Kent McLaughlin

Wholesaler

Kent McLaughlin has more than 30 years of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, distribution, financial planning, life insurance, sales, direct sales, marketing and public speaking. He is a serial entrepreneur having started and operated multiple businesses – his first at eighteen years old. 

Kent has amassed a diverse set of business expertise. He has been instrumental in growing a state-of-the-art distribution system of more than 350,000 work-from-home travel agents, has developed products for getting out of debt and has helped several companies with distribution strategies. He specializes in bringing new and innovative products to market. His strategic vision has produced products and services still in use today.

Scott Pollock

Wholesaler

Scott is an entrepreneurial and dynamic sales, commercial real estate, and site selection professional with 20 years of experience successfully executing complex purchase, sale, and lease transactions, implementing and managing real estate business units, and large-scale foreign and domestic site selection assignments. He has had direct and integral involvement in transactions with a total capitalized value of over $1 billion. Scott’s diverse experience is across a variety of commercial real estate and site selection assignments and property types, including: office, retail, multi-family, industrial, mixed-use and large-scale land development.
Throughout his career, Scott has been fortunate to work with many of the country’s top developers, healthcare institutions, colleges, retailers, and public and privately held corporations. Scott currently serves as Senior Vice President of Juniper Solutions; a Cleveland,Ohio based Site Selection & Real Estate Advisory firm.

Marlina Jackson

Wholesaler

 Marlina Jackson, is a seasoned executive leader, with more than 24 years of collective corporate and entrepreneur business experience in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to national sales, wellness, biotech, financial services, and private label manufacturing.

Marlina has a proven track record of success in accelerating and turning around business results across categories, sectors, and geographies. An energetic and dynamic leader known for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, she is consistently recognized for her ability to guide organizations through brand-building excellence, agility, and rapidly evolving market conditions.

Joanna Zona

Wholesaler

Joanna Zona has more than 45 years of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, corporate training, managerial, sales, banking, retail, educational, direct sales and small business ownership.

Joanna possesses a diverse background of traditional business, secondary and adult education, coupled with more than 15 years in direct sales, corporate training, and indirect sales. In addition, she has more than 30 years of small business experience in the form of retail flower sales. She owned and operated 3-5 locations simultaneously with annual sales exceeding $600,000 (US).

Fernando Laguda

Wholesaler

Fernando Laguda has more than 28 years of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, medical supplies, publishing, direct and retail sales, corporate training, radio promotions, large event management, copywriting, digital marketing and mixed martial arts promotion. He is a serial entrepreneur having built and successfully ran multiple businesses impacting domestic and international markets. 

Jack Bybee

Wholesaler

Jack Bybee has over 33 years of collective business experience with extensive executive leadership in marketing and sales in various industries.  He has outstanding interpersonal skills that lead to high productivity and impressive numbers and has held multiple executive positions and has founded several businesses. 

Jack’s skills include corporate turnaround, project leadership, proposal development, and recruiting and screening of potential clients, investors, and sales personnel, with impressive abilities for raising large amounts of capital from investors and businesses for funding and acquisitions. He has administered conference presentations, webinars, and sat on the executive boards of businesses, and functioned as a Senior Executive, and General Sales Manager, and licensed in Health and Life Insurance.

Duncan Walgreen

Wholesaler

Duncan Walgreen is the youngest wholesaler on the Connecting World Merchandise team. He has more than 5 years of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, the pharmaceutical industry, medical sales, direct sales, real estate, sustainable and renewable industries, international security, event production and the steel industry. He has securely established himself as an entrepreneurial businessman. 

At the age of 25, Duncan Walgreen founded and operated the Holding Company and Associates. This company raised capital for commercial real estate projects, sustainable and renewable industries, medical and international security devices. Duncan provided strategic leadership to successfully work through the complicated and intricate process of investigating, securing, and closing significant funding deals.

Jimmy Abston

Wholesaler

Jimmie Abston has more than 45 years of collective domestic and international business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to the entertainment, media, marketing, video production and television industries. He is a serial entrepreneur by nature, having founded or co-founded multiple companies. MORE…

Jimmie had a long career in the entertainment industry. He began as a song writer and producer for major musical groups that were on Billboard charts and performed nationally. In time, he became a television producer and director. As a producer, he created documentaries, television shows, infomercials, and instructional videos. During this process, he worked with well-known musicians, actors, and industry professionals.

Jimmy Abston

Wholesaler

David Hairabedian has more than 30 years of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, import and export, PPE, business consulting, medical sales and public speaking. He is an author, of 12 books, a serial entrepreneur and has co-founded two non-profits to serve the world.

David is referred to by many as a CCO (Chief Connecting Officer), connecting people to people and transforming problems into solutions. It is his advanced relationship-building skills that have led to tremendous success in business.

Brig Gen. Tim White, USAF, Ret.

Wholesaler

Brigadier General D. Tim White, USAF, retired, has decades of collective business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, the government and private sector, non-profit, academia, military leadership – communication, recruiting and public affairs – and broadcasting. His broadcast pedigree includes being an anchor and interviewer for Fox Morning News, an executive producer of film and television, USIA Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State, the host of NightWatch and the host and producer of PBS’ Technopolitics.

General White supports corporate and government clients with strategic communication and digital media efforts, as well as in alternative energy and energy technology work. His diverse background, including as an Emmy award-winning journalist and producer, gives him unique perspectives and abilities to support U.S. and international clients across the government, military, broadcasting, journalism, nonprofit, energy and environmental sectors.

Brig Gen. Tim White, USAF, Ret.

Wholesaler

Alan Alpert has more than 40 years of business experience, in multiple industries, which include but are not limited to, consulting, wholesale operations, salesforce training, PPE, telecommunications and retail. His clients have included Standard Oil, Allstate, Arthur Anderson, Legal Shield, Avon and Advocare. Alan is a serial entrepreneur having launched and operated multiple companies.

Alan began his career as an executive recruiter for Fortune 500 companies, such as Standard Oil, Allstate, and Arthur Anderson. After listening to C-Suite concerns over dependable, crisis-proof global supply chains, he relocated his growing family from Chicago to Atlanta, where he launched a wholesale operation supplying electronics, housewares, apparel, and technology to corporate and retail clients from more than 25 regional distributorships. In 1986, he added tele-sales to his entrepreneurial resume, managing four offices with more than 150 employees and 200 agents based out of Central Florida. His telco expertise led him to open International Telcom Consultants in 1994, bringing innovative communication solutions to omni-channel marketers.