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The Expo, hosted by the Business Council of Westchester, will be held Thursday, March 17, from 1-5 p.m. The expo is the leading business-to-business trade show in the Hudson Valley with over 180 vendors, and can help executive make connections and interact with their target audience.
Lorraine Santoli joined Disney in 1978, starting her career as a motion picture and television publicist. She advanced to the Manager of Publicity of Disney from 1984-90.
In 1990, Santoli was named Director of Corporate Synergy for the entire company. In that leadership role she coordinated all marketing communications and internal cross-promotions for over 50 diverse Disney businesses - from film and television to home video, consumer products, sports, theatrical productions and theme parks.
At the Expo, Santoli will discuss her Disney career and help businesses evaluate and consider their marketing strategies and synergy goals to increase their market share.
Santoli is also an an accomplished writer, speaker, and journalist. Her most recent book is "Inside the Disney Marketing Machine - in the Era of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells," released in July 2015.
The book has been nominated for Marketing Book of the Year 2016 by Marketing & Sales Books. It is a first person account of the marketing and synergy strategies employed by Disney under the leadership of Eisner and Wells.
“In addition to many entertaining behind-the-scenes stories ... readers will also take with them some valuable knowledge on how to get individuals to work together towards mutual success and what can be accomplished with proper communication,’’ one book reader wrote in a review on Amazon.com. “It will certainly inspire anyone working within a team of any size or definition to consider putting into practice some of the very strategies responsible for awakening what was essentially a sleeping giant for many years and reviving it into the powerhouse Disney is today.”
Santoli Is considered a "Disney Historian" and has particular expertise on the original Mouseketeers and "The Mickey Mouse Club." She has known and worked with the original group for over 30 years. She wrote “The Official Mickey Mouse Club Book” in 1995.
Santoli left Disney in 2003 and launched Santoli Communications, a marketing, public relations and synergy consultancy. She also serves as the pro bono Executive Director of The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases, an accredited 501(c)3 non-profit foundation.
For more information on the Expo or to register, visit the event website at http://www.wbxpo.com/index.php
