Our team

Ben has been a key player across several departments in his 14 years at SCC, impacting a wide range of client brands and business situations. He has successfully led numerous mission critical client engagements, managed the roll out of our enterprise digital partnership with Adobe and served as a key member of our strategy team.

Ben’s instincts and intellect combined with his background and experience adds significant value to SCC client outcomes across categories and channels.

Craig brings a tireless work ethic and infectious positivity to everything he does. At SCC, he oversees the creative, design, and video production departments. With over 25 years experience building brands and leading integrated teams, Craig believes in solving business problems through the power of creativity. 

As an award-winning creative, Craig has created memorable work for brands like Morgan Stanley, Uber Eats, Budweiser, and many more. Most recently he was instrumental in leading the relaunch of the Jake from State Farm campaign.

Amy Cesta has been an account and people leader for 20 plus years. Strategically delivering clients innovative and effective marketing, PR and events platforms. In addition to her dedication to clients, Amy focuses on internal growth, creating impact by identifying and developing agency talent. Her positive outlook and creative problem solving are an asset to all her collaborators.

Amy has worked with a wide range of brands including Campbell's, Kellogg's, Land O’Lakes, The National Pork Board, and The Indiana Pacers

Kristin started her career as a copywriter in the CPG marketing world on brands like Coca Cola, Nestle and ConAgra. She is the rare combination of left-brain/right-brain bringing strong strategic and organizational skills combined with raw creative instincts.

At SCC, Kristin leads a diverse group of creatives in the US and New Zealand to make compelling content across the continuum of traditional and digital channels. She is a creative problem solver, and loves seeing a brand’s story come alive across multiple consumer touchpoints.

Joe brings disciplined intellect, energy, enthusiasm and a unique skill set to brand and creative strategy at SCC.

He got his start at DC-based social impact agency GMMB where he was a founding member of the brand strategy practice.  After six years in DC, Joe returned to his hometown of Chicago and joined SCC in 2018.

As the leader of SCC's strategy department, Joe has been instrumental in the development of groundbreaking work at the agency, including recent critically-acclaimed campaigns for UChicago Medicine, the Illinois Department of Public Health, LiftMaster and Casey’s.

A 10-year veteran of the media business, Jack started his career in media strategy at Digitas. Since then, he has been developing audience-driven media strategies across a range of B2C and B2B clients such as P&G, Sprint, Olive Garden, Bank of America, and U.S. Dairy.

At SCC, Jack has built a global media and analytics group that fully leverages SCC's integrated capabilities across platforms and continents, with a focus on business goals as opposed to vanity metrics. Gallagher Insurance, Solo Cup, Right Guard, LiftMaster, GUM brands, Eastman Chemical, Broken Shed Vodka and the City of Phoenix are just a few of the brands that call SCC their media agency of record.

Dennis brings his production expertise from both agency and client side. He spent 14 years at Leo Burnett as VP/Executive Producer on clients Kellogg’s , Nintendo, Disney, Coca-Cola, P&G and Miller Beer. On the client side at ConAgra Foods, he oversaw all production across over 20 brands. He spends his time identifying the right production approach and resource to fit the budget and creative vision for each project.

Dennis manages SCC’s award winning production team and oversees assets for all three SCC companies in the US and New Zealand.

Julie has been in the world of PR, influencer partnerships, corporate communications and content marketing for 20+ years in a wide range of industries from tourism to F&B and healthcare to consumer products. She brings strategic thinking, creativity and a positive attitude to her clients and loves nothing more than bringing a brand to life through top-tier media placements, perfectly partnered influencer content and experiential activations.

As the head of PR at SCC, Julie is responsible for leading domestic and international teams to create impactful campaigns for clients including the Illinois Office of Tourism, Kellogg's Away From Home, LiftMaster and Angostura.

Melissa has over 20+ years design and production experience as well a deep understanding of systems and technology. She's played a pivotal role in bringing numerous campaigns to life for brands such as the Chicago Cubs, Kellogg's, National Port Board and Chamberlain. She leverages her unique combination of skills to drive creative and organizational excellence.

At SCC, Melissa leads a team of talented designers across the US and New Zealand in their mission to elevate creative visions into impactful realities.

Joey started his career 22 years ago as a website designer, and in that time, he has accumulated expertise in all facets of the web-development lifecycle, from web standards, accessibility, performance, security, and infrastructure solutions.

Joey leads our global web hosting infrastructure, our global team of developers, and DevOps engineers across the SCC family of agencies. Joey and his team has had the privilege to build successful solutions for clients in several industries and regions, such as Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Best Buy, Athletico Physical Therapy, State of Illinois, Massel, ANZCO Foods, Activision/Blizzard, and Fox Sports, to name a few.

Roma is a seasoned expert with over 15 years of experience in the dynamic realms of software,
technology, and digital marketing. Roma specializes in leading projects through the entire development
lifecycle and implementing successful business strategies. She's the ultimate master of making things
happen, with a proven track record of delivering results on time and on budget. An adept navigator of
the global landscape, Roma brings her process management expertise to the forefront, supporting
organizations such as Ideal Industries, Kellogg’s, The Chamberlain Group, Eastman Chemical, Gallagher, River Spring Living, and The Parking Spot – just to name a few.

Tara Hollar has been accountant for middle-sized businesses for over 20 years with 17 of those years
being with SCC. She has overall responsibility for the agency’s accounting guidance and training on all
accounting topics. Tara currently manages the financials for all subsidiaries in the SCC family. She has
extensive experience in financial planning, budgeting, cash flow and expense management.

When Rokki started with SCC, it was a single Chicago office with 75 employees. Now with over 130 employees, global operations and people on multiple continents, Rokki is an example of the kind of professional growth she looks to facilitate for all our team members. Skilled in both creative talent acquisition and human resources, Rokki helps us attract, grow, and retain our incredible team.

Tim's strategic, creative and entrepreneurial vision has helped SCC become a fully-integrated, multi-dimensional force for our client brand and business partners.

Always a challenger of the status quo, myopia and inertia, Tim is a change agent with keen business instincts and an eye for big ideas. Whether weighing in on a business plan, product launch, acquisition or brand refresh, Tim’s seasoned judgment and leadership adds value to the equation.

David has served in key leadership roles with both major agencies and Fortune 500 Clients in his career. In his 18 years at Leo Burnett he led the McDonald's, Miller Beer and Disney accounts. He served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Sears during its most successful days and later as the CMO for Potbelly Sandwich Works as they grew into a national player in QSR and went public. In his 14 years at SCC, as President and then CEO, David has been instrumental in the growth of numerous clients as well as the agency, contributing across brand and business strategy.

Gail Carter started out as a copywriter in the ad business and then went into Client Service at Ketchum, Chicago. She rose through the ranks to become SVP and then joined what was at the time Schafer Condon, a small boutique agency that had a handful of people. With Gail’s leadership, she moved SCC from a creative shop to the strategy-driven full-service agency of today.

With almost 30 years of experience at SCC, Gail’s brand experience is wide and deep, including Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, Kellogg’s, Solo Cup, Land O’ Lakes, the National Pork Board and many more.

Over the past years Gail has held Board seats on the American Institute of Wine and Food as well as the Women’s Foodservice Form. She currently sits on Stanford University’s Advisory Board.