Senior Vice President, Agribusiness and Environmental Science
Dean is a highly experienced communications strategist who has helped a broad range of clients win in the marketplace. He brings an uncommon combination of fresh thinking, broad industry knowledge and 20 years of integrated marketing expertise to every project, from launching start-ups to rebranding Fortune 500 companies.
As leader of the Padilla Speer Beardsley agriculture and environmental sciences practice, Dean is in charge of major accounts, including BASF. He’s led highly successful campaigns for other leading agribusiness clients, including Bayer, DuPont, DEKALB, Case IH and New Holland.
Beyond the agricultural arena, Dean’s history as a top agency executive and entrepreneur has given him extensive experience in industries ranging from consumer goods to financial services to health care. His leadership roles also provided him with expertise in a the full range of communications disciplines, including advertising, public relations, direct marketing, digital and social media.
As CEO of his own Minneapolis firm, Dean used that multidiscipline approach to design and implement marketing communications programs for clients such as CNH Capital, DuPont and Nestlé Purina.
Before founding his company, Dean worked in several nationally recognized communications agencies in the East and Midwest, where he was responsible for helping grow some of the most recognized brands in the world including Honda, Nestlé Purina, and Timberland.
Dean’s ag roots run deep, having grown up on a farm in Illinois and served as an Illinois FFA state officer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications with a specialty in advertising from the University of Illinois-Champaign. Dean has been a member of the National Agri-Marketing Association since competing in the NAMA marketing competition in college.