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JD Gershbein is the Founder and CEO of Owlish Communications™. He provides unrivaled strategic direction to individuals and companies seeking to leverage the power of LinkedIn and translate those efforts into real world results. JD has expanded the scope of personal branding as a discipline in the Digital Era through his revolutionary treatment of the LinkedIn profile, value-added LinkedIn training for individuals and companies, and the most comprehensive LinkedIn workshop series available today.
Owlish Communications™, formed in 1984, was born out of JD’s long-time fascination for and study of the owl. Revered for its historical significance, extraordinary physical attributes, instincts, and iconic links to wisdom and spirituality, the owl holds a special fascination for the company’s founder. “The owl is a stealth creature,” explains JD. “She lays back until ready to strike, then does so with impact and purpose. That’s how I view my writing.” |
“The more times the owl is mentioned, the more aware people get about it;
the more recognition, the better.”
~ Michael Orkin, Author, The Way of the Owl |
Drawing upon his extensive background in marketing communications, sales training, broadcast journalism, improvisational comedy, public speaking and industrial psychology, JD is an example of a successful adaptation to the changing landscape of business. As the social media sites came into vogue, he transitioned away from traditional marketing programs and established a consultancy focused on LinkedIn. “I didn’t start out to be a LinkedIn profile writer or LinkedIn trainer,” he recalls, “From the moment I discovered LinkedIn, I loved it and realized its potential. Shortly thereafter, people in all walks of business engaged me for help in developing their LinkedIn profiles.” Since 2006, JD has enlightened thousands of senior executives, managers, professional service providers, salespeople, entrepreneurs and job seekers on the astonishing potential of LinkedIn. Owlish clients range from the sole proprietor to the C-Suite at Fortune 500 companies.
A dedicated student of neuroscience and cognitive marketing, JD understands the ways in which the human brain processes and interprets information on an Internet page. “Successfully leveraging your LinkedIn profile,” he explains, “is all about creating favorable impressions in the minds of those accessing you.”
Enabled by his extensive media training, JD expands public awareness of LinkedIn through both traditional and digital channels. He has emerged as one of the world’s top speakers on the subject and is known for his freewheeling, humor-driven presentation style. JD has been featured on FOX News Chicago and in the Chicago Tribune, and is a go-to source for journalists seeking quotes on social media. He frequently guests on radio programs coast-to-coast, blogs, and writes articles on LinkedIn profile writing, personal branding, and LinkedIn sales and marketing strategies for many online publications.
A chronic doodler since early childhood, JD is also a well-known business cartoonist whose artwork has been widely showcased across a variety of media. He has contributed business cartoons to the Chicago Cubs and other professional sports publications. His business comics have also been featured in the trade journals of professional selling, financial services and health care as well as books, advertisements and newsletters. JD is perhaps best known as the creator of The Handshake Club™, a universe of cartoon businesspeople who channel his tongue-in-cheek take on Social Media. |
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| JD is a product of Chicago’s North Shore. He grew up in Wilmette, Illinois and attended New Trier West High School in Northfield, Illinois. He received a B.A. in English from the University of Cincinnati’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences. He earned an M.S. in Industrial Psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology (where he successfully defended a thesis on humor in advertising as a determinant of buying behavior), and an M.B.A. with Honors in Marketing from the Institute’s Stuart School of Business. |
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