Brent Leary is a CRM consultant and industry analyst. Before 2004, he implemented CRM solutions for businesses. After 2004, he became an analyst advising companies like Intuit and Microsoft. He started blogging and podcasting about social media and CRM in the late 2000s. He saw the rise of social media and its importance for businesses to engage with customers. He advocates for an approach called "social CRM" where companies automate content creation, analyze social data, and engage boldly with customers online.