WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast: Rising from the Depths of the Pandemic

Presented by First National Bank LI. Member FDIC.

Streaming Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 9 AM EDT

Submit your questions for Joe Connolly and the panel here or tweet us using #WCBSBizBreakfast.

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Many industries have gone through a seismic shift in the last 15 months, and now, business owners are looking for new growth opportunities and ideas to reinvent their companies for the post-pandemic economy.

WCBS Business Reporter Joe Connolly will host the WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast, presented by First National Bank LI, with a panel of New York business leaders in health, technology, marketing, and retail. You can stream the WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast here and the WCBS 880 YouTube channel on Thursday, June 17, 2021 beginning at 9 AM.

Dr. Alexi Nazem, M.D., MBA was ahead of what has proven to be a critical shortage in nursing staff when he founded Nomad Health in 2015. The company digitizes the healthcare hiring process to help clinicians be fully staffed while managing crises more effectively and efficiently. It also points healthcare professionals to career opportunities and higher paying jobs.

Nazem, an internal medicine specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, saw a sharp rise in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitals scrambled to fill positions and healthcare workers from around the world stepped up to aid in the fight.  His goal is to transform the healthcare industry with Nomad Health by scaling innovative solutions to issues exacerbated in the pandemic.

Shoptiques.com is a marketplace for more than 5,000 boutiques across 2,000 cities and 30 countries. This e-commerce site provides sales support to small businesses, including housing a point-of-sale system, an affordable mobile app, and an integrated marketing platform. Lindsay Lightman, Shoptiques Chief Marketing Officer, is taking the company into a new age using new technologies and proven digital strategies to help small business owners mange inventory, scale digitally, and reach new customers – essential to rise from the pandemic.

Andi Jennings owns New Jersey-based marketing agency MadCreek, LLC, which recently added digital strategy, video production and tech consulting to its traditional branding and advertising services when the pandemic accelerated a shift in consumer behavior to e-commerce. Seven of their top team members are mothers; MadCreek’s pivot into the work from home environment seemed seamless. They are sharing their expertise with their clients, including Rutgers and Seton Hall University’s athletics programs, AAA, and a number of local businesses and non-profits.

“We made them look professional so they can continue to work during the pandemic,” said Jennings. She will share how to organize your business to grow despite the economic uncertainty on the WCBS Virtual Business Breakfast, presented by First National Bank LI. Member FDIC.

You can share your questions for Joe Connolly and the panel by submitting the form on this page or Tweet @WCBS880 and @JoeConnollybiz using #WCBSBizBreakfast in your post.

MEET THE PANELISTS

About Alexi Nazem, Co-Founder & CEO of Nomad Health:

Alexi Gharib Nazem, MD, MBA, is the co-founder and CEO of Nomad Health, the first online marketplace for freelance clinical jobs. In addition to leading Nomad, he is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell in New York.

Previously, he led field operations for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s successful 100,000 Lives Campaign.

Alexi trained in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston after receiving an MD from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. He also holds a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale.

About Lindsay Lightman, Chief Marketing Officer of Shoptiques, Inc.

As Chief Marketing Officer of Shoptiques inc., Lindsay is responsible for developing and managing the companies B2B and B2C marketing strategies; as well as identifying and negotiating strategic partnerships. This includes overseeing the Shoptiques.com marketplace customer acquisition, marketing, merchandising, and support; developing and growing Shoptiques Managed Marketing Services for luxury boutiques; and building the Shoptiques SaaS offerings designed for small business owners, focused on helping small get smarter.

Lindsay joined the company in 2018, as Head of Support & Business Development, bringing her over 7 years of experience in global marketing and relationships. In this role, Lindsay helped bring to market Shoptiques first tech product, SPOS; was tasked with bringing new business into the portfolio; and developed account management and technical support for Shoptiques VIP boutique partners.

Prior to joining the organization, Lindsay served as Director of Global Strategic Market

Development & Chief of Staff to CRO at True Fit. During her tenure at True Fit, she nurtured long-lead retail relationships with enterprise retailers like Nordstrom, Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren. Lindsay managed the global events strategy, PR and communications, and social media marketing, developed a client success program and marketing strategies for retailers to grow customer adoption of True Fit, and facilitated the onboarding of new retail brands onto the True Fit SaaS Platform.

Lindsay received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Linguistics from Occidental College in California.

About Andi Jennings, Founder & Creative Director of MadCreek, LLC:

Andi Jennings has spent 25 years in the advertising and design industry with the majority of her career leading MadCreek, LLC as founder and creative director.

With an award-winning design portfolio, and a history of diversity and longevity in the MadCreek client roster, their extensive, brand management experience, top-line creative direction expertise, and strategic digital and social management, allows them to stand the test of time and keep their clients current.

MadCreek’s clients include the athletic programs at Rutgers University and Seton Hall University, Union Catholic High School, AAA, Hoboken Cultural Affairs and JustinTime Foundation.

They are guided by a strong belief that their job is to function as a problem-solving tool and find ways to turn any idea into reality.

Andi recently realized that her lust for creativity and problem-solving had no boundaries. She dove into multiple labors of love, creating art societies and town-wide ‘art walks,’ managing fine artists, and co-writing children’s books. She tackled interior design projects, taught software applications, and has even written short stories and memoir essays.

Her newest adventure is co-founding “Project CheerUP!”, a positivity movement, uniting cheerleaders to “CheerUP!” the world, literally.

The WCBS Business Breakfast series with Joe Connolly is produced by Neil A. Carousso.