| SwanDog Management Team |
 |
 |
Dave Swanson
In addition to his senior management experience, Dave has deep roots in marketing, including serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Van Kampen Investments, Director of Marketing for the Morgan Stanley Mutual Funds, Director of Marketing at Kemper Funds and Marketing Manager at Sears, Roebuck & Company.
Dave serves as Lead Independent Trustee for the Financial Investors Variable Insurance Trust and as an Independent Trustee for the Managed Portfolio Series.
A highly sought after speaker, Dave has authored numerous industry white papers and research initiatives, the most recent being a collaborative marketing benchmark study with FUSE Research. Dave holds a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Southern Illinois University. He is a professional member of both the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Executives Networking Group. Bill Barsanti
Bill joined SwanDog Strategic Marketing in 2006, where he works on strategic brand initiatives and oversees the Marketing Fuel™ training program. Paula McGrath, CIMA
Paula McGrath has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry, including 12 years at Van Kampen Investments in various roles. Most recently she was Executive Director and National Account Manager in Van Kampen’s wire house division, where she managed a top-tier distribution relationship. Her experience includes sales strategy and analysis, and management of key campaigns, several large product launches, and distribution initiatives. Prior to key accounts, Paula was Vice President and Marketing Manager at Van Kampen. She worked closely with senior management on sales model restructuring projects, creating revised marketing strategies under new distribution structures, including the management of several customized value-added programs for within her account. She also has experience in fund sales and accounting. Prior to Van Kampen, Paula—a CPA—worked as an accountant for a commercial real estate company, a credit card processing company, and was an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co in the Financial Services division. Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Valparaiso University, and holds the CIMA (Certified Investment Management Analyst) designation. James Lesser
James is a marketing and advertising executive with a specialty in wealth and asset management. His roles with corporate clients and advertising agencies have lent him insight to the unique needs of financial services marketers with a complex, diverse product line and sales structure. At Morgan Stanley, James was in charge of marketing mutual funds, 529 plans, unit trusts, separate accounts and alternatives. He also was responsible for brand strategy and positioning, advertising and sponsorships. At Smith Barney, James led marketing for the Trak account and Citi Trust Services. James’ advertising experience includes account management roles at Wells, Rich Greene, Masius, and Cossette Communications. At Cossette, James was in charge of the financial services practice and well as leading new business efforts in the category. At Masius, he headed the Lord Abbett, Touchstone Energy and Philips Medical Systems accounts. James cut his advertising teeth at Wells Rich Greene on the Chase business. He graduated from Hamilton College and has an MBA from NYU in Marketing and International Business. Susan CrawshawA graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Susan spent more than twenty years in the financial-services industry, primarily in marketing leadership roles at several mutual-fund companies, including Kemper, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank. As Managing Director for Deutsche Bank’s Scudder Investments, she oversaw all retail product management, research, branding, programs, advertising, and marketing-communications functions. After leaving the industry in 2005, Susan’s interest in organic gardening and cooking led her to a second career in the small-farm wine business. She currently lives in Philadelphia, where, in addition to consulting for SwanDog, she also manages a little real estate and volunteers for several urban-greenspace organizations. |
Founder and Managing Partner of SwanDog Marketing, Dave has over 30 years of senior management and marketing experience, including nearly 25 years in asset and wealth management. Over his career, he has served as Chief Operating Officer of Van Kampen Investments, President and CEO of Scudder, Stevens & Clark, Canada, Ltd., Managing Director and Head of Global Investment Products at Morgan Stanley and Executive Vice President and Head of Distribution (sales and marketing) at Calamos Investments.
A brand expert with over 25 years of experience, Bill has worked for some of the nation’s leading ad agencies, including Ogilvy and Mather and Della Femina. In addition to helping build strong brands like Caterpillar, Craftsman and Wilson Sporting Goods, Bill served as Vice President, Director of Brand and Advertising for Kemper Funds. At Kemper he helped develop and manage a complete and successful brand re-positioning. In a similar role for Scudder Investments, Bill oversaw the transition of the Scudder brand from a direct-sold to advisor-sold product line. Additionally Bill has cultivated innovative sponsorships with the PGA, LPGA, the Big 10 Conference, TIME Inc. and many other media properties.
