Ben Kirshner, CEO & Founder
As the CEO & Founder of Elite SEM, Ben Kirshner is a best of breed search marketer and business leader with over 13 years of experience creating and building high growth search engine marketing, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing and online lead generation campaigns for multinational corporations and Fortune 1000 brands such as ideeli, Lauren Merkin, Tommy Bahama, Havaianas, Michael C. Fina, PlayFirst, Terminix, among others. Elite SEM, featured in Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2010, empowers multinational corporations and Fortune 1000 brands to increase their brand recognition, streamline online processes, reduce overhead, maximize ROAS and, in turn, generate long-term revenue growth and success. Kirshner has established a successful reputation and strong track record for recruiting and retaining a pool of highly talented, passionate and innovative SEM professionals through an entrepreneurial, self-motivated leadership approach and offering continuous professional mentoring and educational opportunities. Prior to founding Elite SEM, he founded CoffeeForLess.com, where his strategic insight and unconventional leadership style led the online coffee retailer to be named among Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Websites and the Inc. 5000 List in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Kirshner first got his start as an Account Executive at 24/7 Real Media before becoming a founding member of SendTraffic.com, a New York-based search engine marketing firm, which he played an instrumental role in growing from three to over 25 employees before the company was sold to Traffix, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRFX) in May 2004. In his spare time, he puts his digital know-how to use as an Adjunct Instructor at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The Gerson Lehrman Group, currently ranked in the top 2% of over 100,000 consultants worldwide, also retains Kirshner as a consultant. Among his many achievements, Kirshner has been featured in prominent news publications, including Wall Street Journal, BNET, MediaPost and B2C Marketing Insider.
Kirshner graduated from The George Washington University, where he received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Entrepreneurship and Tourism & Hospitality Management. He is also an active member of Entrepreneur Organization (EO) and serves on the Board of Advisors on the Marketing Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
To arrange media interviews or speaking engagements, please contact Ragini Bhalla at ragini@elitesem.com, or call (212) 863-9687.
