Meet our leadership team
Wendy Blattner / Principal
Role: Strategizes and directs integrated branding, communications and digital engagements. “I take a holistic view of the client’s business and brand. I can see what’s happening, what’s not and uncover the missed opportunities. Most companies don’t fully leverage their brands as business assets. So when you help a client see that, it can be a revelation.”Background: Two decades of experience with major clients, including global financial services and consumer products companies. Former senior vice president and managing director at Red Sky Interactive, and principal at Belk Mignogna Associates.
Reputation: Never, ever loses the thread.
John Nishimoto / Principal
Role: Directs strategic and creative branding efforts, including brand development, name generation and brand environments. Leader of Sequel’s branding practice since 2004. “I have a passion for the right idea. Not the one that just looks good or sounds catchy, but that motivates people to take action — whether it’s getting excited to go to work in the morning, embracing a new idea as their own or looking at what they do in a different way.”Background: More than 20 years in strategic branding, both envisioning and building new brands and activating the value of mature brands. Former creative director, corporate branding, at Interbrand.
Reputation: Tweaks to be right, not just different.
Alex Reid / Head of Strategy and Research
Role: Leads Sequel’s brand strategy and insights team spanning research, positioning, naming, brand architecture, and content development. “I’m fascinated by what drives people to do what they do — finding what inspires them and makes them tick. I help clients realize their ambitions by identifying and shaping the strategic elements of their brands that connect with key audiences and drive growth.”Background: More than 20 years in strategic branding, serving as a senior executive at Lippincott, Sullivan, and Sterling Brands and founding two independent branding agencies.
Reputation: Equal parts strategic and creative thinker.
Brian Crooks / Managing Director, Digital Experience
Role: Directs and manages Sequel’s creative teams through the creation and development of digital projects with a focus on human-centered design, the clients’ business goals and the end users’ needs. "Experience design brings together the human, the visual and the technical aspects of design unlike any other discipline — and I love it."Background: More than 15 years of experience building mobile apps, websites, platforms and identity systems for a broad range of companies, from tech leaders and Fortune 100 companies to small startups. Formerly the creative product lead for The Barbarian Group's Mobile and Experiential Group, and the Digital Creative Director at Siegel + Gale, New York.
Reputation: Finds the right questions to solve the right problems.
Dale Kramer Cohen / Managing Director, Private Equity Solutions
Role: Leads the Private Equity Solutions group, directing strategy, marketing and business development. “I have ‘quant’ DNA but am really a human behavioral devotee — successful businesses are communities of people. Companies simply need to unearth the underlying why’s, align core competencies, tell the right story consistently, and deliver on their brand promise in a meaningful, engaging way.”Background: An alumna of Citibank, American Express, Ogilvy One and Wharton with over two decades as a strategic, insights-driven marketing and branding leader for Fortune 200 and mid-size growth companies, principally in financial services, technology, healthcare and manufacturing. Founder and partner of consultancies Exitivity and DKC Resources, former CMO at The Leader’s Edge and co-founder of IvyLIfe.
Reputation: Energetic master connector thinks out of the box.
Dana Gonsalves / Creative Director
Role: Leads creative teams on key engagements for major clients, including luxury retailers, consumer products companies, financial services companies and cultural organizations. “I love designing brands that resonate. The goal is to succeed at every point of interaction—all the different places where people live, breathe, encounter, sell and buy the brand.”Background: More than 25 years as a designer on major client accounts. Former design director for Red Sky Interactive, Nuforia and Belk Mignogna Associates.
Reputation: Can’t stop until it’s right.
David Phan / Creative Director
Role: Heads major branding and communications engagements for clients in a wide range of verticals, including technology, consumer luxury and retail, media and entertainment, finance and education. “If I’m known for turning around ideas fast, it’s because I waste no time in getting to the heart of the problem. Great design isn’t about blue sky concepts; it’s about working intelligently, within parameters defined by the medium, the audience and the story.”Background: Former designer and art director with communications firms on two continents, including Spencer Francy Peters and Cundari in Toronto; Pauffley & Company, Newell & Sorrell and Interbrand in the UK and Addison and the New York Times Company in New York.
Reputation: Relentless in his pursuit of the right solution.
Stephen Starbuck / Director, Content Strategy
Role: Finds the right idea and the right expression to vault a brand or business forward. “I articulate what people want to say about themselves and their business, in their words but also, and more to the point, in their best words.”Background: A few decades of solving branding and communications challenges with style and verve for leaders in numerous industries.
Reputation: Helps brands resonate with purpose.
Adrian Levin / Creative Director, Branded Environments
Role: Directs branding design in physical spaces, including offices, public spaces and trade expositions. Expertise ranges from identity and signage to wayfinding and exhibition design. “Environmental branding lies somewhere between cuisine, theater and psychology. You mix media and materials in a way that expresses the brand personality and engages an audience.”Background: Two decades of experience in environmental branding. Former associate partner, marchFIRST; former environmental designer with I. M. Pei & Partners, Chermayeff & Geismar and Donovan/Green.
Reputation: Knows what goes where ... and why.