These Are The Movers and The Shakers

AKA Mary Marketing Poppins

Marisa has led marketing functions for many venerable brands, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and most recently as the CMO of the New York Stock Exchange. Through this interaction with both Fortune 500 companies and emerging start-ups, she identified a market need to advise growing companies on a host of marketing issues, inspiring her to birth this RG family. 

Marisa leads business development and whatever else her team asks her to do. Mostly, her job is to recruit and retain her army of savvy, self-starters with a get it done mindset to keep the company kool-aid strong.

Believes multi-tasking is the key to life, despite various data sources proving otherwise. Does however believe in science.

AKA Quiet Storm

LaVerne has been an Executive Administrator for 30 plus years.  With people skills that allows her to have great communication with other EA and executives, LaVerne loves being adaptable to making the leadership’s team run smoothly.  She calls it playing chess, she moves the pieces to make calendars, meetings and events run like a well oiled machine.

Her servant leadership attitude makes it a delight to work with anyone. She is a quiet storm, because there may be one brewing, however, she does whatever is in her power to make it calm.

At RG, her delight is to be a part of an amazing company, and to have been privileged to be there in its beginning and see it continue to grow.

AKA THE Organizational Wizard

Alexis’ wealth of experience in program and client relationship management has molded her into a ship-steadier extraordinaire. Her skills have been forged in the fires of public affairs, creative agency, and enterprise tech, where she garnered a true appreciation for “building the plane as you fly it.” 

At RG, Alexis brings order and clarity to the most complex programs, allowing clients to focus on what truly matters most: connecting with audiences in bold and believable ways.

Alexis’ hair is so big because it’s full of secrets, one being how she can get so much done in a single day.

AKA Miss Always Be Smiling

Aly’s experience working with brands across several industries and passion for human-centered problem solving set the foundation for her creative marketing career. Before joining RG, Aly studied Marketing and Business Law & Ethics at Fordham University. 

 At RG, Aly supports client relationships and creates comprehensive solutions through research, competitive analysis, and strategy development. Aly is RG’s primary content creator, making sure all our followers are up-to-date on our latest and greatest. 

Many could guess from her natural grace and charisma that Aly is a dancer. Her classical training in DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) can be best featured at a karaoke bar or boardwalk arcade. 

AKA Manifestor of Positive Vibes

Alana’s background in both marketing and art has molded her into a creative and agile brand marketer with an eye for design. Throughout her experiences, she has developed a deep appreciation for the role storytelling plays in the marketing environment. 

At RG, Alana manages accounts and partners with our brand strategists to conduct research and develop the key insights that lead to differentiated narratives for our clients. 

Alana is a fantasy football pro and is (unfortunately) an avid fan of the Washington Football Team. 

AKA The RG Wonder Woman

Amanda is a seasoned B2B marketing professional whose experience spans both the client and agency side. Prior to RG, Amanda managed strategy and marketing programs for global brands in the financial and real estate sectors including Tishman Speyer, Bank of America and The New York Stock Exchange.

At RG, Amanda takes great pride in working as a natural extension of client marketing teams with an unmatched level of passion and dedication for getting things done. She particularly enjoys bringing brand strategies to life through smart, measurable go-to-market plans.

Other than her family, Amanda’s first love is horses. Now that she’s back living in the ‘burbs, she’s looking forward to getting back in the saddle.

AKA Swiss Ari Knife

Ari’s prior agency and client-side experience has solidified her skillset as a fast-paced digital guru with B2B and B2C expertise. She’s not afraid to get in the weeds to break down an analytics dashboard or jump in with thought starters during a strategy brainstorming session. 

At RG, Ari works with clients to strategize, activate, and optimize cross-channel digital campaigns that fill the funnel and deliver leads and learnings.

Ari loves a lot of things and hates very few things, but one thing she hates is the show The Office.

AKA QBE…quiet but effective

Bently’s career began in television production, from running a teleprompter on the 5am local news to helping produce major sporting events for FOX Sports. Following 12 years in Los Angeles and having multiple World Series, Super Bowls and Daytona 500s under his production belt, Bently decided to return to his roots on the east coast and use his love of production and back office magic to work for the Ricciardi Group.

Staying behind the scenes, Bently helps manage accounting, resourcing, contracting, IT … anything to help keep the RG engine humming.

While at FOX Sports, Bently participated and won in a Fantasy Football League that included the likes of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.

AKA Finance Nerd 

Beth very likely holds the record for managing the marketing efforts for more company IPOs than anyone in history. She led NYSE’s listings marketing and partnership efforts for 15 years and while at the NYSE was a founding member of the NYSE’s ETF and Index team. 

At RG, Beth helps clients better understand their competitive landscape, builds kick-ass integrated marketing plans and supports new branding initiatives, which catapult clients to their next phase of growth.

Beth is a crypto market geek who recently completed Cam Harvey’s DeFi: The Future of Finance specialization program and received her NFT certification for her participation in Cohort #9 of Pomp’s Crypto Academy.

AKA Chief Cocktail Maker

Betsy is a creative business leader who relishes working with her clients to help them unlock the power of their brands and drive growth. 

Betsy has spearheaded award winning, integrated communications for a myriad of well-known, global brands and loves how brilliant ideas can transform business. She’s been fortunate to work with amazing B2B and B2C companies, including Goldman Sachs, iCapital, Honeywell, NYSE, Jordan Park, Evian, Chanel and New Balance Athletic Shoes.

Betsy is the mother of two fantastic kids and a graduate of Northwestern University where she honed her ability to think fast on her feet during her time in an improv comedy group.

Betsy is notorious for her love of making elaborate cocktails and happily whips them up for anyone who swings by her front porch. All are welcome.

With expertise in a wide range of industries from consumer packaging and entertainment, to enterprise-level tech firms – Bianca’s diverse background inspires comprehensive, creative solutions for clients with varying needs. Whether the ask is to freshen up a visual identity system that reimagines a heritage brand to compete within a modern marketplace or to build a website for an emerging company seeking new investors, she moves with urgency and purpose. 

Bianca collaborates with her RG brand strategists to guide clients through a thoughtful process of research, exploration and conceptual design for a final product that’s validated by key stakeholders every step along the way. 

Bianca rescued a pocket pitbull from Harlem and named her Mimosa.

AKA The Closer

Taking traditional marketing principles and a deep understanding of building brand equity across international markets, Christena applies her ten years of marketing experience to the ever-changing digital landscape. Always drawn to new challenges and expanding her knowledge set, she lives to explore and improve on becoming an individual force of marketing. 

At RG, Christena leads as a program, project and account manager on the most complex projects to exceed client expectations with outstanding service and tangible outcomes.

Before the New York adventure, Christena hailed from sunny California, practically living in the Pacific Ocean for most of her formative years—only to sand-off onto dry land to feast on elote, carne asada and menudo. And the AYCE KBBQ wasn’t bad either. 

AKA The Poet Laureate

Don has over thirty years experience on both the client and agency sides of brand management, marketing, and advertising with a specialization in financial services—retail, B2B, and fintech. 

Don manages the immersion process at RG for brand positioning and messaging, analyzes the inputs, and develops key insights, positioning, and messaging that leads to differentiated narratives for our clients. 

Don is also an internationally-published, award-winning poet. (Really!)

AKA Captain Chaos

Fida’s life-long background in sports allows her to find an odd comfort in fast-paced, borderline chaotic environments, which makes agency life the perfect fit for her. Her appreciation for art, creativity, and all forms of expression helped her find a home in marketing. 

Fida works across a number of accounts at RG, assisting anyone and everyone—from fellow RGers to clients—with the day-to-day tasks of project management and brand execution. 

Fida achieved her goal of traveling to 20 countries before turning 20, and is 3 countries shy of her next mission: 30 countries before 25. On this same note, Fida is also the proud owner of a very exotic collection of shot glasses. 

AKA Creative Eye in the Sky

Gabrielle has over 8+ years of experience as a graphic designer working with both brands and non-profit organizations. Before joining RG, Gabrielle began her design journey as an Adobe-certified freelance designer & pursued her education in Business Administration and Graphic Design at the State University of New York at Oswego.  

At RG, Gabrielle works with clients to bring ideas to life, playing a dual role in design and project management. In addition, Gabrielle is RG’s primary brand designer, working with the rest of the RG team to execute & translate ideas visually.

Besides playing video games & spending time with a very attached cat at home, Gabrielle explores different forms of creativity in her free time, such as capturing life’s moments on 35mm film & learning how to DJ!

AKA Mr. Solve Your Problem

Jay has always been someone with more interests and ambitions than there is time in the day, which has molded him into a multi-faceted Marketer and Operator who seeks to be ‘dangerous’ at everything. As a shameless tech geek and futurist, Jay is passionate about helping drive meaningful business impact and change that matters both within RG, and with clients who are paving the way into the future. 

As a servant leader, Jay heads up RG’s Finance, Business Operations, Legal, Human Resources and Sales Operations teams, focusing on removing barriers and enabling the impactful work that the RG team delivers each day.

As a true Italian, Jay can be found talking with hands, speaking too loudly (some might call it shouting), cooking, or drooling over high-design products.

AKA: The Storyteller (and Chief Spaghetti Wrangler)

Jennifer spent her career building some of the world’s biggest brands to category-leading positions, winning industry accolades for breakthrough work that drove business results. Jen believes the heart of any brand lies in its intersection with its customer’s life. Tell that story well and you build an authentic connection that is hard to break.

She has brought that mindset to leading brand and communication strategy for RG, helping tell the story of brands from start-up to grown up. Jen loves to deep dive into the most complex offerings to find the unique truth at the heart of the business.

She is a lover of fashion and the arts, mom of two teenage athletes, and one rambunctious corgi.

AKA Schedule Stickler

After working on the media side for decades, Julia crossed over to the agency side where she puts her integrated marketing knowledge to task with a fresh perspective. From major household names to start-ups, she has always appreciated pulling together the various pieces to bring a brand to life and tell their story in unique ways.  

 At RG, Julia oversees various accounts and partners with our brand strategists and creative geniuses to develop brand narratives and campaigns that allow them to stand out in the marketplace.

 Julia is originally from the Philly area and still holds an unhealthy obsession with all of the Philly sports teams despite living in New York for over 20 years. #flyeaglesfly #trusttheprocess #bringittobroad

AKA The Canadian

Justin’s background in both product and graphic design has molded him into a creative and agile UI/UX designer. He believes in a team based approach to creative problem solving, and strives to find the intersect between aesthetics and data driven design.

At RG, Justin works closely with brand strategists and account partners to develop creative digital solutions for clients.

When he’s not cheering on his favorite Toronto sports team, you can find him at a cafe enjoying conversations over a cup of single origin coffee.

AKA The Rockstar

As a writer and creative leader, Kevin has developed some of the most awarded advertising and branding work in the world, for some of the most iconic brands. He loves the craft of writing and says he won’t stop until someone pries his pencil from his “cold, dead hands.”

At RG, Kevin works closely with strategists and business leaders to create and execute effective creative work that delivers strong results.

While Kevin truly does love writing, he sometimes wishes he could be a rock star. The only thing stopping him is that he can’t sing, can’t play any instruments (not even the tambourine), and looks ridiculous in leather pants.

AKA The Fire-starter 

Leeza McKeown is a business strategist who combines rigorous research, analysis, and creative synthesis to breathe momentum into companies’ growth. With vast experience as a management consultant, M&A advisor, and entrepreneur, Leeza has a unique ability to help clients grow into best-fit markets, get to the bottom of their value proposition, and build ongoing long-term value.

At RG, Leeza is a brand strategist who infuses research-driven strategy into narratives, ensuring that brands’ value propositions and marketing messaging reflect the broader company goals and speak to the true needs of their most important stakeholders.

Leeza and her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband have lived all over the world and have gone on wild outdoor adventures (where Leeza excelled in building amazing campfires).

AKA The B2B Bandit 

Leigh’s passion for marketing shines through in everything she does and she loves that marketing is ever-evolving. She’s been on the B2B marketing path from the start. Why? She loves getting people excited about the things she’s excited about: brands, products, exceptional copywriting—you name it! 

(Currently excited about NFTs, the Metaverse, and Wordle.) Will let you decide to keep or get rid of 😉 

At RG Leigh leads and supports client accounts and teams and works hand-in-hand with various RG’ers to deliver extraordinary results. 

Keeping busy is what Leigh does best. When she’s not working, catch her dancing away at Jazzercise, cooking up fun recipes, or crafting madly for her Etsy shop. 

AKA Silversight

Leigh helps clients develop and execute innovative creative, marketing, and brand strategies that are crafted with audience insights. Leigh takes a consultative approach and works together with clients to grow their audience through memorable campaigns, telling stories that making them connect with your brand, and develop creative that’s impossible to ignore.

AKA MSG (not The Garden though)

Having spent time in Tech Sales, Operations, and Marketing roles. Matt brings a diverse skillset to RG. He’s able to dive deep into the technical world of reporting & analytics while also being able to diagnose business pains and propose solutions.

Matt supports business development efforts for RG from both a strategical and operational lens to discover, develop and nurture relationships with RG partners.

No one is more passionate about Apple Music > Spotify than Matt.

AKA Meg The Builder (Can she fix it? YES, she can.)

Megan is a data-driven, resourceful marketer who is passionate about architecting strategic demand gen campaigns and processes that transform the bottom line. Her deep B2B marketing expertise spans a multitude of marketing technologies and advertising platforms.

At RG, she gets under the hood of her accounts’ MarTech stacks and rebuilds infrastructures to support the full-funnel digital marketing plans she thoughtfully creates and executes.  

Megan, an ardent adventurer, is fond of channeling Carmen San Diego…in the sense that she likes to keep people guessing, “where in the world is she”? 

AKA The Zen Master

Melissa is a brand builder and an integrated marketing leader, bringing years of client-side experience to her role at RG.  Prior to joining the Ricciardi Group, Melissa played a leadership role at The New York Stock Exchange, contributing to an influx of noteworthy IPOs and acting as relationship manager for brands ranging from start-up to Fortune 500 in the NYSE’s global public company network.

At The Ricciardi Group, Melissa is a virtual CMO and a strategic account director, acting as a trusted advisor and project manager across accounts.

Melissa recently relocated from NYC to Charlotte, NC with her husband and two young children. When she’s not busy solving her clients’ pain points or carpooling, you can catch her on her yoga mat finding her zen and working towards a teaching certificate. 

AKA “CCC” Chief Cheerleader in Charge

Meredith’s career began in Washington D.C. working in communications on Capitol Hill and the US Commerce Department, where she honed her diplomacy skills for client service tête-à-têtes. In 2007, Meredith moved north, leading the development of  integrated go-to-market campaigns at the New York Stock Exchange and NBCUniversal, including their premier Upfront campaigns for 2014 and 2015.

As head of accounts, Meredith relishes coaching a best-in-class team to deliver breakout go-to-market ideas and exceptional service that grow our clients’ businesses and our partnerships. She is cool under fire and runs a tight ship with an ever-present smile that makes her not only respected but beloved.

Meredith enjoyed her 5 minutes of fame in 2008 in a fashion makeover on Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style. You can check it out on Amazon Prime for $1.99 and no she does not receive royalties ; ). When she’s not streaming, she is a mom to 3 and an avid runner.

AKA The RG’s 007

With an eclectic background, working across branding and advertising for a broad range of clients, Robert brings a fresh perspective to each creative challenge. An interest in the unfashionable topic of economics’ history has fueled long standing relationships with some high-profile clients in the financial space. 

Robert defines the creative direction of projects for various clients at RG, bringing strategies to life by combining words and visuals to optimum effect. 

Robert once served sausages to William Shakespeare (no, really!).

AKA Got to read’em all 

Rymn has worked in publishing, editorial, fashion, branding and luxury travel. As a creative director, her goal has always been smart, relevant design with a hefty dose of storytelling.

At RG, Rymn heads up design projects, working closely with our strategists, copywriters and planners to develop compelling visual stories all the way from concept to production.

Rymn’s reading habit of 2 books a week keeps her local bookseller very happy.

AKA Mr. Windy City 

Throughout his years of experience working in digital strategy, Stanley has developed strong technical expertise that encompasses digital advertising, email marketing, SEO, analytics, retention, and website optimization, with a deep understanding of brand building and business strategy development.

At RG, Stanley offers strategic and tactical digital marketing support for clients in the tech, financial services, and E-commerce sectors. He conducts performance analyses and develops integrated marketing strategies that are tailored to each client’s specific needs.