Our group leaders are successful business owners, so they have first-hand experience tackling the issues our members face. 
 
They have been trained to coordinate a group of ten diverse business owners, so that each member has a chance to express their concerns and get practical feedback from the group at each meeting. They maintain the magic element in Business Group meetings - where members support and help each other like a closely-knit family. 
 
Each leader has individual strengths that are accessible to members in all our groups. 

OUR LEADERS and THEIR BG LOCATIONS

MIKE VAN HORN San Rafael & Oakland, CA, has advised entrepreneurial companies since 1982, on how to grow their business and operate with greater ease and profitability. He has authored a dozen books for business owners, including Grow Your Business Without Driving Yourself Crazy.

HANK LEWIS Tahoe/Truckee, CA, has over 30 years of management consulting and hands-on business management experience in both large firms and small companies. He helps them achieve improvements in operational productivity and financial performance. Hank, along with his wife Eileen, is building a Business Group in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.

LARRY SMITH Tiburon, Southern Marin, CA, has guided small and medium-sized companies to high performance teamwork for 20 years. He shows his clients how to get more commitment, energy and creativity from their employees than they ever thought possible. His group meets in Tiburon. 

KAREN CLOTHIER San Francisco, CA, has worn many hats in her almost 25 years in the business world, giving her an extremely broad-based experience. Having had the experience of feeling trapped as a business owner and eventually burning out, she is passionate about helping other business owners enjoy their businesses AND their lives. 

ANDREE DRISKELL is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the business world. She worked for a top 100-enterprise corporation and now owns her own business. Andree has experience in sales support, proposal development, grant solicitation, business plan writing, operational management and staff supervision. Andree provides business development consulting to non-profit and for-profit entities, and her group will be in an Oakland business incubator.

DONNA MILGRAM, Alameda City & County, CA, has done training, consulting, and facilitation across the US. Her company provides educational institutions and employers with the tools to recruit and retain women in male-dominated occupations. She has run her own business for 11 years, and also runs a non-profit. She has in-depth experience in e-marketing, web site development, and e-commerce. Her company has over 20,000 subscribers to its monthly e-newsletter. Donna is committed to empowering small businesses to grow and reach their full potential while simultaneously enabling their owners to improve their quality of life.

DICK EIGENBROD, MBA, San Mateo, CA, made his name producing desired results in marketing, sales, manufacturing and productivity improvement as a senior executive in major corporations. He has managed new product introductions in domestic and international markets. He is noted for his skills in business development, managing co-marketing relationships, and creating and mentoring high-performance teams—for Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups.

ELLEN VAN DEN BERG, MA, Sonoma County, CA, has over 20 years experience in helping business owners optimize their creativity, energy and spirit to achieve more growth and profitability, better workplace relationships, personal satisfaction and freedom. Ellen brings a combination of real world business and organization development perspectives to her work. She emphasizes the interconnectedness of all aspects of a business and is very effective in helping create and implement marketing/sales, operational and financial strategies. She has been trained in negotiation and conflict resolution skills and is highly effective working with people in transition. Ellen is building Business Groups in the Sonoma County area.