Sallie Felton interviews one of the best. Listen in to a candid interview with Donald Van de Mark discussing why he believes patterns of attitudes and behaviors make up some of our greatest well known individuals. Donald Van de Mark has been a television reporter and anchorman, an Internet entrepreneur and a public speaker. Now he’s an author with The Good Among the Great: 19 Traits of the Most Admirable, Creative and Joyous People.

Among his television credits, Van de Mark was Executive Producer, Editor and host of two public broadcasting TV series, Great Entrepreneurs and Great Leaders, where he profiled giants of business, including Andy Grove of Intel, Jack Welch of GE, Martha Stewart, Stephen Covey and many more. These programs can be seen currently through Comcast’s pay per view offerings.

From 1995 to 1999, Van de Mark was instrumental in the launch of the first digital, non-linear television network, CNNfn. There, he co-created and anchored four original television shows: Washington Unwrapped, The Media Show, Biz Buzz and Entrepreneurs Only. Van de Mark edited all four shows. With Terry Keenan, Van de Mark also co-anchored and edited CNNfn’s premier market program, Street Sweep. Additionally, he edited and co-anchored MoneyWeek on CNN. Throughout this time, Van de Mark was also a correspondent and a substitute anchor on Moneyline. On August 31, 1998 Van de Mark broke the story of Long Term Capital Management’s near collapse; an event that shook global currency, bond and equity markets.

Prior to CNN and CNNFn, Van de Mark moved “off-air” when he made his first foray into the corporate boardroom and the embryonic world of e-Commerce. On August 30, 1993, he chased down QVC Inc.’s Chairman and CEO Barry Diller as he emerged from CNN’s studio. Rebuffed for an interview, Van de Mark nonetheless began a dialogue with Diller that culminated in his joining QVC as Director of Corporate Communications. Reporting directly to the Chairman and CEO, Van de Mark co-wrote with Diller speeches on interactivity and e-Commerce. He managed investor communications and news coverage as QVC made two widely covered takeover attempts: a $10 billion run at Paramount Communications and a scuttled $6.4 billion merger with CBS Inc.

Prior to QVC, Van de Mark spent five years in Washington, DC reporting on the political economy as the National Correspondent for CNBC. He launched his career in communications in 1981 at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. He became a desk assistant at WCBS-TV News. From there he joined Business Times on ESPN.

Van de Mark has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University, where he majored in Political Science.

Van de Mark graduated from St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island. He attended Upper Canada College in Toronto.