Mr. Rowland Hanson

Former Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft,CEO, he is now CEO of The HMC Company (www.thehmccompany.com) and Chairman of CRH & Associates (www.crh-associates.com). While at Microsoft he created and executed the company's highly acclaimed branding strategy which included the market introduction of Microsoft's most popular product?a graphical interface that he named "Windows?. The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on November 20, 1985, achieved little popularity. It was originally going to be called "Interface Manager" but he, as the head of marketing, convinced the company that the name ?Windows? would be more appealing to consumers. Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an "operating environment" that extended MS-DOS, and shared the latter's inherent flaws and problems. The second release of Microsoft Windows, version 2.0, came out on December 9, 1987, and used the real-mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasking system like DESQview, which used the 286 Protected Mode. Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with Windows 3.0, released in 1990. In addition to improved capabilities given to native applications, Windows also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory. Several books published on the history of Microsoft document the strategies executed that led to the dominance of the Microsoft and Windows brands. Prior to Microsoft, he served as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Neutrogena Corporation, a skin care and cosmetics company that registered phenomenal growth thru new product introductions and global partnering before being acquired by Johnson & Johnson. J&J acquired Neutrogena for a significant premium after determining that, while it could certainly replicate the products, it could not replicate the strength of the Neutrogena brand. It was the successful branding strategies being executed at Neutrogena that captured the attention of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Together, Bill and Steve convinced him that he should leave Neutrogena and help them in their quest to change the world by applying the proven branding strategies to a new emerging industry called software. As the saying goes, the rest is history. He has a BBA from Loyola University and an MBA from Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania). Over the last several years, he has served as a consultant, CEO, president, and board of directors member of several emerging companies. He served as President, CEO, and Chairman of Amaze Inc., a multi-media software publisher with such popular products as The Far Side, Trivial Pursuit, Bloom County, and Berlitz theme computer calendars and screen savers. He negotiated the sale of Amaze to Delrina Corporation. He was a founder, CEO, and Chairman of iTravel Corporation, an exclusive developer of multi-media travel guides for United Airlines, United Vacations, and the travel agency network. He negotiated the successful sale of this company to StarPress. He was a business development consultant, branding consultant, and board member of The Nautilus Group (NYSE: NLS), the developer and marketer of such brands as Bowflex, Nautilus, Schwinn Fitness, and StairMaster. In January 2002 he founded The b EQUAL Company. The company's mission was to strengthen the bonds between children and parents by creating games that made learning a fun, interactive, family event. Its partners included A&E (The History Channel / Biography), National Geographic, DreamWorks, and Discovery to name a few. In 2005, the company was sold to Specialty Board Games (SBG) of Toronto Canada. Prior to the sale of The b EQUAL Company, he consulted to a wide range of companies including Erchonia?; the world's leading developer of low level lasers for therapeutic and aesthetic healthcare applications. Most recently the company launched Zerona?; the first non-invasive body contouring laser that effectively removes excess fat.