WE’RE DRIVEN BY RELATIONSHIPS,
NOT TRANSACTIONS.
We’re in it for the long term with our clients. We want to be there for you not just during the project, but in a year, two years, five years down the road. The work we do gives us a deep intimate understanding of your business and who you are as people, and over the long term this allows us to be there for you and jump in quickly when they call and say, “We have this problem…can you help?” or “We’re stuck, can we get your perspective?”
Karley Cunningham
Big Thinker, Creative Strategist & Business Accelerator
Over twenty years, Karley’s career has been fueled by a natural collision between business development, brand and good design. She is inspired by entrepreneurial creativity, ingenuity and sheer grit. In turn, she aims to inspire and support those leaders who strive to grow their businesses and change the world while they do it. She seeks challenge in every aspect of her life and work, and encourages others to set the bar high – and then find the smartest ways to leap over it.
Karley is a big thinker as well as the Creative Strategist & Growth Accelerator at Big, Bold Brand. She’s written for well-respected publications and is a sought-after speaker and mentor for several national and international business organizations. She’s a dedicated community builder who lives the philosophy giver’s gain on a daily basis.
Her past life as a pro elite athlete taught her to be performance-driven. She continues to thrive in competitive sport, and is a two-time finisher of the BC Bike Race – a seven day 325km mountain bike stage race. When not setting her next business challenge, she can be found challenging herself on the single-track trails of the Pacific Northwest or seeking the next peak somewhere in the world.
Pebbles Willekes
Art Director & Multi-Disciplined Technician
Pebbles Willekes launched her career as a graphic designer and art director in Amsterdam 20 years ago, and worked in Seattle prior to settling in British Columbia in 2005. At Big Bold Brand, she’s our lead, senior designer.
Her skills and expertise cover a range of design and technical services including website (re)design and development, logo/visual brand development, design of event materials, newsletters, brochures, flyers and direct mail campaigns. Driven by the opportunity to forge relationships and help people get their message out, Pebbles is particularly proud of her work in the non-profit sector. She’s contributed to the success of many fundraisers for the AIDS Walk Seattle, Dining Out For Life and Sexual Health Day in B.C.
Outside of work Pebbles loves to explore the city with her camera in hand, cooking and sharing food with good friends, and playing her bass and acoustic guitar.
Meribeth Deen
Story Crafter & Synthesizer
Meribeth comes to her work as an editor and writer with Big Bold Brand through an almost 20 year career in journalism. She worked at as a reporter and associate producer with CBC Radio for five years in various regions across Canada before stepping away to live the dream of a roving, globe-trotting producer of radio documentaries. Her work brought her to a demolished former cult on peninsular Malaysia, an archaeological dig site in Turkey, and many more strange and interesting locations.
Upon returning to Canada, she enjoyed a brief stint in documentary film and television before landing on a small West Coast community where she sunk into the role of editor of the local paper. This all-consuming position brought a new passion to the fore: working collaboratively with individuals and organizations to tell the stories most important to them, and to make an impact.
This is the impact Meribeth aims to continue in her work today. She loves to work with inspired people with big ideas, and to help them find powerful ways to tell their stories and deliver their communications with razor-sharp clarity.
When she is not writing and editing, she can be found chasing kids, skiing, riding her bike and lending a hand on community projects related to food, energy and sustainability.
Joelle Strawson
Administrative Support
Joelle is our Lead Achievement Officer. She’s in charge of anything and everything that involves ensuring the successful outcome of our projects and client happiness. Her industry experience is broad and she’s worked with business owners, financial advisers, hospitality groups, website and marketing firms and now, Big Bold Brand!
Project Partners
Our project partners are one of our big differentiators. At Big Bold Brand, we recognize that:
- No two projects are alike;
- Each business has its own unique challenges to be solved;
- And, solutions aren’t isolated unto themselves, every solution we deliver affects the ecosystem of your business.
That’s why we’ve built a community of results-driven experts who are at the ready to help bring the best solutions to light and when needed roll up their sleeves to dig in and execute.
Susan Baier
Market Research Expert
Susan developed her expertise in audience-based marketing strategy over more than 30 years in marketing strategy, product and brand management, market research and strategic planning, both agency-side and client-side. She has an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing and has held senior positions at Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 firms as well as marketing agencies.
In 2009, after many years working for other people, she went rogue and started Audience Audit — a little research company with big ideas. She spends her time helping organizations better understand the needs of their customers and prospects through her research, speaking and consulting.
Nobody you know gets passionate about audience research like Susan does. It’s a little weird.
Tamara Brooks
Web & Online Marketing Expert
Tamara has created digital marketing solutions for amazing clients like: Nurse Next Door, Kintec Orthotics, Future Shop, The City of Abbotsford, Park Royal, the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, the City of Richmond, Lougheed Town Centre, The Berezan Group, the District of West Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health, Pennzoil-Quaker State US, NAPA Canada, DDB Canada and many more.
Tamara holds a BDes Specialized Honours from York University in Toronto and is an active volunteer on numerous boards.
Specialties: Social Media, Web Site Development and Graphic Design.
Mike Knapp
Strategic Planning & Execution Expert
Mike is passionate about helping people and businesses unlock their potential. He is a strategic planning and execution superhero with more than 20 years professional experience helping small and medium businesses achieve their goals.
As a Gravitas Impact Business Coach, he leverages a proven process and framework to make complex concepts so clear they become part of a company’s foundation. His projects cover all stages of business growth and needs, including strategic planning, business transformations and major system implementations.
Ask Mike how he manages his chaos machines. Spoiler alert: he’s a meditation instructor.
Shannon Pearson
People & Culture Expert
Culture is the foundation of great businesses and people are a company’s most important asset. Shannon helps organizations improve their corporate culture and organizational health by creating smooth transitions and change, reducing conflict and creating alignment at all levels.
The result: High-performance teams, engaged workforces, improved bottom lines and happier leaders.
Dave Cavan
Sales & Growth Expert
Dave helps companies get all the right pieces in place to grow. With decades of experience in team building, finance, consulting, entrepreneurship and business development, Dave has a rich history dealing with every type of growth challenge.
He has worked with companies at every stage of their life-cycle, from start-ups to massive enterprises. His purpose is to help teams find what makes them unique and marketable, then help them develop the internal practices, processes and systems to support their growth plan.
Ralph Newbigin
Operational Excellence & Interim Leadership
Ralph’s priority is helping businesses go from good to great. He takes a magnifying glass to the financial side of the business and then works through all other operational processes.
Ralph excels in tracking down problems, identifying solutions and putting processes in place to address them. His expertise extends from start-ups to global businesses.
Through his calm and collaborative approach, Ralph builds powerful teams and smooth, efficient operations.
Sharon Davis
Philanthropic Advisor
Sharon had a lengthy career in Investment Finance before transitioning to the non-profit sector; supporting fundraising, awareness and growth for several organizations. The opportunity to bring non-profits and businesses together as partners was the catalyst for Giving Well. Sharon gives her time and resources to children’s charities locally and globally.
Lorraine McGregor
Scaling & Exit Strategist
Lorraine McGregor is a partner with her husband Rob in Spirit West Management. Spirit West helps companies grow to the next level so that the business is saleable. As a result owners earn double or triple their ROI, the company is easier to run and scale and attracts investment. She is the author of three books on how to make a business saleable and frequently speaks on the red flags and green lights that improve profitability, attract buyers, and enable a lifestyle business to become a valuable asset. Having worked with more than 300 companies across the spectrum of industries, Lorraine shows owners how to play the M&A game and think like investors.
Julia Oulton
Strategic Business Advisor
Julia Oulton has run a successful consulting business for over 20 years, working with clients in a variety of industries from IT and other technologies, to the nutrition and health care industry and the not-for-profit sector. Julia has leveraged her consultative sales, strategic planning and negotiating abilities to assist her clients and their teams with entering new markets and securing deals. Now this dynamic senior business strategist has turned her attention to the role of TEC Chair for Small Business and CEO groups.
