For over 30 years, Dean has demonstrated his ability to accelerate companies, stimulate business development and make operations more efficient. He harnesses the ever-evolving power of technology, paired with his consulting, coaching and training skills to implement sound business practices. Using the power of online social networks as well as traditional media, he has helped numerous clients pack the room for events and establish their online and media presence as well as countless company, brand, product and service launches. He co-hosted and produced Chicago’s well-known WLS890 AM’s morning talk show for two years, “The Real Deal” which focused on consumer awareness in the financial and real estate markets during the most incredible market down-turn in our time.  Dean uses every tool available, weaving aspects of every medium to achieve the end goal and accelerate his clients’ business growth.

At Forward Progress, Dean leads his core team to provide integrated marketing solutions using a proven coaching and consulting methodology in driving business growth.  Committed to delivering both “Lowest Cost per Lead” and “Converting Leads to Sales,” Forward Progress has helped over 4,000 corporate clients assess and improve their online marketing and social networking results and have trained over 35,000 people in over 25 countries with their online programs.  As an experienced CEO and business owner, Dean also coaches senior executives in publicly and privately held companies, using his proprietary Power Plan System to identify the appropriate strategy, map out a clear direction, structure the team and execute the plan within an aggressive timeframe.

In 2003, Dean led a 4 year initiative for General Growth Properties on a series of projects to create one of the largest valued lead generation programs in the company’s history. He then worked with the senior officers of General Growth to architect, develop and implement the first automated deal flow system, Deal Maker,  so that contracts nationally could be controlled by the centralized Chicago Operations. This system allowed senior management and board members to have immediate access and complete visibility to the flow of deals and all associated financial data for the first time in the company’s history.

Even early in his career Dean was fortunate to be involved in cutting edge projects. He started his career in 1981 at Merrill Lynch hired on as a member of the computer operations team. His operations team was responsible for the clearing of all trades and supervising the expansion of the first data center in Chicago, coordinating with global team leaders and processing all trades for five new major markets.  Dean was also responsible for training, operating and controlling telecommunications and transmissions world-wide for all supported exchanges on one of the largest Intranets available at that time.

Dean’s extensive list of clients and professional relationships have included: Sears, Discover, Blue Cross, State Farm, Allstate, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, General Growth Properties, Baird & Warner, Precision Homes, OwnACondo.com, RealEstateAuctions.com, BankREOs.com, U.S. Residential, Buyers Equity Fund, BOMA, BDO Seidman, Mitsubishi, Cardinal Health, Cheap Tickets, National Pen, The Popcorn Factory, Envestnet, CBOE, Con Agra, RE/MAX, Cendant, Chicago Realty Advisors, Lee Publications, Fast Heat, Merrill-Lynch, The Wright Leadership Institute, Jupiter Communities, American Family Insurance, Keller Williams and MBNA Credit Services.