I like to be in on the strategy stage, before pen is ever put to paper. Great work—the kind that gets results and that everyone is proud of—begins with a great assignment, derived from a smart strategy. I don’t like too many layers and gatekeepers between the people who are doing the creative and our clients who are buying it.

Client Experience: AAA, Caterpillar, eBay, Microsoft, Precor, Royal Caribbean International, U.S. Bank, The Wing, Kenworth and Agilent

Surprises: Former National Champion in Men’s 50-Meter Freestyle, swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco, degree in zoology.