Board Member / CEO – Chief of Staff / Senior Advisor

PERSUASIVE LEADER

Michael Arlen
The Wizard of Win-Win, and the King of Kumbaya."

A proven international business leader, influencer, and spokesperson with significant accomplishments in a variety of fields and industries.
An approachable pioneer with footnotes in the fields of sales automation, desktop publishing and e-commerce revolutions, who has consistently generated growth and profits through:
  • innovative advertising, marketing, and sales strategies;     
  • the development of niche-filling products in medical education, food  and emergency services industries; and        
  • the fulfillment of advertising, marketing and public relations needs for hundreds of    small businesses and over 70 Fortune 1000 companies.

A combination of entrepreneurial insight for high-potential win-win opportunities, combined with business operations experience, legal acumen and the psychology of deal-making, has empowered him to successfully build-up organizations through the development of compelling business cases with actionable operating plans, which maximize competitive advantage in challenging markets. 

Michael can:    
  • Identify and develop strategies to meet emerging profitable growth opportunities
  • Develop and launch new products and services
  • Transform under-performing operations into profitable ones
  • Identify and cultivate win-win alliances and partnerships
  • Persuade, negotiate and sell ideas at the Board Level
  • Recruit, mentor and motivate high-performance cross-functional teams

Tri-lingual: English, Spanish and Portuguese.
A big-picture visionary who is bottom-lined focused.

Michael can quickly:
  • Assimilate and provide value;
  • Develop trust and achieve buy-in from disparate groups; and
  • Create common vision and consensus.

He’s an empathetic leader, who can heal divides, build consensus, and turn ideas into action.

Timeline

  1. -
    Founder / President / Creative Director, Arlen Advertising

    Hired, trained and managed creative and sales teams to embrace new technology to accomplish more, in less time. Created budgets and supervised day-to-day operations of what grew to become $28M/year International enterprise. Opened and managed offices in Los Angeles, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Mexico City.

    - Grew small start-up into one of Los Angeles’ Top 25 Ad Agencies (in billings) for 12 consecutive years.
    - Acquired over 70 Fortune 1000 Companies as clients; kept most clients from five to 15 years.
    - Forged an alliance with 11 So Cal Newspapers to run special advertorial section for the PIHRA Foundation.  
    - Rallied all 11 newspapers to cooperate again the following year and convinced La Opinion, the Korea Times and the China Daily News to translate and publish the materials into Spanish, Korean and Mandarin, respectively.

    Concurrent with running of Arlen Advertising, underwrote start-up projects under Arlen Advertising umbrella:

    - Founder / President / Distributor, YourLogoOnIt.com / Division of Arlen Advertising. Launched one of the first online providers of promotional items. Developed affiliate marketing and co-branded sales channels with major associations and trade groups. Contract manufactured unique promotional items in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mexico.

    - Partner / Vice President of Marketing, ShoppingNet Int’l. (ShoppingNet.Com) / Joint Venture with Arlen Advertising. Launched one of the first online aggregators of direct mail catalogs focusing on overseas purchasers. Contracted for site development in English, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. Conducted sales presentations in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Shopped idea to independent investors and venture capital firms. The company was purchased by a Korean firm in 1999.

  2. -
    Founder / President / Publisher, Arlen Medical Education Products, Division of Arlen Advertising

    Designed triage-focused medical education products that popularized a new, nationwide standard delivery of care.

    - Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
     Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
    - Neonatal Resuscitation (NR) and
    - Asthma Guidelines

    Changed way emergency medicine was taught in medical schools; and paved way to train and certify Allied Healthcare professionals in delivery of life-saving emergency care, so medicines could be administered without presence of a MD.

    Created and sold pocket references to be used as promotional items by universities, associations and pharmaceutical firms. Cultivated a loyal clientele base of over 10,000 healthcare instructors, hospitals and medical schools. Developed strategic alliances with authorities in the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.

  3. -
    Founder / President / Creative Catalyst, NEWtritious LLC

    Conceived first under the umbrella of Arlen Medical Education Products and then formalized as a Limited Liability Corporation in 2012. Developed novel, vertically integrated business model, which enlisted biggest influencers and consumers as stakeholders. Lowered barriers between buyer and seller and created collaborative environment which enhanced quality circles and fostered valuable first-to-market opportunities to develop innovations that fulfill unmet needs.


    Formulated, Branded and launched six innovative product lines:
    - Kherb Appeal®: A Delight-Full™ instant pudding that suppresses appetite and provides balanced nutrition.
    - Instant NEWtrition®: A savory alternative to those sugary-sweet meal replacement shakes.
    - HHice Cream® Probiotic Defense: A soft-serve frozen yogurt with a label claim for “supports immunity.”
    - Alpha Omega®: A vitamin and mineral booster that can be incorporated into one’s own recipes.
    - Haute Tomato®: “Your multi-vitamin never tasted this good!”™ Virgin Bloody Mary Mix. Just add water.
    - Function-ala-Teas®: Instant Teas with functionality.

  4. -
    Management Support, Enterprise Rent-A-Car

    Gained valuable (ground floor) perspective on challenges facing management of today’s workforce, perspectives which can’t be observed from corner office or ivory tower. Honed sales and customer service skills and shared "Boomer perspective" with Millennial co-workers and Management.

  5. -
    Managing Partner, Disruptive Feed

    Manage the licensure and distribution of content developed from a consortium of Independent Pod-Cast Producers. Actively involved in the Ideation, Development, Marketing and Sales of programming.

Proudest Accomplishment

Raising 6 kids (3 of our own) who have proven to be greater than the sum of their genetic PARenTS.

Experience Highlights

  • Launched one of first online aggregators of direct mail catalogs focusing on overseas purchasers.
  • Contract manufactured promotional items and launched one of first e-commerce sites to sell them.
  • Acquired over 70 Fortune 1000 Companies as clients; & kept most of them for more than a decade.
  • Grew small start-up into one of LA’s Top 25 Ad Agencies, a $28M/year International enterprise.
  • Cultivated loyal clientele base of over 10,000 healthcare instructors, hospitals and medical schools
  • Created triage-focused medical education materials to introduce new, nationwide standards of care.
  • Formulated, branded and launched six innovative functional food product lines.

Education

  • Bachelor of Science
    UCLA
  • Juris Doctorate
    Loyola Law School

Causes

  • Highlight Title
    economic empowerment
  • Highlight Title
    The Environment

Interests

  • Music, Arts & Culture
  • Education
  • Health & Welfare