Bill McKendry
Founder and Chief Creative Officer
Since co-founding Hanon McKendry in 1994, Bill has been key in both the creative and business leadership of the firm. He’s contributed to more than 700 award-winning programs and was inducted (1999) into the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Achievement. He began his career in Denver, Colorado, working for Tracy-Locke/BBDO and clients that have included American Express, Dodge, Taco Bell and Kohler.
Bob Blanchard
Chief Executive Officer
Bob brings a unique mixture of profit and nonprofit experience to team, having served in executive roles at companies like BestNet Communications, ProNet Global, Inc., Reliable Energy, Inc., W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Amway Corporation. Bob has an MBA from Northwestern University and directs the firm’s growth strategy, business operations and key community, business and strategic partner initiatives.
Pete Brand
MINDSCAPE Co-Founder
An entrepreneur since he was a teenager, Pete leads Mindscape’s Internet marketing strategy creation and Internet marketing research process. He also pays close attention to business process refinement, always seeking ways to work more effectively and efficiently. Pete regularly shares his expertise through community-based workshops, speaking engagements, webinars and his blog.
Paul Ferrier
MINDSCAPE Co-Founder
Paul is a master of creating out-of-the-box ideas and web marketing solutions that generate millions of dollars annually for clients. He’s led his own web development firm since he was a 19-year-old college student and blends strong artistic talent with entrepreneurial know-how as he provides creative direction and effective web marketing strategies for clients.
Kevin Fortier
Chief Financial Officer
Kevin is our numbers guy. After nearly 20 years in finance and accounting at international accounting and manufacturing firms, he knows a healthy bottom line when he sees one. He’s a letters guy, too: BBA, CMA, CFM. He can tell you what they stand for. We just know what he stands for—financial integrity, solid administration and sound operations. That’s good enough for us.
Bill Danhof
Executive Vice President, Client Services
One of the founding members of Hanon McKendry, Bill leads our client services team. After spending nearly 10 years with DMB&B in New York and Chicago working on blue chip brands like American Dairy Association (Milk), Amoco Oil (now BP) and Wilson Sporting Goods, Bill came to Hanon McKendry with a deep understanding of building successful client relationships and programs. Today, he is using that experience to cultivate positive results for Hanon McKendry's consumer clients such as Rubbermaid, Rayovac Batteries, and SentrySafe and nonprofits like Hope Network and Grand Rapids Christian Schools.
Jane Richtsmeier
Chief Strategic Officer
Jane is a Gold Effie Award-winning strategist who leads all strategic planning and research initiatives for Hanon McKendry. She’s also worked on the Quaker Oats/Gatorade, Helene Curtis, Dial and Clorox accounts for agencies in Chicago and holds master’s degrees from Dartmouth and the University of Virginia, Darden Business School.
Mike Simon
MINDSCAPE Vice President of Operations
When Mike started his first web company in 1995, Google wasn't a noun or a verb, and people only imagined sending postcards without paper. Two start ups later, Mike has used ever-evolving technologies to develop successful web strategies and custom applications for dozens of clients nationwide, including Wilsonart, Quixtar, Rent-to-Own and Steelcase. He applies that expertise in managing custom development projects and day-to-day operations at Mindscape.
Susan Johnston-Patrick
Creative Director
Susan has been with Hanon McKendry since the firm was founded and has had a hand in creating much of the agency’s best work. Her client experience includes Furniture Row Companies, Rayovac Batteries, La-Z-Boy and Rubbermaid. Passionate about the Great Lakes and environmental issues, Susan also helped shape the heart of the agency and counts her work with Healing Our Waters and Five Rivers Metro Parks among the most meaningful of her career. Susan attended Central Michigan University and received a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design.
Mike Schurr
Creative Director
Mike Schurr doesn’t fit in a box. (We’ve tried.) While he often works with motion, he looks at branding from a far broader perspective. He’s always looking for opportunities to build an integrated brand that audiences will fall in love with, whether it’s through video, web, print or a flyer on a telephone pole. When he was fresh out of school, Mike worked for Disney, Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios, where he learned about deadlines. He then spent 18 years providing creative to various West Michigan agencies before joining Hanon McKendry as a Creative Director.
Matt Neilson
Director of Media
Matt Neilson began his marketing career in the same month Google was founded back in 1998. While he has been a pioneer in digital media strategy since then, he also been planning and buying all forms of media including traditional channels such as TV, print, outdoor, and radio. Matt has worked on a variety of accounts, from local companies to several of the world’s largest brands. In 2011, after over a decade at Starcom directing media across General Motors brands, Matt joined Hanon McKendry and now strategically leads our clients through the best way to approach media from a paid, owned, and earned perspective.
Amy LeFebre
Director of Public Relations
After nearly two decades in corporate, nonprofit and agency client services and PR, Amy has learned to see her clients’ communications challenges from the inside out and from the public’s perspective. She’s used those insights to provide client services and engage the public on behalf of organizations like Century 21, Amway, Enesco, the National Easter Seal Society, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids Christian Schools and the West Michigan Sports Commission.
Derk Baartman
Director of Production
Derk has spent years interpreting the strange foreign language of the creative soul to account services and clients alike. After graduating with a degree in film, he worked in print production with clients from Baker Furniture to McDonald's. A veteran with Hanon McKendry, Derk helps build clients' brands by making creative elements work in unison—digital, print and broadcast—and is happy to be working at a place where creative drive and idealism go hand in hand.
Renée Galicki
Account Supervisor
Since joining Hanon McKendry nearly a decade ago, Renée has acted as the primary point of contact for many of the agency's largest clients, and has played an important role in improving agency processes. After graduating from Michigan State University, Renee began her career in Detroit with Bozell, FCB, and BBDO Detroit, where she worked on the Chrysler Corporate and Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge International accounts to ensure the brands were consistently communicated around the globe. When she's not busy fostering client relationships, Renée also contributes her baking expertise to Hanon McKendry. She often brings home-baked treats to sweeten a staff meeting or an otherwise ordinary weekday.
Rebecca Dutcher
MINDSCAPE Business Development Partner
Rebecca’s experience in traditional marketing, account management and brand management help her understand her clients' online goals and objectives and how they relate to their entire marketing plan. Clients count on Rebecca to provide strategic insights on how their websites will generate additional leads, sales and awareness, as well as how to utilize their sites to streamline back-office processes.
Ellen Winterburn
Director of Human Resources
Ellen’s experience as a talent manager in the healthcare, manufacturing, civil engineering, banking and advertising/marketing industries reminds her daily that, no matter the organization, it’s the people who provide innovation and results. Ellen holds an MPA from Grand Valley State University and continues to learn along with the 600+ management, marketing and HR students she has taught while serving as an adjunct instructor at Davenport University.
