ο Bruce Peters, Founder and CEO
ο Derek Vanderlinde
ο Mary Coombs, COO
ο Janet Anderson, Executive VP
ο Craig Flynn, Sr. VP, Strategic Mkts
ο Gwenn Marie, Writer / Facilitator
Before founding CABHQ and CEOHQ, Bruce enjoyed a 30-year diverse career as a lawyer, executive, entrepreneur and educator. In addition to a successful career in law, Bruce served as an adjunct faculty member at Rochester Institute of Technology where he taught courses in business and business law. In 1998, he joined TEC Worldwide, an international network of chief executives who meet in small groups to share experiences and develop solutions. As a TEC chair, Peters offered individual coaching for senior executives, and facilitated groups to help members reap the personal and professional benefits of peer learning.
Bruce's approach to CABs grew directly out of his work with CEO groups. A member asked him about setting up CABs for his company, PAETEC, a telecommunications firm with customers in 19 major markets. Research revealed there were few consultants offering CAB services and none treating CABs as a strategic-level tool. Bruce knew he had a valuable business service to offer.
Several years later, PAETEC has CABs in 33 regional and 37 major markets and CABHQ helps clients in a range of industries, including financial advisors.
Bruce draws on an extensive and varied background in business management to provide specialized consulting services to corporations and individuals. The diversity of his skills, knowledge and experience enables him to deliver solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs and objectives. Bruce’s formula for success combines his business experience, his people skills, a passion for his work and a strong sense of personal commitment to his clients. He applies this formula to every project he undertakes.
Derek Vanderlinde, REF Principal
Derek began his thirty-five year career in business after receiving a BA and MBA from Columbia University. He spent seven years in Corporate Finance at Drexel Burnham Lambert in New York City working in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, public offerings and consulting. In 1977 he returned to Rochester where he became CEO of a family business that produced average revenues of $10,000,000 and executed commercial and industrial electrical contracting projects throughout the eastern half of the U.S.
In 2004, Derek decided to pursue a passion that he has had for years and became a Principal of the CEOHQ Fellows organization. He was a member of the first CEO Fellows program and co-facilitated CEO Fellows III. Derek formed and is facilitating CEO Fellows IV and is in the process of forming CEO Fellows V.
He is an adjunct faculty member at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester where he is Director of the Simon program that places student interns with companies who are affiliated with the Center for Electronic Imaging Systems. Derek also has extensive experience as a board member in the not-for-profit sector where he currently serves on the boards of The Susan B. Anthony House and The Mt. Hope Family Center and has served in the past on The Allendale Columbia School (Chair) and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra boards.
Mary Coombs currently is the Chief Operating Officer of CABHQ, LLC. In that position she runs the day-to-day operations and directs the marketing efforts to assist in the growth of CABHQ.
Mary began her career in 1979, with the Rochester Products Division of General Motors. There she held a series of managerial positions spanning nine years including General Supervisor of Die Cast and Machining Operations, Industrial Engineering, and Employee Education and Training. Mary was responsible for over 250 United Auto Workers and General Motors salaried employees.
Mary and her husband Michael, co-founded Coombs Productions, Inc in 1986 and developed it into a successful marketing agency that has been recognized on the Fortune 500 list of fastest-growing privately held businesses. Since the partnership of Coombs, she has earned a number of marketing, branding, web, and business television awards, and consulting contracts.
Mary is an accomplished producer of media events and a team leader in all aspects of special event management and production. She co-created a satellite industry symposium for major corporations using satellite technology to communicate with their customers and employees. Clients include: Toys "R" Us, New York Life, ITVA Foundation, Weight Watchers of America, Xerox, Novell and Toro.
She marketed a Fortune 500 company media center to internal and external customers, resulting in a sales increase from $1.5M to over $4.0 in less than a year. Also expanded their services, enabling them to offer total event management services.
Mary directed the Coombs team through brand execution for Xerox Global Services and Duke Power Business Services, and re-branding efforts at Duke Energy Corporate.
In her role as CEO and President of Coombs Marketing, she created a company culture that complemented their key brand attributes (i.e., provocative thinking, flawless execution, and exquisite customer care).
Mary received a BS from St. John Fisher College.
Janet Anderson, Executive Vice President, CABHQ
Janet is an executive with more than twenty years of experience in international marketing and business management. Consistent with her passion for customer satisfaction and business success, Janet has joined the leadership team of CABHQ, LLC. As Executive Vice President, Janet leads strategic customer advisory boards and provides consulting services for corporate clients across a wide range of markets.
Janet joins CAB HQ following a long-standing career at Eastman Kodak Company. In her most recent position in charge of the worldwide marketing organization for the Entertainment Imaging business of Kodak, Janet led cross-cultural and cross-functional teams to achieve common objectives and delivered new Academy Award® winning products to market with high customer satisfaction and increased market share.
Previously, as Regional Marketing Director and Sales Manager based in Geneva, Switzerland and London, England, Janet’s leadership stretched across more than 35 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Well-known for her public speaking, Janet has made numerous presentations to audiences in Europe and the US.
Janet established a solid track record in product lifecycle management early in her professional career. She successfully led the start-up of a consumer digital business, where she developed strategy and led market entry for award-winning high-tech consumer products through collaboration with hardware and software development groups from Asia to Silicon Valley. Janet also held several marketing and management positions in Kodak’s printing and publishing business.
Active in the community, Janet is an adjunct professor at the Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a member of the Alumni Council and Executive Programs Working Group at the Simon School, and actively supports fundraising initiatives for the performing arts. She also provides consulting and coaching services for HTR (High Tech Rochester), a not-for-profit organization focused on the economic development of new and emerging high technology businesses in the Greater Rochester area. Janet recently joined Renaissance Executive Forums as a facilitator and group member.
Janet is a magna cum laude graduate of Wellesley College, with concentrations in Mathematics and Economics. She received her MBA in Finance and Marketing from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. Following many years in Europe, Janet and her family currently reside in Pittsford, New York.
Craig Flynn, Sr. VP, Strategic Markets,
Renaissance Executive Forums, Upstate NY
Craig Flynn has acquired or started seven business ventures in his 27 year career. The majority of his work has been in engineered components, subsystems and engineering services. He piloted his most recent acquisition, QV System, Inc., to profitability in 2008 from a serious loss in 2006. An international boutique consultancy, QV System (with partner Toyota Engineering Corporation of Nagoya, Japan) specializes in the Toyota Management System and serves heavy vehicle, aerospace, consumer, electronics/software and fashion industries in both product development and executive development projects. In addition to the entrepreneurial skill set, he has nearly three decades creating customer value, leading major account sales teams at major corporations around the globe: IBM, Xerox, Carrier/UTC, Boeing, Volvo and others.
Craig has participated in or led CEO peer learning groups for 10 years in the US. He will be organizing new peer groups for Renaissance Executive Forums in Syracuse and Buffalo, NY.
He graduated in 1979 with an MBA from William E. Simon School of Business, The University of Rochester; and holds a BA, honors, from SUNY Buffalo (1975).
Gwenn Marie, Writer / Facilitator
Gwenn Marie is an accomplished and practiced communicator and writer with a varied and successful professional path – from teaching to television production to business consulting and strategic marketing. Her life-long writing career started in 1st grade with her prize-winning essay about her visit to the Wonder Bread factory. She majored in English education and taught 7th grade English in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Then she landed the role of an on-camera host for NBC in Washington, DC.
She produced, wrote, and hosted a number of regular series for ten years, including the weekly 3-hour live Sunday Show. Gwenn took that experience into corporate America as a consultant, writing and producing programming for private satellite TV networks – precursors of today’s webcasting technologies.
As a strategic communications consultant, Gwenn has collaborated with top leaders of American business icons like Eastman Kodak, Domino’s Pizza, New York Life, Federal Express, Xerox, and Duke Energy. She’s developed and written hundreds of speeches and presentations for CEOs and marketing teams, live TV programs, press and analyst briefings, training videos, information CDs, marketing brochures, and websites.
Along the way, Gwenn has devoted years to practical study and inquiry, earning a Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology. She is a trained facilitator and has assisted many business teams in identifying and planning successful sales and marketing strategies, customer outreach programs, and communications campaigns.
As a writer/facilitator for CABHQ, Gwenn brings that wealth of business experience and insight to the process of enhancing the customer experience. She’s a strong believer in the benefits of transforming the purely “transactional” business model (the customer as purchaser) to the “relational” business model (the customer as a valued partner), building informed customer relationships that are more creative, profitable, and ultimately, more satisfying.
