SALISBURY, MD—Brendan Kelly, CEO of Smartlink, Driven private transportation company, and the Chesapeake Bayhawks Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team, is the next speaker in Salisbury University’s Perdue Executive Leader Series 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, in Holloway Hall auditorium.
In 2000, Kelly launched Smartlink to fulfill staffing needs for communications companies. The company started with only two employees and has grown to over 700 employees nationwide. Smartlink now does business in 43 states and soon plans to expand internationally. It was named one of SmartCEO’s 100 Best Run Companies in 2012 and received the 2014 Supplier Growth Award from Verizon/Pontoon Solutions for its expansive success in employee placements and revenue on Verizon projects.
In 2007, Kelly founded Driven, a corporate transportation service initially begun to transport Smartlink’s clients and executives. It has since branched into a members-only business, catering to some 87 clients in the mid-Atlantic.
Three years later, he purchased the Washington Bayhawks Major League Lacrosse team, changing the name to the Chesapeake Bayhawks to increase regional appeal. He became the team’s head coach during his first season as owner. Using skills learned as an All-American lacrosse player at AACC and as a lacrosse player at SU in 1995, when the team won the NCAA Division III national championship, he led the Bayhawks to the first of three MLL championships. He also used the acquisition to amplify the Smartlink brand nationally.
In 2012, Kelly was an Annapolis and Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year nominee and was featured on the cover of SmartCEO magazine as part of its entrepreneurship cover story, “Eye on the Ball.” Ernst & Young named Kelly an Entrepreneur of the Year regional award winner and national finalist in 2013, one of the most prestigious business awards for entrepreneurs. In 2015, the SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business Advisory Board honored him with its Perdue Business Leadership Award.
Sponsored by the Perdue School, admission to Kelly’s talk is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit www.salisbury.edu.
