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Today we meet Thom Hansen, vice president of Direct Media International. Hansen does list brokerage and some list management work.

His focus has always been international lists. He came into the list business in 1980 working for Dillon Agnew & Marton, brokering lists primarily for publishing clients marketing overseas.

After the firm was acquired in 1993 and became the international division of Direct Media Inc., Hansen left to pursue an acting career for several years.

"I played in a few off-Broadway shows, bit parts on TV and I performed at the Fringe Festival in Scotland," he says.

Hansen was ready for financial security years later, when a former colleague from Dillon Agnew & Marton phoned and offered him a job at Direct Media.

He began doing list brokerage again in Jan. 2001. "I rejoined the same team I was with back in 1980," he says.

Hansen works with clients such Harvard Business Review and Forbes magazine, planning list strategies for campaigns worldwide. For the most part he deals with postal response files.

"I really like brokerage because it's very mathematical and I have a background in accounting," he says. "I'm a person who loves doing Suduko puzzles."

Besides his direct marketing work, Hansen volunteers for various AIDS and HIV organizations.

What markets are emerging for international lists?

"BRIC…Brazil, Russia, India and China," says Hansen. "I don't know if that's where the action is, but it's certainly where the buzz is."

Consider the U.S. has a population of just over 300 million, compared to 6.7 billion people worldwide. India has 600 million middle to high-income consumers, a fact U.S. companies shouldn't overlook, he says.

In terms of list quality and supply, the European Union has the best lists. The list markets in Asia and Latin America are less developed but data is available for targeting, he adds.

Given the weak value of the dollar, is now a good time to be thinking about international lists?

Hansen says brokers should always encourage U.S. firms to expand internationally. The current economic climate is challenging, but there are always opportunities and strategies to consider.

"We're the ones who sit down with circulation planners and other decision makers. It's a misnomer to believe you need to have to an overseas office. International direct marketing can be done from a central location," he says.

International lists can generate higher response rates, because the prices of U.S. goods are more affordable overseas. Ideally, higher response rates will offset higher business expenses.

However, Hansen says at the very least now is a good time to build market share and build a customer base outside the U.S., particularly in the European Union.

Know someone you'd like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mailJim.Emerson@Penton.com