My advertising and marketing career grew out of eleven years at Carmichael-Lynch in Minneapolis. While there, CL earned national and international creative recognition and a ton of new business. Thanks to right time/right place, I quickly rose from copywriter, to EVP creative director and a managing partner. I left CL to form The Kenyon Consortium. In many ways, Kenyon was a prototype of today’s collaborative marketing agency model—with a flat, nimble structure that could easily adapt to projects of any scope or scale. As a result, I touched virtually all agency services including planning, brand building, product development, and above and below the line creative. Cut to 1995, when I got a call from Fallon Worldwide with an offer that my partners and I couldn't, and didn't refuse. After the acquisition, I worked across Fallon’s client roster until 1998 when I began my tenure as executive creative director focused exclusively on helping Purina grow its multi-billion dollar portfolio of brands. A position that I held until August, 2013 when I formed & Duane Johnson—a strategic and creative consultancy. Soon after, & Duane Johnson began a project with Sojos, a leader in alternative pet foods that's deeply dedicated to the well-being of companion animals. No surprise, it's been happily ever after since I was blessed with the opportunity to become Sojos' CMO in April, 2014.