Brian Tierney is the CEO of Brian and Realtime Media and is a nationally recognized expert in marketing and communications.
Prior to Brian and Realtime Media, Brian was owner and publisher of the Pulitzer-prize winning Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News as well as the Chief Executive Officer of its parent company, Philadelphia Media Holdings.
Brian has a distinguished record of building brands for some of the largest companies in the United States such as Exelon, Commerce Bank, Marriott, IBM, Deloitte, Aramark and Independence Blue Cross. He has launched several successful advertising and public relations companies, including T2 Group and Tierney Communications, which he grew to $275 million in billings and sold to the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG).
He has served as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has presented at the Milken Institute Global Conference and appeared on the BBC, CNBC, CBS, ABC and FOX. Brian serves on the board of NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) and Republic Bank (NASDAQ: FRBK), as well as several privately held businesses. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Thomas Jefferson University, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Brian received his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law and a Doctor of Humane letters from Cabrini College.
Ed Mahlman has created strategic advantages that deliver measurable outcomes for leading brands. Ed previously served as Chief Marketing Officer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, where he and his team created the nationally-recognized Media Lab™, Research Lab™ and America's first contemporary three-dimensional newspaper advertising.
Immediately prior, he was Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery. Turning around what had been 10 years of flat sales, Ed grew the business from two to three billion dollars, an increase of 50 percent, in just four years. Before that, Ed held several positions at Tierney Communications handling accounts such as Sunoco, Deloitte, Aramark, Verizon as well as several casinos.
Jodi Kerr is currently the Senior Vice President of Strategy and New Business Development at Brian. She has been with the company since 1999 and has been responsible for creating great ideas that trigger consumers to engage with brands, managing and executing national online, social and mobile promotional campaigns supporting major brand strategies. Some of her top-notch clients include Aol, Toys "R" Us, Comcast, Children’s Place, Unilever, eBay, Diageo, Martha Stewart, Maybelline and Novo Nordisk.
Many of her projects involve creatively applying new technologies and amplifying via social media including Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Vine and Twitter.
In 2012, Jodi won the PECO: Women Who Empowers Us Award. She is also involved with the Junior League of Philadelphia.
With wide-ranging experience in consumer packaged goods, education, cultural arts, luxury brands, healthcare and non-profit associations, Meg Kane brings a distinct perspective and terrific media relationships to her role at Brian. Whether offering strategic direction, messaging within crisis situations or creating targeted media plans for clients, Meg consistently focuses upon delivering results for agency clients while enhancing and/or protecting their brands. In this position, Meg has served as in-house, day-to-day counsel for The Philadelphia Orchestra during its high-profile bankruptcy and labor negotiations in 2011-2012, provides guidance for Horatio Alger Association’s National Visibility Campaign and is helping to lead the strategic communications efforts for the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, which may serve as Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from La Salle University (2003) as well as a Master's Degree in Strategic Communication, Crisis Communication and Political Rhetoric from the University of Maryland (2005). Elected to the La Salle University Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2004, she served as its President from 2009-2011. In October 2012, Meg was appointed to the La Salle University Board of Trustees for a five year term. In keeping with her Lasallian ties, Meg was appointed to the Board of Trustees for La Salle Academy in February 2013. She also serves on the Development/Communications Committee for Fred’s Footsteps, a Philadelphia-based non-profit that provides interim funds for otherwise financially stable families to help them handle the fiscal burden of a child’s illness or traumatic injury.
Leading the public relations department at Brian, Matt provides strategic direction for many of the agency's clients. Serving as one of the agency's top reputation counselors, he has most recently provided issues management, media training and change communications for clients such as Aramark, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Joseph's University, and Villanova University. Matt brings a breadth of experience having managed communications programs for clients across a multitude of industry sectors.
Prior to joining Brian for its launch in 2010, Matt spent six years rising through the ranks at Tierney Communications. Most notably, he oversaw the public relations efforts for one of the agency's largest clients. Matt also held positions at Comcast and Elizabethtown College. He lives in Ardmore, Pa. with his wife and two sons.
Michelle is an accomplished marketing communications professional with more than eight years of experience demonstrating expertise in all aspects of marketing, including media relations, digital communications, social media, internal communications, community relations, issues management and media training. As a Vice President, Michelle oversees strategic communication and content marketing campaigns for a number of clients including Widener University, Independence Blue Cross and the Newspaper Association of America.
Prior to joining Brian, Michelle served as the Public Relations and Interactive Communications Manager at Sesame Place as the park’s sole digital marketing and public relations team member. She also has worked with top brands and Fortune 500 companies, including Rohm & Haas, Campbell Soup Company, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and AmerisourceBergen.
Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from La Salle University.
Tara is an analytics maven. She brings more than twelve years of interactive marketing experience to Brian, as Senior Vice President, Operations, overseeing digital strategy, analytics, and media planning. In short, she gets the word out, and the word that matters is “results.” With a passion for data-driven marketing strategy and experience leading both agency and client-side teams, Tara maintains a relentless focus on measuring against the bottom line. Her integrated, innovative solutions hit the mark for Toys "R" Us, Royal Caribbean, Maybelline, Genentech, and Meijer.
Tara received her MBA from Arizona State University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with Honors. Tara has contributed to various articles and books in digital marketing. Tara was previously National Director of Media and Analytics at Band Digital, as well as Media Director at The Wharton School.
Aimee brings more than 14 years of experience working in communications in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. to Brian Communications as well as an extensive network of media and stakeholder relationships. She has a proven track record of creating results-driven, measurable media strategies and integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of clients including those in the healthcare, government, consumer packaged goods, gaming, sports, entertainment, and education sectors. From launching a full-scale marketing campaign at the Super Bowl to counseling corporate clients and C-suite leaders through issues and crises, Aimee lends a unique background and diverse perspectives to every new project. Prior to joining Brian Communications, Aimee served as the press secretary and communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health where she informed healthcare policy and communications strategies, in coordination with state and federal priorities. Aimee managed and counseled public health issues such as the programmatic and funding impacts of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for the department and public health partners, the Ebola crisis of 2014, myriad disease outbreaks, and the proposed restructuring of Pennsylvania’s state health centers and ensuing legal battle. She also worked closely with Governor Corbett’s and Governor Wolf’s communications teams to promote public health initiatives and served as the voice on public health on behalf of the state as the on-the-record spokesperson for the department.
Scott brings a deep knowledge of strategic communications, government affairs and public affairs. Previously, Scott was a Senior Vice President at Finsbury working on crisis and strategic communications. Scott spent much of his career with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter’s office starting as an intern and progressing through a series of positions, including Communications Director, to become Chief of Staff.
During his tenure with the Senator, Scott oversaw communications on numerous high profile issues including: two Supreme Court confirmations; immigration reform; and the Senator’s party change. He also assisted with communications related to the Senator’s position as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee.
He is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and holds a bachelor’s degree in government.
