Event Details
| Date | Wednesday, Dec 2, 2020 |
| Time | 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM |
Earlier this year, the city of Chicago announced the launch of the By Chicago, For Chicago initiative. This pro-bono pledge for a stronger city encourages Chicago agencies to set aside 1% of all staff hours to pro-bono support that makes life better for Chicagoans across all 77 neighborhoods.
What was the inspiration behind the By Chicago, For Chicago initiative? How can my agency sign up to take the pledge? Is my organization eligible to receive pro-bono work from an agency that has taken the pledge? All of these questions and more will be answered at this PCC webinar taking place on Wednesday, December 2 at 12:00 PM.
This panel will feature the city of Chicago Chief Marketing Officer Michael Fassnacht, Flowers Communications Group Vice President, Experiential Freddie Baez, Edelman Chicago Office President Kevin Cook. and Ogilvy Group Managing Director Cathy Francque.
In the spirit of the By Chicago, For Chicago pledge, this webinar is free for all to attend.
Speaker Bios
Freddie Baez brings more than 20 years of award-winning expertise in experiential marketing to Flowers Communications Group. Known in the experiential industry as the “go to” guy, he has served as a chief strategist, developed creative, trailblazing concepts and executed hundreds of brand experiences from event activations to concert tours to nationwide sampling programs.
Kevin Cook, who serves as the Chicago President, is a 24-year veteran of Edelman.
Previously COO and managing director of the office’s Corporate Affair’s practice, Kevin serves as senior counsel for some of the firm’s largest global clients including industrial, consumer, financial services and health care companies. He also counsels clients on global reputation and stakeholder campaigns, issues management, strategic transactions and corporate brand transformation. Kevin also ensures that office-wide business strategy is executed fully, fosters organizational growth and improvement, identifies and puts into operation strategic join ventures and oversees the office’s finance and HR efforts. Kevin also is a member of Edelman’s Global Strategy Committee.
Kevin is the global client manager for a discrete group of the firm’s Fortune 500 clients, including United Airlines. He’s also led acquisitions and special situations for ING Group, RR Donnelley and AM Castle, among other clients. He also is a member of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Business Council.
Before joining Edelman, he served as a vice president at Aaron D. Cushman and Associates, Inc., a Chicago-based, mid-sized public relations and marketing firm. He managed the firm’s corporate and commercial real estate services division. He developed and managed programs for commercial real estate clients that included Century 21, Tanguay-Burke-Stratton Comprehensive Real Estate Services; Advantage Real Estate Services Midwest Region, the real estate arm of Mutual of New York Life Insurance Company; and First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., the largest self-advised industrial REIT listed on the NYSE.
His corporate experience includes managing national campaigns for Lou Dobbs and CNN; Jacques Yves-Cousteau and The Cousteau Society; Lincoln National Corp. and several privately held companies throughout the Midwest.
A graduate of Purdue University-Calumet with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Kevin resides in Hinsdale, Ill.
Cathy Francque is a Group Managing Director at Ogilvy North America. She joined Ogilvy Chicago 14 years ago to lead the CDW business and build Ogilvy’s B2B practice. Prior to her current North America job, Cathy was head of Accounts at Ogilvy Chicago. Cathy has helped build some of the most enduring B2B brands in the world, including Cisco, SAP, CDW, Grainger, BAE Systems and many others.
She has also worked on the client side. She was Director of Marketing and Communications for a software company serving the financial services market. She led a re-branding effort for the company, established a communication strategy for its channel partners and developed a marketing strategy for the launch of a new software product.
In her spare time, Cathy is a hockey mom to her two young sons and spends most of her free time freezing and cheering them on in various rinks around Chicago.
Michael Fassnacht is a seasoned marketing leader with more than 25 years of experience. He currently works alongside the Mayor’s office as the Chief Marketing Officer to ensure that all marketing, branding, and business development activities for the city are aligned with Mayor Lightfoot’s economic growth plan focused on inclusive growth across Chicago’s communities.
Michael has been a recurring figure in Chicago’s civic community and has led critical pro-bono work for the rebranding of the Chicago Public Library and its foundation, the city’s Amazon HQ2 pitch, and most recently for the city’s Census 2020 activities. Additionally, he has been involved as a board member with: Marwen, World Business Chicago, and the Civic Consulting Alliance; while providing counsel to P33, the Joyce Foundation and the Chicago Prize by the Pritzker/Traubert Foundation.
Prior to his role as CMO, Michael served for more than 10 years as CEO at one of the city’s oldest and most successful advertising agencies, Foote Cone & Belding (FCB). He led his agency to unprecedented international creative recognition and strong above-industry topline growth over his tenure. Before then, he was a successful start-up entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, and over his long career he has been recognized as a global expert in building and marketing brands.
Michael was born in Germany and made his way stateside in college where he met his wife, Dr. Rhonda Duffaut. They currently reside in Chicago and have two children, Maya and Ryan.