Paul Bettenga
Senior Art Director
Paul is an experienced art director with more than 20 years in the agency business. Before joining HRB, Paul was senior art director for CMF&Z Marketing Communications in Cedar Rapids. While there, he worked on many large agricultural accounts, including Dow AgroSciences, Ericsson Inc. and John Deere Credit. Today, Paul designs for a variety of clients including Jumer’s Casino and Hotel, CRST International and JL Farmakis. Paul has a BA in graphic design from Drake University.
Steve Erickson
President & Executive Creative Director
Steve Erickson is a brilliant designer and strategic thinker who has captured more than 75 local, regional and national awards for creative concepts he has turned into compelling messages that move people – and products. He asks clients penetrating questions that make them think about the results they want. He is exceptional at getting to the heart of the matter by turning those client answers into actionable marketing and advertising.
He holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in graphic design and journalism from Drake University.
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Jim Erkel
Senior Art Director
Jim’s talent and experience make him the “go-to-guy” for design solutions of communications problems. A veteran of more than 30 years in the business, Jim joined HRB in 1990 and was named Senior Art Director in 1995. He has worked with a wide range of clients over his career, including healthcare, financial services, higher education, manufacturing and engineering. The challenge of developing creative communication strategies for clients in a variety of media is what he enjoys most about working at HRB.
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Denise Hesser
Media Manager
Denise has evaluated and bought nationwide broadcast media, and buys in more than 60 individual markets across the United States. An expert with media management software, SmartPlus, she has also been involved in buying national cable campaigns. At HRB she has been the media planner for a variety of accounts, including Jumer's Casino Rock Island, Pepsi Bottling Companies of Rock Island and Davenport, The Eastern Iowa Airport, Skogman Homes, Skogman Realty, Von Maur, McLeod USA, Mercy Medical Center, KGAN-TV and KCRG-TV.
With an extensive accounting background, Denise began her media career in 1982 when she joined Henry Russell Bruce as Media Assistant. She has worked with all forms of media: radio, television, newspaper, outdoor and trade print. She was promoted in 1984 to Media Buyer, in 1986 to Media Planner, in 1991 to Senior Media Planner and in 1994 to her present position of Media Manager.
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Shelby Kraus
Vice President of Public Relations
Shelby has an impressive knowledge of public relations and media relations and how to make them work for the benefit of her clients. She has developed and executed strategies and tactics for a variety of B-2-B and B-2-C clients in multiple industries.
Her responsibilities include overseeing and directing all public relations including media list creation, article development and placement, writing news releases, case studies, Web and online copy, development and coordination of success story programs and corporate presentations, PR strategy and planning, white paper development, event planning, and media relations.
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Dianne Maloney
Controller
Her life in finance at HRB started when the Henry and Russell of Henry Russell Bruce were still on board back in 1989. She loved her job on day one and feels fortunate to feel the same way after nearly 21 years. As Controller, she's fortunate to work with non-financial, creative people who certainly bring a flare to my world of logic and absolutes.
She's lucky as well to be married now for 39 years, with 2 grown sons and 6 grandchildren. Dianne and Tom enjoy time in Wisconsin at a cottage they share with her sister and brother-in-law and anytime they can spend with their sons and their families.
Jill Mast
Account Supervisor
Jill is a motivated, results-driven marketing professional with the ability to quickly establish rapport with her clients. Prior to joining HRB, Jill worked at two agencies in Kansas City, where she supported national accounts such as Cellular One and Abuelo’s Restaurants. As an account supervisor, Jill asks great questions, helps clients determine their marketing needs and works in a collaborative environment to get each project done in a timely and budget conscious manner. Jill holds a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Iowa.
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Colleen Schutt
Traffic & Production Manager
Colleen Schutt is a dedicated, experienced and professional manager who excels at getting things done. She has more than 20 years of production experience, which has prepared her to handle anything our staff or our clients can throw at her.
Her responsibilities include organizing client work and moving it quickly, accurately and efficiently through the agency.
Prior to joining HRB, she served for 15 years as an Account Executive for Cedar Graphics, consulting on a wide variety of complex printing projects.
Jim Thebeau
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Henry Russell Bruce, Thebeau headed up marketing communications for the billion dollar government division of Rockwell Collins for 11 years. Before moving to Rockwell, Thebeau spent more than a dozen years in radio and television news in St. Louis, Houston and Charleston. His expertise includes branding, public relations and marketing.
He holds a degree in broadcast journalism from the University Of Missouri School Of Journalism, Columbia, and has taken MBA classes at the University of Iowa.
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Stephanie West
Director of Interactive Services
Stephanie is responsible for strategic thinking regarding the integration of new media and traditional media channels. She helps grows clients’ business by providing them with innovative solutions and effective marketing strategies, being mindful of the importance of channel integration.
Stephanie is an entrepreneurial thinker, with experience in new business start-ups, brand development, direct marketing, Web and interactive advertising. She has specific expertise in search engine marketing and online advertising and web performance metrics.
Stephanie started her career twenty years ago right at HRB, learning the account service side of the advertising business for both B-to-B and consumer clients. She returned to HRB in 2011, bringing over 15 years of additional experience in high-tech markets and interactive work, honed in her roles as marketing communications manager at Intermec, category direct marketing manager for Mattel Interactive, director of marketing for GoDaddy.com, and product manager for iowa.com at SourceMedia.
She earned a B.A. in English from Cornell College and later completed graduate level work in marketing at the University of Iowa.
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Kurt Zenisek
Lead Web Developer
Kurt first got interested in computers when he was somewhere around 12 years old. As a general user he started out making small projects (3D models, video game mods, animations, graphics, videos, websites, etc.). By age 15, once he realized the endless possibilities and tools at his disposal, his passion for the Web grew and he decided to pursue a career in Web/graphic design.
Kurt truly has a passion for what he does; be it technical, design, or a matter of usability. He strives to stay on top of the latest developments in technology. His goal is to provide the best products and service as possible for clients while finding time to make things for himself if he needs to explore innovative avenues. Keeping in mind that there's a learning curve involved with managing a website, he stays up-to-date with the latest tools to make your life at your desk (or mobile device) easier. He aspires to create websites that have a timeless quality to them, and some of that involves using newly developed technologies to get a leap ahead of the Web's evolutionary curve.
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