Marketing alumnus getting noticed

by Charity Jones

Brandon Swarms, a 1998 marketing graduate, is vice president of sensor networks and IT for ParkingCarma Inc. of Flint, Mich. www.parkingcarma.com, a company that enables members to locate and obtain virtual parking permits real-time via cell phones, the internet or on-board navigation systems.

“ParkingCarma is a start-up technology company with a patented, innovative parking solution that will change the way parking works in the nation’s most crowded cities,” said Swarms.  “Not only does ParkingCarma increase parking convenience and availability, it also helps communities and the environment by reducing traffic congestion, emissions, and the need to build new parking structures.”

Dell and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), one of the nation’s leading small-business advocacy groups, named ParkingCarma one of the 10 finalists for the national 2007 Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence in Customer Experience Award.

During an in-depth application process, Dell and NFIB challenged small business owners to show how they have used information technology to drive a significant change or develop a competitive advantage to deliver superior customer value and experience. The finalists were selected by students of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.

During Swarms’ time at SIU, his marketing professors had an immeasurable impact.  “Dr. Bruner’s easy going attitude and ahead-of-the-curve use of technology really kept me engaged in all of his courses, teaching me things that I am still using today and Dr. Summey’s Marketing 390 class remains at the top of my mind as one of the greatest experiences I had in college. I use lessons learned from that semester-long project every single day,” Swarms said.

Bruce Fisher, chief information officer for the College of Business, supervised Swarms’ work as a graduate assistant.  “Bruce did a fantastic job of teaching and preparing me for a great career outside of graduate school by giving me on-the-job training at the College of Business.  Bruce’s predictions were correct and in my current role, I lean heavily on both business and IT training that I received at SIU College of Business.”