Gene Stark is the Managing Director of Stark Reality and the co-founder of The Marketing Network. Gene is a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience and has been a practicing Marketing Consultant for 7 years. 

Gene has worked on some of Australia’s biggest brands, including Bunnings, Coles Myer Group, Fosters Group, Tattersalls, Nissan, Mars, Swisse Multivitamins and Tetley Tea.

Having worked on both the client and agency side, he understands the requirements for success and is able to deliver simple, effective, and accountable solutions to increase the return on the marketing investment.

With his systematic approach to problem solving, Small and Medium Enterprises get access to brand communication disciplines and processes previously only available to and affordable by large corporations. Gene’s mission is to deliver big ideas tailored to your budget – ideas that develop positive perceptions about your organization and turn them into profits.

His experience covers Consumer as well as Business-to-Business categories, including FMCG, Health, Beauty and Fitness, Hardware, Beverages, Travel, and Information Technology.

Gene has completed over 100 SME marketing projects in the last 7 years and has provided advice to hundreds of business owners whilst writing and publicly speaking on the marketing challenges facing the driving force of the Australian economy – small business.

Simone Cohen is the Marketing Director of Stark Reality. 

Simone has managed sales targets in excess of $10m and advertising budgets of $1m+, Simone has also run her own marketing consultancy prior to joining Stark Reality and is involved in a number of online ventures.

Simone is the Yin to Gene’s Yang…a co-strategist, a co-creator of content, a copywriter, and a mother of two. How she does it all, we are yet to work out, bottle and sell!