Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Ben Austin brings to the Festival 15 years of marketing experience at three early-stage companies: Comet Systems won Best Marketing Technology from Adweek Magazine and saw its software installed by 30 million unique users. The software’s reach (on a zero advertising budget) made Austin a featured speaker at the AdTech and Viral Marketing shows, and the company was sold to Miva Direct in 2004. Beatnik, where Austin Directed Sales & Marketing, has had its software installed on more than a half-billion mobile handsets worldwide. Music technology concern Opcode Systems, where Austin served in many roles up to Vice President of Sales & Marketing, was sold to Gibson Guitars in 1998.
In 2004, Austin worked as the marketing and communications lead for Caroline Kennedy at New York City Dept. of Education, highlighting the effort to raise private funds for the NYC public schools, of which he is a graduate. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Adweek, Advertising Age, Reuters, AP, and PC Magazine.
Austin began his career as a scientist. He received a BS in Chemistry with honors and a BA from Stanford University and worked as a molecular biologist at Rockefeller University and Genentech.
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