team
Members of the Think! Inc. team have many years of real world experience with Fortune 500 firms, industry and government in the areas of negotiation on both the sales and procurement sides.
The Think! team offers a rare combination of excellent academic background, extensive ‘real world’ sales and sales management expertise and a caring and attentive approach to client service. Members of the team have diverse experience working with Fortune 500 companies, industry and government. Their respect in the industry is evident by their high demand for speaking engagements, presentations and published articles.
Leadership Team:
Max H. Bazerman, Ph.D.
Founding Partner
Max H. Bazerman is the Jesse Isador Straus Professor of Harvard Business School and an executive committee member of the Harvard Program on Negotiation. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Dr. Bazerman (B.S.E., University of Pennsylvania; M.S., Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon University) was on the faculty of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University for 15 years. He was named the J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations in 1989, and in 1991, became the J. Jay Gerber Distinguished Professor. From 1998-2000, he was the Thomas Henry Carroll Ford Visiting Professor of Business Administration and Marvin Bower Fellow at the Harvard Business School, Harvard University. He accepted a permanent position at the Harvard Business School in 2000. He is also formally affiliated with the Kennedy School of Government, the Psychology Department, and the Program on Negotiation. During 1989-90, he was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California. He was the founder and director of the Kellogg Environmental Research Center, and is on the board of a number of non-profit organizations.
Brian J. Dietmeyer
President, CEO
Mr. Dietmeyer is a 20+ year veteran of sales, marketing and strategic planning. As Vice President with Marriott International, he led the National Account, Territory Management, Telemarketing and Teleconferencing Sales Forces. He’s a frequent public speaker and had published articles on Negotiations, Marketing Research, Business to Business Relationships and Adding Value. Mr. Dietmeyer is the author of two books: Strategic Negotiation and B2B Street Fighting. He has been VP of Marketing on the Board of Directors for National Account Management Association and was the Chairman of the MPI Education Foundation Board. He completed his undergraduate studies at DePaul University with a degree in Liberal Arts. He holds a Masters Degree in Management from The JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and he’s a graduate of the Executive Development Program at the Aspen Institute/University of Maryland. He is also a certified Sales Trainer.
Carrie Welles
Vice President, Global Customer Management
Ms. Welles is a seasoned sales executive with a majority of her career centered on the Strategic/Global Account Management profession. Her role at Think! Inc. includes business development, workshop facilitation, and managing strategic customer relationships. Her experience includes VP, Business Development with a privately held start-up company with an offshore operational model in India. Prior to that, Carrie held a 15-year career at Marriott focused on National, Global, and Strategic Account Management. She contributed to the creation and implementation of Marriott’s first Strategic Account Management model and strategy, in addition to managing the global complex business relationship between Marriott and their largest accounts. Carrie has been a member of Strategic Account Management Association since 1993 and has been on the Board of Directors since 1999. Carrie also serves on the Northern Illinois University Sales Advisory Board. She is a graduate of the Executive Development Program at the Aspen Institute/University of Maryland and holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado. Carrie, her husband John Minorini, and their four children reside in Lake Bluff, Illinois.
Joe Gordillo
Vice President, Business Development
David Knopfler
Vice President
Erwin Peter
Managing Director, Europe
Dean Kelly
Managing Director, Asia
Leo Schoenhofen
Director, Customer Solutions
Leo has more than two decades of business leadership experience and most recently was a managing partner at a Chicago-area real-estate development firm. Prior to that, he spent several years at Sandoz Agro, where he held positions such as Director of the Specialty Business Division, Manager of Business Development, and Manager of Finance and Administration. However, Leo’s leadership skills extend beyond the professional realm. He is a mentor and facilitator at Victories of the Heart, a 3,000-member nonprofit that helps men build relationships with their families and communities. In addition, he has completed more than 400 hours of study at the Matrix Leadership Institute, which explores organizational behavior and group dynamics. Leo has a masters in management from the J.J. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a masters in science from North Carolina State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College.
Marie D. Dudek
Director, Sales Operations
Marie joined Think! Inc. in 2001 as the Marketing and Operations Manager. Her background includes eight years within Marriott’s National Account Organization in several areas including implementation of Sales Force Automation and office management. Prior to that, Marie held several positions within a ten year period in procurement for A.L.P. Lighting & Ceiling Products, Inc. Marie graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1995 where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree, graduating with honors, in Hospitality Management while attending night school, working and raising two beautiful children. Marie currently lives in the Orlando, Florida area and volunteers with several non-profit organizations altering the conversations out in the world about thriving while living with mental health conditions. Her work also includes educating the general public on the enormity of suicide in our world while supporting those affected by the suicide of a loved one.
Leina’ala Plekavic
Client Diagnostic Analyst
Leina’ala has worked in the production department for Great Lakes Graphics, in client services for Kirkland and Ellis law firm as well as a dental assistant before joining Think! She is the mother of two boys, River and Chance, a part time musician (singer/songwriter) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Think Consultants
Think! has assembled a team of nearly twenty top-notch consultants who are experts in their field. They are not simply trained on negotiation consulting. Rather, they each offer a wealth of experience in sales and sales management from some of the largest corporations in the U.S., representing a variety of industries. They’re professionals who’ve worked negotiations from the sales rep’s side of the deal and they are well qualified to help you dramatically improve your organization’s negotiation strategy.