Our Solutions

CEO

Ashlee Clarke

Overview

Ashlee is a powerhouse female entrepreneur. She has cultivated an array of skillsets and has those learnings at each step of her twenty-year career – from journalist to start up businesswoman, to keynote speaker, to advertising maven and Tony award winning Broadway producer.

A fast-paced New Yorker with Southern Roots from Georgia, Ashlee is not a typical Madison Avenue executive who sees life through the dual lenses of the two coasts. LA and NY are just the endpoints for her, because she knows the majority of consumers live right in the middle. She has built her career in New York City with a healthy dose of heart, passion, and guts as an untraditional advertising leader, while maintaining both her country roots and southern drawl.

Ashlee founded NitroC, an independent, integrated advertising & media agency, five years ago. Ashlee leads Nitro with a “Client First Culture” and is most passionate about emotionally connected advertising and innovation that drives growth for their clients’ business. She still maintains her down-home roots and it shows in the agency’s unique work such as her creative partnership with fellow Georgian, Luke Bryan.

Ashlee is the new wave of advertising leadership; she is an outsider with the fresh perspective of developing great work without the confines of agency orthodoxy. That outside approach allows her to ask, “why not?” when told something has never been done that way before and Ashlee has the tenacity, business experience and most of all guts to make sure she is the first to break new ground where others feared to go. The drive to succeed and the necessary extra work to be taken seriously in the old boys’ club is not lost on her, which is why Ashlee is as hands-on during a commercial production as she is understanding the best ROI for Clients advertising investments.

Ashlee attended Georgia State University’s Journalism & Mass Communication school where she acquired mass media skills as well as on-camera training. She worked as a television anchor and personality on networks such as The Style Network, E! CNN’s “Headline News,” Headline News After Dark, NBC’s morning show” Atlanta & Company”, just to name a few!

Always one to speak up, and speak out, Ashlee spoke live on CNN for Eve Ensler’s “One Billion Rising” alongside fellow keynote speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King’s daughter- Dr. Bernice King. Using her voice for women is a primary focus for Ashlee as she stood before Congress alongside “The Safe House” Women’s Resource Center on Women’s Domestic Violence Day and compelled the legislature to implement laws that protect women. In addition, Ashlee was the Keynote Speaker for “Own The Mic” Girls Govern Townhall in Washington, DC Women’s Empowerment take over at George Washington University for Girls Inc. Ashlee was also a featured panelist at Politicon with other influential women (Barbara Boxer, Wendy Davis, SE Cupp, & Robin Thede) that are on a mission to shatter the glass ceiling! Ashlee led the women’s menstruation movement that paved the way for millions of women to have a voice! She created the first “tax-free tampon” which revolutionized the most taboo topic.

Ashlee co-produced the movie adaptation of Tootsie, into the critically acclaimed Broadway musical-comedy. The production debuted on Broadway in April 2019. It grossed $39mm and earned 11 Tony Award nominations and Tony wins for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and Best Book of a Musical. Tootsie has also garnered numerous awards from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Critics’ Circle, and Drama Desk Awards as well as rave reviews. In 2022

She also co-produced the Broadway hit, American Buffalo starring Lawrence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell, receiving 4 Tony Nominations.

In 2024, she co-produced the new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, starring Jeremy Strong. The production earned praise from critics and audiences alike, with nominations from the Drama League Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards, while winning a Drama Desk Award. The play also received 5 Tony nominations with one win. This lifts Ashlee’s total Broadway resume to a remarkable 20 Tony Award nominations and 5 wins.

Ashlee has also co-produced the star-studded motion picture, The Fabulous Four, releasing in summer 2024. The comedy surrounds a group of lifelong friends (Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally, and Sheryl Lee Ralph) who travel to Key West to be bridesmaids in the surprise wedding of their best college girlfriend Marilyn (Bette Midler).

Ashlee Clarke continues to shape popular culture while bravely forging a path for female students, businesswomen, and entrepreneurs across the nation and around the world.

Executive Chairman

Chris Clarke

Overview

Chris is regarded as one of the most significant thought leaders in the advertising and marketing world. He is credited for revolutionizing marketing in the early 90’s with the establishment of guerilla marketing and innovating digital marketing in the early 2000’s.

Never one to settle, Chris has redefined the ad agency model by, quite simply, ensuring his agencies were focused on consumer relevancy by providing integrated solutions with one single focus: Client ROI.

Chris founded Nitro in Shanghai in 2001, redefining the advertising industry by vertically integrating industry offerings: innovation, brand strategy, traditional advertising and, at the time, the burgeoning digital advertising sector. With an eye on the future of where both consumers and advertisers need to be, Nitro quickly became a global network with seven offices around the world and a blue chip client base that included Mars, Nike, Unilever and Coca-Cola.

In 2009, Nitro merged with Sapient, creating SapientNitro, which became the largest independent advertising and digital agency in the world. During Chris’ tenure as Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at SapientNitro, the company was a global phenomenon growing to 9,500 employees and 36 offices around the world.

Chris’ roots in advertising date back to 1993 when he recognized that the holding company model was destined for irrelevance.  So while the rest of the industry focused on consolidation and Wall Street profits, Chris bucked the trend and stayed true to his belief that great creative rises above all else, and he founded Pure Creative. It quickly expanded into seven offices, from Melbourne to Beijing, and became one of the hottest creative agencies in the world. Clients included Mars, Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola, and the Australian Tourist Commission. Pure Creative was acquired by Leo Burnett in 2000.

Chris is passionate about philanthropy and has been a board member of The Chopra Foundation, Children of Fallen Patriots, MindUp and Malaria No More.

Chris is a successful Tony Award Winning, Broadway Producer. Chris co-produced the adaptation of the movie, “Tootsie”, into a Broadway musical-comedy that earned beloved reviews and 11 Tony Award Nominations. He also co-produced the Broadway hit, American Buffalo starring Lawrence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell which received 4 Tony Nominations.

In 2024, Chris co-produced the new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, starring Jeremy Strong. The production earned praise from critics and audiences alike, with nominations from the Drama League Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards, while winning a Drama Desk Award. The play also received 5 Tony nominations with one win.

Chief Financial Officer

Brian McIntyre

Overview

Chief Data & Analytics Officer

Jason Kodish

Overview

Jason “Kodi” Kodish is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Empower Media, currently focused on building and developing a world class team,

toolset and suite of partners to continue to differentiate our state-of-the-art Media Buying and Planning Practice.

Prior to joining Empower, Kodish served as the Chief Strategy Officer tasked with the turnaround of Mastech Infotrellis; Global Data Lead for the
world’s largest Data and AI practice at Cognizant; Global Group Data Lead for CapGemini and the Chief Data Officer of the Publicis Groupe, as well
as Global Chief Data Scientist at Digitas and Sapient.

During his 25-year career, he has developed numerous AI and analytics tools and methodologies, including IDIOM, the premiere AI-driven agency
people-based planning and activation tool, as well as the agency’s approach to attribution and the social listening/analytics methodologies
for BrandLIVE, a ground-breaking real-time marketing platform.

Kodi holds an MBA in marketing from the University of Notre Dame and a BS in marketing and mathematics from the University of Florida

Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Marijke Woodruff

Overview

With more than 20 years of corporate HR and operations experience at large multi-national and high-growth companies including P&G, Cincinnati Bell and Health Carousel, Marijke has a passion for developing organizations that drive revenue growth and world-class HR services. She is a change agent, bringing innovation and organizational effectiveness that transforms businesses through a culture of employee engagement and productivity. In a further testament to her abilities, she was honored as “2020 Chief HRO of the Year” from the Cincinnati Business Courier.

As a Chief People Officer, Marijke believes that the foundation of every company is its purpose and people.

Chief Investment Officer

Lee Doyle

Overview

Lee is an industry recognized marketing communications and media agency leader with over 30 years of experience working with leading marketers across nearly every category: Packaged Goods, Entertainment, Telecommunications, Technology, Electronics, QSRs, Beverages, Automobiles, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Financial Services, Professional Services, and Retail. His clients have included AT&T, Bacardi, Campbell’s, Colgate, Dell Computers, IKEA, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Lionsgate Entertainment, Macy’s, Novartis, Paramount Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Target, Unilever, Walgreen’s and Yum Brands, among others.

Since 2020 Doyle has been president of NitroC Media. Prior to NitroC, Lee spent 18 years at GroupM/WPP in a variety of roles across several of their media agencies in both strategic planning and buying capacities. He was President at Mindshare and CEO, North America for MEC (now Wavemaker). During his tenure at MEC, the agency grew by more than +40% and was recognized as Media Agency of the Year two years in a row by both Advertising Age and Ad Week. Lee was named a Media Maven by Advertising Age in 2008. He has been a juror for the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity as well as a judge for the Effies and the Ad Week Media Plan of the Year Awards. He was recognized by She Runs It (formerly AWNY) with the Impact Award in 2011 “for a lifetime of mentoring.”

Lee began his career working in full-service agencies (creative and media) including Ammirati & Puris (now part of MullenLowe). He ran the media operations of Ammirati before joining MEC, initially as the client leader on AT&T. While at MEC, his responsibilities steadily expanded to include strategic planning, research, and analytics, before assuming the role of CEO.

Lee is known for bringing an analytical, data-led approach to client marketing challenges and developing creative media strategies to deliver exceptional business results. Some of his favorite campaigns include launching the iPhone with AT&T and crafting the media plans for the Hunger Games movie franchise with Lionsgate.

SVP, Managing Director – Media Strategy

Allison Walker

Overview

Allison, was named Chicago Interactive Marketing Association’s Rising Star in 2013, Allison’s ability to create strategic IP has continued to shine over the past decade. From Media Planning to Analytics, her experience spans multiple disciplines working with industry giants, including State Farm, Sears, H&R Block, General Mills and Kimberly Clark to build customer centric strategies.

In her most recent role as Managing Director at Mindshare, she oversaw the Strategy and Operations for Kimberly Clark while concurrently helping craft Mindshare’s integrated planning process. Prior to Mindshare, her entrepreneurial spirit and passion to solve complex business strategies led her to co-found Hexagon, where she led Customer Strategy until departing in 2015.

Armed with a consultant’s mindset, Allison has the rare ability to go both broad and deep on topics like data, audience planning, communication planning and media strategy. Combining these skills with her gifts in verbal and visual storytelling enables Allison to make complex topics simple and easy for non- expert audiences to follow along – it’s her superpower!

Allison is excited to join Empower at this time of transformative growth and is committed to approaching every strategic problem with childlike curiosity, starting with “who” and “why” to solve for “how”.

Although not a Chicago native, Allison has grown to call the “Windy City” home and is proud of her Midwestern roots. She and her husband Ian keep life interesting (or chaotic) as new parents to their 6 month old daughter and puppy golden retriever.

Chief Consumer Officer

Rich Notarianni

Overview

A pioneer in 360˚ communications planning, Rich has been the strategic architect for leading marketers, agencies, and media companies for over two decades. He’s authored strategies for brands including TD Ameritrade, Dos Equis, Schwab, Intel, Jaguar, Nestle, Exxon Mobil, Volvo, Sony, Polaroid and Lockheed Martin.

Prior to joining Empower, he spent time at NitroC as a chief strategy and data officer. Some notable moments in Rich’s career include helping FedEx embrace digital culture, designing an enterprise marketing approach for TD Ameritrade, developing Bloomberg media’s Bloomberg Green channel and developing next-generation growth strategies for High Tower Advisors.

Prior to his move to California in 2018, he was Chief Engagement Officer for Havas Worldwide Advertising; where he led the integration of creative, media and insights, as well as the agency’s data strategy practice. In addition to working directly with the agency’s top clients, he co-authored Havas’ global strategic approach and ground-breaking Brand Momentum Study.

He got his start in media planning and buying, ultimately leading media planning for Omnicom’s DDB before making the shift to communications and creative strategy.

He’s Chairman Emeritus of BPA International, the global media accountability organization, a Havas Lecturer at Princeton, and the author of The Good Life 2.0, A Roadmap for Sustainable Living for the WBCSD; an organization of 200 of the worlds’ largest companies committed to a sustainable world.

Escaping a lifetime of New York winters, he now lives in Santa Cruz, California where he plays bass with his surf rock band.

EVP, Managing Director, Chicago

Greg Clausen

Overview

As Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Empower’s Chicago office, Greg provides strategic counsel and unwavering client advocacy while ensuring the full resources of Empower are maximized.

With over 25 years in the field of media and media research, Greg has extensive experience across a multitude of areas, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, insurance, ecommerce, healthcare, retail, consumer durables, direct response, and business-to-business media planning.

Some of his biggest fans include former clients like Procter & Gamble, Amazon, Motorola, Miller-Coors, Purina, ConAgra, H&R Block, Arby’s, Ace Hardware, Mazda, Corona, Moen, and many more.

A proud Michigan State University graduate, Greg is an avid golfer and loves to travel. Prior to joining Empower, Greg spent time working for agencies like Spark Foundry, ZenithOptimedia, Assembly, Cramer-Krasselt, and Doner (among others).

EVP, Managing Director

Spencer Koch

Overview

Spencer is an experienced leader, marketing strategist and client partner.

As a strategic partner Spencer has worked with clients such as BP, Kraft-Heinz, Caterpillar and Horizon Therapeutics to understand their business challenges and translate them into actionable marketing strategies. He has led initiatives across the funnel, from Brand/Corporate Comms to Performance/Loyalty programs.

As a leader Spencer focuses on building relationships to deliver effective business outcomes. Prior to joining Empower Spencer spent ten years in leadership positions at GroupM. At Mindshare Chicago he was part of the Client Leadership team, before moving to Wavemaker to build out their Midwest office.

Spencer is passionate about finding new ways to growth with clients. He enjoys building new business models and creating agency offerings to meet client needs. An Economics major, Spencer feels as comfortable behind a P and L as he does in front of the room.

Spencer is a graduate of Emory University and spent the first part of his career in Atlanta, at Mindshare and three. He grew up in St. Louis where his family still resides. In his free time Spencer is an avid golfer and tennis player. He and his wife Stephanie enjoy chasing their two (soon to be three) kids around the house, and combatting questions about when they’ll get a dog.

SVP, Investment

Tim Glover

Overview

Tim’s mantra is, “if you don’t ride the wave of change, you’ll find yourself beneath it.”

Tim Glover, an award-winning veteran of the company for 18 years, has fulfilled many roles including media planning & buying, digital strategy, and account leadership – all while maintaining a media-agnostic approach. Tim also built Empower’s first digital media team from the ground up.

He’s worked with brands such as Jack Link’s, PetSmart, Brooks, Formica, Meijer, Shaw Floors, Hoover, and Gorilla Glue. Most recently, Tim has designed and spearheaded SpringBoard – Empower’s proven program designed to make onboarding new business seamless and consistent.

VP, Performance Marketing

Eric Olson

Eric is a seasoned digital media expert, leading strategy, planning, execution, optimization, and performance analysis. Thriving at the crossroads of insights and intuition, Eric has 18 years of agency and industry experience specializing in search marketing and digital media. He has worked with multiple clients across nearly every industry from healthcare to CPG, automotive to utilities, QSR to hospitality. He has specifically led initiatives in retail for Newell brands (including Yankee Candle, Coleman, Graco, Sharpie, and more) to drive online revenue at a 10x+ ROAS, helped increase brand lift by 20% through awareness-based video for Famous Footwear, helped to drive 50% increases and 30% increases to in-store visitation across prominent automotive manufacturers and QSR locations respectively, and has leveraged campaign best practices and innovation to help increase online revenue by 28% in the first month for boutique clothing company; just to name a few.

Eric and his team put forth comprehensive recommendations and strategies for clients to improve performance and better engage their brand/service with patients and consumers alike. He has a passion for innovation, digital storytelling, and creating trusting relationships with his clients to support them in exceeding their business goals.

SVP, Director of Finance and Operations

Kimberly McEntee

Overview

Kimberly graduated from the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. She began her career as an accountant at the Metropolitan Opera, joined Pure Growth in 2012, and transitioned to the NitroC team as the Director of Finance in 2020. In 2023, she also joined the Empower team as the Director of Procurement.

​For over a decade, Kimberly has superintended the finance and accounting departments of Pure Growth and NitroC. Her superb articulation and attention to every fiscal component ensures the business is efficient and systemized. Kimberly is delighted and dedicated to being an intricate part of both the NitroC and Empower teams and she continues to deem “positive growth” as her number one personal and professional goal.

SVP, Client Leadership & Media Strategy

Mike Lewis

Overview

Mike Lewis is as an SVP in the Chicago office, working across both client leadership and media strategy disciplines. Mike is a 20+ year industry veteran with extensive media strategy, omni-channel planning, and account management experience across numerous industries and verticals. At his core, Mike is a very curious media pro who takes a business-first approach to identifying data-driven, digitally led media solutions that address the root challenges that his clients face.

Prior to joining Empower, Mike was a VP Group Director on the integrated planning team at Kelly Scott Madison, leading teams on numerous accounts including the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cicis Pizza, Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, Four Winds Casinos, DePaul University, and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. Prior to relocating to California, Mike worked at KSM for 10 years, most notably leading the Cirque du Soleil business, managing local planning to support Cirque’s touring shows in North America. Other key accounts included MSG Entertainment, The Chicago Theatre, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Bombardier Business Aircraft.

In California, Mike was a boomerang employee at Innocean Worldwide, most recently working as an imbedded media lead at the full-service agency on the Genesis Motor America account, overseeing comprehensive media activations to support the luxury brand’s emergence in the US market. Also, while in California, Mike helped lead the Los Angeles office of Minneapolis-based Haworth Marketing + Media, overseeing the LA-based team on accounts including Alaska Airlines, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (“”OSCARS””), and the US Center for Tobacco Prevention.

Following his graduation from Michigan State University, Mike started his media career at Starcom Worldwide, working on Allstate, Showtime Networks, Museum of Science & Industry Chicago, and Hallmark. In his spare time, Mike is an avid runner, having completed 11 full marathons across North America. He’s also a self-proclaimed aviation geek and is a travel junky. Mike lives in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, Jen, and their dog, Miles.

SVP, Investment

Samuel Berkhia

Overview

Samuel is passionate about creating human-centric innovative strategies that deliver measurable results. With an extensive background leading both media investment and planning for some amazing brands at agencies like Starcom, Mindshare, and OMD, as well as co-founding a full-service agency, his mission has always been to empower and support people to do their best.

SVP, Media Agent

Molly Kristick

Overview

SVP, Client Leadership & Media Strategy

Nancy Roth

Overview

Nancy likes to challenge the status quo, to innovate and build unique strategic plans. She leverages creativity with an in-depth understanding of the consumer experience to identify and reach the most valuable audiences. Nancy has a track record of creating nimble teams, mentoring talent, and building strong client relationships.

With experience at various agencies in Chicago, including OMD, Spark and FCB, Nancy has worked on clients such as McDonald’s, Famous Footwear, Payless ShoeSource, Firehouse Subs, TGI Friday’s, Jiffy Lube, Supercuts, True Value, Citibank, SunTrust, Avis, and SC Johnson.

At OMD, Nancy was a Managing Director overseeing McDonald’s local media for the country; with a cross- functional team of over 100 employees who handled the planning and buying for 56 co-ops across all media.

As one of the first 9 employees at Spark, Nancy wore many hats, including new business director driving over 30% YOY growth for four years. She oversaw the out-of-home investment group and led strategic media planning on many retail and financial accounts.

Since 2020, Nancy was working as a consultant for clients, advertising agencies and media, most recently for Walmart Connect and Northwestern Medicine.

Nancy’s work has been industry recognized with Effie Awards, Creative Media Awards, Ace and OMMA Awards.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nancy enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing golf and traveling.

SVP, Product Innovation

Jamie Lapena

Overview

For 15+ years, Jaime has led performance marketing and product led growth at several San Francisco startups. In addition, Jaime was also formerly Director of Marketing & Growth at Salesforce.com as well as SVP of Growth within Wells Fargo’s Innovation Group. He is an avid believer in AI and presently leads the development of EmpowerOne.

EVP, Performance Marketing

Paxton Song

Overview

VP, Media Strategy

Sarah Clausius

Overview

Sarah Clausius boasts 11-plus years of experience in the media industry as a rising leader in driving brands forward. From strategic media planning to data-driven marketing, her experience spans multiple disciplines for reputable CPG brands including SC Johnson, Newell Brands, and Gatorade. She is well-versed in agile, performance-based models that are rooted in a customer-first approach. Mostly recently, she served as a Strategic Planning Director at Mindshare where she worked directly on the Abbott and Kimberly Clark business. She played an integral role leading and overhauling the brand’s media mix through integrated marketing, audience planning, and personalization. With a knack for storytelling and an in-depth understanding of the consumer experience, Sarah is able to identify and reach the most valuable audiences for her clients while producing unparalleled results.

SVP, Head of Production

Tommy White

Overview

Tommy White is Head of Production for Empower Media. He is a respected Executive Producer with more than 12 years production experience. He has managed diverse teams across disciplines, creating memorable and forward-thinking content for clients.

Throughout his career, Tommy has helped shape campaigns for many top advertisers and Fortune 500 companies including the Academy Sports and Outdoors, Sprouts, Jockey, the U.S. Army, Southwest Airlines, LL Bean, AARP, AT&T, Goodyear, Caesars Entertainment, PulteGroup, Zales, Popeyes, PGA Tour, and the U.S. Air Force. Prior to producing, his five years’ experience as a dedicated presentation developer and technology expert for GSD&M’s new business team laid a foundation and deep understanding of the entire marketing ecosystem with insights gathered from top CMOs and CEOs in the business.

Taking those valuable learnings and a life-long passion for filmmaking and storytelling, he pivoted into a production role within the agency. He quickly rose the ranks from Associate Producer to Producer, creating hundreds of pieces of unique experiential, digital, radio, video and broadcast content. Tommy was later promoted to Senior Producer and charged with leading production for the most profitable piece of business at the agency, the U.S. Air Force. He excelled in the role, mastering the intricacies of a federal government account, from contracting to shooting on military installations with non-actors. Tommy also helped to successfully defend the business, securing GSD&M a new 10-year contract and setting the stage for a new challenge. In 2019, Tommy accepted a position at DDB Chicago on the newly-acquired U.S. Army account, excited by the opportunity to build the team from the ground up.

Although he is a leader and manager, Tommy still thrives on producing engaging, fun, and creative content for all mediums. He is motivated by the fast pace and constantly-evolving nature of content creation and delivery. Both personally and professionally, he is devoted to being a maker – from working with interdisciplinary teams to create the best possible content for the client to designing and building furniture in his woodshop.

Tommy and his wife, Becky, are the proud parents of two daughters and one crazy Schnauzer.

VP, Group Creative Director

Terry Dillon

Overview

One Show-recognized Writer/Creative Director who works heartstrings and funny bones to get attention for brands. With award-winning success in broadcast TV, radio, print, and all things digital, video, interactive and social, he’s a big-idea factory who’s comfortable thinking outside any box or within any budget.

Spanning nearly two decades in the entertainment and advertising industries, TD is a member of the Screenwriter’s Guild of America and a former staff writer for the #1 comedy on TV. His advertising work has been recognized by Comm Arts, AdAge, The FWA, AgencySpy, Archive, Creativity International Awards, USA Today as well as Spike TV’s “Funniest Commercials of the Year” and on “Real Time with Bill Maher.” He was a finalist for the Disney Fellowship, NBC Playground, and Radio Mercury Awards. Clients include P&G, Wendy’s, American Greetings, Tim Hortons, Dannon, White Castle, Western & Southern, American Standard, The Ohio Lottery and Jockey.

His experience in entertainment and traditional adverting merge perfectly in Empower’s quick-turn creative. He’s helped clients from regional chili parlors to national paint suppliers launch brand presence in new social platforms and find the modern relevance so vital to today’s consumer.