Meet Our Team

As a child, Ben grew up in a racially diverse neighborhood in Chicago. After moving to the east coast he watched, with curious eyes, as his father worked as the CFO of a camera business. During college, he worked on the camera company’s assembly line with people from very different economic realities. These experiences sparked Ben’s interest in supporting community and building business—two aims that would remain consistent throughout his career. 

The next leg of Ben’s career began in a paperboard and folding carton manufacturing company. Working his way up to Plant Manager in only five years, Ben mastered the skills he would soon use when he made the bold decision to break out and start a management consulting firm with his dear friend, Andy, and his wife, Jennie. That was 1988; The Markens Group was born. Before long, Ben was traveling across the country, helping companies create tighter operating controls, superior performance, and increased profits.

It was also during Ben’s early career that his purpose or “why” began to crystalize. Through his work, life, and travels, he realized how disjointed our communities had become. Ben is on a personal journey to reconnect people with one another and improve comity and civil discourse. “I want to make a significant contribution to making a stronger community because I have a vision of how we can do it well, because I can, and because I care.”

Soon would come a perfect opportunity to combine both his business skills and his desire to create connected communities. 

Ben did much of his consulting work in the paperboard packaging industry where he’d begun his career, often volunteering for the industry’s association, the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC). (Associations are communities of interest that unite like-minded people to solve problems and grow together—right up Ben’s alley!) When PPC began to suffer from decreased engagement, shrinking membership numbers, and lost revenue, they asked Ben to take over. With a newly expanded TMG team, Ben used his business and leadership skills to turn the association into a newly thriving organization.

The success of PPC marked a shift in Ben’s thinking: if TMG could help one struggling professional community, why not others? From then on, our company grew a new client base: associations, professional societies, and various other nonprofit member organizations. Along the way, our team grew—and so did the recognition. TMG has become a nationally accredited Association Management Company and has been officially certified, year after year, as a “Great Place to Work.”

Ben likes to joke that he can be a “pretty good braggart.” Still, his proudest accomplishment stems from his original vision—to do good work, foster community, and make people’s futures just a bit brighter. This includes creating a culture of kindness and respect where teammates are both self-actualized and self-directed to deliver with excellence. 

Anyone who works with (or knows) Ben knows that he isn’t always focused on the serious things in life. Yes, he has many practical tips, but he’s also known for his knee-slapping, belly-busting jokes (well…we’ll let you determine that). He has a story (joke) for all occasions. He also loves to make himself laugh and often says, “I kill me.”

Outside work, Ben loves to spend time with his family, serve on numerous nonprofit boards, and walk the many hills of his town, Ashfield, Massachusetts, where he has exceeded 10,000 steps per day, 365 days a year, for over six years without a miss. Obsessive and compulsive? Maybe! But he’s also compulsive about community, elevating our team, and making a difference.