Brian may not have been born in Austin, Texas, but he got here as quickly as he could, celebrating his first birthday on the road from northern California. All reports are that he didn’t particularly enjoy the ride.

Brian Combs has almost two decades of experience in online marketing, having engaged in internet promotions prior to the invention of the World Wide Web in 1991. Brian is currently the founder, SVP and Chief Futurist of Apogee Search, the largest search engine marketing firm in the southwest, where he is tasked with charting the firm’s path through the choppy, and constantly changing, waters of the online marketing sea. Previously, he has held various marketing leadership positions at several technology companies, including Director of Marketing and Business Development at online timesheet vendor Journyx and Senior Market Analyst at payments technology firm Globeset.

Brian has managed website projects since 1993, and his web endeavors have received accolades from many sources, including InfoWorld, The Austin Chronicle, The Austin American Statesman, Texas Monthly, and the Houston Chronicle. His opinions on the future of the web and internet marketing have been included in The Wall Street Journal, The Houston Chronicle and The SEO Bible by Jerri Ledford. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events.

One of Brian’s main interests is photography. It has always been an interest of his, but he was truly hooked after receiving his grandmother’s beloved Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super BC. This all-manual German camera from the mid-1960’s taught Brian the technical ins and outs of photography. Eventually, however, his inner technogeek took over and he invested in modern Nikon equipment.

If Brian has a love beyond photography, it is of coffee. He has countless types of coffeemakers, many more than most sane people. He continually searches for coffee’s Holy Grail, a cup that tastes just like freshly ground cofee smells.

Brian lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with his wife (Shea), the feline monochromes (Emma and Ella), and Methuselah reborn in Siberian Husky form (Natasha).