Born and raised in suburban Chicago, Brendan demonstrated an entrepreneurial instinct from an early age. At 10, he started a neighborhood leaf-raking and snow-shoveling business, recruiting friends to help complete the work while he focused on sales, customer service, and growing the operation. Although the business was small, the experience introduced him to the principles of delegation, relationship building, and scalable growth that would later shape his career.
Brendan’s first significant experience in business came during the 2008 financial crisis, when he became an active stock trader and successfully grew a personal trading fund. In 2009, while still in college, he founded LearnToTrade, a digital trading education company that provided online training programs and one-on-one consulting to traders around the world. He grew the company into a recognized provider of price-action trading education before successfully selling the business in 2011.
In 2010, Brendan founded Simple SEO Group, a Chicago-based digital marketing, technology, and website development agency. Under his leadership, Simple SEO grew from a startup into an established digital marketing firm serving more than 500 clients, ranging from emerging businesses to Fortune 100 companies.
Simple SEO developed a strong industry reputation for delivering results-driven, ROI-focused campaigns across search engine optimization, paid advertising, web development, content, email marketing, and emerging AI-driven marketing strategies. The company maintained an industry leading client retention rate of more than 98% while helping organizations across a wide range of industries improve their visibility, generate revenue, and build long-term digital growth.
In 2013, Brendan and longtime friend and business partner John Shegerian established B.J. Industries, a private investment and business incubation company. Through B.J. Industries and his other investment activities, Brendan has invested in and advised numerous startups, privately held companies, and growth-stage businesses across technology, software, cybersecurity, consumer services, entertainment, and other industries.
In 2018, Brendan co-founded Engage, a technology-enabled platform that connects organizations and individuals with athletes, entertainers, executives, speakers, and other notable talent. He helped lead the development, technology, marketing, and growth of the business as it expanded into one of the leading online talent-booking platforms. Brendan continues to serve on Engage’s board of directors and remains actively involved in the company’s strategy and long-term development.
In 2019, Brendan published his first book, 101 Tips From the Marketing Masters, which provides practical and actionable strategies for businesses seeking to improve their digital marketing performance. The book reached best seller status in multiple Amazon categories. He co-authored his second book in 2021.
In 2023, Brendan co-founded Apollo Automation, an artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics company focused on helping small and midsized businesses reduce overhead, improve efficiency, and use emerging technologies to grow their operations.
Brendan also serves on the board of directors of ERI, a global leader in cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction, data destruction, and electronics recycling. He chairs ERI’s Technology Committee, where he helps oversee the company’s technology, artificial intelligence, automation, cybersecurity, and digital transformation initiatives.
In addition to ERI and Engage, Brendan serves on or advises the boards of several privately held companies. He regularly works with founders, executives, and investors on business strategy, technology adoption, marketing, growth, acquisitions, and enterprise value creation.
Throughout his career, Brendan has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence. He has also been featured in *Forbes*, *Entrepreneur*, *The Huffington Post*, and numerous other national and industry publications.
Outside of business, Brendan is an avid boater, commercially rated pilot, world traveler, and outdoor enthusiast. He lives with his wife in the Chicago suburbs.