our team
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david de santis ceo Founder David DeSantis brings 20 years of experience in the areas of brand identity, marketing, graphic design and advertising to dc. His creative expertise has driven projects for such clients as Merrill Lynch, Just for Feet, AT&T, Rutgers University, Starter, 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and Donna Karan. Dave’s vision of partnering with a client to communicate the unique character of their enterprise is the driving philosophy behind desantis creative. In his spare time he enjoys playing soccer for one of the desantis soccer teams (we have 2 for which he acts as manager and coach), hiking the trails of Hartshorne Woods and Huber Woods, attempting to play golf, and relaxing with his family. |
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roger nichols president Roger Nichols is an award-winning designer with nearly 20 years experience in all aspects of collateral creation for institutional and individual markets. He has proven successes in creative concept development for communications campaigns, project management, trafficking, print purchase, vendor negotiation, and production oversight. He maintains a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ohio Health and Life Insurance and Ohio Board of Realtor licenses. His greatest business training comes from being a single dad of two teenagers. He has learned the art of diplomacy and the ability to negotiate. He is equally comfortable swinging a hammer as wielding a spatula. |
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roberta hess vp sales & marketing strategist Roberta manages projects and client relationships. With over 20 years of experience in executive and management positions for major corporations, she has a proven track record in creative leadership, problem solving, growing businesses and building client loyalty. Her experience includes a unique mix of strategy, business development, project management and communications. |
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ralph finaldi vp branding strategy Over the past 20 years, Ralph has produced a noteworthy body of work, along the way earning many of the industry’s most coveted design awards, including those from the Art Directors Club of New Jersey and New York, Graphic Design USA, HOW, PRINT, and TELLY. A champion of what he calls “breakthrough design,” Ralph has worked in a wide range of categories including branding, corporate identity, packaging, web development, and strategic marketing. Clients have included local, regional, and national organizations as well as global giants such as BMW, Pepsi, Sony, Lipton Tea, and Pfizer. Long committed to the betterment of the industry, Ralph spends a great deal of time mentoring young artists and providing a forum for the exchange of new ideas in design and marketing. He also lectures extensively on the power of design to transform business. |
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christian luis creative director Christian Luis has been working in the graphic design field for over 15 years. Upon graduating from The Cooper Union School of Art in Manhattan in 1995, Christian worked at the Jessica Helfand Studio on the earliest iteration of the Discovery Channel Online, one of the very first websites built. Shortly after that, he spent several years designing annual reports and websites (at Addison Design and VIA, Inc.) for Fortune 500 companies such as Samsung, Fed Ex and Victoria’s Secret. Christian went on to work at Morgan Stanley as an on-staff designer and project manager/art director, responsible for overseeing the design and production in a variety of internal and public-facing materials such as ads, posters and financial brochures. Having given up his 4 hour daily commute(!), he now happily focuses on our current client list made up of fun and creative clients like the Two River Theater, the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers and KaBoom! Fireworks. Christian enjoys restoring his 160 year old house with his wife, watching lots and lots of movies and collecting all sorts of antiques and toys. Just don’t ask him about his cats or you’ll get an earful! |
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annette de santis office manager Annette De Santis (AJ to her friends) has been employed in various positions during approximately 25 years in the business world. She was an executive secretary in the advertising industry, a bookkeeper for a major department store chain, an administrative assistant for several Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels while employed at a major military base, and an administrative assistant to the Principal of a parochial school. At the school, she also acted as a tuition collector and sometimes as a substitute teacher. While a stay-at-home mom she was active in the PTA as an officer and also organized numerous fundraising events. Annette loves doing Tai Chi, reading, walking, bike riding, and shopping. But her favorite thing is spending time with her grandchildren who call her “Mimi”. |
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corinne woodward designer Corinne was born and raised in the Red Bank area. She obtained her B.A. in Graphic Design at Susquehanna University. There she spent copious hours in the “Mac lab” staring at a computer and hoping the design gods would smile favor upon her during the wee hours of the night. She enjoyed and appreciated the support of her talented comrades and professors during these wee hours. As a student she earned several design awards, including Real Show Merits, a merit from the American Graphic Design Association, and an ADDY, while also graduating Summa Cum Laude with Departmental Honors. She has already established herself as an award-winning designer in her professional career and is excited to build on the experience she has already attained. Outside of designing, Corinne enjoys chasing down a good thunderstorm, hitting the beach with a good book, running, spending time with family and friends, volunteering with her church’s youth ministry, and playing sports without breaking her face…again. |
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phineas azcuy business manager Phineas Azcuy has been providing desantis creative with account management support since June 2009. In the past, Phineas has worked as an Account Manager and Media Buyer for small advertising and marketing firms in New York City throughout 20 years of work experience. He has enjoyed executing and managing print and online media plans for printing equipment manufacturers, such as Heidelberg USA, MAN Roland and Muller Martini. Phineas currently attends Lehman College-CUNY on a full-time basis and is majoring in Multimedia Journalism and Multimedia Studies. |
