WESTMEATH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Gretchen Reid Advisor / Triona Saunders Advisor
Adaire is a savvy communications confidant who has built and protected the reputations of some of the world's largest companies for 30 years.
She most recently led global corporate reputation at Kellogg Co., including the development of communications strategies and programs to promote and protect the company's reputation worldwide. She also spearheaded communications during Kellogg Company's acquisition of Pringles in 2012.
Adaire specializes in developing strategies and programs that engage internal and external stakeholders, showcasing clients' commitments to responsible business practices through CSR and other initiatives. She developed and led Kellogg's CSR communications strategy while at the company and continues to write the company's annual Corporate Responsibility Report. She also helped global ingredient-manufacturer Ventura Foods develop its CSR strategy and has written its report since that time.
Adaire serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Illinois University Foundation, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications. She also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. She lives in Saugatuck, Michigan, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Amanda Turner Advisor / Kim Wroblewski Advisor
Amanda is dedicated to the idea that strategic internal communications can meaningfully impact an organization's success.
She has worked in corporate communications for nearly 20 years and today consults with companies across a variety of industries, including financial services, education and healthcare.
Prior to becoming a consultant, Amanda spent eight years as head of internal communications at global healthcare giant Baxter International, a Fortune 200 company with more than 50,000 employees. In that role, she oversaw financial and strategic messaging, a global rebrand of the company, the introduction of new executive leadership and the acquisition/divestiture of numerous entities.
Throughout her career, Amanda has provided valuable communications counsel to corporate leadership and works with executives to raise their visibility as industry thought leaders. This includes helping leaders identify their voice, curate their story and raise their public persona through a purposeful selection of speaking engagements, board positions and media opportunities.
In addition to her leadership work, she loves the challenge of identifying how best to engage employees and align them toward a common goal, be it a new company strategy or the acquisition of a competitor.
Amanda earned bachelor's degrees in English and communications from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She lives in Boston with her husband and two children.
Anne is a candid and energetic global communications guru who loves to solve real business problems. She founded Westmeath in 2010 after leading communications programs and teams for multiple Fortune 500 companies for 30 years.
Anne led large communications and marketing programs at Sara Lee Corporation, IBM, Polaroid, DuPont, Western Union, SAP and CH2M and has worked in the U.S., Europe and Asia. She's especially knowledgeable about technology, financial services and consumer packaged goods.
Anne works closely with CEOs and is an expert in reputation management, issues and crisis management, employee and executive messaging and media relations. She started Westmeath because she saw an opportunity to revolutionize the traditional agency model. Under the Westmeath umbrella, Anne taps into her global network of experts to deliver premier communication services without unnecessary overhead or cumbersome processes.
Since starting Westmeath, Anne has introduced a variety of communications programs and workshops designed to raise the bar in business communications standards - Speakers' Corner®, Seanachai®, the Rocky Mountain Performance Barometer and the Thread Summit.
Anne earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Michigan State University and has completed executive education programs at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and at INSEAD, Fontainebleau. She lives in Colorado and enjoys tennis, golf, biking and skiing. She is a dual citizen (U.S. and Ireland) and continues to travel the globe.
Founded in 2010, Westmeath is a global business communications consultancy. We are a woman-owned, boutique consulting firm dedicated to driving brand performance. We offer a strategic alternative to traditional communications agencies and consulting firms. Our goal is to help our clients translate their strategies into programs that inform, motivate, educate and inspire decision makers and other stakeholders to take action.The Netsortium® is an ecosystem of accomplished business communicators under one virtual roof. We are tethered together by a set of shared values and operate with a shared set of collaboration principles. Each engagement is staffed by a handpicked team of experts who appreciate the pressures of the global marketplace and the demands of the corporate workplace.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Lynn Dolynchuk Advisor
Prior to becoming a consultant, Ashley served as Account Director for Reputation Partners, a top corporate and crisis communications firm in Chicago. She directed strategy for Ernst & Young in the Midwest, worked on multiple healthcare accounts including University of Chicago Medicine, and led a national internal communications assessment for Exelon.
Prior to Reputation Partners, Ashley spent two years as a Senior Communications Specialist for ComEd, the fourth largest electric utility in the U.S. She served as a national and local media spokesperson during storm events and other crises, developed messages and materials for the CEO and senior leadership team, and orchestrated a major series of large-scale employee meetings.
Earlier in her career, Ashley held meaningful roles at Chicago-based public affairs firm Jasculca Terman, the New Orleans public affairs office of the Army Corps of Engineers, prominent New York public relations firm Magrino, and the public relations department at Elizabeth Arden.
Ashley holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she specialized in strategic communication. She resides in Denver.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Bernie Charland Advisor / Kendall Colman Advisor
- Communications Leader
Bernie is a seasoned communications leader with more than 30 years of experience in corporate communications both in Canada and the United States. Bernie's career spans a variety of settings, including agency, corporate, government and consulting. For the past 20 years he has specialized in employee communications and engagement, leadership outreach and digital workplace strategy.
Bernie was previously director of employee engagement and communications for the CPP Investment Board - one of the largest pension funds in the world. Prior to that, Bernie was founder and principal of Thinktwice Communications, a Denver-based communications consultancy. Earlier roles include vice president of internal communications for Iron Mountain - the global leader in information management services based in Boston - and managing the global internal communication function at Dell (now Dell Technologies) and leading strategic planning for the company's award-winning social media team. During his agency days, Bernie worked with a range of leading organizations including Ford, Deutsche Bank, Boeing, Gerber/Novartis, Toyota, Nationwide, Molson Coors, Amazon, Visa and Sprint.
Bernie has a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, an Advanced Management Program certifiate from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
Bernie has passion and a drive for excellence that extends beyond his work. Personal achievements include completing over 70 marathons (including ultra-marathons), 50 triathlons and climbing trips to Mt. Everest, Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Amanda Turner Advisor / Kim Wroblewski Advisor
Carol can grow businesses through the power of public relations. She has led teams and utilized new communication platforms to drive revenue for many organizations across multiple industries.
As senior vice president of Imagination Publishing in Chicago, she created its online publishing division that innovated the way the company delivered custom content for Fortune 50 companies and various trade associations - an achievement that underscored her ability to drive revenue through communications tools.
She also applied her public relations knowledge to politics earlier in her career as deputy press secretary for the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Illinois.
Carol has been executive director of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center since 2007. She has used her knowledge in communications, marketing and business development to bring what was once an ill-funded and little-known program to the forefront. Her efforts to rebrand and reposition the center as the premiere Celiac Center in the U.S. and one of the best in the world resulted in more than $6 million in fundraising to further its mission.
Carol earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan. She's a passionate advocate for the cure of celiac disease and an avid tennis player. She lives in Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Jessica M. Graham Advisor
David predicts trends that inform marketing communications, public relations and branding. He specializes in the measurement of corporate reputation and risk and has applied his world-class education to research projects for the globe's most recognizable brands.
He was senior vice president, partner and head of research at FleishmanHillard, the largest global public relations firm. His clients included AT&T, Walmart, Visa, UNICEF, Avaya, Motorola, Caterpillar and Emerson. He previously worked at market research firm Elrick and Lavidge and at Sprint, and was a researcher at the Centre National de le Recherche Scientifique in Toulouse, France.
David earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in social studies from Harvard and an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas. He also holds a Dipl.Et.App. in history from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. David lives in Burlington, Vermont.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Ted McDougal Advisor / David Mortazavi Advisor
David is an expert in building corporate reputation - a skill he has honed for more than 20 years in the corporate, agency, nonprofit and political sectors. He's led numerous initiatives and enhanced the reputation of well-known major brands and organizations, including WebMD, Novartis, Nestle Nutrition and the iconic Gerber baby brand.
David is also experienced in strategic communication planning, corporate social responsibility, change management and internal communications. He has led numerous high-visibility initiatives and events with CEOs, elected officials and celebrities that enhance organizational reputation and relationships.
David also helps clients obtain top-tier media placements. He has successfully earned media placements on numerous national media, including "TODAY," "Good Morning America" and "Access Hollywood," and has relationships with The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post.
Earlier in his career, David led all fundraising and development activities at the Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications. He also worked as a grass-roots organizer for Chicago political campaigns.
He earned a Master's degree from Northwestern University's Integrated Marketing Communications program and an undergraduate degree from Loyola University, Chicago. He lives in New Jersey with his family and is a passionate hockey fan, avid swimmer and cyclist.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Mark Heisten Advisor / Doug Hock Advisor
If a client is up at night because of a sudden crisis, Doug is right there with them to develop a strategy to address the issue and preserve the client's reputation.
He has 25 years of experience in public relations and crisis management, mostly in the oil and gas and mining industries, and has dealt with everything from environmental incidents and regulatory issues to labor disputes.
Doug was most recently Manager of Media Relations for the U.S. operations of Encana, a Canadian-based oil and gas corporation. Encana hired him in 2005 to help re-build its reputation following an environmental accident on the western slope of Colorado, and for the next 13 years he helped the company build and maintain crucial relationships in areas where it does business.
Prior to Encana, Doug served as chief media spokesman for Newmont Mining, a global mining company. He developed public and media relations responses to environmental issues in diverse places like Peru and Indonesia, and orchestrated international media coverage for the opening of a Newmont joint venture in Uzbekistan.
Earlier in his career, Doug worked both in-house and as a consultant for companies in health care, transportation and retail. He holds a bachelor's degree in News/Editorial Journalism from Drake University and resides in Denver.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Gretchen Reid Advisor / Triona Saunders Advisor
Gretchen is a transformational coach and consultant leading strategic change management and culture alignment efforts that drive real results.
She has more than 25 years of experience creating award-winning programs in hospitality, retail, and financial services among other industries.
Gretchen has designed and implemented Leadership and Talent Development efforts at Janus Capital Group (now Janus Henderson Investors), Crocs, and most recently Vail Resorts. She has also consulted with Boulder Community Health, Aspen Health Care, Exempla Health Care, Western Union, DW Mail, and many entrepreneurial start-ups.
Her clients will tell you that she is adept at building trust and teamwork in a way that allows people to transcend their differences to focus on shared vision and common interests. When coaching executive leaders, she uses an active-learning approach that leverages the work at hand as the real-time learning ground.
Gretchen's expertise has directly contributed to multiple awards for her clients, including Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies, Forbes America's Best Employers List and Forbes Best Employer for Diversity.
She holds a Masters in Career and Human Resource Development from Rochester Institute of Technology and a degree in Psychology from the University of Rochester, with a Certificate in Business Management.
A lover of the outdoors, Gretchen resides in Colorado where she enjoys hiking, back country skiing, and standup paddleboarding. Gretchen also was among the first women to enter the mountain bike racing series in the early 90s.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Michael Baldwin Advisor / Jim Burke Advisor
Hunter helps companies grow through experimentation, developing ideas and opportunities that transform businesses.
He has extensive senior executive experience in startups and Fortune 100 companies across financial services, consulting, software and energy industries. He has worked for and with leading brands in the US and Europe, including Visa, HSBC, Barclays, BBVA, and Nordea.
Hunter has led large marketing teams as the Chief Marketing Officer at HBOS, managed loan and credit card portfolios at Barclays, built KNI into a successful international strategy and analytics consulting firm and helped launch and grow several startups.
Hunter earned his bachelors, masters and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Systems Engineering. His research focused on optimization and artificial intelligence. Hunter lives in Boulder, Colorado with his family.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Jessica M. Graham Advisor
Jessica brings expertise from the intersection of public relations, internal communications, community affairs, customer care and corporate responsibility. Using a strategic approach, she provides innovative solutions that drive results and take your organization to the next level.
Jessica has more than 25 years of experience in virtually every aspect of public relations in a variety of industries, including retail, telecommunications and education. She was vice president, chief communications and community officer for Belk, Inc. Today, Jessica consults with corporations, small businesses and nonprofit organizations, providing strategic communications and community outreach counsel.
Mecklenburg Times recognized Jessica as one of Mecklenburg County's Most Influential Women in 2015. She is also the recipient of a Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil Award, Leadership North Carolina's Stanley Frank Award, and PRSA Charlotte Chapter's Infinity Award for lifetime achievement.
She holds a bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She resides in Charlotte.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Michael Baldwin Advisor / Jim Burke Advisor
- President of the Charlotte
Jim easily connects with people at all levels of an organization thanks to a 30-year career in communications and human resources. Before leaving the corporate world to help clients with business challenges, Jim held executive communications roles with General Motors, Federal-Mogul and Babcock and Wilcox.
Among his vast and varied communications experience, he's developed communications strategies for major change initiatives while working extensively with clients and colleagues throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
He's also launched new products, facilitated acquisitions and divestitures, led charitable and philanthropic initiatives, strengthened brands, and earlier in his career, spent several years working in manufacturing facilities - all of which have enabled him to know how to reach and engage different audiences.
Jim is president of the Charlotte, North Carolina, chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He is a classic automobile enthusiast and resides in Charlotte.
Joost sees the big picture. He's a skilled strategic communicator who has supported organizational change, crisis management and brand introductions for more than 25 years.
He served as vice president of international communications and corporate social responsibility for Sara Lee International, where he worked with European brand names such as Douwe Egberts®, Kiwi®, Sanex® and Ambi-Pur®. He also served as strategic counsel to senior management and held responsibility for the group's international corporate social responsibility function.
Joost offers strategic business communication and personal counsel to executives and companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. He has worked extensively with multinational corporations, non-government organizations and business start-ups. His clients include MARS, Albert Heijn, Aviko, Sanoma Media and FNLI.
He earned his degree in senior communications management in the Netherlands, where he currently lives. He is an avid cyclist, hiker and traveler.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Bernie Charland Advisor / Kendall Colman Advisor
Kendall is a C-level executive presentation coach who advises some of the nation's most prominent leaders and brands. She is founder of Total Coaching Systems, a corporate performance and executive coaching firm based in Denver.
She has helped Fortune 1000 executives at Siemens, Comcast, Wells Fargo, and hundreds of mid-size companies, including Colorado favorites FirstBank, PCL Construction and Arrow Electronics.
Clients who work with Kendall are able to pursue and deliver major speaking engagements, drive more impactful top-line results and enhance their organization's brand awareness. She has prepared leaders for presentations at the World Economic Forum, CES, and Wall Street Investor Day. She provides media preparedness training and has advised clients who appear on national television networks, including CNBC.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Amanda Turner Advisor / Kim Wroblewski Advisor
Kim helps companies of all sizes ignite their brands through integrated workplace and marketing communications.
Creative and results-oriented, she's passionate about employee communications and loves the challenge of building engaged workplace cultures. Drawing on 16 years of corporate experience with several global consumer packaged goods companies, Kim co-founded Fireside Communications in 2018.
Prior to Fireside, she worked in corporate communications roles with KraftHeinz, Sara Lee, WhiteWave Foods and Danone. A trusted advisor to leadership teams, Kim helped these organizations navigate through senior leadership changes, multibillion-dollar acquisitions, spinoffs and divestitures, workforce reductions, and cost-savings initiatives.
She also has a proven record of retooling digital channels and content to meet the changing needs of modern-day leaders and employees - all with an eye on supporting broader business goals and increasing brand ambassadorship amongst employees.
Kim holds a bachelor's degree in Communications and Marketing from Marquette University. She lives near Boulder, Colo., where she enjoys to hike, camp and cook.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Bernie Charland Advisor / Kendall Colman Advisor
ureen has more than 25 years of experience leading strategic communication efforts on behalf of large, global healthcare organizations. She develops effective strategy and tactics and executes flawlessly to deliver business results, through thought leadership, investor communication, employee engagement and integrated marketing communication programs. Recognized for creating broad understanding of business goals through clear and compelling messaging across all stakeholders, Laureen empowers executive leaders to accelerate organizational performance in times of change.
Laureen has spent her entire career in the healthcare industry, most recently serving as chief communications (CCO) officer for Baxter International (2010-2016). Her role as CCO included overseeing the company's corporate brand, internal and external communications, product and services communication, sustainability and the management of the company's non-profit foundation and its $100 million endowment. Additionally, Laureen spent nearly 20-years working in Public Affairs at Abbott Laboratories, including divisional vice president of the company's $8 billion U.S. pharmaceutical business, which was the company's largest and most profitable segment.
Laureen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and a Master's in Business Administration, both from Loyola University of Chicago. Laureen is an active member of the Arthur W. Page Society and serves on the dean's advisory board for Loyola University of Chicago's School of Communications. Laureen resides in Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Mark Heisten Advisor / Doug Hock Advisor
Luana gets to the heart of a brand's story and expertly crafts it to transcend audiences, spark meaningful connections and drive results.
Her career spans more than two decades of in-house and agency roles in corporate communications, marketing, and public and media relations. She co-found Fireside Communications in 2018 to help companies of all sizes ignite their brands through effective integration of their workplace and marketplace communications.
She has represented a number of complex global brands, including Microsoft, Chipotle, Danone and WhiteWave Foods, and her varied experience representing these brands at critical inflection points has shaped her holistic philosophy of aligning strategies and messages.
Whether it's leading public offering communications or launching a corporate re-brand, she is a trusted advisor to leaders in the C-suite and beyond, including sales, human resources, legal, and sustainability.
Luana holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and French from the University of Oregon. She lives in Denver, where she enjoys running, yoga and cultivating her Francophile passions.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Lynn Dolynchuk Advisor
From editing white papers to analyzing social data, Lynn has a knack for finding the needle in the haystack.
Lynn started career training and writing technical manuals at OfficeMax (formerly Boise Cascade Office Products) in a role that took her across the country, interacting with every level of the organization, its customers and stakeholders.
Later, as Account Director at TrueVoice Intelligence, she helped clients like TIAA-CREF and DiTech connect with social data intelligence that guided both their business and marketing decisions.
For the past three years she has been helping companies expand their digital presence by writing blogs that have been proven to increase search engine visibility, gathering and making sense of social intelligence data to guide marketing decisions, disseminating brand messaging through social media advertising, and editing company communications.
Lynn was also campaign writer for Connecticut Senator Tony Hwang's 2016 campaign, and has taught writing, marketing communications and public relations writing at Robert Morris University, Dominican University and Sacred Heart University.
She holds a bachelor's degree in English (Professional Writing) from the University of Baltimore and a master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University, where she was associate editor of the Journal of Integrated Communications. Lynn Lives in Connecticut.
Margaret is the glue of our company. A reliable and trusted partner who ensures Westmeath's counselors and clients are set up to succeed. Margaret manages multiple client projects and serves as a liaison with our Netsortium advisors. She produced several annual conferences, including Westmeath's The Thread Summit in 2014 and coordinates Westmeath's quarterly CCO-CMO Roundtable.
Margaret has served and led non-profits for much of her career. As executive director of the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, she coordinated fundraising campaigns, secured grant funding, developed specialty programs and expanded the clinic's community outreach.
She also served as assistant program director for Adam's Camp, where she earned a reputation for designing creative programs that fostered learning and development for children, their families and her staff.
She is co-founder and executive board member of the Down Syndrome-Autism Connection, and co-author of When Down Syndrome and Autism Intersect, the first comprehensive guide to look at the dual diagnosis of Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder (DS-ASD).
She holds a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in Detroit and resides in Colorado.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor
- Advisor
- Advisor / Mark Heisten Advisor / Doug Hock Advisor
In addition to consulting, Mark is also an adjunct professor in the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Media, Communications and Information.
He earned a creative writing degree from the University of Missouri and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Santa Clara's Leavey School of Business. Mark and his family live in Boulder, Colorado.
Mark's clients refer to him as a "whole brain" leader - a dynamic thinker whose rich experience in multiple areas of business help brands create powerful growth plans.
A marketer at his core, his niche combines the power of branding and public relations with deep knowledge of sales and business development. He has worked in-house for and consulted with some of the biggest global brands, including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe.
In 2014, he founded Versum Group, a consultancy that specializes in go-to-market strategies, branding and sales enablement. He has delivered high-impact, award-winning marketing and business development programs for organizations including SAP/Business Objects, Intuit and the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
He was previously Chief Revenue Officer for a fintech start-up in Silicon Valley and has held senior executive marketing and business development positions with FIS/Worldpay, Vanguard Cleaning Systems and Visa.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Michael Baldwin Advisor / Jim Burke Advisor
A trained actor, Michael conducts a one-of-a-kind training seminar that turns corporate presenters into truly effective communicators by teaching them the value of authenticity. He works with individuals, teams, companies and brands.
Michael studied professional acting at the William Esper Studio and the Deena Levy Theatre Studio in New York. He is a graduate of Beloit College in Wisconsin.
Michael perfects the power of persuasion - he's an advertising and brand expert with more than
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Ted McDougal Advisor / David Mortazavi Advisor
A Fortune 500 C-suite executive, Michelle's hallmark is transforming companies from the inside out by leading efforts to synthesize business strategy, align leadership and help them create a culture that energizes people to embrace the future. As a former Chief Communications Officer across diverse industries, she has deep expertise in business strategy and transformation, public affairs, digital and social media, internal communication, crisis communication, investor communication, mergers & acquisitions, and branding.
Recognized as a savvy dot-connector and transformational leader with high integrity and business acumen, she has advised C-suite and boards on a variety of enterprise business issues, including; market positioning and brand strategy, non-crisis and crisis CEO and executive coaching and speechwriting, high-profile turnarounds, several CEO transitions, acquisition due diligence, more than 30 acquisition integrations, multibillion-dollar merger deals, capital structure changes, and business and operating model changes.
Michelle's 25+ year career includes roles and experiences outside of the communication function, including leading sales, consulting, delivery, operations, and direct profit and loss (P&L) accountability.
Her career includes serving on the leadership teams, as Chief Communications Officer, at CH2M, Jacobs, Carter & Burgess, and Covansys. Most recently, Michelle served as Senior Vice President, Global Communications at Freeman. She is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the world's leading professional association for corporate communications executives. She has a BA in Management Information Systems from Wayne State University.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Ted McDougal Advisor / David Mortazavi Advisor
Ted delivers a unique combination of business understanding and public relations expertise that he's sharpened over 30 years in business communications. He specializes in building corporate reputations, creating executive communications, developing corporate social responsibility programs and managing issues and crises. He spent 17 years in the financial services industry, beginning with Continental Illinois, where he ran integrated marketing communications and directed communications during what was then the largest bank restructuring in U.S. history.
Ted was vice president of public relations for Sears, responsible for financial communications, merchandise promotion and community relations, which included shaping a breakthrough PR collaboration with ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and positioning the retailer's $11 billion merger with Kmart.
He ran Ketchum's Midwest Corporate/Healthcare Practice, which produced award-winning programs for clients such as Western Union, Navistar, Walgreens, Health Care Service Corporation and WhiteWave Foods. Earlier in his career, Ted established Edelman's Financial Services Practice that included global communications and investor relations.
He serves on the boards of directors for two Chicago nonprofits: Gateway to Learning, a pre-vocational center for individuals with special needs and Freedom House Reentry Education and Employment Corp., an organization dedicated to reducing recidivism. A former reporter with experience in the public sector and political campaigns, Ted earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Purdue University. He resides in suburban Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Advisor / Gretchen Reid Advisor / Triona Saunders Advisor
Triona uses marketing programs to build businesses. She is managing director of Buckley and Partners Consulting, a strategic marketing and business development consultancy that focuses on business-to-business and professional services organizations. She also held marketing leadership roles at companies in the U.S. and Ireland for more than 10 years.
Triona has a proven track record in fast-paced, challenging corporate environments. She's adept at commercial marketing strategy, digital content, new market engagement and international strategy. She's also worked on multiple brand identity projects such as the Urban Land Institute, The Irelands Funds, America and Sullivan and Worcester.
She holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Dublin City University and an MSc in marketing from Manchester Business School, one of the world's top-ranking institutions. She lives in Dublin.