2017 Augusta’s Entrepreneur to be presented at Dec MEL

The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Russ Krueger of Ocozzio will be the keynote speaker for the final Member Economic Luncheon of the year. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, December 7, 11:30 am at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center and will feature the 2017 Augusta’s Entrepreneur award presentation.

The Chamber, with South State Bank, is pleased to honor the small business success of an individual in the CSRA region who has distinguished themselves not only by their success in business, but also by their creativity, innovative spirit and community involvement. 

Russ is the founder/leader of Ocozzio, a national brand and marketing solutions company. Ocozzio is headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, and has clients located in over 35 states. 

Mr. Krueger holds an MBA in Marketing from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University. For 20 years he worked for the Newell-Rubbermaid Company. He has held positions as Chief Marketing Officer, President, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of national, mid-market companies. In 1991, Russ started a giftware company and was named USA Today's Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year® in 1996. In 1997, he sold the company to a Boston investment banking firm and retired to play golf and write books. In 2000, he "accidently" started Ocozzio when a former employee asked for consulting help. Today, Mr. Krueger serves on a variety of corporate and charitable boards.

The December Member Economic Luncheon is presented by Augusta University and South State Bank. Series sponsors are Augusta Magazine, Augusta Riverfront, LLC, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and Unisys. Media sponsors include News 12 NBC 26 and The Augusta Chronicle. Mercedes-Benz of Augusta is the series parking sponsor. 

Tickets are $35 for Chamber members and $45 for prospective-members. Advanced registration is required at AugustaMetroChamber.com. Deadline to register is Friday, December 1. 

The Member Economic Luncheon quarterly events promote and stimulate economic growth through timely and insightful programs on a broad range of topics with emphasis on global economic trends, corporate success, and turnaround.