Hawthorne Direct

As the company's president and CEO, Thomas contributes extensive skills in team building, leadership, financial management, information systems development, market development, strategic planning, revenue growth and overall company operations. He has been involved in business management and corporate sales since 1977. He is the principal leader who plans, develops, supports, and establishes policies and goals of the organization as requested by the Board of Directors. He is responsible for the ongoing development and refinement of in-house technology, systems and procedures to fulfill customer needs while pro-actively responding to the constantly changing industry demands. In his previous role as Vice President of Media Services, he was a founding member of the National Infomercial Management Association (NIMA) Media Council, and is currently a member the Board of Directors of the Electronic Retailing Association. He also serves on the Board of a non-profit organization that is devoted to funding ongoing research and care for cancer and other life threatening diseases.

Dr. Stephen S. Kelley, Chief Technical Officer, is responsible for the information systems of Hawthorne Direct. This includes information systems, system architectures, Internet advancement, systems administration, Intranet management and back office support and development. He also handles all related policies with the guidance of CEO/President Thomas Kelly. Stephen manages the Hawthorne Direct information systems team. He was previously President of VirtuState Inc., a software consulting company. For 4dgames.com he was the Vice President of Programming where he developed a complete video game. At coolcall.com he served as the senior systems architect. There he developed Voice Over IP and supporting systems. Stephen holds a Ph.D. in high-energy physics from M.I.U.

Mark Ratner - Senior Vice President - Marketing Services / Account Management, has led the account teams of some of the most successful DRTV campaigns in history. He participates in every aspect of each client's campaign, from creative & production to media to integrated marketing. Major clients in his portfolio include Nissan, Discover Card, Apple, Aero Products, US Navy, Oreck, One World Live, Telebrands, Bose, Jenny Craig and many more. Quoted frequently in direct marketing publications and a sought-after speaker and panelist, Mark is a known as a pioneer in direct response marketing. He has been involved in the direct response industry for more than a decade. He led the development of TimeTrack (the first and most sophisticated software for analyzing direct response media and providing clients with on-line, real time media information). Mark is actively involved in industry associations including ERA and DMA and regularly attends trade shows including ERA, DRTV, International Housewares Show, PGA Show, COMDEX, International Hardware Show, The Supershow and others to exchange knowledge, information and ideas about the direct response industry.

Gene Silverman - Vice President - Marketing Services / Account Management, is responsible for ensuring that each campaign is impeccably managed on behalf of our clients. Gene has been recognized as a leader in the direct response industry since 1989 and has been quoted in TIME magazine and has spoken at conferences as an expert on DRTV. Gene was President of hawthorne direct before stepping out on his own as an industry consultant for Time Life and QVC. He has worked on highly successful DRTV campaigns such as Fantom Vacuum, Braun Handblender, Thermoscan Ear Thermometer, Jet-Stream Oven, and numerous Time Life music and video products. He has extensive knowledge in managing every aspect of direct response television campaigns and integrating electronic and traditional marketing channels.

Jim Hall - Vice President - Creative Solutions, is an award winning creative direction/writer, brand architect and marketing strategist. He has over 30 years of experience in general advertising, branding, marketing, interactive media and DRTV. He is a member of hawthorne's leadership team pioneering Brandmercials including Nissan, Apple, DiscoverCard, Nikon, Jenny Craig and Interactive Network. Jim is former Senior Vice President Marketing/Branding/Advertising for Xceed, Interactive Architects. He was a co-founder and the Vice President of Marketing for Webley Systems, a voice activated unified communications service. He served as CEO of The Hall/Olmested Agency based in Orlando and New York.

Kristi Moran - Vice President Media Services, is responsible for the management of hawthorne 's long- and short-form media buying team, systems and operations. This includes working with hawthorne 's media buyers and account management teams, television station contacts, and clients to ensure that the media campaigns managed by hawthorne are as profitable and successful as possible. Kristi is involved in all aspects of media planning, buying and analysis for the agency. Kristi was most recently media supervisor for Mercury Media where she managed the team of media buyers and assistants for both long- and short-form. Kristi has also worked at WnR Direct Response as media director, and at Prime Time Direct and Western International Media as a media buyer. Kristi is a member of the Direct Marketing Advertising Community (DMAC) and served as membership chair from 2002-2004.

Mary K. Papp - Director of Media Account Management, serves as the primary backup for Rich Contino, vice president of media account management and campaign development. Mary oversees all telemarketing, fulfillment and web integration for hawthorne's clients. She manages the media account coordinator team. She also assists Rich in the planning, training, and implementation of all new initiatives or assigned projects within media account management. This includes reporting revision advancements and systems upgrades. Mary works directly with clients on a day-to-day basis, monitoring their media results to ensure maximum profitability and performance. Her portfolio of clients includes Oreck, Bose, TeleBrands, Time Life, Wagner and OWL. Mary began working for hawthorne direct in February of 1996. She first worked in new business development and later in media. She was the manager of media operations and assistant to the vice president of media. She then moved into the media account management department as a media account manager and was shortly promoted to senior media account manager. Mary's background prior to hawthorne includes serving as the marketing product manager for a brick and mortar manufacturing company.

Randal K. West - Vice President - Creative Director, has over a decade of direct response TV experience, producing both Long- and Short-Form DRTV pieces for national clients, along with corporate and instructional videos, documentaries, music videos, fitness videos and traditional general advertising spots. Randy helps to form and define creative premises for hawthorne's Long- and Short-Form DRTV productions, in collaboration with the client and the creative team. He also produces, writes and directs various productions. He has garnered many of the most prestigious awards in the DRTV industry and beyond. Among them are: 20 Telly Awards (international competition in broadcast television), 7 Vision Awards (international competition in broadcast television and industrial video), 12 Aegis Awards (international television production), 15 Videographer Awards (international competition in film and television) and 6 Axiem Awards (international video and television competition).

Tim Hawthorne is considered by many to be the "Father of the Modern Infomercial." As Founder, Chairman, and Executive Creative Director of Hawthorne Direct, Tim brings to his company and staff of 80 professionals not only a wealth of intensive experience in broadcast television producing, directing, writing, and editing, but a vision of what interactive advertising can become. Tim is author of the direct response classic, The Complete Guide to Infomercial Marketing. This is a must-read for anyone considering the immense opportunity using Long Form DRTV Marketing. Tim is a co-founder of the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) and a sought-after speaker, delivering over 70 presentations worldwide. In September 2006, Tim received ERA's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Creative Director, Paul Allen, is a well-known DRTV veteran with more than twelve years experience. He has won numerous awards for his writing, producing and directing and quite likely has had more shows ranked in the top 50 of the IMS report than any other single person. His expertise at crafting successful Long and Short Form campaigns has put him in high demand. At Hawthorne Direct, Paul oversees all aspects of the creative process on both DRTV and Videoactive projects, from concept through completion. He works closely with clients to ensure their goals are met and that they receive the most powerful creative executions possible across all channels. He specializes in seamlessly integrating his clients; document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));

Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Account Executive, fosters service-oriented relationships with the Hawthorne's clients. Her client care includes envisioning, creating, and executing a company's advertising plan. Hawthorne-Castro's approach is hands-on and responsive. She has joined forces with her father, Tim Hawthorne, as the next generation of Hawthorne Direct. Her reputation in Hollywood speaks for itself, and her familiarity with Los Angeles is helping Hawthorne to expand the agency's growing presence there. Hawthorne-Castro was formerly a successful television literary agent for Hollywood's Endeavor Agency, a leading full-service agency representing talent, writers, directors and producers for television and feature films. Representing a long list of Endeavor's top television talent, she identified and negotiated staff opportunities for shows that aired on all major broadcast and cable networks. She packaged all the key elements needed to develop TV shows, and worked regularly with CBS, Fox, NBC, HBO, USA, Bravo and others. In this capacity, she assisted the creators of several top-rated TV programs, such as Entourage, The Office, Heroes, 24, and Law and Order.

Karla Crawford Kerr, Senior Account Executive, works with prospective and existing clients, evaluating products for direct response television (DRTV) viability, handling public relations, assisting with trade show and event planning and other duties in the marketing and sales arena. She works closely with Mark E. Ratner and the client services teams to coordinate and track all projects with the agency. She has served as the primary client contact for a number of Hawthorne's key clients. Her portfolio of accounts includes Nikon, U.S. Karla has been an active member of the Direct Marketing Association Broadcast Council for the past four years and is currently is in her second year as co-chair of programming. She was named 2004 volunteer of the year by the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA). She has chaired the ERA Education Committee for four years, is on the ERA Awards Task Force and served as an ERA Awards judge in 2005 and 2006. You can see Karla regularly as an anchor on the Hawthorne Videoactive Report .

Steve Schott, Executive Producer, has over 25 years of experience in production and distribution of live theater, motion pictures and television projects. Steve has worked for leading Hollywood distribution companies like Telepictures/Lorimar and RKO Pictures. He has also successfully run his own distribution company. Steve's motion picture and television production experience includes The Final Season, a feature film starring Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook and Larry Miller, as well as movies with Dolly Parton, Valerie Bertinelli and Henry Winkler. Steve has produced pilots, series and musical variety specials for CBS, NBC and ABC, including Carol & Co. and The Carol Burnett Show for Disney Television, The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show, and The Jeff Foxworthy Show. Steve has negotiated and worked with other stars like James Garner, Christopher Reeve, Larry King, James Belushi, George Clooney, Haley Joel Osment, Terry Bradshaw and many others. Prior to joining the Hawthorne team, Steve was President of his own independent production company, 1ST Schott Productions, Inc., where he produced national, regional and local film commercials, infomercials and videos for companies like Pioneer Hi-Bred, Winnebago Industries, Lawn-Boy, Wal-Mart, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, AT&T Cable, Iowa Lottery, Hy-Vee, and many more. Steve is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA).