Frank Catalano is a business executive and author.
He has been a senior vice president for a major educational technology and publishing company, an independent maketing consultant and technology industry analyst, a well-known media commentator and public speaker on topics ranging from technology to toys, and the author of hundreds of essays, several blogs and two books.
Business and Marketing
From 2004 to 2008, Frank was senior vice president of marketing for Pearson, providing leadership for marketing and branding efforts across multiple business units. His roles at Pearson ranged from SVP Marketing for the U.S. Assessment & Testing Group businesses, to a subsequent and similar position for all U.S. K-12 School businesses, to integrating marketing and related functions of the former Harcourt Assessment into Pearson. Throughout, he was available as an internal consultant to all businesses on marketing strategy, branding, marketing tactics and best practices as Pearson rapidly moved from paper to digital.
Prior to Pearson, Frank founded Catalano Consulting (1992-2004) to advise companies on marketing strategy and tactics, identify trends and counsel firms on strategic direction. As a consultant, he held long-term interim executive assignments for MetaMetrics, iCopyright, McGraw-Hill Home Interactive, Apex Computer, PC Data's Internet Monitoring Division and Boxer Learning. He has also advised a number of technology-related companies in education, computing, publishing, toys and other fields, including Apple Computer, the Toy Industry Association and Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door.
Before founding the consultancy, Frank was a marketing manager at Egghead Software (1988-1992) and for the Apple Programmers and Developers Association (1987-1988).
Analysis and Media Commentary
Frank is a veteran analyst and media commentator on technology and related industries. His regular analysis has included the monthly technology industry commentary column, Ctrl-Alt-Frank, for the Puget Sound Business Journal (2000-2002) and the more than 200 Byte Me essays that appeared in Seattle Weekly and Eastsideweek (1994-1998) and on Q13.com (1999-2000). Frank regularly appeared on KCPQ-TV 13 Fox Seattle as that station's technology analyst during Q13 News @ Ten and Q13 Morning News, providing reviews of gadgets, toys and Web sites, analysis of significant technology stories and tech industry trend commentary in his segments several times each week (1998-2002). He was a founding contributor to the technology/TV industry Web log Lost Remote and a contributing writer for Seattle Weekly (1999, 2002-2004).
He also has been frequently interviewed about technology trends and developments in technology, toys and marketing. He has appeared on CNN and Fox & Friends and been quoted by media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, BusinessWeek, Christian Science Monitor, Associated Press, KING-TV Seattle, CNet Radio, KPLU Tacoma/Seattle (NPR), KUOW Seattle (NPR), KQED San Francisco, KOMO Seattle, KIRO-AM Seattle, KMTT Seattle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Times, St. Paul Pioneer Press, InfoWorld, Computer Reseller News, TechWire, Computer Retail Week, SoftLetter and many others.
Prior to going into marketing and industry analysis, Frank spent more than a dozen years as a radio and TV news director, reporter and anchor. His initial foray into the computer industry was as host and producer of Northwest Computing, a national award-winning -- and one of the first -- talk shows about personal computers, on KING-AM Seattle (1986-1988). He was regularly heard on NBC Radio, AP Radio, and the Mutual Broadcasting System, and was on-air at KING Seattle, KMPS Seattle, KTNT Tacoma-Seattle, WNFL Green Bay, KIDO Boise, KUHL Santa Maria and KIST Santa Barbara.
Writing
Frank is co-author, with Bud Smith, of Internet Marketing for Dummies (2000) and its predecessor, Marketing Online for Dummies (1998), both published by John Wiley & Sons. He also has written essays, science fiction and columns for dozens of publications -- including Omni, Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, Eastsideweek, Strategic News Service, Inside Multimedia (U.K.), ClickZ, Windows Watcher, Computer Retail Week, MacWEEK, PC World Online, Analog Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Rigel, Amazing Science Fiction, ExpertPR, the RTNDA Communicator, AP Network News, Earshot and Writer's Digest. An archive of some of his commentary and analysis of technology and other topics is available on his Web site, frankcatalano.com.
Speaking
Frank has been a frequent speaker at meetings of the Software & Information Industry Association, Association of Educational Publishers, Washington Software Alliance, Northwest Entrepreneur Network, International Business Development Network, MIT Enterprise Forum, SoftLetter, PC Data and World Science Fiction Association.
Other
Frank has served on the boards of directors of LessonLab and Boxer Learning. He also served on the advisory board of New York Game Factory. He is a former member of the Education Division and Consumer Section boards of the Software and Information Industry Association (formerly the Software Publishers Association).
His broadcast and print work has been recognized with multiple awards from the Computer Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United Press International, and the Associated Press.
He is a former Secretary of the Science Fiction Writers of America.
Frank lives in the Seattle area with his family. He can be reached via public e-mail here.