GET TO KNOW: AJ
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AJ is 451 Marketing’s resident Visionary and Mad Scientist. The creator of the 451 Brand Bootcamp AJ brings over 12 years of experience in brand strategy, traditional marketing, SEO, public relations, advertising, and interactive marketing.
At 451 Marketing, AJ is the man behind the curtain. Besides overseeing market assessment and positioning, community relations, sponsor acquisition, strategic planning, and business development, AJ is constantly opening doors and forging strategic relationships for his clients. AJ has developed strong ties with Boston’s business leaders and government officials. Prior to co-founding 451 Marketing, AJ was a Vice President at Zeeo Interactive, Inc., an award winning interactive agency. Before Zeeo, AJ was the VP of Public Relations for AsiaFoods.com, where he helped build the online Asian food company from the ground up and help position it for a successful acquisition.
When he's not devouring information on new media communications, branding, or positioning, you can find AJ on the rugby pitch. Considered one of the best players at his position in the country, 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 or camping in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. AJ sits on numerous non-profit boards including Kevin Youkilis Hits For Kids, Christopher’s Haven, and the Ireland Chamber of Commerce USA.
GET TO KNOW: NICK
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Nick is 451 Marketing’s “Brand Poobah”, managing 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 bachelor 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 Somerville, MA with his wife Julia and their son William.
GET TO KNOW: GLEN
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Glen is 451 Marketing’s creative genius. Glen has over 24 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 designed 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: THOMAS
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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: JEFF
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Jeff is 451 Marketing’s “New Media Sherpa”, guiding 451’s clients above the clouds and into the world of new media communications.
Before joining the 451 Marketing Team, Jeff served for five years as Senior Web Project Manager for Natixis Global Associates, where he helped oversee the construction and management of the company’s websites and those of their numerous affiliates. Natixis Global Associates provides market-driven investment solutions to institutions, intermediaries, and individuals around the world. Prior to Natixis, Palopoli served as New Media Producer at ZEEO Interactive for two years and as Multimedia Producer at Show & Tell Interactive for a year before that.
A graduate of St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he competed for four years on the varsity golf team, Jeff began his career as a systems analyst for Merchandise Testing Labs and later taught as a computer technology teacher at Middleboro High School in Middleboro, Massachusetts.
