Meet Build

The Build Network is brought to you by the creators of Inc. magazine and is based on our substantial experience in watching — and helping — entrepreneurial companies grow into fully managed, job-creating, innovation-spawning midmarket success stories.

Build evolved — quite logically — out of a combined 50+ years of reporting on, fostering, and building joint ventures with the nation’s fastest-growing entrepreneurs. As those grassroots organizations grew, so too did our focus: from small business to the middle market.

Along the way, we’ve expanded our roster with like-minded veterans from the business community, and we pride ourselves on including you — our readers — in our editorial process and strategy. Feel free to drop any of us a line to let us know what works, what doesn’t, and what you want to see more of.

For now, meet the team, below, that’s working to transform possibility into reality with experience that’s equal parts diverse and deep.

	Michael Hopkins Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief Contact Michael	Former executive editor of Inc. (1991-2003) and editor-in-chief of the MIT Sloan Management Review (2007-2011), Michael has covered growth businesses and participated in building innovative joint ventures for more than 25 years.
	George Gendron Managing Director, New Ventures Contact George	Gendron has been immersed in the entrepreneurial landscape for more than 30 years. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Inc. magazine for 20 years, from its startup through its sale to Bertelsmann in 2000. During that time, Gendron led a team that created the world’s premiere brand for entrepreneurs. They launched the Inc 500 in the early ‘80s, which quickly became an international brand in its own right. In 1997 Gendron partnered with Michael Porter, legendary professor of strategy at the Harvard Business School, to create the Inner City 100, focusing national attention on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our nation’s urban areas. In 2010, Gendron joined Mansueto Ventures, publisher of Fast Company and Inc. magazines, as Managing Director of New Ventures. The new-venture group launched Build in the fall of 2011, and is currently launching the Build 100 and the Build Genome Project, which together constitute an ambitious national research collaborative designed to identify the key drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial growth.
	Patrick Mitchell Creative Director Contact Patrick	As the Fast Company design director, Patrick was the winner of the presigious 2000 National Magazine Award for Excellence in Design, and the 1999 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. He’s the recipient of more than 150 awards from the Society of Publication Designers for his work on Fast Company; O, the Oprah Magazine; Hearst; Fairchild; Conde Nast; Time, Inc. and other publishers.
	Scott Leibs Executive Editor Contact Scott	Former editor-in-chief of CFO magazine (2008-2012), and a former editor at Fidelity Investments and InformationWeek magazine, Scott has spent more than 20 years distilling the useful and interesting from the incoherent and confusing. During his tenure, CFO was named Magazine of the Year by three different journalism organizations.
	Gary Mirkin Publisher Contact Gary	Former publisher of both Inc. and Fast Company magazines, Gary is a publishing-world veteran with an entrepreneurial spirit.
	Dr. Gary Kunkle Economist-In-Residence Contact Gary	Gary has more than 28 years experience supporting the sustained profitable growth of corporate clients, and working with economic development organizations on business expansion and attraction initiatives. Over the past six years, Gary has worked with TeamPA, DCED, and the Pittsburgh region on a variety of studies and initiatives related to Pennsylvania’s high-growth companies. Early in his career, Gary created the first US city-based export assistance program for the City of Garland, Texas, where he provided hands-on services to local manufactures. Later, he was Senior Manager at KPMG’s International Trade and Investment Group in Washington D.C., where he worked on corporate expansion and economic development projects around the world. For the next seven years, Gary was Managing Director of the State of Maryland’s European Office, located in the Netherlands, where his team helped attract 55 new investment projects. Gary is now Research Fellow at the Nasdaq-funded Institute for Exceptional Growth Companies, and is Resident Economist at Build and Inc. magazine, as well as Research Director for the Build Midmarket Genome Project.
	Anni Rodgers Web Director & Director of Project Development Contact Anni	A veteran of Rolling Stone Online and Fast Company, Anni began her career studying and profiling rising stars in the business world. After earning her MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School, she founded an independent consulting company delivering digital strategy to growing magazines. As web director for Build, she’s relaunched TheBuildNetwork.com, forged a custom microsite business, and worked to develop a proprietary survey platform called the xChange.
	Ilan Mochari Chief Writer Contact Ilan	After graduating from Yale University, Ilan spent more than four years on the staff of Inc. (1998-2002). He has freelanced for CFO, Fortune Small Business, the MIT Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Publishing. He has published a novel, Zinsky the Obscure, and several short stories.
	Ashley Bond O’Brion Art Director Contact Ashley	Ashley has spent the majority of her career as a magazine designer. She’s worked at Boston magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; and Maine magazine — to name just a few.
	Adam Vaccaro Web Producer / Writer Contact Adam	Adam produces all web content for The Build Network, crafts weekly newsletters, contributes content across platforms, and steers social media.
	Celeste Garcia Editorial Assistant / Social Media Specialist Contact Celeste	Celeste executes all social-media strategies for The Build Network, contributes to special projects, and keeps the team organized and running smoothly.