FACULTY
LISA GEARHART
EVP/Director, Insights & Strategy
ST. JOHN & PARTNERS
Lisa began her career on the PR side of the business, working client-side at American Express and CSX. She joined St. John & Partners to provide account leadership to ACUVUE, Capital One, and other key clients. Over time, Lisa discovered that her professional calling is planning, and she now leads our research, brand strategy, and content planning efforts. Her passion for reading and exploring and her willingness to listen, learn and share has made her a valued member of the agency and someone our clients ask to participate in or facilitate a variety of internal and external meetings. When not at the front of the room, Lisa enjoys a variety of creative pursuits including writing, painting, drawing, music, filmmaking, books, cooking, and craft cocktails. When possible, she travels to learn more about her interests. Her most recent trip was to Provence to learn more about Vincent Van Gogh.
JEFF SLATER
Chief listening officer
the marketing sage consultancy
In 1975, he and his wife built one of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest-Growing Companies called Rachel’s Brownies. They got to partner with Ben & Jerry and have lunch with President Reagan when he came to celebrate small businesses in Malvern, Pa. In 1989 Jeff and his wife successfully sold the multi-million dollar company to GoodMark Foods, a Raleigh, NC business.
From 1989-2002, Jeff managed a portfolio of $400MM in snack food brands, including two $100MM + icons; Slim Jims® and David’s Sunflower Seeds®. With a 20 million dollar marketing budget, he worked with Macho Man Randy Savage to help grow the Slim Jims brand through innovative marketing from traditional TV commercials to multi-faceted promotional campaigns from X-Games, Hoop-It-Up and Nascar sponsorships.
After a brief stint as VP Marketing at Cheerwine®, a regional soft drink company, Jeff worked as the global marketing leader for Nomacorc®, a wine-closure company closing billions of bottles of wine. (Now called Vinventions)
Today, Jeff runs a fractional CMO service for small to mid-sized companies who want a strategic leader with counterintuitive marketing skills. He consults with companies under 100 million dollars in revenue, helping them unravel the mysteries of marketing.
Jeff’s marketing superpower is his ability to listen while others speak.