MINDGRUVE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Cofounder
Chad is the Cofounder and CEO of Mindgruve (INC. 5000 Company). Since launching the agency in 2001, he has played a key strategic role in helping brands transform their business through marketing and technology. Over the past two decades, he has worked with some of the top global consumer and B2B brands such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Qualcomm, Oracle, Merck, Live Nation and House of Blues.
Prior to Mindgruve, Chad spent more than a decade as a startup entrepreneur building and scaling early stage businesses into mature, sustainable companies. He is now an angel investor and advisor to fast growth companies. Chad also serves on several company and industry boards in the consumer, technology, healthcare and B2B space. Chad is a regular writer and public speaker on the Convergence of Technology and Marketing, Digital Business Transformation and Customer Acquisition Strategies for Rapid Growth Companies.
Job Titles:
- Cofounder
- Executive Creative Director
Clint is Cofounder and award-winning Executive Creative Director of Mindgruve where he plays an important strategic role in helping clients brand build through creative, storytelling and user experience design. Over the past decade, he has led creative campaigns for some of the top consumer and B2B brands in America such as Procter & Gamble, House of Blues, Martinelli's, Opus Bank and Oracle.
Prior to Mindgruve, Clint spent more than a decade as founder of a leading design and brand consultancy shop. He is widely considered one of the top creative executives in the industry, with numerous industry awards spanning two decades of work. Clint is a graduate of San Diego State University.
Dan Hellbusch - Chief Strategy Officer, President
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy Officer
- President
Dan is the President and Chief Strategy Officer of Mindgruve where he leads the agency's operations as well as its Business Growth Strategy practice group. Dan's strategy experience spans across all mediums including TV, digital, newspaper, magazines, radio, FSAs and Spanish language publications. His deep category experience in the consumer and B2B industries is also diverse working with clients such as Procter & Gamble, FICO, Martinelli's, Opus Bank, UnityPoint Healthcare, PCA Skin and Agilent Technologies.
Prior to Mindgruve, Dan was the Senior Vice President, Digital Media at The San Diego Union-Tribune, one of Southern California's largest publishing and digital content companies. He also serves as a Board of Director for a handful of consumer focused brands. Dan is a graduate of University of San Diego.
Ellyn is Vice President, Media of Mindgruve where she leads media strategies that help brands identify and acquire new customers. Ellyn draws upon her deep experience in market research and consumer insights to drive revenue growth by leveraging data to optimize client campaigns. She is considered one of the top omni channel media experts in Cross-Platform Display, Social Media, and Video with extensive experience in TV, DRTV, Addressable TV, OOH, Print and Radio.
Prior to Mindgruve, Ellyn worked on Madison Avenue in New York City before moving to San Diego. Some of her past clients include Olive Garden, Mars, Inc., Martinelli's, Procter & Gamble, Agilent Technologies and Cars.com. Ellyn is a graduate of Penn State University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Adjunct Professor in Finance for the School of Business Management
James brings more than 25 years of financial management and accounting experience to his role as Chief Financial Officer of Mindgruve and Mindgruve Ventures where he is responsible for leading all finance operations and accounting functions.
Before joining Mindgruve, James was a Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank for nearly 24 years. James is also an Adjunct Professor in Finance for the School of Business Management at National University and routinely teaches courses in Business Finance, Corporate Valuation and Managerial Accounting. He holds a BA in Physics and English from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA in Finance from San Diego State University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Kristy is the Director of Human Resources for Mindgruve where she leads the agency's recruiting, talent management and people operations. Kristy has spent her career optimizing the employee experience through performance management, benefits and engagement, in promoting award-winning organizations in the financial services and biotechnology industry.
Prior to Mindgruve, Kristy was the Executive Director, Head of People and Talent Acquisition for CUSO Financial Services based in San Diego. She is an active member in San Diego Society of Human Resource Management. Kristy is a graduate of San Diego State University.
Michael is the Chief Marketing Officer of Mindgruve where he leads the agency's client engagements, relationship management and industry thought leadership for brands such as Live Nation, PCA Skin, House of Blues and Sony.
Prior to Mindgruve, Michael was the Director of Event Marketing at the NBA where he oversaw all global brand marketing events for the NBA All-Star Weekend, the NBA Draft and the McDonald's All American Game. Most recently he spent 10 years as Executive Director at the PGA Tour leading the management and marketing for the World Golf Championships.
With over 20 years of global marketing experience across advertising, media, marketing and technology, Michael has a proven track record in driving market share and revenue growth for global brands. Mike is a graduate of California State University - Fullerton undergrad and University of Southern California MBA.
Michael is the Design Director of Mindgruve where he is responsible for leading design and brand experience for our client engagements. He is an award winning Design Director and subject matter expert in design, user experience and interaction design best practices. Michael has won numerous industry brand design awards in the consumer and B2B space. He has worked for brands such as House of Blues, Procter & Gamble, Live Nation, Martinelli's and PCA Skin.
Prior to Mindgruve, Michael was the lead designer at Hollis Brand Culture, an award winning studio based in downtown San Diego, California. He currently co-manages Yeller, an acclaimed art collective dedicated to the creation of accessible art and uniting the local creative community. Michael is a graduate of San Diego State University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Project Management
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Client Services
Rachel is Vice President, Client Services of Mindgruve where she manages the agency's account strategy team. With over 17 years of integrated marketing and strategy experience, Rachel's expertise focuses on the integration and execution of paid, owned and earned channels for consumer and B2B brands.
Prior to Mindgruve, Rachel worked on both the client-side and agency-side for some of the world's top marketing agencies and global brands, including BMW, Petco, T-Mobile, El Pollo Loco, CBRE and University of California. Rachel is a graduate of University of Bath.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Media & Analytics
Steven is the Vice President, Media and Analytics where he leads the marketing, attribution and data analytics teams at Mindgruve. With 10 years of global brand experience in the omni channel marketing space, Steven is widely considered one of the top media and data analytics thought leaders in the industry.
Prior to Mindgruve, Steven worked on local, national and global integrated media campaigns managing hundreds of millions in media budgets for notable brands such as United Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, Yamaha, O'Neill Clothing, Martinelli's, Opus Bank and Agilent Technologies.
Zach DuFresne is the Managing Director of Mindgruve where he helps facilitate and support rapid growth strategies for his clients. Zach has spent his entire career helping brands align business goals with marketing strategies that ensure optimum performance and return on ad spend.
Prior to Mindgruve, Zach worked as a senior executive at several media companies helping local, regional, and national brands across digital and traditional media channels. Some of his clients include Home Depot, Arby's, Dillard's and Hard Rock Casino. Zach is a college graduate and former collegiate golfer at both Oklahoma University and Georgia State University.