Executive Team

The Zagoren Collective executive team is made up of professionals who have reached the highest levels in their fields.  This team oversees every project and manages hundreds of business development, advertising, marketing, and internet production associates around the world.

 

Glenn Zagoren
CEO / Brand Fanatic

Mr. Zagoren started his first agency the day he graduated from college and for the last 30 Years he has been at the helm of the company handling branding, advertising and marketing for clients that include The Principality of Monaco, Sony, The US Department of Commerce, Maxell, JBL, Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, Avis, The Government of Israel Tourism Office, The United Nations and many other high-end, image conscience organizations. 

With a degree in Architecture and Design it was only natural that Mr. Zagoren would excel in Real Estate marketing.  To date, The Zagoren Collective has handled the advertising and marketing of over $5 Billion of residential and commercial projects including the two largest residential developments in New York, the tallest building in Baltimore, the largest corporate parks in Connecticut and New Jersey and the some of the most expensive homes in the world.

His vision is one that states that even the smallest detail will have an effect on the perception of a brand.  As a result of his oversight of The Zagoren Collective he ensures that each division maintains and enhances the client's brand as well as striving to improve their reach and efficiency.  "A brand lives or dies on its perception. Perception is the reality. It is our job to deliver positive perception at every vision point thereby guaranteeing a solid ROI."

Glenn also has a technical side that allowed him to be part of the team that introduced CD technology for Sony/Phillips.  The success of that launch is still self evident today and garnered him the "Trendsetter of the Year" Award from Billboard Magazine.

As an Internet and business development advisor under the Clinton and Bush administration Mr. Zagoren participated in high level policy meetings with heads of state from around the world.  He often traveled on Air Force II to meet with President Arafat, King Abdullah, Prime Minister Ehud Barak, King Fahd, President Mubarak and many others.

In the end, Glenn always says that he is just one part of a much bigger concept, one that brings the highest quality professionals in business development, design, production, media & technology together to provide superior solutions for our clients. 

Glenn is married with two daughters and lives in Manhattan and went to Pratt Institute School of Architecture
 

Jay Schneider
Partner / Business Development  / "The Facilitator"

Mr. Schneider is affectionately known as the human "LinkedIn".  His contacts in business, entertainment, the arts and Government are enormous.  This is good for us when it comes to business development but his resources are invaluable when it comes to building strategic partnerships for our clients.

Mr. Schneider has had a 30 year career in multimedia advertising as well as sales and promotion. He has been a principle involved in representing the NY Yankees, Yves St.Laurent, Pucci, Potamkin Motors, Royce Hosiery. Jean George Vongerichten, NWF, FosterCare, Braman RR, Equitoriana Airlines, Brioni, & L+L Holdings, one of the largest commercial real estate firms in NY.

Most recently he was part of a 3-member team that privately capitalized Ashton Kutcher's "Katalyst Films", This "New Media" production company is creating cutting edge, original content digital media, television and film properties. Katalyst is pushing the edge of today's social networking systems with content filled with product placement as well as producing conventional programming for network and major film releases.

Jay lives in New York City and is also a Tony Award wining producer.

 

Matthew Lester
Creative Director  /  Commercial Director / "I can be there yesterday" Guy

 

Prior to joining The Zagoren Collective, Matt Lester had been a Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director at McCann Erickson World Group, New York. Matt offers a unique combination of talent, versatility and experience. He has created campaigns for a very long list of national and international brands, done hundreds of commercials for almost every conceivable type of product and market and has lately been focused on game changing ideas that engage consumers on every level including digital, on-line, social media and experiential marketing.
 
The department store chain, Kohl’s was the victim of their own success when competitors copied their most innovative ideas. Matt changed all that by reinventing them as a legitimate fashion destination driving traffic to the store for accessible, aspirational style. Soon, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Dana Buckman and others flocked there as well making Kohl’s number one in it’s category last year and a winner on Wall Street during the through the tough recession.
 
If you’re wondering who made contemporary women feel they were still “Worth It” it was Matt’s revamping of the L’Oreal brand that made the statement relevant again. in the modern age of professional, empowered women with more discretionary income and more choices than ever, L’Oreal had record sales and consistent share gains the nearly four prosperous years Matt ran the business.
 
Matt was responsible for advertising the International and Latin American divisions of Gillette. Injecting a sense of style into everything from razors and shave prep to deodorants.
 
He’d kept the entire country in suspense bringing the wildly successful serial campaign for Taster's Choice to the U.S.  Introducing classic cinematic romance to the commercial arena, Matt helmed a campaign that is still talked about and has become mandatory study in advertising text-books, part of the collections at the Smithsonian and Museum of Television and Radio.
 
Matt is also responsible for developing and implementing numerous and diverse campaigns for Coca-Cola -- from the progressive, music video style Coke II spots to the dramatic, emotionally charged series for Coca-Cola Classic. One of the most  notable stories features a young, lonely, Polish boy who is adopted by an American couple. The only thing familiar to him in his new, foreign home is a universally friendly bottle of Coca-Cola.
 
Capitalizing on pressing issues of the baby-boomer generation, Matt created a series of Nescafe spots that poignantly portrayed the struggles, hopes and fears of being a single parent.
 
Another of Matt's memorable campaigns was the humorous series for Alka-Seltzer.
Literal metaphors were utilized to illustrate familiar stomach ailments, ending with the famous call;  "Alka-Seltzer to the Rescue." Again, an addition to the Smithsonian collection.
 
He has also used humor to sell Sprite to a young, international audience with real camels drinking Sprite in the scorching desert as they follow the universal command “Obey Your Thirst”.
 
Matt finds the emotional truth in any product benefit, from coffee creamers (Coffeemate) to Hong Kong airlines (Cathay Pacific) and translates this into meaningful, effective marketing and advertising.
 
Matt’s talents also include directing spots for a variety of clients such as
Master Card, Meineke, Ebel, Smith Barney and Martini & Rossi to name just a few.
 
Early work includes the memorable flying bubble kids for Bubblicious, Matt made Snickers "So Satisfying" and launched various campaigns for Three Musketeers and the Coor’s Brewing Co.
 
Prior to his agency experience, Matt designed, art directed and launched a national fashion magazine and worked on a large variety of package and set designs.
 
One of eight brothers and sisters born and raised in a small coal town in Pennsylvania, Matt has interests that range from cultural to counter-cultural, ordinary to extraordinary. A combination of practical business acumen and creative, emotionally engaging insights allows Matt to excel in one of the few arenas that combine art and science to grow market share of mind and wallet.
 
CLIENT LIST:

L’Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Kohl’s, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Gillette, Cathay Pacific, Meineke, Ebel, Smith Barney, Martini & Rossi, Coor’s, Master Card, Snickers, Three Musketeers, Bubblicous, Alke-Seltzer, Nestle, Nescafe, Taster’s Choice, Coffeemate, AT&T, Brooks Brothers, Tiffany, Chase Bank
 

 

Jonathan Ressler
Social Media  /  "The Mouth That Roared"

He is a social media maven, a guerilla and stealth marketing pioneer. Really smart corporate strategist. And self-proclaimed “big fat guy.”

Jonathan’s a serial entrepreneur who has started, grown and sold his own marketing firms, including Ressler Marketing Group and Big Fat.  He also owned nearly a dozen nightclubs in New York City (where he invented Human Bowling), provided sales and marketing training to top spirits companies, and served as a contributing writer to a wide variety of publications in that industry. He’s been an interview source for major national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN and 60 Minutes.  Jonathan’s past work has included projects for clients that include Nestle, Mazda, Nintendo, the NFL, MTV, Comedy Central, the NBA and Anheuser-Busch.  His specialty is helping clients capitalize on the power of guerilla, stealth and entertainment marketing and social media (including blogging, Twitter and online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace).

And now, he’s the “The Mouth That Roared.” Seriously. That’s not an in-house nickname; it’s his new title. Only the company didn’t pick it for him and neither did he.

Instead, in true social media spirit, we gave power to the people. And boy, did they ever use it.

We set up an online title contest, encouraging anyone who was interested to submit title ideas and vote for a favorite. We harnessed the power of social media, using Twitter and Facebook to spread the word. We made a brief YouTube video and contacted bloggers. And for good measure, we threw in the promise of a $250 gift card to the participant who submitted the winning title.

The end result? Thousands  of submissions and tens of thousands of votes — from the ridiculous to the sublime. Among them: “Smartest Guy in the Room,” “Director of Everything Nobody Else Wants to Do,” and “For Three Easy Payments of $19.99.” (Then there was Jonathan’s personal favorite: “I’m Jonathan Ressler, I’ll Be Your Server Today.”) In the end, “The Mouth That Roared” narrowly beat out the second-place entry, “Company Mascot.”   Watch the video here.

So get to know The Mouth That Roared. Ask him what he’s been up to lately. We think you’ll find his story might just be the first part of a great chapter about him, The Zagoren Collective and you.

 

Steve Carbone
Internet Strategy  / Web Development / Invented the Web

Steve spear heads Digital programs at The Zagoren Collective.  His unique understanding of today's digital technology opportunities and how to apply them to clients marketing needs is stellar.

Mr. Carbone began his career in advertising nearly 20 years ago when he joined Grey Advertising, eventually building the company’s pre-production practice and spearheading its technology accounts. In 1993, he joined Grey’s direct marketing operation, Grey Direct, and in 1995, started the company’s interactive business.

In 2004, he became president of G2 Direct & Digital (previously Grey Direct), where he oversaw all facets of online and offline communications programs in a media-neutral environment. Additionally, he managed client service operations across multiple G2 offices in New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco.

During his tenure at Grey, Steve was the steward for a roster of clients including: Adobe, BP, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Dun & Bradstreet, Seagrams Corporate Communications, Bank of America, the Direct Marketing Association, MCI WorldCom and Warner Brothers Studio.

Prior to joining forces with The Zagoren Collective Steve was President of Nurun’s North American operation.  He was responsible for Nurun’s corporate vision/mission, overall growth, investment opportunities, and client strategy in both the United States and Canada. He led creative teams, client services professionals, analytics experts, search specialists, and interactive media planners and buyers in Nurun’s New York, Atlanta, Montreal, and Toronto locations. He was also a member of Nurun’s executive team, working closely with the company’s leaders and strategists in Europe and Asia.

A lecturer and keynote speaker on “technology in direct marketing” for New York University, University of Virginia, the Direct Marketing Association, the Association for Interactive Media and the Electronic Media Marketing Association, Steve has consistently combined his entrepreneurial spirit with his passion for marketing and technology.

Mr. Carbone is married with 2 children and lives in Forest Hills, New York

Felipe Bascope
Los Angeles Office  / Creative Director  / Beer Aficionado            

Felipe is creative...say no more.  His work for agencies such as Chiat/Day Los Angeles, Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles and Tokyo as well as London, Ogilvy & Mather Los Angeles and New York, Razorfish,  GSD&M Austin, Texas, BBDO Atlanta, dGWB Irvine, Think New Ideas Los Angeles, Foote Cone and Belding Los Angeles, just to name a few, is recognizable and wildly successful. He’s been in advertising for 20 years, the last five at Saatchi&Saatchi Los Angeles.

Throughout his career Felipe has been behind some of the worlds top brands. Here’s just a taste of his client list: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, Hyundai, Subaru, Daewoo, Qualcomm, Toshiba, FileNET, Clarion, Avia, Airwalk, Vans, Quiksilver, Ocean Pacific, the Surfrider Foundation, the American Red Cross, Kawasaki, South West Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Coors Light, Pebble beach, Kentucky Fried Chicken, El Pollo Loco, Del Taco, Texas Lottery, Shimano biking and fishing, Yamaha, Panasonic, Fox Studios, the California State Tourism Board, Spanish Tourism Board, and the Texas Tourism Board. Once again, just to name a few.

His television, print, radio, interactive, ambient and guerilla creative has been noticed by Cannes, One Show, Belding, Andy’s, Clios, DN&D, the London Festivals, the New York Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, the Addy’s and Creativity. Felipe  also teaches copywriting at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California.

He’s also fluent in Spanish, surfing, snowboarding, travel and eating. His favorite food is beer.

Mr. Bascobe is married with two one daughter and lives in Costa Mesa California.

 

Mirana Comstock
Boston Office  /  Creative Services / Copywriting  /  Lead Singer

If there’s writing in it, chances are Mirana has done it. And won awards for her efforts. Raised by acclaimed artists, writers and musicians, she was trained in the “family business” at Juilliard, Music and Art and Lee Strasberg. As family lore has it, there was no wall space left by the time she came along, so she had to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, Konrad Bercovici, noted author of, among other things, Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator.” Now that she has her own walls, however, her photography has won international competitions, been featured in noted art and historical publications and she has exhibited at MoMA, Lincoln Center and Pfizer, as well as various galleries both here and abroad.

A true multi-field creative, Mirana also fronted indie rock bands on the New York club scene for many years, with her self-produced music videos on MTV, her tunes on rock radio and film soundtracks. She and her husband, musician Rick Comstock recently launched alt rock/dance band Theory of Tides to strong critical and fan response on their website theoryoftides.com and MySpace.com/theoryoftides.

Seeing the common denominator in all of her work as storytelling, Mirana has created award-winning ad campaigns for a wide range of accounts both in-house and at top agencies on Madison Avenue and in the Boston area. Her multi-field talents have enabled her to create consumer-resonant stories with a pitch-perfect voice for such brands as Timberland, Talbots, Coppertone, JBL, A&E, Heinz, Sharp, Seagram’s and Revlon. Words…music...photography. Mirana’s skill set brings a very special creative vision to The Zagoren Collective.

Mirana has worked on the following accounts:

Fashion: Timberland, Talbots, Casual Corner/Music and Consumer Electronics: JBL, Harman Kardon, Marshall, Korg, Sharp, Maxell/Liquor: Seagram’s Gin, Crown Royal, The Glenlivet, Schaefer Beer/ Beauty: Revlon, Jergens, Nature Scents, SC Direct/Entertainment: A&E, The Biography Channel, The History Channel, BBC, Boston Lyric Opera, Blockbuster/Travel: Air Canada/Food and Beverage: Tea Forté, Heinz, H-O Cereals, Folger’s Coffee, Welch’s/Home Furnishings: Pennsylvania House, Conran’s/Public Service: Greyhound Protection League, 9/11 Families, Camp Vacamas/Real Estate: ESG, The Developers Group, The Pinehills, Cushman & Wakefield/Financial: First American Bank

 

Stefanie Williamson
Public Relations Superstar

Steve Tollen
Production Management / Go To Guy

If it has to get done Steve is the guy to go to.  Whether its a film shoot in Bora Bora or and casting call in LA Steve has never missed a deadline.

Steve has more than fifteen years experience as a Management Professional in the film, television and advertising industry. In that time, he has worked with some of the most prominent companies in the field.  

As a producer, Mr.Tollen was a Senior Vice President at global advertising agencies Wells BDDP, New York; and Grey Advertising, New York, respectively. At Wells, he managed broadcast production for international clients Hertz, Proctor & Gamble and Heineken/Amstel. Clients at Grey included Sprint Business, Proctor & Gamble, Kraft Foods, Conagra, Brown & Williamson and others.

Working hand in hand with creative and account services, Mr. Tollen oversaw all aspects of commercial production from pre through post, including casting, shooting, editing and trafficking. At both Wells and Grey, he was responsible for generating and working within budgets that exceeded $5 million annually.

Most recently, Mr. Tollen was the Managing Director at Sound One, the largest feature film post-production sound facility in New York, with 60 full time and 200 part time employees.

In the three years Steve managed the daily operations at Sound One, he not only provided leadership and direction to all departments within the facility, including engineering, sales and studio management, he also generated revenue and profits exceeding yearly projections in a down industry environment. By rebranding and revitalizing the company, Tollen returned Sound One to its former rank as the premiere post-production house in New York City.

Prior to his tenure at Sound One, Mr. Tollen was the Director of Operations, Chief Strategist at New York advertising agency Creative Priority/In the Box. There he was responsible for strategic planning and creative development for the agency's most significant new client, The New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

David Terrell
Creative Services  / Creative Director  /  Tae Kwon Do Master

David has been creating award-winning graphic design for 40 years, his clients ranging from Fortune 500 to local businesses, major agencies to small studios. His work has lent intelligent, striking expression to audio, electronic, photographic and automotive products; to corporate image, real estate, medical and dental industries; to toys, food, cosmetics, sports products, shoes and clothing.

“American poet Vachel Lindsay said ‘a bad designer is a bad citizen’. American public space is overrun by bad commercial design. It takes well thought-out visual solutions to stop people, and there has to be a reward for their time invested.”

David is also an illustrator and fine artist. Completely at home on a computer, his underlying strength is his ability to see, draw and create. “Drawing isn’t about pencils vs. computers; it’s about the act of seeing and exercising visual intelligence. If you draw well, you create better.”

David is also a long-time camper, back-packer, fly fisherman, martial artist and teacher, holding 4 Black Belts and a Teaching Certificate in Japanese Sword. “The martial arts have taught me patience, decisiveness and strategy in everything.”

If you need to be seen better or step up to a higher level, David has the talent and experience to create successful solutions to help you stand out, open doors and get noticed.

Partial List of clients David has worked with: Russell Athletic, Alfa Romeo, Atrium Office Park, 6 St. Paul Centre, Adelphi University, The Casino de Monte Carlo, The South Street Seaport, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Chase Bank, JBL Speakers, Harman/Kardon, Maxell, NEC, Olympus.

 

Arthur Clancy
Business and Technical Architect

Arthur brings innovation through his very efficient business architecture methods.  Executing on new visions with the simplicity and power in re-thinking technical designs in new ways.  His client work is centered on achieving bottom line performance.  Motivated clients enjoy his pace and precision uncovering critical needs and quickly setting the right course.  Possessing inborn ability in assessing right team members for projects and motivating them to achieve excellence throughout the engagement.  Arthur views taking every opportunity to enhance team leadership skills during initiatives as a factor in his successes.

A master of large and small scale local and global business systems.  At JP Morgan Chase, Arthur was the coordinator and principle architect of both the Foundation Architecture and The BluePrint Program.  Programs implementing architectures necessary for realization of the Global Business Strategy.  Arthur created AT&T’s global public relations and media relations system at the Basking Ridge World Headquarters.  He has been chief architect for major trading floor systems, e-Commerce Hubs and many significant business and technology systems for Fortune 100 companies

 

Rob Kinston
Account Management and Business Development

Mr. Kingston is an integrated marketing communications expert with a passion for creating consumer centric, idea driven communications platforms that delight and engage customers while delivering measurable results.

With 20+ years in ad agency account management, Rob is steeped in traditional media, amplified by his considerable digital, direct and new media experience, oversight and know-how. He has worked for some of the most respected agency brands like Grey, FCB, Merkley & Partners, BBDO and Dentsu. He has developed successful, fully integrated programs for leading global Brands like Toyota, BellSouth, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Northwest Airlines, AT&T, Hyatt Hotels, and Citibank.

Rob is not afraid to challenge convention. At Grey, Rob was a founding member of darkGrey, a new agency model for integrated marketing communications that challenged the traditional agency “silo” model by providing clients with one integrated platform across all marketing communications disciplines. Rob helped put darkGrey on the map leading successful new business efforts that attracted major new clients like BellSouth, Unisys and Nokia. 

Prior to join The Zagoren Collective Mr. Kingston was at Catalina Marketing, where he helped develop and brand the Pointer Media Network, an advertising platform to deliver highly targeted and addressable advertising to shoppers based on Catalina's sophisticated database of actual purchase behavior. Rob exceeded advertising revenue goals at Catalina two years running, growing ad revenue by over 35%.

Mr. Kingston is an accomplished account and brand strategy leader. He has led the integration of consumer insights and communications strategies across all media and disciplines to increase awareness, deepen relationships, improve sales/conversion and engage customers. He has successfully navigated the complex relationships between business, creative , analytic and technology constituencies to foster cooperation and collaboration. He has led and motivated integrated teams and has built teams between offices and divisions, across oceans and continents.

Rob lives with his wife and 3 boys in Cross River, NY. He is actively involved in his community as a Board member and coach for youth sports organizations, District Representative for one of the town political parties and volunteer for, and vocal supporter of, the local school district in and out of the classroom.