Business Expert
Derek Hollenberg
Award-winning Strategic Storyteller and Communications Specialist with over 14 years of experience in developing actionable marketing and communications strategies, and producing impactful content.
Cover Letter
I have spent the last 20 years working toward an opportunity like this. Throughout my career, I’ve collaborated with businesses both local and global, gaining firsthand experience with business leaders ranging from bank presidents to corporate CEOs. I understand the intricate relationship between communications, community, and operations. As an independent professional, I have produced high-quality video and audio content under tight deadlines and with minimal lead time. My approach to communications builds on the past while preparing for a rapidly evolving future.
Here’s where I see communications heading over the next five years: hyper-local, video- and audio-driven platforms where people in the community show their stories rather than just telling them. I’ve started implementing this vision at Bishops Bay Country Club (bishopsbay.club), where I currently work, but my ability to expand is limited by available content opportunities.
This is what I want to bring to the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce:
- Develop a dynamic, ongoing platform that tells local stories through video, audio, photos, and text—creating a living archive of Madison’s people, places, and initiatives.
- Build a community around this platform through consistent, high-value content that encourages engagement, making sharing and participation second nature.
- Craft a cohesive narrative that connects small, individual stories in order to tell the larger story of Madison. For example, we introduce an upcoming initiative to spark interest and conversation, cover the event to highlight those involved and allow those who weren’t involved to feel connected to it, and later reflect on its impact—reinforcing what a community can achieve when it works together. By replicating this approach across businesses and initiatives, big and small, we can tell the long-term story of Madison itself.
I’d love to discuss this vision in more detail. This is something I am committed to pursuing independently, but working with the Chamber of Commerce would allow me to create something far more impactful for the community.
Thank you for your time and consideration.