Schafer | Condon | Carter

Agency co-founder Tim Condon brings strategic, creative and entrepreneurial vision to SCC, constantly pushing SCC team members and client partners to "think again." To our clients' benefit, Tim is never satisfied -- always in relentless pursuit of unconventional thinking that produces sky-high results. In his nearly 30 years experience, including 20 years at SCC, Tim has been involved with the launch or revitalization of more than 50 consumer brands. His senior-level strategic insight and high creative standards bring a fresh, compelling relevance to the work coming out of SCC.
 
Tim's career started at Bozell Worldwide in strategic planning and management on a wide range of CPG brands before becoming a creative with equally stellar results. His CPG brand experience includes Alberto-Culver, SC Johnson, ConAgra, Unilever, Hormel and General Mills among many others; retail brands include Domino's Pizza, Popeye's Fried Chicken, Bertucci's Restaurants, Naked Fish Restaurants, and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery; and luxury brands Paterno Wines and Maxum Boats, to name a few.
 
Along with being one of the many musical influences at SCC (avid guitar player and rock & roll enthusiast), Tim sits on the board of the AAAA Chicago Council after serving as Chairman of that organization for five years. He earned his degree in Film Production at the University of Iowa and lives with his family in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Agency President David Selby brings 30 years of marketing, advertising and brand experience on both the client and agency side. Equally important is the passionate leadership and unwavering vision he brings to our people and clients on a daily basis. David is a staunch believer that great brands do remarkable things that cause people to lean into them -- a belief that soars in perfect harmony with the SCC mantra of "think again."

David has been the Chief Marketing Officer of two companies: Sears, Roebuck & Company and Potbelly Sandwich Works. He spent the first 18 years of his career at Leo Burnett, where he managed clients including McDonald's, Walt Disney and Miller Brewing.  Most recently, David was an Executive Director and Co-Leader of the Marketing Officers Practice for the global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.  But what we really like about David is his love of rock 'n' roll. A drummer and singer for most of his life, he'd be on tour with any band that would have him were it not for his marketing passion (and the occasional need to keep his wife Laura and three kids in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed).

David holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in English Literature from Amherst College. He lives with his family in Glenview, Illinois, where he pounds the skins for anyone who will listen - and even if they won't.

Agency Partner and Co-Founder Mark Schafer not only provides senior leadership on several SCC accounts, he also rises to the challenging task of keeping this hard-charging, status-quo-busting agency running with speed and grace. More importantly, Mark's 29+ years of classic CPG, B2B and retail marketing experience brings a well-rounded, rock-solid perspective to SCC clients and people alike.

Prior to starting SCC with college roommate Tim Condon, Mark began his career at Mandebach & Simms, working on P&G brands and Citicorp Diner's Club. Mark later headed west, to San Francisco, where he worked on Nestle and Weyerhaeuser, earning numerous creative awards before making his way back to Chicago to start SCC.

In his 20 years leading SCC, he has been involved in a wide variety of brands and product categories, including General Mills, e-commerce pioneer ShopLocal.com, the Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery chain and luxury brands such as Maxum Boats and Paterno Wines.

Mark is a fine artist and enjoys golfing and kayaking as well as painting. He is a University of Iowa graduate and lives in Glenview, Illinois with his family - when he's not brandishing a beer and a paint brush at his quaint lake home in the beautiful Wisconsin countryside.

Jim Stadler's more than 20 plus years of experience on both the agency and client side give him a unique ability to understand the entire scope of a client's business.

Prior to joining SCC, Stadler was Senior Vice President, Group Management Director at DDB Worldwide, working on a number of big brands including Home Depot, Midas, McDonald's, Whirlpool, Emerson and Cardinal Health, among many others.

While at DDB, Stadler led the charge to develop integrated marketing practices and developed and managed the DDB B2B Group, which was awarded B2B agency of the year in 2003.

Prior to DDB, Stadler was on the client side at Kimberly Clark before joining McDonald's Corporation, where he ran integrated marketing programs for several of McDonald's most important U.S. regions and also ran their global retail licensing business working to develop products for Mattel, Hasbro, Wal*Mart, NASCAR, Otto Versand and United Airlines, among others.

Mike Grossman is the Managing Partner of SCC|Grossman, our PR unit. But to call him a "PR" executive is to ignore the forward-thinking, genre-busting, mold-breaking team he's inspired to redefine the role of PR in today's ever-changing landscape. Combine that "think again" spirit with his classic PR experience at industry giants Leo Burnett, MS&L, Edelman and Burson-Marsteller, and you can begin to see exactly why we, and especially our clients, count on SCC|Grossman as a vital part of the marketing mix.

Mike's long list of blue-chip client experience includes the U.S. Army, Sony, General Motors, Coca Cola, Motorola, General Mills, Ralston Purina, Maytag, Arthur Anderson, Kraft General Foods and Baxter Travenol.

He joined SCC in 2006 after building Leo Burnett Public Relations from a start-up into an elite, fast-growth, award-winning corporate marketing PR practice.  He later helped merge that unit into MS&L and became Manning's Chief Integration Officer. Prior to Burnett, Mike held senior account management positions at Edelman Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller and Porter/Novelli.

His ongoing professional training includes crisis and issues management at the University of Southern California; integrated marketing at Northwestern University; and marketing and business management at the University of Chicago. He received his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University -- and appreciates an NHL forecheck just as much as the forecheck SCC|Grossman has been delivering to the notion of "traditional PR."

With an analytical mind and the energy to look beyond the obvious for answers, Gwen has been a key consultant to SCC Clients for the last 13 years. Whether the business challenge is B2C or B2B, she's the SCC BrandIgnition champion - surveying the environment, identifying compelling customer insights and positioning brands for success in the marketplace. Her experience includes major brand marketers such as The National Pork Board, Land O’Lakes, General Mills, Hershey’s, Tyson Foods, ConAgra and Solo Cup Company.
   
Prior to joining SCC, Gwen was actively involved in the launch and roll out of the extremely successful “Pork. The Other White Meat.” campaign for the National Pork Producers Council, where she worked for 2 years.  She also worked Agency side at Noble & Associates, and was a partner at Dallas-based Fuqua & Friedow for 8 years.  At every stop along the way, Gwen has helped organizations and Clients sell more by thinking smarter.

Gwen is actively involved in various food industry organizations, including the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), and Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF).  A graduate of Iowa State University with an MBA from Southern Methodist University, Gwen resides in LaGrange when she’s not traveling for work or on her Iowa farm.

Suzanne brings Mensa-level intelligence to her duties as a Senior SCC Creative Director. During her 11-year tenure at Schafer Condon Carter, she has produced award-winning creative on a wide range of accounts including Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, Solo Cup Company, Bayliner and Maxum Boats, Equal Sweetener and General Mills. In addition to her creative contributions, Suzanne is intimately involved in Strategic Planning on a number of businesses, including BUNN Coffee Brewers and Land O'Lakes.

Prior to joining SCC, Suzanne received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University -  superb training for a life dedicated to the art of persuasion. Beginning her advertising career in western Canada, Suzanne served as copywriter at two integrated marketing and advertising agencies and worked with a range of clients including British Columbia Honda Dealers, Rodek Amplifiers, ABC Family Restaurants, and the Kinsmen Foundation.

Suzanne lives with her husband and two dogs in the always exciting Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.

Denny's innate curiosity to see a client's business from the inside out has helped him create impactful campaigns for clients such as Armour-Eckrich, Wilson Sports, British Petroleum, Iams Pet Foods, Rotary International, First Midwest Bank and Stein Roe and Farnham Investments. Denny and his partner Bernie Pitzel ran their own creative shop, Romani Bros, for over five years before deciding to merge their company with SCC in late 2008.  He's won several awards for his radio and television work.

Denny lives in Glenview with his wife and three kids. He was a theatre major at Northwestern University before deciding ad people ate better than actors.  He's had a children's book published and keeps meaning to get around to writing another one.

Schafer Condon Carter's Broadcast Production is managed by Executive Broadcast Producer Leroy Koetz. Koetz began at SCC in 2004 with impeccable commercial producing and directing credentials. Prior to his association with SCC, Leroy owned and operated Koetz & Co., Inc. for over 20 years.  A successful Chicago-based commercial production company, Koetz & Co. averaged 1.5 million dollars of annual production sales for over 10 years with Leroy represented as the sole commercial director.

Koetz first achieved world-wide attention for directing Leo Burnett¹s award-winning Cheer Campaign for Procter & Gamble. Advertising awards Leroy has won for his commercial directing include Cannes Gold and Bronze Lions, numerous Clios, countless national and regional ADDYs, as well as many other prestigious national and international awards.

The original Cheer spot, "Live Demo", is ranked by Ad Age and TV Guide as one of the top 50 commercials of all time.  A follow-up Cheer spot, "Flamenco", was also recognized by AdWeek as one of the top spots of the 1990s.

In his spare time, Koetz, who also plays music in several local classic rock bands, independently produces, directs, and edits independent comedy short films with a small group of comedy collaborators, and also teaches a course on commercial editing at Chicago's Columbia College.

Any print project that comes through our agency has Rob's eyes on it at some point in time. Rob has been with SCC for over 8 years and oversees our in-house studio, traffic and print production departments. His most recent work includes New Chapter Organics, Land O' Lakes, Bunn Corporation and the bio photos you see on this site. 

Rob has worked in advertising on and off for over 20 years. Before joining SCC, he worked freelance as an art director, photographer, retoucher and illustrator. His previous full-time employers include The Woodstock Independent, Integrated Marketing International, Donahoe & Purohit and JPM. Brand work during this time included Miller Brewing Company,  Bosch,  Walgreens,  Sprint and Kellogg's.

When Rob isn't at SCC, he enjoys the neighborhood beach, Bears football and snowboarding. Rob grew up in Woodstock, IL and lives in Chicago with his wife and two young children.

Erika Bye is responsible for directing the team that plans and executes SCC's multifaceted approach to integrated online marketing. Her career spans a broad set of industries including consumer products, retail and financial services.
 
Prior to joining SCC, Erika was at DoubleClick, handling planning and management on a wide range of e-commerce clients where she discovered her passion for all aspects of interactive marketing.  Her experience included roles as both a Media Specialist and a Search Program Manager and she worked with leading companies such as Barnes & Noble, Bose, Wells Fargo, Safeway, Vons and ADT. Before DoubleClick, she was on the traditional side of the marketing business, having started her career in account management at Montfort Advertising, a full service, global agency.

Erika actively participates in industry groups including Chicago Interactive Marketing Association, and Online Publisher Association. Erika is a graduate of Loyola University and currently lives in Chicago.

Excellent musician, master of cyberspace and a sophisticated home brewer in his spare time,  Jeff’s job is to push the envelope with the team at SCC | Digital, which includes the web and other digital media at SCC.  Jeff has been in the digital field for the past 20 years, the last 11 with SCC as the web has really emerged as a super-dimensional medium for our clients.  During his 10-year tenure as the Director of SCC | Digital,  Jeff has been involved in helping numerous SCC brands move to the head of the class, digitally, among their competitive sets numerous accounts, most notably Brunswick, Solo Cup Company, McCain USA, Rock Bottom Brewery and New Chapter Organics.  His skills include Web Design & Development, Video Editing & Composite Animation and 3D Illustration & Animation.  Prior to joining SCC, Jeff worked for Twisted Media where he worked with a wide range of clients including Xerox, McGraw Hill Publishing and Nortel Networks.

Jeff is a graduate of Columbia College who enjoys playing, recording music, good beer and skateboarding.  He lives in Addison with his wife and three children.