Our world class team of branding experts is led by James Gregory. Jim, and his carefully chosen colleagues, represent years of wide-ranging experience as brand strategists, marketers and communicators. Each client engagement is led by a principal who integrates our offices and services to provide solutions for our clients.

James Gregory — Chief Executive Officer
Russ Napolitano — Chief Operating Officer
Karl Barnhart — President
Andrew Bogucki — Executive Creative Director
Timothy Robinson — Managing Director, Research & Analytics
Larry Oakner — Managing Director, Strategy
Neil Wieloch, PhD — Research Director
Brad Puckey — Director, Intelligence
Janice Bissell — Brand Director
Matthew Eaton — Brand Director
Beth Flom — Brand Director
Angela Leong — Brand Director
Renee Malfi — Brand Director
Jonathan Paisner — Brand Director
Rebecca Wilson — Brand Director
Annick Wydooghe — Concept Development Director
David Garcia — Creative Director
Stephen Hooper — Production Manager

James Gregory — Chief Executive Officer
One of the U.S. communications industry's recognized experts and leading advocates of corporate branding. As founder of CoreBrand, Jim has developed a proprietary three-tiered process that focuses on:

• Understanding of the brand and its meaning to different audiences
• Crafting the brand and the key messages it must communicate
• Measuring the brand and its effects on business performance

Jim speaks widely on the subject of corporate branding to both business and academic audiences. He has also authored four books: Marketing Corporate Image: The Company as Your Number One Product, Leveraging the Corporate Brand, The Best of Branding, and Branding Across Borders.

CoreBrand builds upon over 25 years of experience in analyzing the effects of strong brands on corporate performance. As CEO, Jim oversees all key strategic issues relating to the corporate brand. Over the years, he has developed a unique blend of creative and analytical expertise.

Jim created the Corporate Branding Index®, an annual research survey designed to capture vital reputation and financial statistics for CoreBrand's various measurement products. Such products include the CoreBrand® Analysis, which helps corporations and their agencies determine the return on investment for advertising and communications.

Russ Napolitano — Chief Operating Officer
Russ brings 25 plus years of classic branding experience working for such well respected advertising/branding firms as Ted Bated Worldwide, Gerstman+Meyers (now Interbrand), Bailey Brand Consulting and Wallace Church, Inc. For the past five years Russ was Vice President, Strategic Development, at Wallace Church, Inc. where he oversaw marketing, business development, strategy and was the executive leader for such clients as 3M, Boiron USA, Henkel/The Dial Corporation, Logitech, Merck, Nature's Path, Pfizer and SCA Tena.

Russ obtained his undergraduate degree at Rutgers University and his MBA in marketing and advertising from Baruch College in New York City. He is the author of articles published in Brand Packaging, Shelf Impact and Marketing News, the publication of the American Marketing Association and contributed a chapter, Packaging Can Be Your Best Investment, for Shopper Marketing, a book published by Kogan Page 2010. Russ as been a featured speaker at corporate branding summits around the globe and is a Distinguished Faculty Member with the In-Store Marketing Institute. Russ is past Chairman/Board of Trustees of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and a previous Executive Board Member of Family Services of Montgomery County, PA.

As CoreBrand's Chief Operating Officer Russ will help to build and nurture relationships with Fortune 500 clients and other global organizations, develop and execute business strategies that will strengthen the firm's leadership position and provide assistance in helping the firm achieve targeted goals across all disciplines — research, strategy and design.

Karl Barnhart — President
The president of CoreBrand, Karl is responsible for the company’s direction, client relationships and marketing. As a brand strategist, Karl has managed several of the firm’s most prominent clients including The Hartford, VF Imagewear, Cisco Systems, AT&T, American Century Investments, BearingPoint, Delphi Automotive, Ranger Boats, NASCAR, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CN, Sensient Technologies, Aventis, Omron and MasterCard.

Karl has been with CoreBrand for more than 14 years. He joined CoreBrand after two years as Vice President at Interbrand and five years at Siegel & Gale. A frequent speaker on the power of branding, Karl has a B.S. in technical writing and editing from Carnegie Mellon.

Andrew Bogucki — Executive Creative Director
Andrew directs all creative activities at CoreBrand. He has had much experience in the development of powerful, prominent brands, creating world-class design and identity systems for American Century, CreoScitex, The Weather Channel, Hitachi America, Standard Register, Ciba and Canadian National. Before joining CoreBrand, Andrew was Design Director at Interbrand Schechter, where he was integral in creating corporate identity systems for clients such as MCI, AC Delco, Delphi Automotive, MasterCard International and BankBoston.

Timothy Robinson — Managing Director, Research & Analytics
As Managing Director of CoreBrand’s strategy business and international efforts, Tim leads CoreBrand’s strategic efforts with our global clients such as Cisco Systems, Toshiba Corporation, Dun & Bradstreet and Lincoln National Corporation, focusing on building and leveraging global brand value. Tim joins CoreBrand with over 15 years of experience in design, design management and strategic marketing. Before joining CoreBrand, Tim was VP of Marketing and Strategy at d/g* New York. Tim managed the marketing and account groups, as well as the firm’s largest clients: Sunstar Inc., The Quaker Oats Company, Unilever and The Limited Group.

Larry Oakner — Managing Director, Strategy
Larry Oakner has spent more than 30 years building brands, positioning companies and managing strategic branding projects. An accomplished educator and brand consultant, Larry has used his creative expertise to help communication professionals, product managers and corporate executives at more than three dozen Fortune 1500 companies implement their branding programs internally throughout their organizations. These include Caterpillar, Microsoft, Abbott Vascular, Dun & Bradstreet, Medtronic, Girl Scouts of USA, NewAlliance Bank, Organon, and ING to name a few.

In a career that includes integrated marketing and advertising as well as branding, Larry served as an advertising Creative Director.

Larry Oakner was also an adjunct professor in the Advertising and Marketing Communications Department at SUNY-Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He holds a Master’s Degree in English, Cum Laude, from UCLA and is the author of And Now A Few Laughs From Our Sponsor: The Best Fifty Years of Radio Commercials (Wiley/Adweek, 2002).

Neil Wieloch, PhD — Research Director
At CoreBrand, Neil directs custom quantitative and qualitative research projects that drive brand communications strategies for business growth. Neil builds his work on: ten years advanced academic training, research, teaching and publishing in the rigors of qualitative and quantitative methodologies for the social and behavioral sciences; five years strategic consulting experience; and six years branding, marketing and advertising management experience.

Neil has conducted custom brand research for CPG, healthcare, entertainment, B2B and consumer clients and has advised the communications for such global brands as: Kraft, Nestle, Warner Bros., Hasbro, General Mills, Symantec, NewsCorp, and Atari.

Brad Puckey — Director, Intelligence
Brad has 15 years of intelligence analysis experience in both the U.S. Army’s National Security Agency and at CoreBrand. Brad has been responsible for the development and building of the Corporate Branding Index from inception in 1990 through to the present. He is also responsible for the development of computer-based models used to quantify the relationships that exist between communications investment, corporate brands and financial performance. Brad has worked with clients such as GE, Lucent Technologies, Bristol-Myers Squibb, International Paper and many others. Brad currently directs projects for Cisco Systems, Pitney Bowes, Union Pacific, United Technologies and Convergys.

Janice Bissell — Brand Director
As Brand Director at CoreBrand, Janice works with clients such as Cisco, Samsung, TransUnion and Methodist Healthcare Systems on custom measurement programs and strategic initiatives. Before joining CoreBrand, Janice was an Account Director at d/g* group (currently brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga), where she managed strategy and design projects for such clients as Coca-Cola, The Quaker Oats Company, The Limited Brands, Unilever, EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) and Allied Domecq. Prior to d/g*, Janice worked in creative and client services at The Doneger Group NYC.

Matthew Eaton — Brand Director
Using his business-focused skills, Matthew expands CoreBrand's services to current clients. He is leading assignments for The Lane Construction Corporation and The Hartford.

Before coming to CoreBrand, Matthew was a Vice President at the the Boston-based marketing company EMI. At EMI, he helped companies such as The Hartford and Wachovia define their brands, introduce new products and optimize their marketing channels.

Beth Flom — Brand Director
Beth brings nearly 20-years of experience branding, defining and re-defining organizations of all sizes and sectors to CoreBrand. As brand director, she is involved in the creation and implementation of strategy, corporate identity and communications programs.

Previously, Beth was managing partner and co-founder of Flag + Company, and served as a senior director at The Delve Group, a strategic branding firm focused on the B-to-B sector. An MBA graduate of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, Beth is also a published author and experienced lecturer.

Angela Leong — Brand Director
As Brand Director at CoreBrand, Angela works with multinational clients to develop brand strategy and custom measurement programs. Angela has worked with clients such as Sunstar, Lafarge, Target, Altria, AMS, Cisco and Toshiba. Before joining CoreBrand, Angela was an Account Director at d/g* group, New York (currently brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga). With a background in strategic brand and design development, Angela helped clients such as Manulife Financial and Weight Watchers launch their global identities. She also worked with Unilever and Sunstar to expand their presence into new markets and distribution channels. Prior to d/g* group, Angela worked in advertising at BBDO and Grey.

Renee Malfi — Brand Director
With more than 15 years of branding experience, Renee specializes in developing and managing corporate identity implementation programs. Currently, Renee is directing the MasterCard identity System and the on-going implementation of various MasterCard programs. In addition, Renee has worked on the development of the AT&T Brand Center and The Hartford Brand Central websites, the launch of the Hoover’s brand identity, and led a range of other branding programs. Before joining CoreBrand, Renee was Senior Program Manager at Interbrand where she managed corporate identity programs for ACE Limited Insurance, GTE, General Motors, MasterCard and Aramark.

Jonathan Paisner — Brand Director
Jonathan specializes in helping companies build their brands into vital assets for business growth. Working from a strong strategic foundation, Jonathan helps clients understand and activate their brand portfolio to build a cohesive brand experience for employees, customers and partners. Jonathan brings a background that extends across industries and sectors — from Fortune 100 companies and large private enterprises to media start-ups and non-profit organizations.

Jonathan has built and managed brand development programs for Cisco Systems, AT&T, The Arc and Altegrity, among several others. Previously, Jonathan launched and ran the brand licensing business for A&E Television Networks.

Rebecca Wilson — Brand Director
As Brand Director, Rebecca partners with clients to ensure the seamless development and execution of their strategic branding and identity programs. With over 10 years experience in branding, she has managed brand strategy, naming and design projects for a variety of corporate and consumer brands, including, Chubb Group of Insurance Co., Assurant, Methodist Healthcare, American Express, L.L. Bean, Time, Inc., Pfizer, J.P. Morgan Chase, GMAC Insurance, Columbia University, Pitney Bowes and the Adirondack Museum.

Rebecca holds an MBA in Marketing from Baruch College and a BS in Human Development from Cornell University.

Annick Wydooghe — Concept Development Director
As Concept Development Director, Annick has been involved in designing identity systems for Vantrix, RSM, Delphi, American Family, Waterkeeper Alliance, and D&B. Her strong creative vision, strategic approach and collaborative nature enable Annick to create distinctive solutions for all her clients. Most recently, Annick has created a new, comprehensive visual system for Citrix Systems, where she played an instrumental role as the client contact in the implementation of this system. Originally from Belgium, Annick earned a master’s degree in Communications from Pratt Institute in New York. Prior to joining CoreBrand, Annick developed identities and communication programs at Interbrand for clients such as Sirius Satellite Radio and British Telecom.

David Garcia — Creative Director
As Creative Director in our Los Angeles office, David leads major corporate identity programs, committed to creating distinctive and memorable designs that serve long-term client needs. In his years at CoreBrand, David has developed comprehensive identity programs for D&B, MasterCard, AT&T, Hoover’s, Toshiba and Sensient Technologies, overseeing sign and environmental programs as well as print and online brand management tools.

Before CoreBrand, David developed identity programs at Interbrand and Enterprise IG in New York, and Landor in San Francisco. He has also spent time at Larsen Design in Minneapolis where he designed print, environment and interactive projects. Originally from California, David graduated from California College of the Arts.

Stephen Hooper — Production Manager
With more than 15 years experience in brand consulting, Stephen brings a practical, roll-up-your-sleeves approach to the implementation of corporate identity and brand communications systems. Stephen tackles critical project deliverables including final artwork, templates, guidelines and other key production issues for both print and online projects.

Originally from Ireland, Stephen studied architecture at Yale. Before joining CoreBrand in 1998, Stephen was Production Manager at Interbrand and Siegel & Gale. Stephen currently works out of CoreBrand’s Los Angeles office.