Corky has applied his entrepreneurial spirit to building businesses and brands for more than 25 years. After beginning his career at General Mills, he created and owned the U.S. group of companies including: U.S. Communications, which became the second largest promotional marketing agency in America, U.S. Restaurants and U.S. Studios.

After selling the U.S. group of companies, and upon the formation of Gage Marketing Group, the country’s largest marketing services company, he was recruited to be Executive Vice President and charged with creating a marketing communications agency.

He then founded Hall Batko, a business and brand consultancy, which was later acquired by Hawkeye Communications and became their Consulting Division. His initial role was to lead the consolidation of their global acquisitions to form the marketing communications company FFwd.

Corky then led the creation of Stellus Consulting and is a founding partner and CEO of the firm. His role is to guide corporate leaders in creating their vision for the company, and in understanding the importance of building a strong relationship between their brand and customers in order to achieve that vision.

John’s 30 years of business experience started in advertising at William Esty and Benton Bowles. He then joined Lever Brothers where he rose to the level of Senior Vice President of Marketing.

John was recruited by London-based Grand Metropolitan to be Senior Vice President of Marketing Development. At Grand Metropolitan, John was responsible for the integration of the newly acquired Pillsbury Company. John also served as President of Green Giant, President of Pillsbury International, and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Brand Development which included responsibility for business strategy, business development including mergers and acquisitions, and global brand custodianship.

When Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form Diageo, John was selected to develop the strategy that would unlock the organic growth potential of their global brands, once the cost cutting synergies were achieved. The outcome of John's efforts led to the creation of The Diageo Way of Brand Building, the shared business building platform across all Diageo companies (Pillsbury, Burger King, Guinness, United Distillers and Vinters). Over 5,000 people worldwide from Diageo and their agencies have been trained in this process.

As a founding partner and Chairman of Stellus, John applies his global experiences in business strategy and brand building by helping corporate leaders to accelerate growth in consumer and business-to-business companies of all sizes. He also guides leadership teams in sustaining growth by managing the implications of their business strategy throughout the organization.

Steve has over 25 years of U.S. and international business and brand-building experience in both corporate and consulting roles.

He spent the majority of his career at The Pillsbury Company where his responsibilities included Director of Market Research, and then Director of Global Brand Development. As Research Director he led landmark strategic consumer research, which resulted in a new approach to everything from marketing communications to product development. In his role as Director of Global Brand Development he led teams in the U.S., Europe and Japan in creating the Häagen-Dazs Global Brand Essence and a new worldwide brand identity system. He was then responsible for the international brand-building efforts for all of the company’s mega brands – Pillsbury, Häagen-Dazs, Green Giant and Old El Paso.

As a founding partner of Stellus Consulting, Steve applies his research and brand-building experience and skills in helping both consumer and business-to-business companies develop growth-oriented brand and business strategies.

For over 25 years, Steve has helped companies grow their profits, their brands and their people’s careers, in the United States and internationally. He is experienced in retail, direct marketing, health care, consumer goods and food service industries.

Steve’s resume includes positions with the National Geographic Society, RJReynolds, Diageo, General Mills and Nestlé. He managed the development of Capri cigarettes, grew Cuervo tequila U.S. revenue, revitalized Smirnoff vodka in Canada, introduced Goldschläger liqueur to over a dozen markets internationally and managed the global brand equity for Green Giant vegetables and Old El Paso Mexican food. As Vice President of Marketing for Pillsbury International, Steve introduced the Pillsbury Doughboy to India and Argentina, launched Häagen-Dazs ice cream in China and Brazil and established standards of marketing competency in business units worldwide.

Steve served as Chief Marketing Officer for Nestlé Ice Cream, growing Häagen-Dazs and Drumstick ice cream brands in the U.S. He then began his own consulting practice, providing assistance in marketing strategy and execution, licensing management and business development. Steve is now at Stellus Consulting as a Partner.