BNI® Global Continues Innovation by Welcoming New Chief Product Officer

BNI® (Business Network International), the world’s largest and most successful business networking organization, is pleased to announce that Mark Clauss, a growth-oriented senior product executive, has joined BNI’s Global Leadership Team as its first-ever Chief Product Officer (CPO). In this role, Clauss will lead to significant research and innovation to help BNI Member-businesses continue growing in any business environment.

Responding to the current business environment, BNI has recently launched new technology, training, and process enhancements, including BNI Online™ in February. In the first seven months of 2020 alone, BNI’s nearly 270,000 Member-businesses generated over $8.9 billion (USD) in closed business via 6.7 million referrals. BNI now sees a larger opportunity to transform the landscape of global business with its high-touch and high-tech approach. Adding a CPO will increase that momentum.

BNI’s Chairman & CEO Graham Weihmiller shares, “Now, more than ever, BNI is investing in enhancements to help BNI Members continue growing in 2020 and beyond.  I am thrilled to welcome Mark to the team.  He is a thoughtful and talented leader and we are very happy to have him joining BNI’s Global Leadership Team for the adventure ahead.  We are ‘all-in’ on helping BNI Member-businesses succeed, and we are inspired by their successes thus far in 2020.”

“I am honored and excited to be joining BNI,” says Clauss. “I was looking for my next career challenge, and with the tremendous opportunity ahead for BNI, I’m confident this is the right next step. With so many expansion opportunities, my goal will be to focus BNI’s talent and resources on the key strategies with the biggest impact for BNI Members. My thanks to the BNI team for their trust in me, I can’t wait to accomplish big things together.”

Clauss brings more than 20 years of senior-level experience in market research and product development. He was most recently the Managing Vice President of Product Development and Management at Gartner, a well-known global research and advisory firm.  Previously, Clauss worked with Eizel Technologies, Broadpoint, CEB, and McKinsey & Company.  Clauss holds an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management where he graduated with Distinction. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University where he focused on Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and graduated with Distinction.