As president, Mal has been the driving force behind MBSA since its inception in 1979, bringing a disciplined strategic planning approach to its key relationships with corporate, nonprofit and educational clients.

In the nonprofit sector Mal has been a pioneer and consistent innovator in the area of grass-roots cause-related marketing. He created the first comprehensive relationship database of over 10,000 unaffiliated animal welfare organizations, developed proprietary programs to link thousands of these nonprofit organizations with corporations and has overseen the distribution of over $20 million in sponsorships, grants and donations to these worthy charitable organizations. Mal's current strategic stewardship role with the ASPCA has been a factor in enabling this Chronicle of Philanthropy top 400 charity to grow in influence and achieve its mission while total revenue has increased from $41MM to $76.5MM over the past 4 years.

In the world of higher education Mal has provided strategic planning, marketing, recruitment and branding guidance to colleges at Syracuse University, U of Pittsburgh, Drexel U., and Polytech U. Mal currently leads a major initiative by a consortium of 19 US colleges of information science to create an integrated marketing program to brand and market the emerging information field. Soon you will learn that graduating from an iSchool may position students for the most challenging and rewarding careers of this century.

Mal is the nation's premier marketing consultant in the pet category having served companies in pet food (Purina, Iams, Science Diet, Heinz), pharmaceuticals (Pfizer), consumer products (Febreze, Swiffer, Arm & Hammer, Dial), and retail (PetSmart, Petco, Kroger, H.E.B., Wegman's). Currently Mal manages the dynamic strategic partnership between MBSA and the Nestle Purina Petcare Company.

Mr. Schwartz serves on the executive committee of the board of the Delta Society, the board of visitors of the iSchool at Syracuse University, the Furnace Brook Homeowners Association and heads the Campaign for the Future at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester.

Phil has expertise in the areas of branding and corporate identity, as well as advertising design in all media as a creative director with over 30 years experience in major advertising agencies. He founded Brandstorms in 2000 to formally provide these services independently to a growing clientele.

During this time, Phil has designed numerous identities and branded campaigns across a broad range of categories, from automotive, to packaged goods, financial services and nonprofit organizations. Phil has collaborated with MBS Associates for over ten years, on a wide range of assignments, which have required each of the aforementioned disciplines. This has included crafting promotional efforts involving sponsors and retailers supporting the national animal shelter adoption programs created by MBS, among them, A&P, Giant Eagle, Nestle-Purina, Pfizer, Dial and Hartz.

Phil has also contributed branding and promotional design direction to important MBSA projects for the ASPCA. He has creative directed the branding development MBSA provided for the Drexel University College of Information Science & Technology, and the current assignment to brand the field of Information on behalf of the national consortium of colleges of information science and technology.

Bill Bennington, who has been associated with MBSA since 1992, brings extensive background in all aspects of senior-level management and consulting covering corporate, educational, not-for-profit and public sector organizations. Mr. Bennington's experience covers a broad spectrum of relevant activities including more than 35 years as a marketing and communications executive and one-on-one strategic planning facilitation with upwards of 300 organizations and institutions.

Mr. Bennington has been widely recognized through numerous awards by professional societies, business, civic and charitable organizations for his work in developing innovative programs, and for his planning, organizational communications and general management expertise. In late October, 2003 a corporate university created by Mr. Bennington for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina received a BEST Award from the American Society for Training and Development and in early 2004 the training organization he developed and headed was named #30 on Training Magazine's coveted Top 100 list as well as a recipient of the magazine's Editor's Choice Award. In 2002 he was named one of Business Leader Magazine's Top 100 Business Leaders in the Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle area.

He has served as an officer of three New York Stock Exchange corporations including seven years as Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs for Colonial Penn Group, Inc., Philadelphia. Before that, he was Director of Public Information for ITT Corporation in New York and earlier, he served as Vice-President, Communications for The Allen Group, Inc., New York.

A graduate of The University of Dayton (BA-Journalism), he is often asked to lecture before communications societies, nonprofit groups and professional organizations (both regional and national). He is a co-founder of the Institutes for Nonprofit Excellence through which he has provided training to teams from more than 5,500 nonprofit organizations worldwide.

Walt Stugis has worked for MBS Associates for eleven years as Vice President Marketing.

Walter has been deeply involved in developing strategic plans for the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers), PetSmart Charities, the ASPCA and the Drexel School of Information Science. He is MBSA's key marketing strategist working with for-profit brand managers in the "win-win" cause marketing equation, making sure MBSA designed programs serve the business needs of companies such as P&G, Iams, Nestle, Colgate, Clorox and Pfizer, while also delivering bottom line benefits to partnering charities.

Prior to joining MBSA Walter worked for nine years as Director of Marketing, Sales and New Business Development at Con Agra's deli meats company, National Foods Inc. He also had worked in marketing management positions at PepsiCo and Grey Advertising. He earned an MBA at New York University and a BA from Hamilton College.

Walter is dedicated to the work of building healthy communities. He is an elder in his church, an active volunteer firefighter and ice rescue technician, he serves on the board of his village's Senior Citizens Advisory Council and is active with national organizations that work to improve the community life and care of our nation's frail elders.

John brings 20 years of marketing, organizational and project management experience to the Team. With MBSA over the past 15 years, he has collaborated on the development of the full range of assignments MBSA has undertaken. These extend from Polytechnic University's part time graduate studies recruiting campaigns and Drexel University's IST brand identity development to projects that tie together the animal shelter channel and pet product manufacturers in mutually beneficial promotions.

Corporate clients of MBSA that John has managed projects and programs for include the Quaker Oats company, Febo-Professional (UK), Heinz Pet Products (US and Canada), Pfizer Animal Health and PetSmart.