These are the people responsible for the content on this blog. Blame:
JÖRG PIERACH, President and Creative Director
This isn’t what Jörg Pierach had in mind. If he had his druthers, he’d be extending his professional baseball career playing first base in Japan. But life doesn’t always work out the way you plan, so Pierach toils each day in hopes of making some kind of contribution to the agency he founded in 2001. A half-baked idea here, a feeble atta-boy there and before long the five ‘o clock whistle blows on another day of steering an independent Minneapolis-based marketing agency to the brink of relevance.
It’s a long way from the expense account and frequent flier fueled go-go days, when he directed a world-wide PR agency’s North American Consumer Marketing Practice and proved to be a drag on quarterly earnings. Will he make it back to the Show? Don’t bet on it.
When he’s not at the batting cage, Pierach entertains the Amish near his hobby farm in Wisconsin with his George Bush and Chris Rock impressions. His daughter, Johanna, son Elliot and wife, Angie, are not amused.
SCOTT BROBERG, Vice President
Don’t ever argue a sports question with Scott. He’s got an opinion on everything from NASCAR to curling, and will dig in as tenaciously as Big Papi with two on and two out.
To carry the sports analogy one step further, Scott is that rare breed who’s both a utility player and an All-Star. Although he’s got years of expertise in sports marketing for premier international clients, Scott’s counsel is sought after by just about every client at Fast Horse, from arts groups to automakers.
He doesn’t smoke, his Jeep is very clean and we suspect that he irons his underwear.
KOBI HOFFMAN, Senior Director
Kobi joined Fast Horse on its third day of existence and has always wondered why nobody asked her sooner.
Typically found managing one of the agency’s biggest accounts, Kobi is renowned for her strategic thinking, her attention to detail and her absolute refusal to wear flat-heeled shoes.
Her slender build belies her stupendous cooking skills. Everyone at Fast Horse starves themselves all day whenever one of Kobi’s dinner parties is coming up.
JOHN REINAN, Senior Director
After 20 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, John packed up his laptop and headed a mile down Washington Avenue, from the Minneapolis Star Tribune to Fast Horse. And what a mile it was, especially since you can’t travel it without passing every “gentleman’s club” in town.
As a pioneering blogger and one of the first Internet reporters in the U.S. mainstream media, he learned early on how to operate in the new-media world.
John doesn’t promise out-of-the-box thinking — but he does promise that the box he thinks in is really big. In the summertime, you might catch him at a bluegrass festival, playing standup bass in the band “Eleven Teeth.”
ALLISON CHECCO, Senior Director
“Bird” spreads sunshine wherever she goes – at least, that’s what she tells us.
A native of Aberdeen S.D., Allison has big-city savvy, major league ideas and impeccable client management skills, yet she still gets excited about tall buildings, cee-ment ponds and indoor plumbing.
And as a new mother, Allison has unique insights into the thoughts of crazy, sleep-deprived consumers covered in baby poo.
GEORGE FIDDLER, Associate
With a Twitter picture of Curious George, we knew that George was a Fast Horse kind of a guy. As a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, George didn’t settle for one of their tried and true majors, but fashioned his own out of a mix of media studies, pop culture, public relations and journalism.
A sports fan of everything from basketball to cannoli eating competitions, George even believes that his Timberwolves have a shot at reaching .500. Yes, he’s a dreamer, but Jorg was a dreamer once too and look where it led him.
George likes sneakers, Keith Haring paintings and doodling drawings until he comes up with a fun marketing idea. He also tends to overanalyze everything from Scorsese films to beer hops to his shoelaces.
JODI PETRICH, Senior Director
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Jodi never thought she’d stay in Minnesota, but great opportunities have kept her here – despite the fact that winter is not conducive to her shoe collection. She shares her initials with Jorg, her love of sports with Scott and George, and her alma mater, St. Olaf College, with John (Um Ya Ya!).
Jodi is on the verge of getting a master’s degree, but she’s not too fancy to enjoy Dance Dance Revolution. When not running or assuming the lotus position, Jodi enjoys eating great food cooked by other people.
MIKE KELIHER, Client Relationship Manager
Mike grew up in a hardware store and worked there until he was 20. That’s a great way to make yourself an attractive candidate for marriage. Later, he worked in tech support at the University of St. Thomas while studying journalism and PR. That’s a great way to make yourself a candidate for Sunday morning phone calls from Grandma, asking how to print photos of your little cousins.
Some warn against discussing politics and religion in polite company; Mike is convinced those are two of the most interesting topics anyone could ever discuss. If you have any questions about Twitter or Twins baseball, blogs or bipartisanship, online news releases or outstanding coffee shops, Mike’s your guy.
SANDRA HUYNH, Associate
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sandra never thought she’d be living and working in Minnesota, simply because no one in her family really even knows where Minnesota is, and those that do don’t really care.
Sandra cares. She adapted to the Midwest environment and started to find her common ground with other Minnesotans (a love for a paycheck and a dislike for lutefisk). Sandra received her BFA degree from MCAD in Graphic Design, despite being only good in one area (Graphic Design). Sandra works very hard on anything she put her hands on because that’s how she rolls! She’s a one woman biker-gang!
Sandra can be a little off-beat; her interests may not go with the norm. She likes long walks in the rain while she’s dressed head to toe as a sponge. Sandra chooses to be a loner and even though she does have friends, she still likes going to a movie by herself on a Saturday night.
HILLARY HEINZ, Associate
Hillary likes to live on the wild side. So if you see her scooting around on her Yamaha Vino, don’t let the dress fool you – she’ll be driving that thing ’til January.
Winter scooting, deal-hunting and local brews: all in a day’s work for this Minnesota fashionista. A native of Duluth, Hillary enjoys relaxation but knows hard work. She graduated with a BS in graphic design from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis in advertising. Her work for the National Student Advertising Competition took Hillary and her team to Washington, D.C. to be judged by some of the best at the AAF conference.
A comedic purist, Hillary enjoys knock-knock jokes, fart jokes, silly faces and one-liners. So send her what you’ve got – this horse ain’t going nowhere.
DAVE FRANSEN, Senior Director
Franny’s pooch, Ollie, is a constant companion, and the only mongrel we know capable of performance art. True story: Ollie was in the office one day and got ahold of a fake dog shit we keep around for general hijinks. Wasn’t long before Ollie was shitting out that fake dog shit. Political statement? We thought so. Top that, Joseph Beuys!
When he’s not cleaning up after Ollie, Franny is busy making … well, we don’t really know what he’s busy doing. His action-packed career doesn’t leave room for much else. A sports marketer at heart, Dave started his career at Weber Somethingorother, before joining Fast Horse. Fed up with the lucrative pay and banker’s hours of agency life, he jumped ship for a two-year stint in the Corporate Communications department at Target. Now he’s back, a little wiser and boasting a closet full of new neckties and a souvenier laminated security badge.
