Ben Foster
Adjunct Faculty - College of Communication | Ketchum, DePaul University
Greater Chicago Area, IL, UNITED STATES
SVP Digital Strategy at Ketchum and Adjunct Faculty at DePaul University
Biography
Ben Foster is a Vice President and Digital Strategist for Ketchum Midwest in Chicago. In this role, he provides strategic guidance on Integrated Social Media for clients including Gillette, ConAgra Foods, Nestle-Purina, FedEx, and Kimberly Clark.
Ben also is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Graduate Program at DePaul University’s College of Communications where he teaches Social Media Strategy and Public Relations.
Prior to joining Ketchum, Ben was the Senior Strategy and Content Manager for Social Networking. At Allstate, he helped create Allstate’s Social Media group and provided strategic leadership to Social Media initiatives related to Allstate's vision of reinventing protection and retirement for the consumer.
Before joining Allstate, Ben was a management consultant specializing in innovation strategy where he helped develop the processes and governance structures required to create and sustain a culture of innovation for clients in the US and Mexico.
Ben began his career at GE Capital where he worked for numerous GE businesses across the United States and Europe in Six Sigma and Technology Strategy.
Ben holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Economics and Finance and a BS from Miami University in Marketing and Management Information Systems. He is also a GE Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Industry Expertise (3)
Advertising/Marketing
Social Media
Internet
Areas of Expertise (4)
Social Media
Integrated Marketing and Social Media
Online Reputation and Crisis Management
Content and Media - the Future of Personalization
Education (2)
Miami University: BS, Marketing and Management Information Systems 2000
Named as the Outstanding Senior in the field of Industrial Marketing for the Class of 2000
The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business: MBA, Finance and Economics 2006
Affiliations (2)
- University of Chicago - Booth School of Business
- University of Chicago Graduate School of Business - Private Equity and Venture Capital Club
Links (2)
Event Appearances (5)
From Social Media To Social Business
Mega Congresso Brasil Sao Paolo, Brazil
2011-05-26
KEYNOTE - Does Social Media and Marketing Matter
Enterprise 2.0 Conference Boston, MA
2009-06-24
Movements by Marketers
Respect the Internet New York, NY
2012-10-01
From Social Media to Social Business
Social Media Week Chicago Chicago, IL
2011-10-25
Why Large Companies Should Work With Startups
TechWeek Chicago Chicago, IL
2011-07-25
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Corporate Training
Social