Robin Konieczny

President/Chief Creative Officer

Robin has worked in both London and the US, developing brands, marketing strategies and advertising campaigns for some of the world’s greatest brands. She has won every major national and international advertising award including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, CA and British D & AD.

Robin believes in the exponential power of collaboration, the value of solid research and the magic of a great idea. She has held executive management positions for agencies billing up to $180million where she led global product launches as well as systems design and implementation to accommodate growth while sustaining excellence.

She holds a BS from The College of William and Mary and a Master of Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Marketing Communications. She is a member of Vistage for her professional leadership growth. She is an active advocate of literacy and international relations through several charitable organizations.

Sherri Oosterhouse

Account Supervisor

With 20+ years of experience in public relations and account management, Sherri excels at bringing big brands, big results. She has managed marketing budgets in the millions for brands like Husqvarna, Miller Brewing Company, Dremel, Master Lock, Northland Cranberries and Starbucks.

With her deep background in PR and journalism, Sherri was an early adopter of the power of connectivity and conversation through social media. She has supervised successful new product launches in packaged and durable goods and power equipment categories.

Sherri holds a B.A. in Advertising and Journalism from Michigan State University. She is a regular feature writer for Charlotte Living Magazine and she is involved in PRSA and follows socialfresh for her professional growth. She is active in Ada Jenkins charities and initiatives involving education and child welfare.

Nancy Irwin

Brand Strategist

Nancy offers more than 20 years of domestic and international experience with a dual focus on Public Relations and Brand Strategy. Nancy has won national awards for her public relations programs, and has spoken at national and international business conferences. She is a published writer and the author of the brand articulation methodology for a national branding firm and has repeatedly validated it in market after market for brands from $3million to $300million. She leads an updated version of this process at Clear Blue.

Nancy is a stickler for data, both as inputs to guide thinking in brand development and as measures to guide refinements and measure success. You’ll find that Nancy is a little competitive: she “runs and guns” for her clients’ success in the marketplace just as relentlessly as she does for her own on the tennis court.

Nancy has a BS degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. She is active as director for her neighborhood association, chairs its tennis committee and supports junior tennis and youth soccer within the Charlotte community.

Jim Konieczny

Chief Financial Officer

Jim has over 20 years of domestic and international experience with a focus on business-to-business Public Relations and Agency Financial Management. He brings strict scientific discipline to everything he does from his previous background in biomedical research.

Thanks to Jim’s solid financial experience and management principles, Clear Blue operations have weathered catastrophic markets, international money transfer complications and triple-digit growth years.

Jim holds a BS from Marshall University and completed additional coursework at Johns Hopkins University. He has served as president of the Business Marketing Association of the Carolinas and on the board for the Business Marketing Association, International. He is involved with charities for children.

Sarah Schlachter

Media Director

Sarah has over 12 years of experience in media, managing media budgets as large as $65million. With clients ranging from eBay, Saturn and Edy’s Ice Cream to Husqvarna and Starbucks, Sarah is remarkably adept at analyzing target audiences, demographics, geographies and competitive landscapes. In addition to all media management for Saturn Automotive dealers on a spot market level in 70% of the US, Sarah coordinated a cross-branding movie studio co-op media plan for Netflix. Most recently she coordinated an out-of-home mobile campaign for Char-Broil that engaged 4 of the 5 senses!

Sarah believes in the value of market research and translating that research into meaningful media planning data.

She holds a B.A. from UNC Chapel Hill. She is an avid devotee of pop culture and relentlessly studies its on-rushing penetration of the media landscape. She is involved with religious and hunger charities.

John Baker

Design Director

With 25 years of experience, John has focused on brand development adopting best practices from branding giants like IBM, Coca Cola, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Kraft.

Combining the strength of timeless design with strategic, creative thinking, John works to build visual brands that instill trust, establish a bond with the consumer and compel action and transaction. He brings Clear Blue clients creative excellence in brand identity, branded communication including packaging, internet and branded environments.

John holds a Bachelor’s of Environmental Design with an Option in Visual Design from the School of Design at North Carolina State. He is active in AIGA as well as charities and events for the fight against Cancer.

Gayle Ireland

Research Director

Gayle has more than 25 years of domestic and international marketing research experi¬ence with brands such as DuPont, Teflon™, Char-Broil, Rubbermaid, Novartis and Bank of America. After years of research projects covering over 50 countries, the domestic projects she leads for smaller clients such as the YWCA are a breeze.

Gayle has a unique ability to communicate results and derive implications that creative teams admire and businesses treasure. Her expertise includes custom¬er segmentation, global brand assessments, outcome studies, product as¬sessment, concept evaluation, brand and customer satisfac¬tion.

Gayle holds a BS and a BA from NC State University and an MBA from Emory University in finance and marketing. She is involved with American Marketing Association and QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants Association) for her professional development. She is active in her church in the music program and as an ordained Elder, and in the community with the American Red Cross and American Cancer Society.

Julia Pfefferkorn

Creative Services Supervisor

Julia has over 20 years of experience in Advertising in graphic design, broadcast and video production, print, digital, branding, social media and web. Julia is known for producing effective work for national and international brands including Orion pictures, Imagine Films, Disney, Lowes Home Improvement Stores, Pinehurst Golf Resorts, Starbucks, Biltmore Estate, and Weyerhaeuser.

She believes in having a sense of humor under fire and is admired for her ability to always have a Plan B in place. She keeps Clear Blue Creative and Studio on track and drives continual process improvement.

Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Masters in Advertising and Design from Syracuse University. Her Masters Thesis “The Branding of Cities” was presented at the International Humanities Conference and featured on “All Things Considered” on NPR. Julia has also worked as an adjunct professor at The Art Institute of Charlotte and has been active in Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York and AIGA. She regularly volunteers for Art Appreciation in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.