Markus Hoevener

Markus is a pioneer in the search engine industry with almost ten years of online marketing expertise.

During his studies in computer science and marketing at the University of Dortmund, Germany, he started developing a search engine specifically designed for the needs of the German marketplace. By 1996 he had co-founded evision, a company that specialized in the development of search engine technology. In 1999, he co-founded a VC-backed company, WAP Communications, to market wireless technology in Munich, Germany.

Apart from being a member of the Blendstrup & Associates team, Markus is founder and chief visionary of the Bloofusion Group, an online marketing agency with offices in Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz and Germany. Furthermore, he is one of the minds behind Goto-Silicon-Valley.com, the premier directory for Silicon Valley & San Francisco Bay Area business resources.

Andreas Mueller

Andreas’ roots are firmly planted in global marketing. He spent sixteen years in Germany, lived and worked in France, the UK and Japan. He has a Master’s Degree
from UC Davis.

He began his career in 1989 at Seagram & Sons in San Francisco. In 1994, Andreas was hired by the French software firm, Esker, and headed up
their global marketing department as VP of International Marketing. In 1997, Andreas joined the staff at JSB (later named SurfControl) in Scott’s Valley as
VP of Marketing. He helped the company go public, increased its global staff to over 350 and its market cap to over $1 billion.

Andreas has been a member of the Blendstrup & Assoicates team since early 2002. At the same time, he is co-founder and chief strategist of the Bloofusion Group, an online marketing agency with offices in Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz and Germany. Furthermore, he is one of the minds behind Goto-Silicon-Valley.com, the premier directory for Silicon Valley & San Francisco Bay Area business resources.

Thomas Listerman, Ph.D.

Born and raised in Sweden, after several years in Germany, Thomas came to San Francisco two years ago.  His solid PR background in healthcare, biotech, non-profit, and governmental organizations brings international public relations experience to Blendstrup & Associates.

Most recently, Thomas was an Associate with the healthcare PR agency Weisscomm Partners in San Francisco. Prior to that, he sucessfully managed the public relations of the organization Nordic Cooperation on Disability, which is active in all the Nordic countries, and the non-profit organization The Swedish Association of Survivors of Traffic Accidents and Polio in Stockholm, Sweden. Thomas is fluent in English, German, and Swedish.

Thomas holds a Ph.D. in Media and Communication Studies from Dresden University of Technology, Germany, and a Master’s Degree in Media and Communication Studies from Uppsala University, Sweden.  Results from his thesis ”Biotechnology in Press and Public” were recently published in the journal Public Understanding of Science.

Benedicte Ennis

Benedicte Ennis brings 5+ years experience in PR and Corporate communications to the team. She is a briefings expert preparing seniorexecutives for discussions with broadcast and written media with expert skills in cultural localization within EMEA. She has worked with CNBC, Sky B2B, and most of the European media and business communications channels.

Benedicte has held communications positions in high-tech hardware and software organizations including IONA Technologies and Gateway Europe. Her professional interests also extend to further improving and exploiting communication opportunities through cultural localization and embellishment of relations collatoral and combining business, government and the social contexts intrinsic to successful global communication relations.

Petra M. Jakobskrueger

Petra Jakobskrueger provides professional outsourced business services such as Virtual Assistance, Office Organization, and German Administrative Assistance
to Blendstrup & Associates’ clients. An expert in understanding the various facets of business administration, Petra brings over 10 years of hands-on, international experience to Blendstrup & Associates.

Petra has lived and worked in the United States and in a variety of European countries. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Suitbertus Business School of Duesseldorf, Germany. In addition to English, Petra speaks Spanish and German.

Calvin Hendryx-Parker

Six Feet Up co-founder Calvin Hendryx-Parker has 5 years of experience in fields as diverse as systems administration, graphic design and data architecture.

As systems engineer for Epylon, an enterprise-class company providing integration services to public sector entities, Calvin implemented ERP systems, deployed marketplace application servers and spear-headed network trouble-shooting.

Calvin is now applying his unusual dual background as an engineer and a designer to his recent entrepreneurship venture. As a Dir. of Engineering for Six Feet Up, a provider of web development and hosting services for small and medium size companies, he maintains the company’s infrastructure and leads the technology vision by constantly evaluating new products and technologies.

Calvin holds a Bachelor of Science in Technical Graphics from Purdue University.

Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker

Six Feet Up co-founder Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker brings over 8 years of experience in product marketing and project management. She has been working
with high-tech start-ups in the Silicon Valley for the past 5 years, providing companies with a strong customer-oriented vision and down-to-earth organization skills.

As Dir. of Marketing of Six Feet Up, a provider of web development and hosting services for growing business, she directs the strategic vision of the company’s growth, develops new business opportunities, and manages operations.

Gabrielle acquired her skills learning from the best: in Paris she worked for Eastman Kodak, Microsoft and NCR, where she was investigating and providing recommendations on the launch of several new products and services.

Gabrielle holds an M.B.A. in Marketing and Leadership from EM Lyon, France.She can be reached at .

Elisabetta Ghisini

Elisabetta Ghisini is a business communications consultant who specializes in international communication. She coaches senior executives on keynote speeches, corporate/investors presentations, and media interviews. Her background as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. allows her to understand her client’s business in depth and develop focused content and key messages.

As Manager of Communications at McKinsey & Co., in San Francisco and Milan, Elisabetta crafted high-impact communication programs for multinational companies. Her clients included HP, Sun Microsystems, Bank of America, Allianz, and RAS. She worked with Pacific Telesis to develop the successful bid for the first Italian cellular license.

Elisabetta is currently gives trainings at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where she teaches media training programs and interviewing skills workshops. She is the co-author of an upcoming handbook on US business communication for foreign-born professionals.

A native of Italy, Elisabetta Ghisini holds a Laurea degree in German Literature (a doctorate) from the Universita’ degli Studi di Milano; she is fluent in Italian, English, German, and Spanish.