Kenyatta D. Berry

Current

Advisor at Story of My Life
Director, Global Advertising Sales at Association for Professional Genealogists
CEO at Azani Media

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Past

Director of Marketing, Academic Solutions at SunGard Higher Education
Director, Product Marketing at Saba
Product Marketing Manager at Jenzabar, Inc.

Director, Global Services at Blackboard, Inc.
Director, ASP Solutions at Blackboard, Inc.
Manager, ASP Solutions at Blackboard, Inc.
Business Development Manager at Blackboard, Inc.
Associate General Counsel at Apex Global Information Services Inc.
Associate Corporate Counsel at Apex Global Information Services, Inc.

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6 more...

Education

Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Michigan State University

Recommended

5 people have recommended Kenyatta D.

Connections

361 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

My Website

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Summary

Strategic and tactical professional with over ten years progressive experience in Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Product Marketing and Law.
• Proven track record in planning, building and launching successful software products and services.
• An experienced manager with a talent for conceptualizing and communicating vision, motivating stakeholders, and fostering consensus for the attainment of common goals.

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Specialties:

Marketing, Strategy, Sales, Operations, Business Analysis, Research and Writing

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Experience

Advisor

Story of My Life

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

May 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)

Provide strategic advice to senior management of the world’s largest collection of online Stories of people’s lives.
Director, Global Advertising Sales

Association for Professional Genealogists

(Online Media industry)

September 2006 — Present (2 years 11 months)

Responsible for global advertising sales for the APG quarterly trade publication.

• Managing existing account relationships and developing new business
• Responsible for developing an account selling strategy, forecasting revenue, oversee the entire sales operation from pre-sale through an account’s entire lifecycle.
• Preparing quarterly pipeline reports for the Executive team and Board of Directors
• Developing and distributing media kits to potential advertisers
• Preparing quarterly ad sheets for the Executive Editor
• Creating an annual report outlining advertising income by quarter and by advertiser.
CEO

Azani Media

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

June 2004 — Present (5 years 2 months)

A lifestyle management company that provides consumers with access to information that connects generations, strengthens family bonds and improves lifestyles.
Director of Marketing, Academic Solutions

SunGard Higher Education

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

September 2008 — May 2009 (9 months)

• Designed and executed go-to-market strategies and programs, including demand generation, awareness activities and product promotions to support specific Academic go-to-market initiatives, translating high-level objectives into workable tactics.
• Developed strategies to establish the company as market and thought leaders for each initiative, working across industry groups and other relevant industry organizations.
• Planning, managing and driving integrated product launch efforts focused on accelerating time to market and revenue generation.
• Developing and coordinating integrated marketing programs to build awareness, generate demand and retain customers.
• Driving development of sales training and tools, including sales presentations, marketing, collateral, web content, white papers, etc.
• Partnered closely with the sales team on initial sales efforts for new products and solutions.
• Developed and lead cross-functional teams as part of the go-to-market planning process, collaborated with product, marketing, sales and other counterparts.
• Worked with key counterparts to identify and support new areas of market opportunity (i.e. creative bundling, verticals, channel expansion).
Director, Product Marketing

Saba

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; SABA; Computer Software industry)

June 2007 — September 2008 (1 year 4 months)

Responsible for marketing Saba Learning, Saba Centra and OnDemand solutions in the Saba Human Capital Management (HCM) suite.

• Business owner (including owning P&L analysis) for Saba Learning, Saba Centra and a cross-suite of products
• Defining Market Requirements (MRDs) for Learning and cross-suite products and solutions
• Creating Go-To-Market (GTM) plans for Saba products and aligns marketing plans with overall Integrated Marketing Plan.
• Responsible for creation of sales tools including presentations and collateral
• Assisting in the development of Online Marketing campaigns
• Working with key analysts on market studies, surveys and reports
• Managing product launches internally and externally
• Providing support for product awards and reviews
• Responsible for a product track at the Annual user conference
• Subject matter expert and go to person for a cross-suite of products
• Spokesperson and demonstrator of Saba products and services suite in the marketplace
Product Marketing Manager

Jenzabar, Inc.

(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Computer Software industry)

May 2005 — May 2007 (2 years 1 month)

• Developed the business plan, web strategy and product direction for an award winning portal, e-learning and CRM software products generating over $10M in annual revenue
• Responsible for working with cross functional teams including product development, marketing, sales and product management to develop requirements and launch portal, e-learning and CRM software products.
• Advocate and evangelist to internal and external clients for Jenzabar’s web portal, e-learning and CRM software products.
• Developing relationships with key partners in the e-learning, portal and CRM industries
• Determine key industry trends and competitive information in collaboration with the Market Research Group
• Develop product positioning, key messages and product roadmaps that are compatible with the company’s overall vision.
• Create Market Requirements Documents (MRDs) that translate market needs into high-level feature sets
Director, Global Services

Blackboard, Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; BBBB; Computer Software industry)

May 2002 — February 2005 (2 years 10 months)

• Built and managed a business generating $10M in sales annually representing 30% of Blackboard’s overall annual sales
• Developed a cross-functional team approach for the creation and launch of new global services.
• Generated over $2M in annual sales with the launch of a targeted support service
• Created targeted go-to-market campaigns, sales strategies and detailed competitive analysis.
• Responsible for analysis and strategic initiatives around profit and loss of new service development
• Increased customer satisfaction through formal account planning and review processes
• Negotiated and implemented major customer and partner contracts
Director, ASP Solutions

Blackboard, Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; BBBB; Computer Software industry)

April 2001 — May 2002 (1 year 2 months)

• Built and managed the ASP Solutions business generating $6.5M in sales annually representing 15% of Blackboard’s overall annual sales.
• Led the ASP Solutions business through rapid growth and increased year to year sales over 180%
• Managed over 40 staff members in the ASP and Support Solutions groups
• Increased operational efficiency 50% by developing service level standards, standard processes and staffing plans.
• Worked with Business Development and Executive Management teams to improve the partner selection process, as well as dissolve existing relationships that were counterproductive to the corporate mission.
Manager, ASP Solutions

Blackboard, Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; BBBB; Computer Software industry)

January 2001 — April 2001 (4 months)

• Led cross-organizational product teams to create, execute, and implement service offerings resulting in potential revenue over $1M
• Developed and implemented a pricing model that increased average customer revenue by 47%
• Improved internal and external communication resulting in increased customer retention and renewal rate of 98%
Business Development Manager

Blackboard, Inc.

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; BBBB; Computer Software industry)

September 2000 — January 2001 (5 months)

• Created the first generation of the Blackboard Building Blocks program paving the way for the development of a multi-million dollar corporate initiative
• Worked with Product Development to create define requirements for partner products
• Developed and managed a pipeline of over 50 partners within three months
• Developed several channel-specific programs to achieve market penetration and profitability
• Evangelist for the Blackboard Building Blocks program building internal awareness and support of strategic benefits of partnership and secured appropriate resources across the organization
Associate General Counsel

Apex Global Information Services Inc.

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)

September 1999 — March 2000 (7 months)

• A member of the executive management team responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Office of General Counsel
• Provided legal and business advice to Executive Management, Sales, Finance and Product Development
• Managed and developed pre-IPO materials, including an S-1 filing and debt memorandum
• Facilitated trademark and copyright audit and filings
• Addressed all legal and business issues for partnership agreements averaging $2M including working with the sales and executive management teams to communicate opportunities and risks
• Coordinated legal issues with outside counsel including organizing due diligence for mergers and acquisitions activity
Associate Corporate Counsel

Apex Global Information Services, Inc.

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)

May 1999 — September 1999 (5 months)

• Analyzed, documented and communicated the impact of shareholder lawsuits to Executive Management and the Board of Directors
• Worked with federal law enforcement agencies to resolve unsolicited commercial email, network security, identity theft and internet fraud issues
• Managed pretrial litigation documentation, review and coordination with outside counsel
• Developed and evangelized the industry’s first telecommunication network peering policies at regional Internet and Telecommunications conferences

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Education

Thomas M. Cooley Law School

J. D. , Corporate and Internet Law , 1995 — 1998

Certificate of Merit, Constitutional Law
Dean's List

Activities and Societies:

President, Computer Law Society
Editor, Computer Law Society Newsletter
Columnist, Thomas M. Cooley Newspaper
Member, Black Law Students Association
Michigan State University

B. A. , Business Administration , 1990 — 1994

Dean's List

Activities and Societies:

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
National Association of Black Accountants

Additional Information

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Websites:

My Website

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Interests:

Golf, Travel, Luxury, Genealogy, Poetry, Writing, Creating,World History, Internet, Technology, Media, New Ventures, House History and Family Health History

Kenyatta D. Berry’s Groups:

Afro-American National Biography Project, W.E.B. DuBois Institute, Harvard University
Association for Professional Genealogists, Professional Issues Committee
Genetic Alliance
National Genealogy Society
Council Member, New England Historic Genealogical Society
Silcon Valley Capital Club, Young Professionals Business Committee
Sloan Work and Family Research Network, Boston College
State Bar of Michigan
The International Society of Genetic Genealogy
The Partnership, 2007 Fellows Program
Virginia Genealogical Society