CACTUS, Denver, CO, President/Chief Marketing Officer, 2020-2025
Stepped into the role of President & CMO in late March 2020 - because what better time to start a new position than a global pandemic, right? Drove strategic repositioning of the agency to focus on decades of behavior change expertise, and implemented a new strategic work process called ‘Belief & Behavior Design’ utilized across the client portfolio. Championed major operational, tech stack, talent and capabilities upgrades across client business departments. Accountable for agency operations, new business, reputation, PR and content. In my 5 years, agency net revenue went from $7M to $14.5M, profit rose 1.5X, and the team grew from 45 to 70 employees. Recognized 3X as a top 50 agency by One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, 3X recipient of Outside Magazine’s Best Places To Work, and 3X recipient of The Drum Awards for Business recognizing the agency’s deep commitment to employee health and wellbeing.
Client experience: Fjallraven, CommunityAmerica Credit Union, Umpqua Bank, Hart House, Cochlear Americas, University of Miami, Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort, Plano Outdoors
BARKLEYOKRP, Boulder, CO, SVP/Managing Director, 2018-2020
In June 2018, Barkley acquired 100% of Grenadier, making it a full-fledged Barkley office to accelerate revenue growth, allowing our team to do bigger things, faster, and to capitalize on the tremendous talent pool here in Colorado. I led the integration of our 24 person strategy and creative boutique into a full-service 400+ person agency spanning 4 cities; while growing revenue by $4M in new client wins and organic growth, all within our first year operating under the Barkley brand.
Client experience: Taco John’s, SmartStyle, Cost Cutters, NBH Banks, TravelPro, Now Optics, Justin’s Nut Butter, SelectHealth
GRENADIER, Boulder, CO, Partner/Managing Director, 2012-2018
Co-founded and led a creative indie startup in partnership with KC based independent Barkley. Inspired by brand purpose thinking, built our ‘Brand Stand’ strategic discovery process to help clients identify and articulate their why, and activate integrated agency teams to bring ideas that demonstrate that promise at every touchpoint. Over 6 years our work was recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. Leadership moment of truth: losing our largest account, SunnyD after selling to private equity, left us with a series of bad options – distribute the financial pain out to our staff or contain it to the agency partner group. I’m proud to say we chose the latter.
Client experience Winter Park Resort, Noodles & Company, Coinstar, Einstein’s Bagels, Café Rio Mexican Grill, Woody Creek Vodka, Stanton Optical, Hagerty Insurance, Conoco Gasoline
CRISPIN PORTER BOGUSKY, Miami, FL/Boulder, CO, VP/Group Account Director, 2006-2012
Rode the rocketship that was CPB in the mid-2000s: 4X winner of Creativity’s Agency of the Year, 2X winner of Ad Age’s Agency of the Year, and later Ad Age’s Agency of the Decade. Part of the original group of 40 transplants from Miami to Boulder in 2006 chosen to build out CPB’s new headquarters office. Led the work to integrate Geek Squad into Best Buy, creating a new master services brand for Best Buy; led the global launch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform; led VW field team to achieve the brand’s best-ever NADA dealer satisfaction scores during the worst time to sell cars (2008-2010); served as Old Navy’s Interim CMO, and launched an entirely new campaign platform during that period; admittedly complicit in the Groupon Super Bowl meltdown of 2011; ran a product innovation team that launched initiatives like Vail’s EpicMix platform, B-Cycle’s bike sharing system, and the Angel’s Envy and Papa’s Pilar spirits brands; Winner of the agency Streetfighter Award for fighting the good fight everyday.
Client experience: Microsoft, Kraft, Best Buy, Volkswagen, Old Navy, Pearl Izumi, Under Armour
ARNOLD, St. Louis, MO, Account Director/Group Account Director, 2005-2006
The St. Louis office (yep, there was one). Led a global portfolio of Brown-Forman spirits brands including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. While serving as a steward of this iconic American brand, Jack Daniel’s surpassed Johnnie Walker to become the largest selling whiskey brand in the world with $8 billion in global sales. Drove development of a new JD global brand architecture and toolkit utilized by brand stakeholders around the world, oversaw Jack Daniel’s NASCAR sponsorship/driver change in the US, launched the ‘Studio No. 7’ indie music series, and key international campaign launches in China, Singapore, Japan, the UK, Spain and Germany.
Client experience: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
CORE, St. Louis, MO, Account Executive/Account Director, 1995-2005
Account service hire #1 for this 25 person creative boutique, named one of Ad Age/Creativity’s Top 5 Agencies To Watch and a Graphis Top 10 U.S. agency. We conceived and led a formalized network of creative independents called “The Syndicate” retained by WPP’s Ogilvy. Authored Creativity magazine’s first op-ed piece from an account person. Led the agency’s push into digital launching 4 different agency sites coreforsale (streetwear), coreaudiovisual (editing/post) corearsenal (custom plug-ins), coreexhibit (fine art). File under seemed like a good idea at the time: tattooing the agency’s logo on my right shoulder (Core: 1995-2010, RIP)
Client experience: POSILAC, DuPont Protein, Epiphone/Gibson Guitar, Never Compromise putters, Panoz Auto Development, Indian Motorcycle, Virgin Mobile, NFL
TBWA CHIAT DAY, St. Louis, MO, Account Executive, 1992-1995
The St. Louis office (yep, there was one of those, too) There for the merger in 1995 when they handed out little rubber stamps to add ‘Chiat\Day’ and a pirate flag to our TBWA business cards. Witness to the waning craft era of advertising, and the halting first steps of digital: Beige Macs, stat machines, Zip drives, and a single dial-up modem for a 75 person TBWA\C\D office – reserved for Simmons/MRI runs and Lexis/Nexis searches.
Client experience: Purina HiPro & Dog Chow dog foods, Boatmen’s Bank, Fred Arbogast Fishing Lures, Champion Bass Boats, and City of St. Louis tourism
Stepped into the role of President & CMO in late March 2020 - because what better time to start a new position than a global pandemic, right? Drove strategic repositioning of the agency to focus on decades of behavior change expertise, and implemented a new strategic work process called ‘Belief & Behavior Design’ utilized across the client portfolio. Championed major operational, tech stack, talent and capabilities upgrades across client business departments. Accountable for agency operations, new business, reputation, PR and content. In my 5 years, agency net revenue went from $7M to $14.5M, profit rose 1.5X, and the team grew from 45 to 70 employees. Recognized 3X as a top 50 agency by One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, 3X recipient of Outside Magazine’s Best Places To Work, and 3X recipient of The Drum Awards for Business recognizing the agency’s deep commitment to employee health and wellbeing.
Client experience: Fjallraven, CommunityAmerica Credit Union, Umpqua Bank, Hart House, Cochlear Americas, University of Miami, Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort, Plano Outdoors
BARKLEYOKRP, Boulder, CO, SVP/Managing Director, 2018-2020
In June 2018, Barkley acquired 100% of Grenadier, making it a full-fledged Barkley office to accelerate revenue growth, allowing our team to do bigger things, faster, and to capitalize on the tremendous talent pool here in Colorado. I led the integration of our 24 person strategy and creative boutique into a full-service 400+ person agency spanning 4 cities; while growing revenue by $4M in new client wins and organic growth, all within our first year operating under the Barkley brand.
Client experience: Taco John’s, SmartStyle, Cost Cutters, NBH Banks, TravelPro, Now Optics, Justin’s Nut Butter, SelectHealth
GRENADIER, Boulder, CO, Partner/Managing Director, 2012-2018
Co-founded and led a creative indie startup in partnership with KC based independent Barkley. Inspired by brand purpose thinking, built our ‘Brand Stand’ strategic discovery process to help clients identify and articulate their why, and activate integrated agency teams to bring ideas that demonstrate that promise at every touchpoint. Over 6 years our work was recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. Leadership moment of truth: losing our largest account, SunnyD after selling to private equity, left us with a series of bad options – distribute the financial pain out to our staff or contain it to the agency partner group. I’m proud to say we chose the latter.
Client experience Winter Park Resort, Noodles & Company, Coinstar, Einstein’s Bagels, Café Rio Mexican Grill, Woody Creek Vodka, Stanton Optical, Hagerty Insurance, Conoco Gasoline
CRISPIN PORTER BOGUSKY, Miami, FL/Boulder, CO, VP/Group Account Director, 2006-2012
Rode the rocketship that was CPB in the mid-2000s: 4X winner of Creativity’s Agency of the Year, 2X winner of Ad Age’s Agency of the Year, and later Ad Age’s Agency of the Decade. Part of the original group of 40 transplants from Miami to Boulder in 2006 chosen to build out CPB’s new headquarters office. Led the work to integrate Geek Squad into Best Buy, creating a new master services brand for Best Buy; led the global launch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform; led VW field team to achieve the brand’s best-ever NADA dealer satisfaction scores during the worst time to sell cars (2008-2010); served as Old Navy’s Interim CMO, and launched an entirely new campaign platform during that period; admittedly complicit in the Groupon Super Bowl meltdown of 2011; ran a product innovation team that launched initiatives like Vail’s EpicMix platform, B-Cycle’s bike sharing system, and the Angel’s Envy and Papa’s Pilar spirits brands; Winner of the agency Streetfighter Award for fighting the good fight everyday.
Client experience: Microsoft, Kraft, Best Buy, Volkswagen, Old Navy, Pearl Izumi, Under Armour
ARNOLD, St. Louis, MO, Account Director/Group Account Director, 2005-2006
The St. Louis office (yep, there was one). Led a global portfolio of Brown-Forman spirits brands including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. While serving as a steward of this iconic American brand, Jack Daniel’s surpassed Johnnie Walker to become the largest selling whiskey brand in the world with $8 billion in global sales. Drove development of a new JD global brand architecture and toolkit utilized by brand stakeholders around the world, oversaw Jack Daniel’s NASCAR sponsorship/driver change in the US, launched the ‘Studio No. 7’ indie music series, and key international campaign launches in China, Singapore, Japan, the UK, Spain and Germany.
Client experience: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
CORE, St. Louis, MO, Account Executive/Account Director, 1995-2005
Account service hire #1 for this 25 person creative boutique, named one of Ad Age/Creativity’s Top 5 Agencies To Watch and a Graphis Top 10 U.S. agency. We conceived and led a formalized network of creative independents called “The Syndicate” retained by WPP’s Ogilvy. Authored Creativity magazine’s first op-ed piece from an account person. Led the agency’s push into digital launching 4 different agency sites coreforsale (streetwear), coreaudiovisual (editing/post) corearsenal (custom plug-ins), coreexhibit (fine art). File under seemed like a good idea at the time: tattooing the agency’s logo on my right shoulder (Core: 1995-2010, RIP)
Client experience: POSILAC, DuPont Protein, Epiphone/Gibson Guitar, Never Compromise putters, Panoz Auto Development, Indian Motorcycle, Virgin Mobile, NFL
TBWA CHIAT DAY, St. Louis, MO, Account Executive, 1992-1995
The St. Louis office (yep, there was one of those, too) There for the merger in 1995 when they handed out little rubber stamps to add ‘Chiat\Day’ and a pirate flag to our TBWA business cards. Witness to the waning craft era of advertising, and the halting first steps of digital: Beige Macs, stat machines, Zip drives, and a single dial-up modem for a 75 person TBWA\C\D office – reserved for Simmons/MRI runs and Lexis/Nexis searches.
Client experience: Purina HiPro & Dog Chow dog foods, Boatmen’s Bank, Fred Arbogast Fishing Lures, Champion Bass Boats, and City of St. Louis tourism