Sameer Somal

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Sameer Somal Ponishare-verified.png
Born 26 June 1983 (1983-06-26) (age 40)
Rochester, New York
Education Georgetown University
Occupation
  • Frequent speaker on reputation management, digital expungement, and leadership
  • Helps clients build, monitor, and repair their digital presence
Known for CEO at Blue Ocean Global Technology and Co-Founder at Girl Power Talk
Home town Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Title CFA Charterholder, CFP® professional, Chartered Alternative Investment AnalystSM
Awards
  • Iconic Leader by All Ladies League & Women Economic Forum in 2017
  • Business Elite's 40 under 40 award in 2020
Website
sameersomal.com

Sameer Somal is the Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Technology and Co-Founder at Girl Power Talk. Sameer is a CFA Charterholder, a CFP® professional, and a Chartered Alternative Investment AnalystSM. Sameer is a frequent speaker on reputation management, digital expungement, succession planning, technology, diversity, entrepreneurship, and leadership. He is also an Online Reputation Management subject matter expert witness and authors CLE programs for attorneys in collaboration with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. Fundamental to his work at Blue Ocean Global Technology, Sameer helps clients build, monitor and repair their digital presence. He proudly serves on the board of the R.J. Leonard Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating, initiating careers and personally mentoring young adults who are aging out of the foster care system.


Early Life and Education

Sameer Somal was born in Rochester, New York from a family of immigrants. His father was raised in England, studied at Loughborough University, and joined the Royal Navy. They moved to the United States in the 1950s. At an early age, Sameer learned to work hard when he started going around his neighborhood to offer babysitting services or checking their lawns if they needed someone to mow or landscape it. His family used to own a gas station and being Indian, this was one of the common stereotypes about his ethnicity. New employees and customers would often assume that Sameer’s father is a worker in their gas station, not the owner. During his grade school years, he was made fun of and was called “Apu” by his peers, a character from the hit cartoon series The Simpsons. He did not get the racist implication of the label because they did not have cable television growing up.

During his middle school years at Holicong Middle School, he delivered newspapers in his free time. By the time he was already a high school student at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, he was already selling newspaper subscriptions by going door-to-door around his town. He was able to land a scholarship given by The Intelligencer, a newspaper company based in his state. He was also an active member of his high school Key Club, which helped Sameer grow his leadership skills. After graduating, he then enrolled in Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he and Eric Trump, son of former US President Donald Trump, became classmates in one of the business classes. During college, Sameer started his entrepreneurial venture by launching SMARTER Campus, a business where he offered laundry and other student-centered services. He also sold aquariums and offered aquarium maintenance services.


Career

Career Summary

Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, he was a Senior Investment Analyst at The Bank of Nova Scotia and a Financial Advisor and Intermediary at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch & Co. From 2011 to 2018, Sameer worked at the Audit and Membership Committee of the Financial Planning Association in the United States. From 2013 till present, he began serving as board of director for renowned organizations namely R.J Leonard Foundation, iPlan Education Institute, and The Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda among others.

Sameer spent hundreds of hours at his parent’s Exxon Quickie Mart gas station business. Growing up as part of this family business afforded Sameer a perspective on how to build a business and the benefits of self-reliance at a young age. Always finding a way to marry his passions and how he spends his time, Sameer regularly volunteered at the Doylestown Library and put smiles on faces at the Doylestown Hospital. In 2012, Sameer founded Blue Ocean Global Technology to make a greater impact and create value for companies digitally. With the notion ‘Reputations are Everything’, he emphasizes the importance of managing one’s online reputation. Through Blue Ocean Global Technology, Sameer aims to popularize the nuances of effective digital marketing on the internet. With a global team that offers 15+ years of website development, SEO and online reputation management experience, they serve clients from 25+ industries. Being a philanthropist, Sameer believes in service and lives by the principle of giving without remembering and receiving without forgetting. He considers himself a global citizen and was fortunate to be exposed to cultural diversity from a young age. Throughout his childhood, teenage, and young adult years, he visited India. These visits were mostly to meet his extended family in India, but it was the culture that interested him. What transpired from the frequent trips to India was a strong realization to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among India’s youth and empower them with merit based opportunities. After achieving huge acclaim for his contributions and excellence in the business world, he wished to create a happy work culture that could harness an individual’s talent irrespective of their gender, or age. Thus, in 2019 he Co-founded Girl Power Talk—a purpose driven organization passionate about elevating young women and non-binary individuals to become global leaders who are recognized for their myriad of talents and contributions.


Professional Qualification

Sameer joined the CFA institute in the year 2009 and currently serves as a Host of Topic @ Hand, a speaker and Board of Regents & Examinations Senior Grader. He is a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University. Sameer currently serves on CFP Board’s Council on Education and is a CFA Charterholder, a CFP® professional, and a Chartered Alternative Investment AnalystSM.

He is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on digital reputation, SEO, soft skills, and leadership. Sameer’s passions include history, women empowerment, reading, competitive running, and providing today’s youth with opportunities to become tomorrow’s global leaders. Sameer also serves on the Advisory Executive Council of the Women Economic Forum (WEF), and is a Board Advisor at the iPlan Education Institute in New Delhi, India.

Awards

A member of the Speakers’ Series at the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, Sameer is a frequent speaker on the digital revolution, reputation management, succession planning, technology, diversity, financial planning, entrepreneurship, and leadership. In the year 2015, he received recognition from Investment News in the category 40 under 40 in finance. In May of 2017, he was named an Iconic Leader Creating a Better World for All by the All Ladies League & Women Economic Forum.

Three years later, in 2020 Sameer won the prestigious Business Elite’s 40 under 40 award for his outstanding contribution as an entrepreneur, creating opportunities for young leaders.

The 2022 Inspirational Leader Award for Volunteer Service, has been awarded to Sameer Somal by the CFA Institute.

Author

Sameer’s affinity for writing was a struggle/bumpy road. Growing up, his father used to make him write newspaper summaries. Sameer hated writing because he wouldn’t be allowed out to galavant or play with his friends without completing a particular week’s book summary or writing a current event summary article like Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets (this was the name of the book) and publisher was Oxford University Press. But that was just half of it. Every written page had to be edited through his father’s British English. This formed the Foundation of him as a writer.


Today, Sameer is a published writer and actively writes articles. He also has co-authored a chapter on Women’s behavioral finance. He has been featured in various publications including the likes of Entrepreneur, Hubspot, Chief Executive. Attorney At Law, CFA Institute Enterprising Investor, Worth Magazine, Social Media Examiner, Co-schedule, Business.com, Buzzfeed, Clutch, Bplans, ReadWrite, among many others.

Refrences

5 Lessons to Learn From Famous Corporate Reputation Crises (Worth Magazine)

Tackling the Double Disadvantage Issues of Intersectionality (The Good Men Project)

Eight Reasons Why Africa Is Primed for Impact Investing (CFA Institute)

6 Social Media Community Management Tips for Better Customer

Protect and Rebuild Their Reputation (Blue Ocean Blog) The Nuances of Digital Transformation in the Emerging Digital Era (New Startups)

How Businesses Can Build, Monitor, and Repair Their Online Reputation (Bplans)

GameStop, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and the Future of Investing (CFA Institute)

Online Brand Management During the Coronavirus Pandemic (Startup Info)

When to Use Big Data — and When Not To (CFA Institute)

Building & Protecting Your Digital Presence During the COVID-19 Pandemic (GoodFirms)

Your Online Reputation: 7 Things CEOs Must Know (Blue Ocean Blog)

Aiming For A Digital Transformation? Don’t Forget Your Online Reputation (Chief Executive)

Why People Drive Artificial Intelligence Today and Tomorrow (CFA Institute)

On-Page Optimization Lets You Take Control of Your Business Success (ReadWrite)

Digital Transformation: 6 Tips For Success (Blue Ocean Blog)

Online Reputation Marketing: 7 Solid Tips for Social Media (CoSchedule)

Why Your Company's Online Reputation Matters (Entrepreneur)

Negative Press is Inevitable for Modern CEOs — And That’s Not a Bad Thing (CEO World)

Reverse SEO for Law Firms: How to Protect Yourself and Your Clients against Negative Content (Of Counsel – The Legal Practice and Management Report)

How to Manage Fake Reviews on Google, Facebook, and Glassdoor (The Manifest)

Digital Reputation Management 101 (CFA Institute)

Online Reputation Management Guide (Social Media Examiner)

Sameer Somal On The Digital Revolution Of The Internet (Attorney at Law Magazine)

Case Study: Why Efficient Online Reputation Repair Involves More Than Content Suppression (Experts.com)