PEOPLE

John Bejarano, Chief Brand Strategist / CEO

At the eager age of 6, John Bejarano’s entrepreneurial spirit began to take shape when he founded his first business of selling cakes and coffee to his local community. Fast forward 20 plus years, and John has built a solid reputation as a hands-on strategic thinker known for delivering dynamic, impactful results in digital marketing, entertainment marketing, and brand partnerships.

As the Chief Brand Strategist for First Class Alliance (FCA), John is responsible for leading the agency’s creative vision as well as leading the digital and entertainment marketing programs. John also oversees artist brand extensions and product placement campaigns in music videos, TV, and Film. Key clients have included Bombay Sapphire (Bacardi), Rick Ross (Def Jam/Slip-N-Slide Records), NESTEA (Coca-Cola), 10 Cane (Moet Hennessy), and Office Depot, where John designed and launched the Business Solutions Division (BSD) Email Marketing program for North America.

Preceding FCA, John was the Senior Account Executive overseeing Florida and Latin America for ValueClick Media—a leading digital advertising network. At ValueClick, he managed successful online marketing programs for key well-established brands like QuickBooks, Sol Melia, Orkin, AOL Latino, and CitiFinancial. Other previous key positions include Strategic Marketing Director at Slip-N-Slide Record, where he was responsible for developing brand partnerships for the label’s multi-platinum selling artists; Senior Account Director for SendTec/RelationServe, a multi-channel direct marketing agency; and Senior Marketing Strategist at iSource Digital, an online advertising agency.

John is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association. He is also a recognized public speaker and the co-author of the best-selling book “Game Changers,” which peaked at #1 on Amazon’s marketing category.

Henry Cedeno, Director, Label & Artist Services

Henry is an entertainment industry professional with over 8 years of music industry experience known for his keen insight. He oversees the Label & Artist Services Department, which works hand-in-hand with other agency teams. Henry has worked alongside the executive teams from such companies as Def Jam Records, Universal Music Group, Slip-N-Slide Records, Universal Motown, Sony-BMG, Jive Records, Atlantic Records, EMI, Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records, as well as a wide range of indie companies.

Previous experience include stints with Soul Frito’s Urban Latin Music Festival, Latin Billboard Awards, Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference, and 5 years as Senior Marketing Director & A&R for independent powerhouse Slip-N-Slide Records, where he lead projects on releases by superstar artists Rick Ross, Trina, Plies, and Jagged Edge.

Henry also oversees FCA’s Music Licensing Division. He has landed licensing partnerships on films such as the mega-hit “Hangover 2″ (Warner Bros Pictures 2011), “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming” (Sony Pictures 2010), “The LA Chinatown Ledges” (ESPN ActionSports), “Hostel III” (Sony Pictures 2011), and the soon-to-be released “The Ropes” (Fox Digital Entertainment 2012), which is executive produced by Vin Diesel.

Henry is passionate about the music business, always keeping up-to-date with the latest industry trends, technology, and shifts in the dynamics of entertainment media. His background and experience covers A&R, branding, marketing, digital marketing, artist/industry relations, talent management, event production, music publishing, TV/film/commercials licensing and consulting.

Arnold Steiner, Creative Director

Born in Venezuela and raised in Miami, Arnold Steiner has been involved in visual arts since he received his first box of crayons given to him as a little boy. Advanced Art courses in high school, and then 4 years at the School of Visual Arts for undergraduate study, has lead to Arnold’s successful career in New York and Miami.

Arnold has worked with such extremely diverse clients like The North Face, Rawkus Records, Marvel Comics, Schematic, GAP, Breakbeat Science, Exact Science, Giant Step, Blue Note, Technics, Lucent Technology, Vodka, Playboy, The Opium Group, Office Depot, as well as many others. Examples of his work can be found in movie posters, album covers, clothing designs, advertisements, websites, and commercial packaging. He has been featured in several contemporary graphic design books and other publications such as Time Out, Trace, Surface, Translucent (Japan), Sampler2, and Repellent.

In 2004, Arnold leaped into digital video, collaborating with Phoenix and Brian in creating “drawdown.” In 2007, he also started doing solo art exhibitions such as “Submecha” and “Submecha2.” In 2008 Arnold was nominated for the “Best Local Album Cover Artist” by the Miami New Times and in 2010 he was awarded 1st Place in the Sci-Fi London Film Festival Poster Contest for “Life In 2050.″

Arnold is currently the Creative Director for FCA and dedicated to creating quality art and extraordinary graphic designs that creates meaning.

Jen Appel, Publicity Manager

Born and raised in the South Florida area, Jen always knew that her passion was in Public Relations and Marketing. Jen received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Communication and Culture, and while gaining real-life experience she continued her education with a master’s degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Barry University.

Jen has worked with top Public Relations firms in South Florida helping with special events, PR/Marketing campaigns, social media, and brand development. Jen is currently the Publicity Manager at First Class Alliance, where she oversees the daily publicity for music artists and corporate brands. She has a passion for entertainment PR and is quick to come up with PR hooks and pitching strategies.

Jen is a current member of Public Relations Society of America.

Joe Laratro, Senior Search Engine Marketing Strategist

Joe specializes in personalized SEO and PPC services. His mission is to work with clients to ensure their website success using innovative online marketing strategies.

Prior to FCA, Joe served as the Chief Technology Officer at one of the largest and most experienced Search Engine Marketing and Optimization firms. His work encompassed all facets of search engine marketing including optimization, natural search, pay-per-click management, paid inclusion, ROI analysis, and Web analytics. Under his leadership in technology, MoreVisibility quickly expanded and was named to the INC Magazine 500 list in 2005 and 2006 as one of the fastest growing privately held firms.

Joe is one of the first certified Google AdWords Professionals, a contributor to the founding of the Yahoo! Strategic Provider Program, and a certified Yahoo! Strategic Provider Ambassador. Over his career, Joe has serviced 500+ websites, spanning an array of companies including Fortune 500s, privately held mid-tier corporations, and small businesses. Joe is a leader on the cutting edge of SEO/PPC developments.

Maria Perilli, Online Marketing Manager

Maria Perilli excels in both the strategic planning and implementation of website development and online marketing strategies. Her winning combination of skills has resulted in powerful websites and marketing campaigns.

Maria also has experience in campaign management, search engine optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, WordPress blog platforms, and website development. Maria works with clients to create custom marketing campaigns using both traditional and innovative techniques which results in high returns in competitive categories.