In 1967, Jim founded Genesis in a tiny storefront office in Evanston, Illinois, and he has served as the company's lead strategic communication and marketing advisor ever since. Jim's creative ability to identify and solve the "right" problem has gained him the trust of the senior executives and management of Genesis' client companies, as well as the internal teams for which
he provides leadership.
Jim began his career with Container Corporation's Center for Advanced Research in Design, working with some of the great minds of the Bauhaus movement. It was during this period that Jim developed a fundamental belief that guides Genesis to this day - that by linking a company's behavior, communication, culture and strategy to its corporate identity, the resulting combination of design and identity creates a higher state of order that serves the client, shows respect to the intended audiences and elevates the overall experience.
Over the years, Genesis' approach to positioning and branding projects has evolved to become more holistic, in the belief that an entity's image, reputation, belief system and communication cannot be separated. Genesis' design must fulfill a larger purpose in service of our clients: we must act as advocates for the user.
His more than 35 years of experience developing strategic positions, building brand equity and achieving real results has proven successful for clients that range from small start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, including Steelcase, Frontier Airlines, Gerber, Pratt & Whitney and Toro. Jim's expertise and creative talent have earned him numerous national and international communication and design recognitions.
Debbie has 30 years of experience in corporate communication, investor relations, corporate affairs, employee communication, crisis management and general management and marketing, including senior officer roles at a number of Fortune 500 companies.
She has advised senior management and boards of directors concerning strategic positioning, value creation and integrated communication programs, providing a capital markets point of view. Her work in building investor relations programs has been viewed with great distinction, and in 2001 she became the second-ever honoree to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Investor Relations Magazine.
Her corporate experience spans consumer products, building materials retailing and conglomerates with diverse businesses, such as specialty chemicals and oil and gas, in companies that include The Quaker Oats Company, Esmark and Lowe's Companies.
In her tenure at Genesis, Debbie has directed value-enhancing investor relations, corporate communication, and strategic brand positioning projects for Allegiance Corporation, Arvin Meritor, Barrick Gold, Boeing, Johns Manville, 3M, McDATA, Nordstrom, PepsiAmericas, Steelcase, and Washington Mutual.
Debbie's experience combines leadership, communication and traditional packaged goods marketing skills with a strong background in finance gained as a securities analyst and honed as an investor relations executive. She lectures frequently on corporate communication and investor relations issues in professional and university programs.
Debbie was a member of the blue-ribbon Securities
and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Corporate Disclosure. She served on the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) board of directors, chaired the NIRI Task Force on disclosure issues, and served as president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter for the 1997-1998 year, continuing as a director. She is also a member of the board of directors of Perdue Farms.
Georgia Everse is a communications and marketing executive with 25 years of experience leading large and small companies to achieve sustained high performance and increased business results. She has a proven track record of finding innovative solutions to complex business problems through skilled synthesis, organization and people leadership. Georgia has served as the Chief Marketing and Chief Communications officer for a global Fortune 500 Company.
Georgia has unique talent and experience at creating systemic communications strategies for global brands. She has developed tools and processes to achieve strong and consistent internal and external messages that lead to competitive advantage and bring a higher return on communications investments. Her marketing approach is rooted in a strategic design planning methodology that brings together the disciplines of business planning, user centered research and design, and results in differentiated products and services and enhanced customer experiences.
Georgia has revitalized existing and created new brands. She advises executive leaders on building the value of brand as a strategic asset and helps internal teams discover their connection to brand essence. Georgia is a skilled executive facilitator in the areas of business planning, corporate strategy and culture change. She has extensive experience creating business-to-business marketing strategies with a strong design emphasis. Georgia has developed numerous design exhibitions. The exhibition WORK, LIFE, TOOLS, in collaboration with Milton Glaser, inspired a book by the same name.
Georgia's corporate experience spans international companies, global Fortune 500 companies, start-up ventures and fast growth companies. Her functional areas of responsibility have included: Corporate Marketing including advanced marketing, vertical markets, core business markets, service business markets, audiences, alliances and licensing. Product Marketing and Management, New Product Development & Concepts, Marketing Services including market research, segmentation & analysis, business reporting, marketing planning and customer experience measurement. Marketing and Corporate Communications including brand strategy, architecture and management; corporate identity, advertising, public relations, events & exhibits, sales promotion and merchandising. Investor Relations, Corporate Relations, Corporate Sales, Vertical Market Sales and Sales Administration.
Georgia frequently lectures on integrated communications, brand building, and executive woman's issues. She and her teams have won various communications and design awards for their work.
Mike began his career with Genesis thirty years ago
as a freelance designer, working on identity and design projects while he finished design school. Later, he worked in advertising, and developed his love for combining the words that tell a story with the inherent beauty in design. He returned to Genesis in 1976,
where today he is both partner and creative director.
Mike's creative portfolio ranges from annual reports and corporate communication to consumer marketing and advertising campaigns and comprehensive consumer product identity systems. These systems have included product design and graphics, packaging systems, trade show exhibits and marketing projects.
He believes that the beauty that Genesis brings to clients is not in "decoration," but comes from the functionality of finding the solution to the right problem, and the ability to integrate the total experience - most simply, bringing the words and the images together to make them cumulative, thereby elevating communication to a higher level.
Mike has guided strategic positioning, identity and communication programs for such firms as Kraft Foods, Schwinn Cycling and Fitness Company, The Quaker Oats Company, Steelcase, Volant Skis, The Spiegel Group and SCOTT USA, and has directed projects in
the United States and Europe.
Tim has over 30 years of experience in brand positioning, corporate communication, investor relations, and public affairs, including senior officer roles at Fortune 500 corporations.
Tim joined Genesis as a partner in 1994 and has directed value-enhancing brand positioning and corporate communication projects for Lubrizol, Parker Hannifin, Diebold, Edwards Lifesciences, Spiegel, Echo Bay Mines, Data Critical and Miller Heiman.
More recently, Tim joined APCO, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs and strategic communication firm, where he serves as senior vice president, facilitating the APCO/Genesis joint venture established in 2001.
He has advised senior managements and boards of directors concerning strategic brand positioning, value enhancement and integrated marketing programs.
His corporate experience spans consumer products, pharmaceutical, industrial and financial holding companies including Bell & Howell, Gerber Products and Johns Manville Corporations.
Tim is a frequent speaker on brand positioning, integrated marketing communication and investor relations. He was an adjunct professor in the graduate Integrated Marketing Communication program at Northwestern University. He has received international recognition for numerous brand positioning, corporate communication and investor relations programs.
He served on the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) board of directors and was chairman of its ethics committee. While chairman of the NIRI Education Foundation, Tim co-authored NIRI's original definition of investor relations. He currently serves on the editorial board of Investor Relations Quarterly.
Lou Thompson will begin his career as partner with Genesis on September 7, 2006. He retires from the National Investor Relations Institute on September 6, following 24 years as president and CEO and a member of the board of directors.
An internationally recognized expert on corporate disclosure, governance and other corporate strategic management issues, he is sought after as a speaker and by the media for his expertise. Thompson has served in advisory capacities to the Securities and Exchange Commission and is serving a second term on the New York Stock Exchange Individual Investor Advisory Committee. Thompson was a member of the Harvard University New Foundations Working Group on corporate governance and recently served on the board of directors for the National Council for Economic Education.
Prior to joining NIRI, Thompson was assistant White House press secretary to President Gerald R. Ford. He held a variety of key public affairs positions for the U.S. Command in Vietnam and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has held executive communication positions with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Home Builders. He began his career in 1960 as a news anchor for WOI-TV and radio in central Iowa.
He is chairman of the advisory council for the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees and was the 2001 recipient of the James W. Schwartz Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism and Communication conferred by the Greenlee School. He also served on the dean's council for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State. Thompson is a 1998 graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Senior Executive Program.
Thompson received the first lifetime achievement award in investor relations by Investor Relations magazine and Barron's in 2000 and in 2006 was recognized by Barron's, The Wall Street Journal and Investor Relations magazine for dedicated service to corporate communications and the investor relations professions.
John Cummings has 25 years of corporate experience in investor relations, strategic communications, competitive intelligence and corporate development. He has held senior positions with two Fortune 500 companies including Nerco, Inc. (a former subsidiary of PacifiCorp) and Johns Manville (currently owned by Berkshire Hathaway). In these positions, John was responsible for directing worldwide investor relations/corporate communications and corporate development programs including counseling senior management on strategies to optimize valuation metrics and corporate reputation. For Nerco, John was responsible for building the company's first investor relations function including an aggressive outreach program to portfolio managers and analysts. During his tenure as head of investor relations for Johns Manville, the company's common stock more than tripled in value. John also helped to identify Berkshire Hathaway as a buyer for the company which ultimately took place in 2001 for $2.5 billion.
John has been a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) since 1991 and is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NIRI. The Chapter was recognized in 2005 by winning The Innovation Award for improving its member services programs. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Chapter since 1998 and has held the positions of Treasurer, and Vice President, Membership and Programs.
Pat brings 20 years of project management experience to clients of Genesis, supervising production operations and serving as the liaison between designers, clients and vendors to ensure that the priorities and objectives of Genesis design projects are met or exceeded.
Since joining the company in 1984, Pat has managed the tactical side of Genesis and served as the in-house expert on quality issues related to procurement and production for the broad variety of media in which Genesis works. Past projects range from corporate identity and aircraft fleet graphics to annual reports, experiential exhibits and interactive video for clients that include Frontier Airlines, The Quaker Oats Company, Kraft Foods, Arlington International Racecourse and Halo Lighting. She has been a member of Genesis' management team since 1993.
Previously, Pat honed her skills in production management in the graphic arts industry by serving as production manager for a design and advertising firm, director of communications for a national trade house and as manager for a print shop. In the 70s, Pat managed a different form of production when she
owned and operated an organic dairy farm in
Caulfield, Missouri.
