Executive Team:
Eyal Danon, President
As founder of Ignite Advisory Group, Eyal Danon is responsible for the company's uniquely effective approach to customer advisory boards. A former Chief Marketing Officer for privately held and publickly traded software comapnies, Eyal has worked with both private and publicly traded software companies that experienced dramatic growth amid changing business environments. During his tenure with NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) the company went from a $100M in sales to over $500M in five years, generating an incremental $1.3B of shareholder value.
Before launching Ignite, Eyal developed and operated highly influential user group and customer advisory boards that involved thousands of users as well as key executives from Fortune 500 companies. He has worked directly, among other leading companies, with FedEx, CitiBank, American Express, GE, JP Morgan Chase, Direct TV, Continental Airlines, Time Warner and Home Depot.
Eyal has appeared on CNN Headline News, NBC, ABC, as well as in Forbes, Fortune, BBC News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle and Business Week. Having worked as a leadership expert for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Eyal has excellent group facilitation skills and years of learning and development experience.
In addition to managing Ignite, Eyal speaks widely before industry groups, and consults directly with entrepreneurs and executives on marketing and leadership development. Eyal holds an MBA from Boston University and is a graduate of Columbia University’s Business School Executive Leadership Program.
He is the author of "Cracking the C-Suite, a practical guide to creating a shared future with your executive customers", a contributor to the book "Project 100 - Marketing in the Social Media Era" and the author of "Before the Kids & a Mortgage" - an inspiring travel novel, available in Hebrew, on a decision he took with his wife to travel around the world for a period of one year before having children or assuming a mortgage.
Yovel Badash, VP Customer Development
Yovel Badash has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial, marketing and international business development experience. Yovel's lifetime emphasis has been on the development of technology synergy, strategic alliances and product development aligned with market anticipation. Yovel held the position of Vice President of US Operations at Intellinx Software (a leader in the Insider Threat Security Market). Yovel also served as VP Operations for Sabratec Technologies (an Israeli innovator in Legacy Modernization) until its acquisition by Software AG (SAG), and remained a consultant for SAG on product integration and road map strategy for the Legacy Modernization software suite.
Yovel worked with leading tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, CA, Compuware, Software AG, and Yahoo which often materialized in OEM agreements, distribution/technology partnerships as well as M&A. Yovel holds a B.Sc. Cum Laude in Computer Science and Management from the Open University in Tel Aviv.
Merav Greidinger Sela, VP Client Services
Merav Greidinger spent the bulk of her career as an international marketing consultant, specializing in various aspects of brand equity, including brand positioning, new product/service design and strategies for penetrating new markets. Her work has often been based on qualitative research, including both focus groups and one-on-ones.
With a clear focus on maximizing long term business potential, Merav successfully led research and consulting projects for major multinationals such as AT&T, P&G and Unilever, as well as for young start-ups. Her experience includes a wide variety of product/service areas such as Telecommunications, Educational Software, Internet, Cable TV, Financials, OTC drugs and others. Merav holds an M.Sc in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University, Chicago as well as a B.Sc with honors in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technion Institute of Technology, Israel.
Walt Kania, VP Thought Leadership
Walt is a veteran B2B marketing writer and thinker, known for his sometimes unorthodox and contrarian approach to business writing. His work spans the gamut of start ups and Fortune 500 companies. Walt is especailly good promoting B2B tech companies, telecom and networking, insurance and consulting services. His forte is in explaining and simplifying complex concepts by finding fresh and innovative ways to talk about companies, products and services.
Walt is a great match for marketers working against established competitors, new firms who are looking for compelling ways to talk about what they do and companies that can't afford to sound like everyone else. Recent clients include Avaya, AT&T, Chubb, Panasonic, Ricoh, Medco Health, Schindler Elevator and National Datacast.
Marc H. Wallenstein, VP Business Development
Marc is focusing on developing and growing business channels for IGNITE. With more than 20 years of technology focused sales and business development experience in both commercial and government sectors, Marc guides IGNITE's sales management, growth and strategy and channel management. Most recently, Marc launched new market products for NICE Systems, the world's leader in contact center business analytics and security software.
As a co founder of Growing Companies, a consulting firm focused on sales and systems integration of CRM, supply chain and ERP, Marc negotiated multi-millon dollar transactions with both Fortune 500 and government organizations. A former adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, Marc earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Kent State University,