Jeff is a veteran brand strategist, writer and producer with 20 years of service for a wide range of B2B, B2C and Non-profit organizations, from start-up and mid-caps to category leaders and Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to being a founding Partner of UPBrand, Jeff was Principal + Strategy Director with TOKY Branding + Design where he was an award winning writer/producer and strategist. He helped drive exponential growth for this respected firm during his seven years there.
While at TOKY, Jeff was the Principal in charge of the Metro Transit assignment where he led the team, in collaboration with members of The Standing Partnership, responsible for effectively repositioning the bi-state transit agency. This community education and repositioning effort was a critical aspect of their successful effort to help pass the 2010 ballot initiative that won by a landslide and secured a long-term funding source for this critical community resource.
Other major client assignments while at TOKY included The Gateway Arch Riverfront rebranding, Barnes Jewish Hospital repositioning and advertising, as well as branding and advertising campaigns for several schools and centers at Washington University in St. Louis, Sonnenschein, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, United Way of Greater St. Louis, and American Red Cross, among many others.
With Walyon Advertising, Jeff also helped develop several effective campaigns for a variety of organizations, including the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, SAVVIS, The Center for Energy and Economic Development, St. Louis Business Journal and St. Louis Cardinals.
Prior to Waylon, Jeff spent nearly a decade in New York City helping to build brands such as IBM, Lerner New York, Linens'n Things, NIKE, and SONY Electronics.
As an Emmy nominated creative, Jeff's garnered accolades over the years for his creative writing and has produced award-winning campaigns recognized by groups such the American Advertising Federation (AAF), American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) and Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
One of his proudest professional accomplishments occurred while leading creative, production and operational process improvements as a member of AGA Creative in New York City. During his tenure as Vice President of this multinational creative firm, one of his roles included leading the agency's quality improvement initiatives.
His efforts resulted in AGA being recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Institute of Standards & Technology as one of five finalists for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
True to form as both a right and left brained thinker, Jeff has earned certificates in quantitative and qualitative research from Burke Institute and is an experienced focus group moderator and qualitative researcher.
He was recently a board member of The Ad Club of St. Louis and is currently an allocations panel volunteer for the United Way of Greater St. Louis and a board member of Ready & Willing, an organization dedicated to delivering high quality marketing services to local not-for-profits.
Jeff earned degrees in Communications and Journalism from Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University). He lives in Kirkwood, Missouri with his wife, Michelle, and two sons, Ryan and Andrew.