An international business development expert ... a highly respected consultant to world-class clients ... a university instructor ... a celebrated writer ... and an incredibly energetic and dynamic public speaker, Ira Blumenthal is truly a modern-day business "Renaissance Man."

Mr. Blumenthal is founder and president of Co-Opportunities, an Atlanta-based business development company that counsels clients such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Exxon, Walmart, United Artists and others.

He has written numerous articles on change, marketing, business development, strategic alliances, branding, and other subjects and is the recipient of The George Washington Honor Medal for literary excellence. He is the author of Ready, Blame, Fire: Myths and Misses in Marketing, due out this year.

Mr. Blumenthal is an institute adjunct faculty member at Notre Dame University and a guest lecturer at Michigan State University. He is the recipient of the Educational Foundationšs highest honor presented for his commitment to business education.

He has been the focus of features and quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, BrandWeek, Entrepreneur, USA Today, People magazine and others.

As an entrepreneur, Mr. Blumenthal created and developed the first branded food court in an American supermarket. He was also the creator for both "Brand Building for Your Future," a history-making branding conference, as well as "Strategic Alliances for a Brand-New World," an innovative educational exposition on strategic alliances.

Although he is a highly successful veteran of food industry sales, marketing and management with multinational companies such as Sara Lee, his viewpoints and vision on business-building apply to all industries. And his wide range of experience gives him a broad base of knowledge to draw on and share in his speeches. For instance, he was a record-breaking athlete and member of a collegiate national championship team. He also was a college coach and pro sports team manager. A community leader, Mr. Blumenthal coaches three youth sports and serves on a number of boards, including Food Chain, a national organization focused on feeding the hungry.