Mike King - President

Michael founded StriKing Marketing ten years ago on the principles of hard work, excellence in client service, and delivering value though attention to detail at every stage of the events lifecycle (process). He’ll tell you that 20+ years in the event industry have taught him that you have to “enjoy what you do, make a positive impact and outwork the next guy.”  It’s with this passion, resilience and drive, Michael has grown StriKing into an impactful presence in the marketplace.    

A master at assembling the right team to get the job done, Michael has worked with national and international clients such as American Express, AVON, Coca-Cola, GM, Kaiser Permanente, Major League Baseball, Pepsi, and Red Bull. 

In his spare time, Michael can often be found supporting the Atlanta Improv scene as one of the owners (and a performer) of The Village Theatre in the O4W.  He is also a huge U2 fan, a multi-year Atlanta Advertising Softball League champion and a cat fancier – especially if you’re talking about his two feline housemates: Linus & LT. 

Drew - VP of Staffing and Operations

Drew has spent his career focused on human and organizational performance.  After working for 6 years as a Production Manager in Public Relations and Advertising, Drew put his Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development to work for 13 years as a change management consultant with the Fortune 500.  He consulted with a number of well-known companies such as ExxonMobil Chemical, FedEx, Georgia-Pacific, and Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline).  

A few of Drew’s areas of expertise include:  client service, communications & stakeholder management, project and program management, teambuilding, and training design & development.  A HR Generalist with a strong attention to detail, Drew describes what he does as “getting the right folks in the right jobs doing the right thing at the right time.” 

Drew has been working with StriKing Marketing since 2011.  When he’s not managing the Kaiser Permanente account (it’s a busy one with 135 events per year) or working with our Brand Ambassador staff, Drew enjoys watching NCAA sports (football, basketball and baseball), sampling the offerings of local Atlanta breweries.  At any given time, he also very likely has a finger puppet in his pocket. 

Travis Irions - VP of Strategy and Operations

Travis is an award-winning business strategist with over 20 years of multi-level management experience. He uses leadership and problem-solving skills to help organizations reduce wasted time and money. He’s been improving businesses through process development/refinement, developing strategic training programs, and world-class client management for companies like The Home Depot, Rite Aid, Venetian Resorts, CDW, and the US Navy. He has worked for large companies like Wells Fargo and Citrix, and startups like Purchasing Power and The Kotter Group. His passion is helping businesses reach their maximum potential through creative solutions.

Ann Nelson - VP of Finance

Ann Nelson joined the StriKing in 2016 bringing a variety of business skills and experience to the rapidly growing marketing firm. 

Ann is responsible for payroll and financial management.

Prior to StriKing, Ann was employed by Georgia-Pacific Corporation where she served as operations manager for the Wood Products Sales and International Divisions. She was instrumental in streamlining systems and processes in the $2.5 billion per year business. In this capacity, she was also responsible for personnel and payroll support and provided training and performance support for more than 200 division employees. Additionally, she was the controller for the Vienna, Georgia, particleboard manufacturing facility.

After leaving Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Ann worked as vice president finance and administration for Hope-Beckham Inc., an Atlanta public relations firm.

Ann received an MBA from Georgia State University and lives in Marietta. She is the mother of one son, Sam, and the grandmother of the amazing, 10-year-old Drew.

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