LISA WEHR:
 




 
 
 
 
 
President and CEO of Lake Leelanau-based So Do It, L.L.C., which does business as Oneupweb, a search engine optimization business. The company helps companies market through search engines online. Oneupweb was voted the world’s best search engine marketing firm two out of the last three years by ClickZ-JupiterMedia’s readership of marketing professionals.


WHERE BORN: Mount Gilead, Ohio.

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON: “My mom and dad, who are just true entrepreneurs. Ever since before I was born, they’ve been doing their own thing, from real estate and development to farming to oil wells – it’s just one thing after another. And most recently, my father was the one who built the new water park up in Mackinac City. He passed away two days before the grand opening. Awesome man.“

LAST BOOK READ: “I’m not a real book reader. I’m a trade rag and Internet reader. I get my information in short bites. If you want to go back far enough, it was High Touch Selling.”

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: “Decisive. Driven. Tough. Fair. And I definitely like to have a good laugh.”

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: “I see search engine optimization evolving into more of an agency type of service company. I think the direction I’m taking the company is the direction the industry is headed. Services like our A-B labs where we’re doing more traditional testing on marketing opportunities, and the focus groups that have been modified for Web and search. I think it’s just learning more about usability and how people search, integrating search with other marketing opportunities.”

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: “I hate to admit I’m not a real gadget person. Certainly, I have my Palm. But I think my favorite little thing is one of those digital frames you can load your photo card right into, and it animates through the different images.”

FAVORITE PLACE: “My deck overlooking Suttons Bay.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Softball. I’m pretty intense about it.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “I am a mashed potato junkie.”

MY HIDDEN TALENT: “I’ve been told that it’s interior design. I do like doing it, particularly with my office spaces. Commercial space is very interesting to me, creating a productive and creative environment is very important to me.”

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: “As a good mom first and foremost, and for building a great company that was a leader, that drove our industry. And I want people to have liked me. All that’s important.”

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.