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The Business Marketing Institute (BMI) training and certification program dates back to the early 1980's, developed then as the Certified Business Communicator (CBC) program by the Business Professional Advertising Association, which later became the Business Marketing Association (BMA). BMA is currently the largest trade association for business-to-business marketing professionals in the U.S.

Rick Kean, BMI's Managing Director, was originally involved in the creation of the CBC credentialing program and, under his leadership as Executive Director of the Business Marketing Association, administered the CBC program as part of BMA's operations until 2004, when the Business Marketing Institute, a separate organization, was established to administer the BMA CBC program. BMA became an independent entity in 2006, and with the addition of enhanced content and online training, the name of the CBC certification was changed to Marketing Skills Certification (MSC).

Prior to founding BMI, Rick Kean was Executive Director of the Business Marketing Association from 1992 to 2005. Prior to his leadership of BMA, Mr. Kean was Group Publisher for the American Marketing Association, where he launched two AMA publications, Marketing Management and Marketing Executive Report.

Eric Gagnon, BMI's Training Director, is the author of the core study guide workbooks and content utilized for the revised BMA CBC and subsequent BMI training and certification programs. Mr. Gagnon is also Director of BMI Marketing Solutions, the B2B marketing services consulting division of BMI. Mr. Gagnon has more than 25 years' experience in the marketing, advertising, product development, and publishing fields, working with companies ranging from start-ups to large global companies. He is the author of five books on marketing and Internet-related subjects, and holds two U.S. patents for Internet-related systems and services.

Through its strategic alliances with the Business Marketing Association, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) at Pennsylvania State University, and other partners in the U.S. and overseas, thousands of corporations and individual marketing professional members have access to BMI assessment, training, and certification programs. Additionally, BMI is actively building alliances with trade associations, corporate partners, and other organizations both in the U.S. and internationally to develop and administer sales and marketing training and certification programs based on BMI content and development expertise.