people
leadership
Nancy Francis
Principal
As a kid, Nancy loved Risk®, Clue®, and Scrabble®, laying
the groundwork for a career in strategy, problem-solving,
and word-smithing.
Nancy has 12 years of brand marketing management experience wakin’ up with Folgers® at P&G, going and going with the bunny at Energizer®, and indulging in Häagen-Dazs® at Pillsbury. She has been a leading creative process facilitator and consultant for blue-chip, Fortune 500 companies for over 11 years.
She has a BA in psychology from Wellesley College and an MBA from Yale University.
She likes to bake breads, cakes and pies along with cooking up marketing and communications ideas.
Nancy is married to Darrin and has two sons, Sam and Ben. Add in their Miniature Schnauzer, Harry, and you’ll see that Nancy is the lone female in a sea of testosterone.
Steve Xenakis
Principal
Steve’s career has been dedicated to asking the question: Have we gone far enough with our creativity and innovation?
Steve has 14 years of strategic planning and research experience in New York advertising agencies: Grey, Foote Cone & Belding, and McCann-Erickson. He has been a leading creative process facilitator and consultant for blue-chip, Fortune 500 companies for over 16 years.
He has a BS and MA in psychology from City University of New York and completed an executive business program at Columbia University.
He is a maker of art, music, gardens, and marketing and communications ideas.
Steve is married to Marthan and has two sons, John and Nicholas. The family is complete with Lucky, their West Highland White Terrier.
our team
Carolyn Karsten
Associate
Carolyn’s inquiring mind has provided her with a broad range of strategy and research experiences in the advertising, client and quantitative research worlds.
Her career is grounded in strategic planning and research at Grey, Backer & Spielvogel, McCann-Erickson and DMB&B. Carolyn also managed insights for Hellmann’s mayonnaise at Unilever and later ventured onto the quant side of life at Ipsos and Added Value.
She holds a BS in marketing from Fordham University and a Masters Degree in education from Queens College.
She has carved out a niche in the photography world as of late but music is her first love.
Carolyn’s home is populated with kids and dogs. Her boys, Matthew and Alex, keep her cooking indoors and Maxi and Louie, King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, get her walking outdoors.
Laurie Kersten
Associate
Laurie’s friendly spirit, innate curiosity, and gift with rapport made her a natural fit for a marketing research career.
Laurie has 11 years of research and account planning experience at Foote Cone & Belding, Campbell Mithun and Carmichael Lynch. She spent 14 years as a creative process consultant and facilitator for blue-chip, Fortune 500 companies. She has been a member of Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) since 1990.
She has a BA in philosophy and psychology from University of Iowa. Laurie also studied at the University of Notre Dame.
Laurie’s major hobby is her nonprofit group, which helps newcomers to an area meet and build a sense of community in their chosen city.
She and husband Kurt live with water and mountains – her favorite natural combination – minutes from their home.
plus
Our special F/X team includes experienced document goo roos, concept writers, graphic artists, illustrators, videographers, and
project managers.
We are fortunate to partner with talented recruiters, moderators, researchers, translators, and creative venue managers, across the U.S. and internationally.