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The Direct Marketing Club of New York Member Profile: Zachary Wilhoit, CEO of Ethnic Technologies

Date: Jul 08, 2015

The Direct Marketing Club of New York Member Profile

Ruth P. Stevens talks with Zachary Wilhoit, CEO of Ethnic Technologies

 

This article originally appeared in Postings, the member newsletter of the Direct Marketing Club of New York. http://dmcny.org/

1.  Please tell us a bit about Ethnic Technologies and its services.

Ethnic Technologies is at the nexus of the digital, social media and mobile revolution in marketing, and a parallel demographic revolution as the Millennial and multicultural populations become important audiences for today’s marketers.  With over 40 years of continuous multicultural ethnic, religion and language preference research, we’ve been able to create the market’s leading multicultural marketing data and software.  We connect our customers with valuable new and diverse consumers.

 

2.  How did you get into direct marketing in the first place?  Please tell us something about your career.

I graduated from the United States Naval Academy.  After spending some time jumping out of helicopters and other aircraft, the Navy sent me to MIT, where I completed graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture.  Later they sent me to get my MBA at Harvard University.  I spent most of my time in the Navy in Nuclear Submarine Design, Engineering and Acquisition.

I “retired” from the Navy as a Captain and was fortunate to receive some great job offers in a variety of industries.  However, the one that intrigued me the most was an opportunity at Acxiom, because it leveraged my background in technology as well as business.  Almost ten years ago, Ethnic Technologies was looking for a CEO, and I was blessed that they asked me to join them.

 

3.  Ethnic Technologies has long been an active supporter of DMCNY.  What motivates you to invest time and resources in this? 

The Direct Marketing Club of New York is an invaluable resource to our company, and many other leading firms in marketing, advertising and technology.  By participating in DMCNY events, our team interacts with new and existing networks of people to both grow our business and stay at the cutting edge of industry innovations.  The club is all about thought leadership.  Staying “plugged in” with the DMCNY helps us develop the multi-dimensional solutions that our customers need to be successful today.

 

4.  Congratulations to your team member Lisa Radding on her being named a Rising Star in direct marketing this year.  How does Lisa’s honor reflect on your company?

 

We are so honored that Marketing EDGE selected Lisa Radding as a Rising Star this year.  Lisa joined Ethnic Technologies right out of Syracuse University.  We firmly believe that having an extremely diverse team really helps us continuously improve and perform at the highest levels.  The only common traits we look for are ability and work ethic.

 

Lisa herself is a great example.  Lisa is an extremely capable “linguist” who became an expert in multicultural marketing and its digital applications by growing with the other members of the diverse team at Ethnic Technologies.  Lisa also leads our efforts at Ethnic Technologies to work closely with students and young professionals from Marketing EDGE, Harvard, NYU and other local colleges, enabling them to apply their expertise to today’s marketing initiatives.

 

The Rising Star award from Marketing EDGE recognizes Lisa’s achievements as well as Ethnic Technologies’s commitment to education, diversity and developing the next generation of marketing leaders.

 

5.  The list business is changing rapidly.  What are your plans for Ethnic Technologies over the next several years?

 

Ethnic Technologies is a data- and software-centric company, with a multi-channel approach that allows us to succeed in the list, digital, social media and mobile spaces.  Millennials, and even the majority of Gen X, prefer their interactive marketing via digital applications.  Our multi-channel approach lends itself perfectly to multicultural consumers as well, who also prefer new and next generation technologies.  To that end, we continue to expand our product suite to fit into not only the traditional list environment but also new and innovative marketing vehicles.

 

Ethnic Technologies contact:

Karen Sinisi, Director of Sales

Ethnic Technologies

Phone (866) 333-8324 ext. 117

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