Michael Zammuto, Reputation Changer President and COO, is an executive known for his work in the technology field and with growth businesses within the technology field in particular. Prior to joining the team at the world’s premier Online Reputation Management firm, Zammuto served as the COO of ChaCha and the COO of Ontario Systems. His experience leading the teams at these two companies made him an ideal candidate for the ORM firm.

The Reputation Changer Story

Reputation Changer was formed back in 2010 as a way for the founders to build their online reputations. Since then, the mission has expanded. The company’s mission is to improve the livelihoods and lives of its clients by ensuring that its clients can effectively tell their own story online.

Michael Zammuto, Reputation Changer COO, is joined by a team of experts in social media, direct marketing, online publishing and SEO. Thanks to the hard work of the management team, the company is the top ranked firm for some of the most competitive keywords on the internet.  The company is advised by a board of industry experts consisting of thought leaders from online marketing, public relations, and publishing. This advisory board helps Reputation Changer to be the industry innovator, helping it develop critical strategic differentiators in product and service offerings, industry partnerships and technology investments.

Michael Zammuto’s Story

Reputation Changer president Michael Zammuto brings two decades of technology and business leadership to the company. He’s held executive positions at Fortune 100 companies, high growth companies and startups. He was the founder Sapago, a company that pioneered in-store, multimedia consumer product information offerings to the market before the advent of QR code scanners and smartphone apps. Among the most successful products created by Sapago was its “Art-FID” system that let art gallery visitors scan an embedded RFID tag or bar code to access detailed information on art and artists. “In the retail industry ‘conversion rate’ or the rate at which shoppers become customers is among the most fundamental industry measures,” Zammuto explains. “Art Galleries were our starting point because while more than 95% of people who visit the dairy section of a store buy something, less than 1% of art gallery visitors do. That is the lowest conversion rate in all retail.”

Sapago’s earned a great deal of acclaim. The company won “Best in Show” at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in 2005 and the “Crafts Report”  named its device one of the “top 5 gadgets you can’t live without.” Engadget, Internet Retailer, RFID Magazine, Ad World, and dozens of other media outlets highlighted the company and its solutions.

Prior to Sapago, Zammuto was the Chief Technology Officer at Ecometry Corporation. He and the executive team at Ecometry were able to grow the company, which was later acquired by Golden Gate Capital. Ecometry then made several acquisitions of its own, eventually forming industry leader, Escalate Retail, which was later acquired by Red Prairie. In 2012 Red Prairie and JDA completed a merger to form a company with more than $ 1 billion in annual revenues.

More recently, Michael Zammuto was the COO of Ontario Systems. He’s described his time with that company as the “most challenging and rewarding” of his career so far. When he was with Ontario Systems, it was in a period of growth and was able to invest in new people, research and development, and innovation.

The company underwent a “Rapid Transformation” under Zammuto’s watch which provided to be a unifying force for the company. During that time, the business developed a new corporate strategy as well as business and operating models. It also created a new talent strategy and product and tech strategies.

During his time at Ontario Systems, the company formed a partnership with Microsoft to increase innovation. Ontario Systems was the subject of a case study from Microsoft. It was also a finalist for an Innovation of the Year Mira award from Techpoint and it won the top IT solution from the group.

Writing and the Media

Michael Zammuto of Reputation Changer has been featured by a number of media outlets. Perhaps most notably, he appeared on the CNN program Global Office in 2004. He was interviewed for a segment that examined the role played by chief technology officers at companies. Zammuto examined the role CTOs can play in the development of business strategies and the role they can play on company boards. In addition to the CNN piece, Zammuto has been interviewed and featured in CFO magazine twice.

Sapago products have been featured by a number of publications, both online and in print. The company’s Art-FID was profiled by Engadget in 2005. RFID Journal and Retail Bulletin also featured write ups of the company’s products.

Michael Zammuto, Reputation Changer President Types of ORM

When it comes to online reputation management, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. A person might need online reputation management (ORM) because he is just starting a business and needs to establish a presence for the firm online. A business that has been under attack or that has faced negative press might need ORM to help it tell its own story.

In some cases, a person’s negative reputation might be his own doing. For example, a person might post unflattering photos on his or her social  media pages, or he or she might make offensive comments on social media message boards. Cleaning up a social media presence is not terribly difficult to do, notes Michael Zammuto of Reputation Changer, but calling in a team of experts to help out makes the process even less complicated.

Reputation Changer Services

Reputation Changer offers several types of plans for clients. Each plan is custom tailored to meet the client’s specific needs. The plans clear negatives, control online presence, and manage a client’s reputation.

The goal of a “clearing plan” is to suppress negative reviews as well negative listing results. This type of plan displaces negative listings from the first few pages of search engine results by adding large amounts of messages that tell the clients’ story. A clearing plan can also help differentiate a person from someone who shares the same name and has a negative online reputation.

Reputation Changer’s services also allow clients to take control of their online image and to build their brand on the web. Having a brand presence online is essential not only for drawing in new customers or clients, but also for gaining the trust and repeat business of those customers. “Brand enhancement” means giving people reliable places to turn to find out information about a business or person.

Clearing a business’ or individual’s name and establishing their brand isn’t enough, notes Michael Zammuto, Reputation Changer president. In most cases, ongoing reputation management is also critical. Negative comments and reviews can crop back up in the search results if a person isn’t diligent about keeping an eye on his online reputation. Michael Zammuto, Reputation Changer president is pleased that the company is able to offer management services to clients that feature monthly reporting, a content management platform, and social media control.