MITX Announces the 2012 Future Leaders Group

Final Eight Chosen for Leadership, Entrepreneurial Spirit, and Impact

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX) announced the 8 individuals chosen for the 2012 Future Leaders Group (FLG). These individuals were selected from a pool of 35 exceptionally talented nominees based on their leadership skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and early impact on the Massachusetts innovation economy.

“MITX is proud to spotlight these individuals and offer them interesting opportunities to grow and learn -- we’re excited about what they will do as part of the MITX FLG.”

Individuals named to the FLG benefit from direct access to MITX events, exclusive networking and mentoring opportunities, and engagement with the MITX Board of Directors. For MITX, the FLG serves as a valuable resource for the organization; providing a fresh perspective on up-and-coming innovation, marketing, and technology trends.

“The Future Leaders Group has always attracted incredibly talented young leaders, and the 2012 class is right up there with the best,” said MITX President Debi Kleiman. “MITX is proud to spotlight these individuals and offer them interesting opportunities to grow and learn -- we’re excited about what they will do as part of the MITX FLG.”

In alphabetical order, the 2012 Future Leaders Group includes:

Jerry Bernard – Analyst, Digitas @Lordinc

Rebecca Corliss – Inbound Marketing Manager, HubSpot @repcor

Dan Dietz – Founder/CEO, Olejo @danrdietz

Ryan Durkin – COO, CampusLIVE @Durkin

Marissa Forman – Retail Account Manager, Google Marissa on Google+

Tess Gallagher – Marketing Director, Smart Lunches @Tesseroni

Chris Shaw – Co-Founder/CEO, LexSpot @MOChrisShaw

Paul Toms – Marketing Director, Wayfair / Joss and Main @3PBT

Future Leaders Group members must be nominated by an established leader within the Internet business and digital marketing industry. Once nominated, the candidates composed answers to creative essay questions designed to provoke innovative thought, and allow the true visionaries to stand out. The final group is chosen by the MITX Future Leaders Group Committee.

“This year’s FLG Class embodies what our community should represent, and all of the values MITX holds dear,” said MITX Board member and FLG Committee Chairman Scott Savitz. “They’re an incredibly talented, driven group of people, and I’m looking forward to working with them.”

This is the third Future Leaders Group class. Last year’s FLG class – Jake Cacciapaglia (Runkeeper), Caitlin Fenn (inov-8), Brent Grinna (EverTrue), Brenna Hanly (Mullen), Mina Hsiang (General Catalyst), Dmitriy Molchanov (Bluefin Labs), Christopher O’Donnell (HubSpot), and Kyle Psaty (PerkStreet Financial) – moves to “alumni” status and will continue to advise MITX and the new class of the FLG.

About MITX

Established in 1996, MITX -- the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange -- is the leading industry organization focused on the web and mobile, bringing together the digital marketing, media and technology community to engage in what's next and how it will impact the marketing and business worlds. Connecting more than 7,500 professionals in New England, MITX is a dynamic community of thought leaders and collaborators in search of insight, education and opportunity. Creator of FutureM, MITX is headquartered in Boston’s Innovation District. For more information, visit http://www.mitx.org/.