Dave Balter

Dave Balter is the founder and CEO of BzzAgent, Inc., one of the advertising industry's most recognized word-of-mouth marketing and media firm. He launched BzzAgent in 2002, and since that time the company has established itself as the leading provider of word-of-mouth services for the world's most esteemed brands, including Anheuser-Busch, Levi Strauss and Ralph Lauren. Under Balter's leadership, BzzAgent has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. In January of 2006, the company closed a groundbreaking $14MM round of institutional financing.

Balter is an international speaker on the topic of word-of-mouth marketing and holds a provisional patent in the process and systems of word-of-mouth marketing and research. He co-authored Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, which has become the industry's seminal business title. Dubbed a "serial entrepreneur" by The Boston Globe, Balter built and sold two promotional agencies prior to forming BzzAgent. Prior to launching his own companies, Balter spent a number of years working in customer loyalty capacities for companies including Kessler Financial Services, where he managed direct marketing and affinity program implementations for Fortune 1000 clients. He was named to the "40 under 40" by the Advertising Specialty Institute in 2001 and "Top 7 Individuals Changing the Face of Beauty" by Women's Wear Daily. Balter earned a B.A. in Psychology from Skidmore College.