ANDREW KING:
 




 
 
 
 
 
President, Web Site Optimization, LLC – King's firm specializes in boosting the return on investment of web-based businesses. It engages in website performance analysis and optimization, search engine optimization, online marketing, persuasive copywriting, pay-per-click management and optimization, website redesigns, e-commerce solutions, and accessibility and usability reviews. King's company also manages projects and sales, conducts speed analysis, and performs optimization consulting.


WHERE BORN: Ann Arbor

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON: "Ansel Adams. I'm a photographer, and as far as I'm concerned, he's the best photographer out there. He's kind of in the classic mold, did everything by hand. Also he was a big proponent of Yosemite, and that's one of my favorite places to go."

LAST BOOK READ: "Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. It's about how people size things up in the first few seconds, anything from first dates to ancient statues. It opens with a wonderful story about a statue that was faked but fooled everybody, except for a couple of people who had an instinctive reaction."

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: "Persistent. Focused. Exploratory."

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: "Up. Web optimization will increase in demand over time as the number of websites expand. I think people are getting more aware of how important it is, as you have more competitors. So the sooner you do it the better off you are."

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: "Bose noise canceling headphones."

FAVORITE PLACE: "Yosemite National Park."

FAVORITE HOBBY: "Photography."

FAVORITE FOOD: "Dad's waffles with whipped cream."

MY HIDDEN TALENT: "Blues harmonica. I actually took a couple of lessons from Peter 'Madcat' Ruth in Ann Arbor. Stevie Wonder is one of my idols too."

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: "Successful entrepreneur and photographer."

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.