FORA.tv Speaker - Peter Hirshberg

Peter Hirshberg is at the epicenter of the connected world of online conversation. His interests include about marketing, branding and customer relationships. A Silicon Valley executive with several high-profile marketing and branding related ventures, Hirshberg has led emerging media and technology companies at the center of disruptive change for more than 20 years. He is Chairman and co-founder of The Conversation Group, a fast-growing agency helping brands and enterprises with strategy and marketing in a world of empowered and connected audiences and customers. He is also chairman of the board of advisors of Technorati, the leading aggregator of user-generated content in the world, tracking over 100 million Weblogs and 70,000 posts per hour.

Previously Hirshberg served as president and CEO of Gloss.com, the online prestige beauty business co-owned by Estee Lauder Companies, Chanel and Clarins; he was Chairman of Interpacket Networks, the global leader in Internet-by-satellite (sold to American Tower in 2000), and was founder and CEO of Elemental Software (sold to Macromedia in 1999).

During a nine-year tenure at Apple Computer, Hirshberg headed Enterprise Marketing, where he grew Apple's large business and government revenue to $1 billion annually and helped lead the company's entry into the online service arena. After leaving Apple, Hirshberg's new-media strategy firm served clients including America Online, Microsoft, NBC Television Network, Estee Lauder, Pacific Bell and Silicon Graphics.

Hirshberg is a co-founder of start-ups Ideeli and Goodmail Systems, and serves on the board of Active Video Networks, and Aniboom. He is a Trustee of The Computer History Museum and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Hirshberg earned his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College and his MBA at Wharton.