A graduate from the School of Hard Knocks, Rob is a master at thriving under the most challenging of circumstances. Instructed in the field of marketing at HBCUs–Hampton and Norfolk State, and trained in the art of advertising at the prestigious Portfolio Center, he’s had an unprecedented run of winning and growing business at both general market and multicultural agencies. A gifted storyteller, with a reputation for coming up with disruptive ways to solve the problems that keep clients up at night, Rob has delivered breakthrough work for titans like McDonald's, Toyota, Nike, Kellogg’s and Coca-Cola, as well as challenger brands like Reebok, Land O’ Lakes and Famous Footwear. Career highlights include being one of the masterminds behind the Nintendo character Wario, being one of the first creatives to leverage hip-hop for Fortune 500 brands, and breaking the internet with Cadillac’s Edward Scissorhands Super Bowl moment. Awards span The One Show, Cannes, CA, D&AD, ADDY’s, Mobius, Hugo, and the Effies, and Rob has been featured in Shots Magazine, but he’s most proud of the fact that most of the very same work withstood the the torture of ASI, Ameritest and Milward-Brown.
A Doctor in the Philosophy of Sociology and a pioneer in the Science of Marketing Communication, Kristian operates with the discipline of a researcher and the imagination of a consultant, which allows her to turn data points into powerful business-building insights. Having spent the bulk of her career converting cultural signals into commercial impact for Fortune 500 brands, she’s made an indelible mark on brands like McDonald’s, Nike, Coors Light, Nissan, Coca-Cola and Courvoisier. Obsessed with exploring new processes and techniques for uncovering insights, she commissioned Project Decoder, a landmark study on how culture drives marketing effectiveness, and engineered SAR – Strategy, Analytics & Research – a think tank that powered the fastest growing multicultural agency on record. Honors include Ad Age Women to Watch, Chicago Defender Woman of Excellence, and Coalesce Industry Trailblazer. Passions cover guest lecturing at Northwestern/Medill and Columbia College, serving on boards for the Chicago Advertising Federation, the Frances Xavier Warde School, and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice School District.
