About Lacek
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“Ninety-nine percent of advertising doesn’t sell much of anything.”
We have nothing against advertising — we not only produce it ourselves, we're owned by one of the greatest agencies in the world. But as the cost of acquiring new customers continues to rise, advertising's shotgun approach has to be complemented with the kind of work we do — data-driven customer engagement.
At The Lacek Group, we help our clients preserve, protect and grow the value of their best customers through loyalty, one-to-one and CRM solutions, in addition to some traditional advertising. We create innovative programs that work across all media to build direct, personalized and lasting relationships, keeping consumers and brands connected. We do this by skillfully combining the science of data and the art of message.
And as a specialty agency of Ogilvy & Mather, we often partner with the world's most respected agency network to break new ground with data-driven solutions for travel, health sciences, retail, gaming, automotive, business-to-business, entertainment, broadcasting and a host of other categories.
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Bill Baker
President
Bill is our fearless leader, always quick with a smile, a handshake and a turned-up polo-shirt collar. For nearly 20 years, Bill has been a driver, cheerleader and source of inspiration for our organization, having spent time leading some of our biggest and most prestigious accounts, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Walt Disney Attractions. Today, he oversees our day-to-day operations and represents our company in the Ogilvy network. Spend just a little bit of time with Bill, and it won't surprise you to learn that his quick wit and analytical mind were initially engaged in the practice of law before moving to the client side as Corporate Vice President, Global System Development, for National Car Rental. When he's not playing his role as Nicest Guy in the Business, Bill enjoys traveling, golf and listing the many accomplishments of his two grown daughters.
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Dan Knudsen
EVP, Client Services
Dan's college-football-player body doesn't easily fold into an airplane seat, which is unfortunate because over the years he's earned Platinum status on multiple airlines in an effort to share his enthusiasm for direct marketing with clients all over the country. At TLG, Dan not only oversees all our client relationships, but our consulting, strategic services and analytics practices as well. Dan is one busy — and brilliant — guy. Prior to joining TLG, he played a key role in defining one of the country's first and largest loyalty programs — Emerald Club at National Car Rental. As VP Worldwide Marketing for National, Dan authored its segmentation strategy and was an early pioneer in using data to target specific messages to specific audiences. All these years later, he still thinks more like a client than an agency guy. It helps that he can work out those identity issues on long walks along the beach near his vacation home in Mexico.
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John Jarvis
EVP, Chief Creative Officer
Need a fire built? First Aid instruction? How about swim lessons or wilderness survival training? As an Eagle Scout, John can cover all that. And as a guy who's still winning gold awards for his copywriting, decades after winning his first, he's got the creative thing covered too. As Chief Creative Officer, John oversees the large, talented team of designers, writers and interactive wizards who create brand experiences for all our clients. Prior to TLG, John was CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Colle+McVoy in Minneapolis; held creative leadership positions at Martin|Williams, Fallon, and other agencies; started Lynch Jarvis Jones back in the late 80s with three other partners; later ran his own freelance-writing business; started another small creative company, GIRAFFE, and so on. Oh, and he taught advertising and copywriting at several universities, colleges and portfolio schools. Fortunately for all involved, his plan to become an architect ended after one too many creativity-stunting engineering classes in college.
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Francesco Favazza
SVP, Group Account Director
Is there a guy who knows the airline loyalty program landscape better than Francesco? Don't bet on it. His office is filled with model planes and dozens of framed loyalty program membership cards — all in his name. But his experience goes well beyond his integral role in helping design the Delta SkyMiles program or relaunch National Car Rental's Emerald Club. In addition to his passion for travel, he's worked in the automotive, financial services and packaged goods categories as well. Today he leads a portfolio of accounts including Enterprise Holdings, United Airlines/JPM Chase and Ameriprise Financial. Not surprisingly, Francesco holds a degree in aeronautical science. But his marketing experience came the hard way, starting with an MBA from the University of Minnesota. A native of Italy, he's mostly lost his accent. But he can still swear in several European languages and recommend the best restaurants in Sicily or Milan.
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Julie Bustos
SVP, Technology Services
As the leader of the technology group at TLG, Julie leads a team of innovative interactive marketing strategists and developers who design and execute digital marketing campaigns across all Lacek clients. (Having three small kids at home, herding cats comes naturally to Julie.) In addition, Julie and her team are responsible for the ongoing evolution of the technology infrastructure that securely houses and mobilizes our clients' greatest asset: data. Prior to joining TLG, Julie was an Information Systems Engineer for the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, and was responsible for launching its acclaimed educational website long before the corporate world really knew what websites were. Julie earned her bachelor of arts degree in economics with a mathematical emphasis at the University of Wisconsin. While she claims to have spent her preteen years with a can of Aqua Net always within reach, today she's more the Sporty Spice type with a busy schedule of games to play or attend.
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Chris Hoffman
SVP, Human Resources and Corporate Communications
When you travel with Chris, you'd better be prepared for a little adventure. Beneath her mild-mannered approach for helping us maintain a top-notch talent pool, present and future, she's a give-me-a-map, put-me-on-a-motorcycle kind of gal. In that way, she's a kindred spirit with some of our heavily tattooed, hoodie-wearing developers. Today she heads a growing department of professionals who recruit, train and mentor a diverse group of TLG employees. (Her undergraduate degree in psychology certainly helps here too.) And, to keep things interesting, she heads up our corporate communications efforts and facilities management. Prior to joining TLG, Chris was Human Resources Director at Carlson Marketing Group and before that she led human resources for manufacturing, financial services and consulting companies. No slouch on the academic side, she also has a MA in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
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Ruth Kranick
SVP, Chief Financial Officer
A key member of our management team, Ruth leads our finance and accounting functions, with responsibility for budgets and forecasts; financial reporting and analysis; and client pricing, billing and contracts. A TLG employee since almost the beginning, Ruth has seen it all as we've grown into the 250+ person company we are today. She brings a welcome touch of warmth and humanity to the cold reality of numbers, spreadsheets and the many audits we undergo as part of a public company. The mother of three adult daughters, she doesn't get too rattled by the constant need to remodel office space, buy new IT equipment or undergo frequent data-security audits. Prior to joining TLG, Ruth spent several years in accounting and office-management positions at a relocation company, where she managed key areas of the business, including finance, office operations, insurance and technology.
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Jon Fjalstad
SVP, Group Account Director
On Jon's first day at TLG, he hopped on a plane and headed to Singapore, where he opened our first office outside the U.S. for our client Singapore Airlines. He was just a couple years out of college. Since then, Jon has led several loyalty program design and redesign efforts for airline clients including Delta, Emirates, LanChile and Scandinavian. And he's managed our work for Continental and United Airlines as well. Now, with two kids approaching high school, and with basketball games to coach, we've grounded him in Minneapolis, where he leads our Carnival Cruise Lines and U.S. Bank accounts. Prior to joining TLG, Jon worked at Northwest Airlines, where he managed partner relationships for the WorldPerks frequent-flyer program. So, yes, this is a guy who's been a Platinum member of many airline loyalty programs. As a kid growing up in Owatonna, MN, and as a business administration and marketing student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, little did he know life would take off like that.
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Danika Hoffmann
SVP, Strategic Services
You might be tempted to think Danika joined us as a teenager because her list of experience and accomplishments is so long. But she did come to us as a fresh face just out of UW-Eau Claire and has worked with just about every client we've had in just about every type of role. She's like those baseball players who play every position in a single game. (That would be Cesar Tovar for you Minnesota Twins fans.) Over the years, her work as a customer-engagement advocate has helped launch loyalty programs for Ford Motor Company and Dell Computers. She's also driven revenue-enhancing CRM programs for a global beauty brand, Carnival Cruise Lines, Kimberly-Clark and numerous airlines. Today, she leads our New Client Engagements and Program Development groups, marshaling the resources of TLG and other Ogilvy offices to introduce customer engagement marketing to new clients. Speaking several languages, as she does, is a big plus. Especially if digital and data are foreign to some clients.
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Randy Gunderson
SVP, Account Services
Randy oversees all of our client relationships and is a member of our Executive Management Team. Prior to taking on his current role, Randy led agency teams here and at other agencies for clients as varied as United Airlines, Best Buy, Chase Financial, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Musicland, Grand Casino and more. He began his career in finance and marketing at Damark International after earning an economics degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. With over 20 years of experience developing strategy and applying data analytics to acquire, engage and retain customers, he has the ability to see both the forest and the trees. And that extends to life outside our walls, where he shares his love of all things outdoors — mountain biking, waterskiing, fishing, hockey, snowmobiling — with his wife and two kids.
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Tyler Love
SVP, Account Director
A native of New York, Tyler suffers from cold urticaria. That is, he's allergic to cold air and water. So the fact that he moved to Minnesota 10 years ago to be closer to his wife's family tells you how much he loves his wife. At TLG, Tyler leads the Enterprise Holdings Inc. (EHI) account, managing the loyalty programs for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, and customer engagement efforts for Enterprise Car Sharing and Enterprise Car Sales. Prior to his work with EHI, he led the Starwood Preferred Guest client services team here at TLG. And before moving west, Tyler worked for Ogilvy & Mather in New York and Euro TSCG in Chicago. You might think when he's not working he'd be holed up inside, avoiding the cold — and he does enjoy watching his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, push everyone else around the basketball court. But Tyler is a glutton for punishment: His favorite sports all take place in cold air and on frozen water. Go figure.
