Crew
Main Speaker
Mike "Marcel" Ledbetter, Director of Sales and Marketing, brings to the Afterburner Team a lifetime of leadership and sales experiences developed from his time in the military and in business. Mike attended Troy University on academic and track scholarships and received a BS in Mathematics and Chemistry. After college, Mike earned a commission in the United States Marine Corps where he honed his leadership and management skills as an F/A-18 Pilot. During 10 years on active duty he flew missions all over the world accumulating over 3500 hours of flight time and numerous aircraft carrier landings. He completed Amphibious Warfare School and recently graduated Command and Staff College.In the USMC, Mike combined his passion for Sales with charitable fundraising; he organized and participated in sales events to raise money for cancer research and for youth groups. In 1999 he left active duty in the USMC and joined American Airlines as a pilot until Afterburner Seminars recruited him. He quickly moved his way up the ranks to Main Speaker and worked with companies such as Charles Schwab, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, ADP, Sanofi, and Pfizer.
In 2004 Mike answered the call to active duty in the USMC as an Infantry Company Commander leading a company of Marines to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he oversaw the destruction of over half a million tons of captured ordnance, and protected a voting site where Iraqi citizens voted for the first time; he witnessed the beauty and importance of freedoms often taken for granted. On his return Mike was hired by Integrated Medical Systems. As a Sales Director he jump-started, motivated, and trained sales forces in territories throughout the United States. These successes led Afterburner to recruit him back to the company to lead its Sales and Marketing Division. Marcel and his sales and marketing team have developed revolutionary training for the sales professionals from representatives to managers. In addition to his contributions "out in the field" with hundreds of companies, Mike has authored numerous articles on both the art and the science of sales today.