Meet Us

Merry Korn, Owner, Pearl Interactive Network, is an experienced businesswoman with a master’s degree in Social Work.  Korn honed her business management skills as Senior Vice President of Marketing for American Health Holding, Inc., a national medical management firm based in Worthington, Ohio.  During her tenure with American Health, Korn developed and marketed managed care outsourcing solutions to clients such as American Greetings, Wal-Mart, ALCOA and CNA Health Partners.  As part of a team of four founders, Korn grew American Health’s business from a startup company in 1993 to a firm that today has over 300 employees and 20 offices nationwide.

Korn founded Pearl Interactive Network, LLC in 2004 as a social enterprise with a mission to provide career and job opportunities to people with challenges to work.  Pearl Interactive Network’s business model is unique in that job screening and training are based on jobs that exist through outplacement contracts with employers.  "We create a strong and powerful bridge between client work shortages and people with challenges to work" says Korn.

During her spare time, Korn volunteers at the Centers for New Directions, a not for profit that assists displaced homemakers with job readiness and leads a monthly book club.

Another distinction that sets Pearl Interactive Network apart is that job seekers have the option of working at home through a virtual call and business process center. 

Mark Butterworth, Chief Financial Officer.  Mark is also Principal of venture capital management and consulting firm Innovation Forward. Mark manages the $3 million pre-seed TechGrowth Fund targeted at early-stage technology-based companies in Southeast Ohio. Mark is a co-founder of the East Central Ohio Tech Angel Fund (ECOTAF) which is one of the largest rurally focused angel funds in the country.

At The Ohio State University Research Park (Scitech) Mark managed pre-seed funds that invested $1.4 million into 14 early-stage technology companies. He then secured $25 million of follow-on venture and angel investment and $8 million of Federal and State grants. Mark co-founded the Ohio TechAngel Funds which, with 156 investors, is the third largest angel fund in the country.

Previously, Mark was with The Ohio Partners a $35 million early-stage venture fund formed by Maury Cox, former President and CEO of CompuServe, and The Columbus Dispatch. Fund performance included 1 IPO and 7 acquisitions.

At CompuServe, an $800 million information technology company, Mark led the launch a $530 million IPO led by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. He also helped grow revenues 330% ($655 million) over 6 years by directing the M&A, venture capital, strategic planning, treasury, budgeting and analysis, cost accounting, and internal reporting activities.

Mark received his MBA in finance from The Ohio State University. He earned his undergraduate degree in management from Ohio University.

James Mermis is currently managing partner for Capital Consulting, LLC, a government relations/business development consulting firm.  With nearly two decades of public and private sector experience in Washington, DC and Ohio, he has an extensive public policy and business background as well as significant leadership experience.  Mermis has specific areas of expertise in: workforce development, unemployment insurance, economic development, education, and worker's compensation/managed care.

Jim serves his community in a number of volunteer capacities: member of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce – Education and Workforce Committee; member of the Doctors Hospital Heritage Foundation Board; member of the Board of Directors of the Phoenix, Arizona based KIDS First in Sports, Health and Education Foundation, and as a Sunday School Teacher.  Jim has also been a youth sports coach (baseball, soccer, softball) for the last 12 years.

Diane Schrimpf, Consultant Operations, Diane Schrimpf joins Pearl Interactive Network with over 30 years of extensive knowledge and experience in managed care, project and operations management and  IVR solutions,  Schrimpf provides the day-to-day operational expertise to  Pearl Interactive Network. Her wide ranging cache of experience includes IVR experience/ with Twenty-first Century Communications a Columbus based company providing custom inbound and outbound dialer solutions to service industries.

Prior to her stint with Twenty-first Century communications, Shrimpf was charged with training claims processors in indemnity, PPO and Medicare supplemental products for Medical Mutual Insurance.  Schrimpf gained formidable skill leading project implementation and consulting on behalf of Diacon – an entrepreneurial company that designed practice management systems for independent physician’s offices.

Schrimpf went on to head of operations for a managed care division of New York Life, a national health insurance company.  Subsequent to New York Life, Diane lead over 70 new business implementations in the last 5 year for American Health Holding, Inc, a large national medical management company.  Implementations for American Health included private label call center services, web based wellness initiatives, and disease management and 24/7 nurse care lines.

As a certified project management professional, Schrimpf is dedicated to applying professional, ethical project management tools and techniques to all Pearl Interactive Network business initiatives and client implementations.

During her free time, Diane is a volunteer guardian for two clients of the Central  Ohio Area Agency on Aging and does gardening and landscaping as a form of relaxation and recreation.