WILMINGTON— Marketing communications agency Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C) has named managing director Alex Parkowski as an additional owner of the company, joining CEO Paul Pomeroy, Chief Creative Officer Steve Merino and Chief Communications Officer Joanna Ford as the firm’s leaders.
Parkowski has worked at AB&C for 19 years and has helped foster the company’s growth as one of the largest independent marketing firms on the East Coast. She worked to establish the agency’s behavior change division and oversaw government clients. Under her leadership, AB&C has landed contracts in Delaware, Philadelphia and Maryland – and recent approvals now open the door for the same in New Jersey.
“Alex has grown through the organization in terms of both knowledge and skill set, but I do think her most important contribution is the fact that she’s had a vision to build a base for business in government work,” Pomeroy told the Delaware Business Times. “She’s been a leader in helping us see the possibilities, and she’s also passionately engaged and knowledgeable in the work we do, particularly in Delaware.”
In recent years, the award-winning marketing firm has spearheaded campaigns for Delaware Office of Highway Safety, the Delaware Human Resources Department and Delaware Health and Social Services.
As AB&C has grown its presence on the East Coast with offices in Philadelphia and Bloomsberg, Pa. as well as in Wilmington, Pomeroy said there was more a need for structure to keep the firm growing into the future while the co-founders stay on.
“[The owners] still have a lot of runway and we’re really excited about the future of the agency. This is to round out a team as we continue to look to the future,” Pomeroy said.
While the four owners have invested a financial stake in AB&C and collectively make long-term decisions, the company has also added new layers of leadership with two new positions.
Longtime associate Shawn Kessler now fulfills responsibilities for the agency as partner and managing director of recruitment marketing. He has worked in the company for at least 15 years and most recently served as managing director of recruitment marketing– where AB&C works with companies to match job advertisement messaging with the company’s brand while searching for employees.
“Shawn is one of the foremost practitioners in the country on this, he’s literally just written a book about this,” Pomeroy said.
Colleen Masters has been promoted from group creative director to executive director. In her new role, she will be overseeing the entire creative department, reviewing the work before it’s sent to clients. Masters will also be tasked with directing new creative strategies and supporting new business initiatives.
That essentially takes most of the day-to-day work off Merino’s hands, leaving him open to look ahead
“The ownership group is very active in what happens, but we’re now turning to planning for the future. That’s when we have leaders like Colleen and Alex and Shawn step up and give us more time to watch what’s happening on the ground,” Pomeroy said.
That bandwidth is especially critical now, as advertising evolution is happening at light speed. Pomeroy said those game-changing instances used to happen once over the course of years, but today, they’re happening over the course of months.
“There’s never been a more dynamic time in the marketing industry than right now. That makes it exciting to be in the field right now, but to be excited about it, you need to be surrounded by people who are invested in it. You have to have a team of people that have a shared, common goal,” he said.
