Management Team

Chris Pederson, CEO & Publisher

Chris Pederson is chief executive officer of Pederson Publishing, Inc., and publisher of the Caregiver's Home Companion and The Caregiver's Hotline newsletters and the CaregiversHome.com website. He is a successful senior media executive with more than 30 years experience in a wide range of functions in general management and new business development.

Pederson has built a respected reputation by successfully blending content and technology to create new media businesses, both online and offline

Much of Pederson’s career has been spent at The Associated Press, the world’s premier news service, where he conceived, launched and ran the highly profitable Information Services Division. In this role, he took AP beyond its core markets of newspapers and broadcasters into corporate and government markets as well as moving AP online and onto the Web. In the process, he branded AP as the leading general news service on the Internet.

Previously, Pederson held a variety of newsgathering, editorial management and technology application roles while at AP.

More recently, Pederson served as Senior Vice President for New Ventures at PR Newswire, responsible for investments and acquisitions as well as licensing and syndication as the leader in company news distribution to the media, financial and online communities expanded globally.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Utah State University and lives today in Southport, Connecticut.

Michelle Harvey, Director of Marketing

Shelly Harvey brings extensive marketing, sales and public relations management and field experience to her role as Director of Marketing for Pederson Publishing.

In her role with Pederson, Harvey is responsible for development of PPI's market positioning, promotional and sales materials, competitive intelligence, public and press relations, and brand-building for the Caregiver's Home Companion name. She also works to develop PPI's alliance relationships.

Prior to joining Pederson, Harvey most recently operated her own marketing and PR firm, ShellMar, whose clients included firms in the healthcare and alternative medicine venues.

Shelly also served as a senior account executive with the leading regional PR firm Jacobs & Prosek, and was successful in broadcast media sales with a leading media outlet in Connecticut. Shelly has also served as a field reporter for Money and Fortune magazines.

She holds a bachelor-of-arts degree from Harvard University's Extension School and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has earned a marketing certification from Pace University in New York City and certification from the Radio Advertising Bureau in Irving, Texas. She lives in Monroe, Connecticut.

Karen Ballou Knowles, Director of Strategic Business Development

Karen Ballou Knowles brings more than 25 years of sales and business development experience with over-the-counter healthcare and personal care products to her role as PPI's Director of Strategic Business Development. In this key role, she is leading the company's sales and alliance-building efforts.

In her career, Knowles has developed strong ties among pharmacy chains and hospitals while marketing a series of care products at both the retail and wholesale level. She recently served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Before & After, a leading vendor of category-specific personal care products for consumers. Earlier, she was vice president of Removation International's skin care division, and she consulted on business and product development for Mana Cosmetics, developing more than 50 products in their skin care category.

Knowles also was active and instrumental in creating and developing Esthetic America, a division of the National Cosmetology Association. As an entrepreneur, she has owned and operated her own Esthetic School and Day Spa and has continued to consult in the field. She has an esthetics license and an esthetics instructor's license.

She has a marketing degree from Bay State College in Boston, and her many years of experience earned her the SME (Subject Matter Expert) title from the National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology. She lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Robert Whitton, Director of Custom Publishing

Bob Whitton brings more than 30 years of experience specializing in publishing and direct marketing management for some of the world’s largest publishers to his role as Director of Custom Publishing.

Most recently, Whitton was Principal of Arellton Group, LLC, a consulting firm emphasizing time, cost and quality improvements across the entire spectrum of graphic communications activity. Prior to this, he served as Vice President Printing, Production and Distribution for the Financial Times — Americas, a daily global business newspaper and subsidiary of Pearson Plc.

Previously an Operations Director for Reader's Digest U.S.A., Whitton was responsible for budgeting, production and quality performance of more than 20 million books, 300 million direct mail pieces and 200 million magazines per year.

Whitton is a graduate of Williams College with a degree in English and of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business Advanced Management Program. He makes his home today in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

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