About Ben Foster
My name is Ben Foster and I am a Corporate Strategist focusing on Social Media Strategy in Chicago, IL. I work for Allstate, but please note: My postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent anyone else’s positions, strategies, or opinions. This blog was set up to help me “Learn By Doing”, a piece of advice my grandma gave me when she said, “Just like anything in life, you have to learn by doing.”
I borrowed this format for my “About” page from Jeremiah Owyang because it’s simple and clear.
Ben Foster
ben@benphoster.com
Twitter – @benphoster
Summary of Professional Experience
- Allstate – Senior Strategy and Content Manager – Social Networking
- Drive Allstate’s strategy “To Reinvent Protection and Retirement for the Consumer” through Social Media.
- Example: Good Hands (SM) Community
- Allstate Financial – Innovation Manager
- Created strategies, processes, and governance structures to drive organizational innovation
- Kuczmarski and Associates – Consultant
- Consulted with clients to develop innovative new products and services
- General Electric – Market Development Manager
- Developed complex extranets that used asset modelingto drive sales
- General Electric – Six Sigma Black Belt
- Managed quality improvement projects for a commercial function leading to Six Sigma certification
- General Electric – Information Management Leadership Program (IMLP)
- Worked in US and Europe to execute technology strategy projects
Stuff I’ve Done
Interview with ZDNET: Allstate ensures community through collaboration
Interview with Insurance Tech – 4 Technology Solutions that Sizzle
Ad:Tech New York (Nov. 5, 2009) – “The Twitter Effect (Reprise)”
Ad:Tech Chicago (Sept. 2, 2009) – “The Twitter Effect”
- Ad:Tech Chicago Blog
- Tweet Success: How Brands Can Leverage Twitter
- Marketers Must Follow “Rules” on Twitter
Enterprise 2.0 Keynote Panel (June 24, 2009)- “Does Social Media and Marketing Matter”
- Bill Ives Summary of the Panel
- Column 2 – By Sandy Kemsley – Summary
- Fast Forward Summary of the Panel
Education
Personal
- Family – My wife Suzie is my best friend
- Baseball – I love the Chicago Cubs and, to a lesser extent, the New York Yankees
- Music – I currently listen to Indie Music. My all-time Top 5 are Phish, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, and Nirvana
- Fine Dining – My favorite restaurants are Alinea (Chicago), Moto (Chicago), Boulevard (San Francisco), Buddakan (New York), and Penny’s Noodle Shop (Chicago)
