Integrated Marketing Team
Adam Ispas
Creative Director
The seeds of Adam’s career in marketing were planted when he was a fifth-grade student at Warren Academy in Highland, Indiana. He created the winning advertising campaign as part of a contest for a local Northwest Indiana shoe company. (In case you’re wondering, he developed the tagline Bury your feet in Bery Bros. Shoes, along with a drawing featuring a man standing in a pile of shoes. We’re hoping the original drawing turns up!)
When we meet with clients, they sometimes note that Adam is “the quiet one”. Don’t let him fool you. His keen listening skills are what drive his successful design solutions. He carefully considers every aspect of a client’s needs, audiences, goals, and obstacles. Each of these elements forms a puzzle that he solves through graphic design.
In his five years at The Grossbauer Group, Adam has designed logos, brochures, direct mail pieces, billboards, packaging, annual reports, trade show booths, websites, and everything in between. His favorite aspect of working at The Grossbauer Group is the diversity of projects, which is part and parcel of thriving in an integrated marketing agency with varied client base.
Andy Baughman
Web Designer & Developer
During his first months at The Grossbauer Group, Andy jumped head-first into our content management system (CMS) tool of choice, MODX. MODX had just released a new version of the platform, and he learned it inside and out, developing impressive custom programming for our client project, and even contributing two third-party plug-ins to the Web development community. His tenacity and sharp programming insights quickly earned him the respect of clients and teammates alike.
Because Andy’s early training was in graphic design, his success with Web programming left him wanting more. He said, “There’s something about solving problems with 0s and 1s that’s just not the same as solving problems with shapes and colors.” He didn’t want to miss out on having both types of assignments.
Not to worry; the rich and varied projects at The Grossbauer Group keep Andy on his toes. He designs websites, programs them, and lends his eye and expertise on a range of other integrated marketing projects, too. Around the office, he’s also known for his constant advocacy for why vs. how (applying every design element for a reason) and his thorough, well-informed design process.
One of Andy’s favorite aspects of his role at The Grossbauer Group is the creative brainstorming sessions he often leads. (Ask him about the one that revolved around staplers, mugs, and banana peels!).
Brian Barthold
Lead Web Developer
Ask Brian any question that starts with, “Can we program something that…?” and his answer will be an enthusiastic, “Yes!”. No matter how impossible the request may seem, Brian is always ready to dive in and figure out how to make it happen.
Brian lives and breathes programming, and he often spends late nights on pet programming projects. His most recent undertakings have been mobile apps, and he arrives many mornings with his latest project or adjustment on his iPhone, ready to show the rest of the team.
He’s the first in the office to announce tech news, whether it’s new websites, programming tools, social media trends, or the latest gadgets. We’re also pretty sure he knows every keyboard shortcut that exists. Feel free to ask for “F1” (help) if you can’t “ctrl-F” (find) a shortcut. (Yes, you can talk to Brian in English if you prefer.)
What’s Brian’s favorite part of working at The Grossbauer Group? He’s not boxed in. While some Web programmers work on the same type of project day in and day out, Brian is able to help the integrated marketing team conceive something new with every project. He gets to develop everything from Facebook programming to custom CMSs, and interactive Web applications, with no limit as to what’s next.
Kristi Harter
Website Editor
Kristi, a Northwest Indiana native, began her career with a degree in computer programming. She has always had a passion for technology and recalls the “fun” she had reloading her computer operating system in the mid-1990s (then Windows 3.1).
She sees her website coding work as being similar to puzzles and math problems, which she has always enjoyed because while they can be difficult—and even downright maddening—the experience of solving them is very rewarding.
Her favorite thing about website maintenance and development at an integrated marketing agency is the opportunity to go beyond “tech” and be an integral part of the creative process. Kristi’s teammates know her as an incessant learner and a tenacious website coder who can always be depended upon for immaculate work.
Kingsley Raspe
Web Developer
Social media is changing the way organizations do business. In this case, it brought Kingsley, a student at Staffordshire University, United Kingdom, to The Grossbauer Group. Via a tweet that asked “Why Not Hire Me?” and an accompanying web page which he developed (whynotemploy.me), Kingsley launched a very creative and highly effective self-promotion campaign showcasing his skills—catching the attention of our Web Development team.
Having extensive training in all aspects of website development—from programming to user interface design to server administration—Kingsley was brought on board as a web development intern and moved to Northwest Indiana from Tamworth, United Kingdom (outside of Birmingham) in September 2011.
A joy to work with, Kingsley is full of energy, enthusiasm and ideas. His schooling has prepared him well for a career in web development. We appreciate his contributions!
Joy McGinty
Executive Administrative Assistant
Joy is a person of diversified interests and skills. Having a background in both business and education, she has worked in administrative, analytical and project management positions in the corporate and non-profit sectors, and as a Special Education teacher for children with special needs.
The common links for Joy throughout her career have been process improvement and training. If something needs to be organized, systematized, improved upon, or taught, Joy is the person to have on your team.
Intrigued by integrated marketing, and drawn to a growing organization, Joy came to The Grossbauer Group to focus on the administrative end of the business. She values the importance of the critical tasks of office administration while enjoying the diversity of support opportunities the collaborative culture at The Grossbauer Group provides.
What she likes most about her job is that every day is different from the last and she gets to be involved in every aspect of the business.
Sarah Bane
Senior Designer
A graduate of a tiny private art college and a Big Ten University (Boiler up!), Sarah comes to The Grossbauer Group with an AAS in Design, a BS in Marketing, and over ten years of agency experience in art direction and marketing strategy. Her career began with print and environmental design for the NFL and NHL, but it was her work with corporate and non-profit clients that afforded her the opportunity to jump head-first into project management, product development, and art direction for both print and web.
Sarah’s focus shifted in 2008 when she earned the title ‘mama’ and left the agency world in favor of freelancing. She wasn’t looking for a job when The Grossbauer Group discovered her work, but alas, it was a match made in heaven. Charmed by the collaborative culture and portfolio of amazing work and clients, Sarah enthusiastically signed on.
Because of her passion for typography, paper, letterpress printing and handmade design, the projects Sarah most enjoys working on are print pieces—invitation suites and stationery systems, especially. She also gets pretty geeked about a good branding project or logo design. Inspired by her sweet babies and orange-bearded husband, American illustration, color theory, and almost any choreographed dance scene, Sarah is finding The Grossbauer Group to be the perfect outlet for her creative overflow.
Sarah Highlen
Director, Internet Development
When Sarah was eight years old, her father asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. “Maybe a marine biologist or a veterinarian,” she said. “I’m not sure. But I definitely don’t want to work for one of those companies that makes billboards.”
The Grossbauer Group has designed their fair share of billboards, but Sarah’s okay with that. In fact, she enjoys her involvement in all aspects of integrated marketing projects across media—creative concepts, print ads, digital ads, websites, email campaigns, and social media approaches—to name a few.
Sarah began her career at The Grossbauer Group in 1997, struggling with how to produce this new-fangled marketing tool, the website. A strong math student, she soon discovered that html coding offered similarly rewarding challenges. She quickly developed a passion for what The Grossbauer Group first called “Web visibility”, now a booming industry known as SEO (search engine optimization). As the company projects and client list grew, Sarah discovered a love for all aspects of integrated marketing.
In her current role, Sarah thrives on the challenges of Web development, social media strategy, SEO, and extensive data collection and analysis. Her teammates know her as a detail-driven perfectionist, and clients know her as a creative, enthusiastic problem-solver.
Sue Grossbauer
Founder and CEO
Sue thrives on listening, thinking, and creating. She serves as a communications architect for many of The Grossbauer Group’s unique and varied projects across all media, for a variety of industries. Sue has also published textbooks, online courses, and trade magazine articles; constructed training programs; and served in editorial positions for leading foodservice industry magazines.
Sue’s diverse background includes work in both English and healthcare, as well as a background in training and development. A fan of computers since childhood, when her parents worked on computer projects long before the days of PCs, Sue has always enjoyed applying technology to business problems. While employed at Mercy Hospital-Chicago, she implemented the organization’s first local area network in the early ‘80s.
Sue founded The Grossbauer Group in 1990, as a “company” of one, headquartered in her small condo in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. By building long-lasting personal relationships with her clients, and coupling an approachable style with analytical and collaborative leadership, she grew The Grossbauer Group into the successful integrated marketing agency it is today.
Sue has inspired and cultivated the unique culture at The Grossbauer Group, which places value on collaboration, outside-the-box thinking, attention to detail, and an adamant commitment to clients’ marketing success. Her staff also knows her as the woman who is so full of creative energy and ideas, and rumor has it that she gets up early every day to work on something exciting. (We can’t be sure just how early, because none of us can get up early enough to find out.)
