DAVID GAUGER, PRESIDENT/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“We strive to create a good first impression, not by what we say but by how well we listen.”

David’s career began at age 17 in a small Los Gatos agency. He began a design studio at 21. In 1974 he co-founded Gauger Sparks Silva in San Francisco, now Gauger + Associates. A graduate of San Jose State, he has returned to teach advertising there and elsewhere. His work has garnered hundreds of major awards in the USA and abroad. David’s innovative focus creates a connection between products and the hearts and minds of the consumer. As a measure of success, clients remain loyal 50% longer than average. He always keeps five wooden pencils on his desk. Very sharp.

MARCUS YOUNG, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

“We strive to understand your business as well as our own.”

Marcus has been helping clients tell their story for almost two decades now. He started in the business working with such notables as AT&T, Jaguar, Land Rover, and today has a resume that includes brand management for Chevron, Waste Management, Mirant Americas, Lennar, KB Homes and many more. Considered a crisis and communications expert, Marcus is often called in when the chips are down and tough calls need to be made. When not developing keen strategies to protect client brands, he can be found competing in regatta in the STAR Class, an Olympic Class Boat. As commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club he helped secure the America¹s Cup for his Club and has been central to bringing the event to San Francisco in 2013.

HEIDI OAS, ACCOUNT MANAGER

“I’m here to lighten the client’s load. I want to be the one they rely on to make their lives easier.”

Heidi leads our Account Services team, while managing accounts of her own. Her skills in analysis and strategy come from years of experience working with many of the agency’s major clients. Her B.A. degree from St. Olaf College includes a triple major in English, Psychology & Women’s Studies, “all of which come into play here,” she says. Slugger Oas is a demon with a softball bat, recently voted runner-up MVP in the San Francisco city league. Taking lunch around 3:00, she calls 10 working hours “a half day”. Her pet peeves include “I could care less” and “a whole nother”.

SOPHIA WOO, ACCOUNT MANAGER

“Having a sense of humor makes everything better.”

Proud to be a native San Franciscan, Sophia has been with the agency full time since 2005. With a bachelor’s degree in Design and a minor in Rhetoric from UC Davis, she is equipped with the ability to engage with clients and has a careful eye for the details. Her experience ranges from being a graphic designer to teaching English in Japan and working in England with the NHS. She is known for keeping her finger on the pulse and has too many apps on her iPhone to count.

LISSA SEVERE, ACCOUNT MANAGER

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s MY job!”

Described by her friends as refreshingly straightforward, Lissa lives by the edict “do what you say, and say what you’re doing”. Her 25 years of experience include full-service marketing and communications leadership for major corporate clients. Her effective planning skills, keen eye for details and tenacity to create results are a welcome addition to the Gauger team. Lissa is a graduate of California State University/Sacramento, having earned a BA in Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis, and a minor in Communications. Her personal passions are nature photography and giving back to the community, serving leadership roles with several charities.

LORI MURPHY, SENIOR ART DIRECTOR

“If you listen closely and give it time, the art will tell you what it wants to become.”

Lori’s practiced eye and prodigious talents have created much of the agency’s most memorable artwork. Her name appears on many of our prestigious awards. She is our Master of Logos, creating brand symbols of elegance and refinement with a simplicity that belies the skill and effort behind it. Lori has B.S. and M.A. degrees from San Jose State University, along with an M.F.A. in Fine Art and Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has traveled 13 months solo through Europe, the Soviet Union and Israel, and also climbed Mt. Rainier. For adventure and challenge, she raises her daughter.

SAM MATZA, VICE PRESIDENT/MEDIA DIRECTOR

“The great things we get in life grow from the relationships we create.”

Joining the agency in 1999, Sam brings over 20 years experience in a variety of disciplines including media buying, financial management, account strategy and services. He regularly performs heroic deeds of media planning, making his skills indispensable to our clients. Sam believes almost everything is negotiable, and he spends his long working days exploring those frontiers. For relaxation, Sam dives with sharks – combining his lifetime interest in photography with advanced scuba diving to roam the far corners of the world in search of “crazy sea life”. He has twice encountered rare whale sharks. Fortunately for us, they’re plankton eaters.

ROBERT GRAUP, VICE PRESIDENT/STRATEGIC PLANNING

“Your consumer hears 5,000 messages a day. Is yours clear, relevant and insightful?”

Robert brings significant strategic experience to the agency, having served as an account planner and strategic planning director at major agencies including Leo Burnett, Goldberg Moser O’Neill and Arnold Advertising. His clients have included Miller Brewing, McDonald’s, 7UP, IBM and Volkswagen. He holds a B.A. in Psychology and Humanities from Northwestern University. Robert promotes a collaborative environment for strategy development, with the understanding that key insights can come from anywhere, provided the team remains curious and keeps asking questions. His secret skills include cooking, vacuuming and reading while walking the dog. The forks in the dishwasher should always point UP.

JOHN PORTER, CONTROLLER

“Drive for show, putt for dough.”

A man of many talents, John serves not only as our Controller, but also as the agency’s primary fact checker. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Washington, Seattle; along with a Master’s from the American Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix. John’s personal history includes 3 years in the Peace Corps in the Republic of the Philippines, first teaching and later serving as editor for the Peace Corps’ worldwide magazine. An avid golfer, he plugged a hole-in-one the day after he returned from the Peace Corps. His pet peeve is careless speling.

ISABELLE LAPORTE, SENIOR ART DIRECTOR

“There’s no such thing as ‘good enough’. Put your entire soul into your work.”

Isabelle brings distinctive European design finesse to the agency. Her specialties include food packaging, logo design, brochure design and Web pages, with many of the agency’s top awards to her credit. She chose the University of Louisville, Kentucky for her B.A. in Design, as Louisville is sister city to her hometown of Montpellier, France. Moving to San Francisco to be “where it’s happening”, Isabelle quickly found a career home with Gauger + Associates. Today, her bold packaging designs appear on store shelves around the world. Isabelle is proud to have mastered single parenthood, a full time career and a full life simultaneously.

DANA KLUMB, ART DIRECTOR

“The best designs are inspired by a thorough understanding of the client’s needs”

A thoroughly talented artist and designer, Dana hails from the Midwest, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She has worked as a professional designer since 2002, joining Gauger + Associates in 2006. Her innovative, refreshing approach has already won several Addy awards. As part of the agency’s concepting team, Dana is careful to keep an eye on the purpose of every advertisement. She says, “There’s more to it than making it cool. Cool only works when it sells the product.” Dana is also a Black Belt Ninja Master of ironing.

CAROL MUTH, SENIOR COPYWRITER

“Never quit reaching for that great idea.”

Carol’s experience includes stints with Young & Rubicam, McCann-Erickson, Leo Burnett and others, contributing her concept-development skills to dozens of major national brands. Her work continues to reap important awards, including regional and national Addys, The San Francisco Show, Creativity and Silver Microphone. She has a B.A. in Communications from University of Michigan. Her secret skill is finding great deals on travel, which she exploits for memorable personal adventures, like diving the Great Barrier Reef. Carol’s goals are to be the smartest worker in the office, the meanest woman on the tennis court and the nicest person in the world.

ASHLEY MASEN, Mr. WEB

“You can sleep when you're dead. But remember to take a nap after lunch.”

Ashley sold his Nintendo at age 8 to buy his first computer, and hasn't taken his eyes off the screen since. He's been employed in the technology sector since age 14, and started a Web advertising job with Arnold Worldwide while still in high school. Primarily self-taught, Ashley now uses his deep programming knowledge and experience to solve problems and create beautiful Web sites at blinding speed. An avid bicyclist, he firmly believes in six square meals a day "to keep all 6'9" of me from going hungry." Ashley proudly displays his inner nerd, claiming "Nerd is the new cool."