THE ART OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

 is the president and CEO of BusinessTalk, Inc.. He has assembled a team of experienced, talented instructors to work with BusinessTalk’s clients in customized programs and in one-on-one coaching sessions.

Mr. Bannon has designed programs, facilitated workshops and coached attorneys at top law firms including Sullivan & Cromwell, Milbank Tweed, Skadden, Covington & Burling, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Shearman & Sterling (among others).   He has also worked extensively with senior executives at leading financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Moody’s Investment Services, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers Consulting.

Jeff has traveled around the world as a featured speaker for his clients.  His international experience includes programs in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Singapore.

Jeff attended Phillips Exeter Academy and earned his B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College.  Before joining the world of business communication skills training, Jeff enjoyed a successful career as an actor.   He performed on Broadway in “Showboat”, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Les Miserable”, and appeared in several national television commercials.

Gilbert trained at The Juilliard School and worked as an actor for 9 years before returning to school for his PhD to become a psychoanalyst.  This combination of the study of performance and how people relate to one another in the clinical setting gives him unique skills for training clients for BusinessTalk.

Over the past several years, Gil has coached attorneys at many top firms, including Skadden Arps, Milbank Tweed, Shearman & Sterling, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Reed Smith, and Alston & Bird (among others).  He has been in private practice for 24 years, and has been a guest lecturer at the Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University.  He also works as an instructor at several psychoanalytic training institutes in New York City an elsewhere.

Gil is also an accomplished writer, publishing articles and a book in the field of psychoanalysis.  His first novel came out in March 2013.

Byron brings over 40 years of experience with a unique blend of business, education, sport, and the professional performing arts, from which he’s honed his dramatic leadership training and executive coaching career to work in over 20 countries, with primarily Fortune 500 corporate leaders, in nearly every major commercial industry, technology, financial, and professional services.

He’s designed and delivered training programs for American Express, Capital One, General Electric, Oliver Wyman, Bain Consulting and Capital, Citi Bank, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Cisco Systems, Merrill Lynch, and taught professional writing courses at Pricewaterhouse Coopers Consulting. Byron also applies his knowledge to develop high functioning leaders in the public school systems across the United States and serves as a guest faculty member of the Executive Education Programs at Harvard, Duke, Columbia, and the Darden School of Business.

Byron’s first experience with the field of law began in the bankruptcy courts of Texas where he developed and wrote a Daily Operations and Training Manual for the clerk’s role. Training and development has been his mainstay ever since.

While studying Mass Communications at Emerson College in Boston, Byron was discovered in a community theater productions of A Chorus Line from which his professional acting background began. Steeped in Musical Theater, Byron went on to play numerous feature roles in LORT productions, national commercials and as a featured skater with Ice Capades during which time he also appeared in the ABC television special, Ice Capades with Kirk Cameron and Rita Moreno.

As an Olympic and double master rated figure skating coach, Byron brings rigor and expertise to his executive coaching practice. In addition, he draws on his certifications and experience as a lead in Organizational Change Management, a Diversity & Inclusion Professional for the ISO Standard for D&I, and as a Registered Life Planner, to develop his whole person learning approach to leadership development.

Sylvia Roldán Dohi enjoys boosting the interpersonal skills of attorneys at top law firms around the country, including Alston + Bird, Milbank, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and Skadden.

By blending her years of coaching experience with her years on the stage, she finds it exciting to see Business Talk clients polish their skills and become more credible and confident right before her eyes.

Sylvia has offered trainings on a wide range of topics to clients around the world, in such sectors as Finance, Fashion, Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Technology, Not-For-Profits, Retail, Airlines and Entertainment. She is Certified as an Applied Positive Psychology Practitioner and is currently completing training to coach Positive Neuroplasticity.

Her distinguished acting career included national tours of CATS, WEST SIDE STORY and with Rock Star ALICE COOPER. She was in the first Spanish language cast of A CHORUS LINE in Spain, and was on Broadway for the entire 10 year run of MISS SAIGON. Completely bilingual, Sylvia has recorded audiobooks in both English and Spanish.

Tara works as a coach with attorneys of all levels at BusinessTalk’s many law firm clients, including Skadden Arps, Milbank Tweed, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Alston & Bird, Perkins Coie, and Hinshaw.  In addition, she sometimes handles program design and client management with our top clients. Tara is based in Los Angeles, California, and works throughout the country.

Tara offers particular strengths working one-on-one with senior attorneys and in areas of Presentation Skills, Networking Skills, and Management Skills.  She also excels in working with non-profit groups that focus on women’s issues within the legal community, including HerJustice.  She received her degree in Psychology from New York University.

Prior to her position at BusinessTalk, Tara enjoyed over 15 years of experience in film and television. Getting an early start in the entertainment industry, Tara appeared in numerous commercials as a child. As an adult, she then went on to work on such television shows as “Pushing Daisies” and “Hot in Cleveland” while continuing her career in commercials.

Jeanne brings over 25 years of experience in business, education and theatre to her work as a communication consultant and executive coach. She has been on the Business Talk team for 12 years working with top law firms including Skadden Arps, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Milbank, Alston & Bird, and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.

After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois, Jeanne went on to become a successful Broadway actress. During her prolific acting career, she transferred her performance skills to the business world, working extensively as a corporate spokesperson for industrial events, commercials and training films for major Fortune 500 companies. In addition, As an educator, she has served on faculties at the University of Northern Iowa and Dean College, and has lectured throughout the United States as a clinician.

Jeanne brings a dynamic blend of business acumen and experience, humor, sensitivity, and energy to her coaching work. Over the course of her career, Jeanne has motivated literally thousands of executives to realize their full potential. Her areas of expertise include professional presence, presentation, management and networking skills.

Having studied audio engineering from Berklee College in Boston, David’s role as a technical host and coach at Business Talk is fueled by a profound love for technology.

David specializes in managing breakout rooms, facilitating dynamic PowerPoint presentations, troubleshooting real-time issues, and overseeing various IT tasks to ensure a seamless and personalized coaching experience. With a passion for honest connections, David leverages his technical skills to eliminate roadblocks, allowing coaches to focus solely on their training objectives. Adept at managing fluid and engaging sessions, his commitment is to make technology an invisible force that enhances the impact of each coaching interaction.

David has been especially active working with a few of our top clients, including Skadden, Proskauer, Seyfarth, and NALP. He’s looking forward to helping to facilitate both virtual and live programs in 2024!