Mr. Shafer has over 25 years of experience in marketing and sales, specializing in the launch of new products and business ventures. Alan's first career was with IBM Corporation which took him from being #1 Sales Representative in the country (out of 4,500 sales professionals) to being the Director of Marketing and Chief Merchandising Executive for IBM's personal computer division.
He was responsible for a number of key sales campaigns including the introduction of the IBM ThinkPad and IBM Aptiva products into the North American retail market, as well as the establishment of IBM's Consumer Division generating $2.3 billion in revenue within three years of operations. He established many valuable relationships and produced extremely profitable results during his tenure at IBM as well as with his later ventures.
Alan has been Chief Operating Officer of a Florida-based publicly held software company responsible for growing the company to over $30 million in sales within a 3 year period. Then as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of a high-tech start-up he enjoyed spearheading the launch of the company introducing a revolutionary technology and generating pre-production sales volumes of over 280,000 units.
Alan is a recognized award-winning leader in sales, marketing, business development, and strategic planning, and is highly reputed for his entrepreneurial success. He recently utilized those skills again with the expansion of Alliant Marketing Solutions, a consulting consortium bringing expertise and management direction to a variety of businesses looking to reach higher levels of productivity and effectiveness.
Alan is actively involved with many state and local Chambers of Commerce, Commerce and Industry Associations, and Economic Development Authorities. He also works closely with the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Small Business Development Centers as well as with S.C.O.R.E. For many years he has served on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement, and is a member of Forbes Magazine's Business Visionary Council. He is a member of the Board of Florida Golf Central Magazine as well as Business Editor.
Alan holds degrees in mathematics and psychology from the University of Connecticut, a Masters in Business Administration from IBM's Business Management School, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Email Alan at ashafer@alliantmarketingsolutions.com