Network9′ers
Founder, President & Chief 9′er: Carmen Yazejian
Carmen is a lifelong New Yorker whose Gramercy Park studio puts her on set in one of the most-filmed areas of New York. She is a hopeless romantic who admittedly falls in love with each project and every brand she works on. She works directly with every client to determine the design direction, concept, strategy, and puts together and manages every project team.
She knows what it’s like on the other side of the conference table. In the 80′s, Carmen co-founded and ran two companies. The first was Harrow Clothiers, a line of English Old Boy school blazers that earned a place in the coveted windows of Saks Fifth Avenue. The second was Pirelli Bags, rubber artist portfolios that rocked the art supply market and are still seen on the streets today.
Carmen has always been fascinated by the magical relationship of design and functionality. That duality drives her to push the limits of every project. Any one who knows her knows she is a fan of The Boss, so Bruce, if you are reading this, let’s have dinner! Her key to success is a job well done—whether that means growing the perfect tomato or taking a website live.
Our Left-Brain: Andy LoCascio, SEO Expert
Andy is the left-brain side to the right-brain design end of Network9′s team. Andy’s been in the SEO game since 2002—an eternity in web time. That was when he founded Sound Strategies, a company that provides a complete range of search engine optimization, programming and hosting. His competitive spirit drives him to be the best, and we can say he has not yet met his match. His passion for the science of search engine optimization almost exceeds his love of fishing. His team of analysts and cracker-jack programmers have custom-designed tools for keyword density, tracking and analysis, and built websites that are unique in their functionality. Andy is often involved from the very beginning of our projects. That way his SEO strategy influences the site from the architecture and navigation up. It’s one of the many benefits of having a resident SEO guru around.
Our Right Hand: Chris Garone, Senior Programmer
Chris is Network9′s prince of programming. He’s been building websites for over 12 years, and draws from a deep bag of tricks that brims with things both wondrous and arcane like PHP, JavaScript, MySQL and SQLServer, classic HTML, WordPress, custom CMS and Drupal—things few of us truly understand, but appreciate nonetheless. Chris is a teacher at heart, and his patience with code that misbehaves is boundless. He’s always up for catching a Yankees game, playing a round of golf (theoretically anyway, after all, he is a dad) or engaging in his most likely activity, picking a tune on the guitar.
Project Manager: Marc Eichen, Task Master
Marc’s career has been in technology since he got his hands on his first computer. He’s the guy you want when your email goes down. He has managed all aspects of information technology, including: administrative and academic computing; designing and implementing network and telephone services; desktop and help desk services; and academic and instructional computing. He managed a three-campus, full-time IT staff of 15 with an operating budget of $1.9 million. And that’s just the beginning. Marc uses his organizational skills to manage our website projects, and makes sure we stay on track to get the job done.
Creative: Elliot Kreloff, Designer
Elliot’s wildly impressive resume includes work for Scholastic, Macmillan, and Disney, with skills ranging from illustration to information design to, our favorite, web design! With a passion for visual communication, this experienced branding pro knows how to create an eye-catching design that expresses the needs and desires of his clients.
Creative: Bill Sommer, Designer
Bill is a master of creating brand logos and blowing it out to brochures, trade show displays and signage. His eagle eye and grasp of the client’s problems make his solutions appropriate and appealing at the same time. His work graces a major medical center, and his energy and passion are infectious.
Et cetera: Marisa Gertz, Assistant
You know those times when you feel like you need 4 arms and maybe an extra brain or two to get everything done? Marisa is those bonus appendages. A recent addition to the Network9 team, Marisa manages blogs, fiddles with WordPress, messes with Photoshop, and reminds Carmen when it’s time for lunch.