451 Marketing Management

AJ Gerritson | Nicholas Lowe | Thomas Lee | Glen Hawkins | Karyn Martin

GET TO KNOW: AJ
Email  | Twitter @ajgerritson

At 451 Marketing, AJ is the man behind the curtain. He oversees the agency’s strategic direction as well as the sales and marketing efforts. AJ brings over 12 years of experience in brand strategy, search engine optimization, public relations, advertising and interactive marketing.

Prior to co-founding 451 Marketing, AJ was a Vice President at Zeeo Interactive, Inc., an award-winning interactive agency. There he helped provide interactive strategy for brands such as Time Warner, CookingLight.com and Disney. Prior to working at Zeeo, AJ was the Vice President of Public Relations for AsiaFoods.com, where he helped build the online Asian food company from the ground up and positioned it for a successful acquisition.

In 2010, Boston Business Journal named AJ to the 40 Under 40 Class. As evident by this honor, AJ is constantly opening doors, forging strategic relationships for his clients, and is committed to making Boston a better place to live and work. AJ has developed strong ties with Boston’s business leaders and government officials. He serves on the Boston Irish Business Association’s Board of Directors, which he also co-founded.

When he's not devouring information on new media communications, public relations or search marketing, you can find AJ on the rugby pitch. AJ was a two-time All-American at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, helped lead the Boston Irish Wolfhounds Rugby Football Club to two USA Rugby Division I National Titles and played professionally in Limerick, Ireland for the Young Munster Rugby Football Club. AJ leverages that competitive drive for his clients every day. AJ can also be found terrorizing a golf course, camping in New Hampshire’s White Mountains or surfing in Hull, MA where he lives with his wife, Meaghan.

GET TO KNOW: NICK
Email | Twitter @nicholaslowe

Nick is 451 Marketing’s “Brand Poobah”, overseeing a team of seasoned marketing specialists to implement all branding, advertising and marketing projects. Nick brings over 12 years of experience designing and implementing brand strategies for local and national companies across market sectors, including financial services, energy services, healthcare, high technology, entertainment, retail, and hospitality companies. Notable clients include the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services, DestinationWeddings.com, Small World Wireless, BlueShift Technologies, XCELLOR, Boston Neighborhood Network, and the American Program Bureau.

Nick began his career as a U.S. Congressional Aide for Congressman Edward J. Markey where he focused on telecommunications, environmental and foreign relations issues.  Nick then served as Senior Vice President of Client Services for interactive advertising agency Zeeo Interactive for five years before co-founding 451 Marketing in 2004 with AJ Gerritson.

Fluent in German and proficient in French, Nick holds degrees in Political Science and German Literature from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  He also studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany and Oxford University in England. A self-proclaimed aficionado of the finer things, Nick is happiest figuring out which vintage Cote D'Or in his wine cellar to pair with his wife’s Boeuf Bourguignon. He resides in Melrose, MA with his wife Julia and their sons William and Charlie.

GET TO KNOW: THOMAS
Email | Twitter @tomlee451

Tom serves as head flak and wordsmith for the 451 Marketing communications team. With more than 14 years of public relations and journalism experience, Tom has an intimate understanding of the media on both the local and national levels.

He began his media career at Plymouth State College in New Hampshire as a sports writer, assistant sports editor and eventually news editor of The Clock college newspaper.  Tom did this while playing defensive back for Plymouth State’s nationally ranked Division III football team.

Tom’s post college career began as a reporter at the Carroll County Independent in northern New Hampshire, where his reporting was recognized by the New Hampshire Press Association.  Tom then moved to Massachusetts, where he wrote for the Weston Town Crier and Middlesex News.  Tom eventually joined the proverbial “dark side,” leaving the Fourth Estate to serve as spokesman for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) where he worked on major public works projects like the Deer Island Treatment Plant and Integrated Water Supply Improvement Program.  He then served briefly as Public Relations Manager at The Massachusetts Hospital Association before joining Regan Communications, where he spent five years prior to joining 451 Marketing.  At Regan, Tom provided strategic communications for a wide range of local and national companies including Dunkin’ Donuts, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., RE/MAX of New England, Mix 98-5 (WBMX-FM), and Boston magazine.

Tom is a former member of the United States Under-19 National Rugby Team and three-time USA Rugby Division I National Champion Boston Irish Wolfhounds Rugby Football Club. In his spare time, Tom can be found surfing in New England’s chilly waters, scuba diving off of Cape Ann or hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. A New York City native, he now resides in North Andover, MA with his wife Krista and their daughters Faith and Madeline.

GET TO KNOW: GLEN
Email | Twitter @ghawk

Glen is 451 Marketing’s creative genius. Glen has over 25 years of experience creating corporate identities, advertising campaigns, print collateral, and web designs.

Glen found his calling at an early age.  While in high school he designed t-shirts for America’s Cup races in Newport, RI and received the prestigious “Romantic Willimantic” poster design award in Willimantic, CT.  He then made it official, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art.

Following graduation, Glen embarked on a three-month backpacking trip through Europe until his parents insisted he quit being a bum and return home to join the workforce.  Upon his return, Glen joined Fleury Communications where he served as a designer focused mainly on projects on Cape Cod and the Islands.  He then took a 2 year hiatus from the professional design business to work with mentally handicapped adults, conducting on-site job training and providing job placement assistance.  Glen made his way back to design work when he joined his old college professor at Burke Communications, mainly servicing high tech and banking clients.  He eventually broke-off to start his own design firm - Hawkins Creative Services.  Glen operated a successful design studio for 10 years, providing creative services for a wide range of high technology, professional services and nonprofit companies.  Torn between the desire to leave the tediousness of operating a business and the prospect of giving up an office next door to the Samuel Adams Brewery, the attraction of a full-service communications firm like 451 Marketing was all he needed to make the decision. 

Glen’s work has been recognized by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) and recently received an Interactive Media Award for a Best-in-Class website he art directed for General Compression. He is a former board member of the Jamaica Plain Centre/South Main Streets program, committee member of the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE), member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, member of the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA).  A true New Englander, Glen can often be found sailing around Cape Cod or grilling steak tips in his back yard with a cold Sam Adams while listening to a Sox game.  A Rhode Island native, Glen currently resides in Jamaica Plain with his wife Amy and their daughter Helen.

GET TO KNOW: KARYN
Email | Twitter @karynmartin

Karyn has more than nine years of public relations experience in a variety of areas including travel, luxury, hospitality and technology. She specializes in developing and managing integrated public relations campaigns at 451 Marketing as well as utilizing PR 2.0 and SEO/PR techniques for the agency’s growing list of PR clients.

Prior to joining 451 Marketing, Karyn spent five years at Emerge PR, representing a wide range of local and national clients including Destination Cellars, DestinationWeddings.com, CardScan, Cartesis, CSG Systems, Experian QAS, Harte-Hanks, InnoCentive, Information Builders, Precyse Technologies, Quaero, Tizor Systems and Trillium Software. Karyn is an award-winning PR practitioner and has been published multiple times in PR trade publications.

Prior to Emerge PR, Karyn drove the publicity for and provided event management support to the nation’s largest public consumer electronics exhibition show. Previously, Karyn was an account executive at Portland, Maine-based Fendler Communications, a boutique firm specializing in the consumer outdoor industry. In her role, she was responsible for all aspects of executing a successful long-term publicity plan for international companies formally launching their products in the U.S. market. Karyn has also serviced several local and national accounts in the fields of healthcare, education and technology.

Karyn is a summa cum laude graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.