Get To Know Gil Gerretsen
INTRODUCTION
When you first meet Gil Gerretsen, you are instantly aware that he is distinctly different. He has been called a marketing oracle ... and his energy and confident style attest to his wisdom and his growing popularity as a business speaker.
Gil is Founder and CEO of BizTrek International Inc. a worldwide alliance of small business owners sharing the veracity of 12 Triggers that ALWAYS produce more customers. BizTrek was formed in 1994 and is headquartered in Greenville, SC.
CREDENTIALS
Gil discovered the allure of marketing and sales at an early age. At the age of 16, he led his local Junior Achievement company in personal sales and to recognition as Canada's top student-run business. His reward? A trip to anywhere in the world he wanted to go (he chose6 weeks in Europe).
Gil is the author of numerous articles in the field of marketing and small business growth. His works have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. In 1999, he published his first book, The Giraffe Principles, and he is currently working on another new book about 12 Triggers that always produce more customers. With over three decades of experience in the field of marketing and sales, Gil has been recognized with numerous awards and recognitions, including appearances in the Who's Who directories every year since 1997.
EDUCATION
Gil graduated from the University of Calgary (Canada), where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with a specialty in Organizational Management and double minors in Marketing and Finance. Gil proved early that he is a go-getter because he earned this internationally recognized and intensive four-year degree in just 33 months ... while also working a 20-hour per week job! Upon graduation, his first action was to take a well-deserved two-month vacation camping up and down the American west coast.
CAREER
Gil spent his early career working for various national and international organizations as a marketing and fund raising professional, developing a reputation as an effective turn-around guy. He often states that is why he became so effective at turning around businesses. With a career that took him and his wife to 10 locations within 12 years (he has now visited 14 nations, 48 states and 6 Canadian provinces), he finally decided to settle in Greenville, South Carolina in 1992, having enjoyed the community during an earlier stint in the area.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Gil has been very active in his community. He served for three years as a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce and also chaired the Small Business Cabinet for two years. He is also a graduate of the Chamber's Opportunity Greenville program. In addition, working alongside (then) Congressman Jim DeMint, he was instrumental in the development of an SBA Business Information Center for Upstate South Carolina.
He is a past Chairman of the Greenville Work Training Center, a former Board member for Greenville's Junior Achievement program, a former Board member for the Greenville Humane Society, a former Board member for Exercise Democracy and has been a volunteer with Meals On Wheels. He has also been active in Greenville's community of Christian business leaders.
Currently, in addition to serving on several corporate boards, Gil is an Advisory Board member for the Clemson University Small Business Development Center and acts as an advisor to the Upstate Entrepreneur Forum.
PERSONAL
Gil was born in Rotterdam, Holland and raised in Calgary (Canada). Following the loss of his first wife to breast cancer, Gil married his new sweetheart Vicki and they live in Tigerville, SC, a small community about 30 minutes drive north of Greenville. He has two step-children and three grandchildren. Gil enjoys spending his spare time on their "hobby farm" just off the scenic Cherokee Highway in the northern foothills of South Carolinay. As time permits, Gil also enjoys Biblical studies, hiking, railfanning, and acrylic painting.