Biography of Nathaniel Clevenger (December 2010 Update)

Nathaniel “Than” Clevenger, Partner, The People's Builder LLC

An entrepreneur, marketing strategist, corporate leader and writer, Than brings a broad background in strategy, business development and marketing to The People's Builder (TPB) and it's related companies. His primary responsibilities include investment capital raising to support the company's growth, marketing strategy and land acquisition.

Prior to helping to establish TPB as in the Summer of 2009, he spent the previous ten years as a consulting chief marketing officer for a variety of companies in Canada, Europe, the U.S. and Central America. including Vidabode Group, Nova Scotia, Canada, a manufacturer of lightweight concrete wall panels for durable construction projects worldwide; Nature Bake, a 60 year old family-owned organic bakery in Portland, Oregon; Soft Solutions, a Beirut, Lebanon, retail software solution provider; SGL Networks, an international currency exchange system based Panama; Best Concrete Concepts and Pourlavie Manufacturing, a concrete wall panel innovator based in Pilot Point, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and The Commerce Bank of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, the Oregon branch of Zions Bancorp, to name a few.

Prior to forming his own consulting practice, Than served as a vice president and co-chair of the global marketing team for Fleishman Hillard (FH) —currently the largest marketing communications and public relations firms in the world. While with FH, he advised CEO’s, management teams and boards of directors in both public and private companies on creative and award-winning marketing and communications strategies. Prior to his FH tenure, Than resided in Washington, D.C., where he’d spent the previous 17 years honing his skills as a communicator and marketing strategist. He began his career in D.C., at Hill and Knowlton Public Affair, where he started as an executive assistant for Nancy Reagan's former press secretary and special assistant to President Reagan, Elaine Crispin, as well as Jackson Bain, a former NBC Correspondent and the first reporter to see Elvis after his all-too-early demise. During his four year tenure at Hill and Knowlton, he grew two inches and moved from assistant to account executive with only one visit to the hospital for stress.

Current and former clients include CEO's and senior executives in large and small, privately-held corporations, Fortune 500 and multinational corporations, foreign heads of state, trade association directors and senior executives at large non-profit foundations. Organizations, companies and leaders with whom Than has worked include: Sir Robert Maxwell, The White House Chief of Protocol, the last Miss U.S.S.R., the Royal Family of Kuwait, the former heads of state of Finland, Brazil, North Yemen and Angola; as well as the CEO's of Gulfstream Aerospace, NBC, Lockheed Martin, The American Red Cross, The American Task Force for Bosnia, UNICEF, The United States Olympic Committee, Reading is Fundamental, the Recording Industry Association of America, Deloitte and Touche, Enterprise Ireland (the seed capital investment agency of the Republic of Ireland), Preston Gates and Ellis, Swinerton Builders and responDesign (an interactive video game publisher) to name a few.

Early in his career, Than served in staff positions with increasing responsibility (including supervisory) with The Democratic National Committee (52nd Presidential Inaugural Committee), The Canzeri Company and Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide Company in both the D.C. and New York offices.

He has written speeches and or correspondence for a variety of leaders including former U.S. presidents; former International Monetary Fund Chairman, Michel Camdessus; comedian, Bill Cosby; former District of Columbia Mayor's, Sharon Pratt Kelley and Marion Barry Jr.; various U.S. Olympians and U.S. Olympic officials, including gold medal skater, Bonnie Blair and gold medal boxer, Riddick Bowe as well as sports commentators Bob Costas and Greg Gumbel. He also served as protocol and event manager for the opening ceremonies of the Korean War Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., and as a spokesperson for one of Washington, D.C.'s mayoral inauguration events.

Than has been an advisor to several Oregon- and Washington, D.C.- based non-profits and was recently listed in Strathmore's Who's Who in American Business, 2004 Edition. He is a native of the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia (formerly and historically known as Tidewater) and enjoys competitive sailing, painting, and random outings and quiet evenings with his wife of 17 years, Sydney and their three children, Jack (11), Steele (7) and Gus Henry (5).