GROWCO Conference is geared to company owners and executives and targets two types of businesses: the smaller organizations that want to move up in market share and respectability and larger companies that want to establish steady results while distinguishing themselves among their competitors.

Through their decades of combined executive experience of several industry-changing companies, Cotsakos and Gaddis have cultivated a practical strategy to build a solid client base in an ever-changing digital landscape that they will share at Inc.’s GROWCO Conference, March 18-20, in Orlando.

For more information on the Inc. GROWCO Conference and to sign up, please visit: www.GrowCoConference.com  

About the Inc. GROWCO Conference:  Inc. magazine’s GROWCO Conference has been a must-attend event for any executive or business leader since it was introduced in the ‘80s as the Growing the Company Conference.  The two-day event was created with motivated business leaders in mind, and provides more than just an excellent networking opportunity.  Participants will also receive real, workable information they can use to create or improve upon their own growth models.  The GROWCO Conference puts Inc.’s decades of in-depth and on-edge business reporting to practice, harnessing an established network of executives and speakers.  The conference will be held March 18-20 in Orlando.

About Inc. magazine: Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. magazine (www.inc.com) is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today's innovative company builders. With a total paid circulation of 724,110, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology.

About Christos Cotsakos:  Christos Cotsakos, Ph.D., is the founder, chairman and CEO of Pennington Ventures, a digital media and strategic management company.  Considered to be one of the visionaries, architects and entrepreneurs of e-commerce and e-finance, Dr. Cotsakos led E*TRADE Group, Inc., to pioneer the personal online investment market.  Prior to E*TRADE, he served as global co-CEO, President, and COO of AC Nielsen, and held senior executive positions at FedEx.  Dr. Cotsakos is also a decorated Vietnam War veteran.

About Gay Gaddis:  Gay Gaddis is president and CEO of T3, The Think Tank, a company she started in 1989 on a very tight budget and has now grown into the largest independent advertising agency owned by a woman in the country, with more than $300 million in capitalized billings.  Gaddis recently participated in the Global Summit of Women in Vietnam, The New York Times Small Business Summit, and Harvard Business School’s Dynamic Women in Business Conference, and has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s ‘Top 25 Women Business Builders’ and one of Working Mother’s 25 Advertising Working Mothers of the Year.  Gaddis is a columnist for iMedia Communications, an interactive media and marketing trade publisher, and also blogs for PINK.

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Athena Schindelheim
Inc. Magazine
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