Mower, an independent and employee-owned marketing, advertising and public relations agency, has undergone a strategic reorganization and expansion of its core leadership team. The changes make Mower a majority women-led company.
Joining president and CEO Stephanie Crockett and chief creative officer Doug Kamp on the core leadership team are new employee owners chief financial officer Lisa Costa and SVP, strategy Amanda Schuneman. Boston-based Costa brings over 20 years of experience with both a CPA firm and advertising agencies like Allen & Gerritsen (A&G) and Mind+Matter, and she most recently led her own financial operations consulting agency. Schuneman, based in Chicago, joins Mower from Deloitte’s Advisory practice and brings 19 years of brand and strategy experience to her new post leading Mower’s strategic planners, account planners, analytic specialists and researchers. Her extensive background includes advertising and agency work for companies including Merkle, DDB and gyro.
Rounding out Crockett’s evolved core leadership team are four current employee owners of Mower, their promotions a signal of their contributions to the agency and the marketing, advertising and public relations industry. They include Erinn Steffen to EVP, operations (Buffalo, NY), Ashley Montanaro to SVP, client leadership (Syracuse, NY), Trish Nugent to SVP, head of public relations & public affairs (New York City) and Peter Wiezalis to VP, growth strategy (Syracuse, NY). The core leadership team benefits from the counsel of executive chairman Eric Mower, who has guided the agency since 1968 and from whom Crockett assumed the agency’s top post in 2023.
“We’ve undergone a company-wide reorganization touching every level of our business that has made us a stronger, more competitive agency, and our leadership team has also gone through an evolution to lead this important restructuring effort. Ultimately, the changes we’ve made mirror both the dynamic culture within Mower and the diverse needs of our clients,” commented Crockett. “These new hires and the well-deserved promotions of our employee owners reinforce our commitment to always raise the bar, and I’m excited for Mower to embark on this new chapter with such a talented and dedicated team at the helm.”
This year has also brought the promotion of Marjorie Freer to SVP, human resources, and welcomed key strategic hires to the agency. New employee owners include Stacey Kelly, director of integrated production and Denise Rasberry, sr. producer to Mower’s production department, Maggie Attea as associate, performance marketing for the agency’s connections planning department. and Lily Richardson as assistant account executive for the public relations & public affairs group.
