Ed Satell

In the late 1980s, Ed Satell founded Progressive Business Publications (PBP), a business focused on providing timely information and education on a wide variety of industries for executives and professionals. Early on in PBP’s existence, Ed Satell oversaw most of PBP’s functions such as day-to-day operations, the editorial department, and marketing concerns and strategies.

Shortly after Progressive Business Publications was founded, Ed Satell helped create The Selling Advantage, a newsletter whose subscriber base grew to 40,000 readers in under two years. As the newsletter found a larger audience, so did Progressive Business Publications, enabling Ed Satell to turn over operation and editorial tasks to trusted staff members who came on board as the company expanded.

While his skilled management team steered the proverbial ship, Ed Satell focused on discovering new growth opportunities for Progressive Business Publications. One of Ed Satell’s endeavors was determining what had made the debut editing of The Selling Advantage such a success. Through careful research, Ed Satell concluded that the PBP process in newsletter creation would be to choose a field to cover, find an expert in that field, and design newsletters to cater to the expert’s specialty in order to provide the most informative coverage of the field possible.

Recognizing that “there’s no such thing as an infinite number of customers”, Ed studied additional ways to do more business with each customer. He crafted numerous strategies to meet the business needs of busy executives. The company’s divisions include a gifts and incentive department for professional branded materials, a compliance division for required workplace information, a webinar division for swift, interactive training, an executive reports division for in-depth topical information and more. In each case existing customers’ needs were met by a company they knew and trusted. Progressive Business Publications continues to expand in this way today.

In parallel to his contributions to Progressive Business Publication’s phenomenal development, Ed Satell has always been involved in philanthropy. Devoted to his community, Ed Satell develops and funds impactful programs for underprivileged children, young people of promise, civic engagement, higher education, and an assortment of research studies such as stem cell development, alternative energy, and cancer cures.

To support these initiatives, Ed Satell established two foundations: the Satell Family Foundation Trust, and the Progressive Business Publications Charitable Trust Fund. Through these, Ed Satell currently funds in more than 30 unique projects spread across 26 institutions. Even more important, he provides strategic guidance, knowledge of best practices and hands-on involvement for his nonprofit partners.