Sarah Gerdes is credited with establishing outsourced partner development (BMGINC) as a category for consulting services and products in 1996. Sarah grew this niche by first consulting with small businesses, then applying her best practice methodologies to Fortune 500 firms such as Microsoft, Sony, American Express and IBM. Her successful programs led to multiple revenue-generating licensing, distribution, joint venture and joint development agreements, as well as managing the sale of client companies to Global 100 organizations. This track record led to profiles in Fortune Magazine, Inc. Magazine, The Economist, Entrepreneur Magazine, and speaking at leading academic institutions such as Harvard, Stanford and MIT. By 1999, she had provided counsel to private and public companies in more than 35 industries, and the economic development groups of Ireland, Canada and Government of Britain. In 2002, Sarah authored Navigating the Partnership Maze: Creating Alliances that Work (McGraw-Hill Trade) which was subsequently translated into Chinese. Her articles have appeared in dozens of mainstream business publications, and she has supplied expert commentary to print, radio and television programs such as NRP and CBS. Sarah was named a top 10 Young Entrepreneur in the US by Entrepreneur Magazine, a Forty under Forty by Venture Northwest, and a Young Millionaire by Inc. Magazine and given other awards recognizing her achievements in business. Today she continues to consult to F500 firms and small businesses and serves on the board of non-profit and privately-held companies. She is also the mother of two, and has authored mainstream adult and time-travel adventure series.

Roger Gerdes, Managing Partner

Roger Gerdes is a recognized thought leader and expert in the area of messaging, collaboration, and commercial social networking solutions built on the Microsoft platform. Roger has been focused upon IT for over 16 years and has aided companies at every level including: executive leadership/management, business strategy, restructuring, raising start-up capital, sales and marketing, operations, channel development, alliance and partner development, IT outsourcing, customer experience strategy, and customer experience architecture. As a managing partner at BMG, he has worked with and for the executive management of leading companies in including NetApp (NTAP), Rational Software (acquired by IBM), and Sygate Technologies (acquired by Symantec), and Microsoft. Before BMG, Roger spent four and a half years at Microsoft, where he specialized in small business and mid-market solutions and developer services (MSDN). Roger was also the president and CEO of Azaleos Corporation, which he co-founded in 2004 and the interim CEO of Actify Software in 2003.