michaeljbarber

Hiya, I’m Michael Barber 👋🏼

Recovering consultant and agency leader—now leading marketing teams at mid-market, B2B organizations. I’ve been fortunate to spend the last 18 years helping organizations grow, ensuring teams thrive, and developing impactful work for global brands.

 
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About Me

I lead the marketing team at Grow Schools. We help school leaders get where they want to go by providing money and resources so they can create thriving schools. 

I’ve been super lucky to work with incredible teams of people at brands, including Aptean, Ithaca College, MeUndies, Johnson & Johnson, Ubisoft, JLG, and Johnson Controls. Our work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.

Outside the office, you will find me honing my relatively unhealthy obsessions with donuts, cold brew, planes, BMWs, the Arizona Wildcats, and my dog Manny.

Resume

Want the paper version? Here you go.

Experience

VP, Marketing
Grow Schools
Jan 2023 to current

Founder &
Marketing Strategist

barber&hewitt
Jan 2020 to Dec 2022
Feb 2015 to Jan 2018

SVP, Chief Creative Officer
Godfrey
Feb 2018 to Dec 2020

VP, Strategy
COHN
Nov 2011 to Jan 2015

Account Director
Nomadic Agency
July 2007 to June 2010

Account Executive
Sitewire
Sept 2006 to Sept 2007

 

Board & Advisor Experience

Major Donor Committee
SMYAL     
Jan 2021 to current

Advisor
Clinician Nexus (acquired)     
Aug 2016 to Sept 2021

Board Member
Humane Pennsylvania
Feb 2019 to current

Leadership Committee
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society   
Jun 2015 to June 2018

 

Education

B.A. Communication
University of Arizona
2002-2006

 

Honors and Press Mentions

Marketo, an Adobe Company, Fearless 50

The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

Forbes

 

References

Kim Brater
Former Client
503-803-6767

Kate Bajlović
Marketing Strategy Manager at Fulton Bank
717-669-4347

Bridey Orth
Vice President, Creative at Godfrey
borth@godfrey.com

Scott Kaufmann
Founder, Highnoon
480-219-7257

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Speaking

From Copenhagen to Berlin, from Oslo to Canada, and all over the U.S., I’ve been lucky enough to serve audiences around the globe. I’ll happily speak on topics including customer experience, email marketing, marketing automation, and digital strategy. Here is a sample of that work.

 

Interviews and
Podcasts

My first boss, Jay Baer, taught everyone he led that we must be lifelong learners. Whenever I have the opportunity to share what I’ve learned or give back, I do so. Here is a sample of those efforts.

 

Marketo Fearless 50

In 2018, my team at Godfrey nominated me for Marketo’s Fearless 50 honor. The program recognizes top marketers around the world driving bold, fearless, marketing, and digital transformation. I was honored to named to the inaugural class.

 

TwentyThree

The team at TwentyThree reached out to get my two cents on video, webinars, and the future of how brands use video at INBOUND 2019.


The Speaker Lab

Grant Baldwin and Melanie Deziel were kind enough to ask me on The Speaker Lab Podcast. We talked about how to be you on social media, the speaking business, and more.


The Heart of Business

Andy Shore and Daniel Miller asked me to join them on their wonderful podcast, Heart of Business. It was a fun chat. We talked about my British Mum, marketing agencies, what makes great content, the importance of email marketing, and more.


B2B Growth Show

The team at Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency for B2B brands, asked me to join Logan Lyles and talk all things email and B2B. We discussed authentication, personalization, and measurement.

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References

Michael has an incredible ability to think both strategically and tactically about everything marketing oriented. His leaders will tell you he brings an innovative approach to all projects and his peers will share his creative approach allows them to achieve even greater engagement and satisfaction with their clients. His team will tell you he inspires them to develop their skills, personally and professionally. His friends will tell you he goes the extra mile for all those he cares for, and he excels in his genuine approach. He’s a quality human with incredible attention to detail in everything he does. He’s an asset to every team, the stage he speaks on, an event he partners with, and any audience he serves. Highly recommend him.
— NEEN JAMES, Sales and Leadership Female Keynote Speaker: Attention Pays
Michael lives and breathes all things digital, brand, marketing. Every minute of every day. He brings together strategic thinking with his technical delivery and sound marketing expertise. I’ve been working with Michael for many years and it’s a pleasure to have him part of our team.
— KIM BRATER, former client
Michael is one of the brightest, sharpest, strategic minds. He is aggressively ambitious with a keen eye for opportunity and a business sense beyond his years. He’s hungry...and he funnels his passion into whatever objective is at hand; client goals, career and home life. He’s not one to sit and watch the pack go by — he leads. I admire his energy, passion for people and marketing savvy. Should the opportunity present itself to work with him again — I’d do it in a heartbeat.
— JOSH YEAGER, former colleague
There are few digital marketing experts that can both instruct and inspire — Michael Barber is one of them. A consummate professional speaker with an innate knack for distilling complex ideas into digestible concepts, Michael’s approachable yet authoritative style keeps attendees engaged, inspired, and thinking outside the box.
— PAIGE PIRES DE ALMEIDA, Directory of Strategy, TechMedia

Say Hello

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