Michelle Edelman can be described in one word: fierce. She’s one of the 1% of woman agency owners. She’s among the 1% of agency strategists whose ideas have had lasting cultural impact. And she will quickly become one of the 1% of the go-to people in your circle — because she gets you, and she’s got your back.

Michelle joined PETERMAYER in 2013 to build the future of the agency’s strategy group, drawing from her experience leading marketing for global tech companies and brand planning for global agencies. She rose in the company by establishing integrated planning across disciplines.

Prior to PETERMAYER, Michelle earned a reputation for her astute insights about cultural change, leading to transformational work, such as Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which elevated the brand as a contemporary icon.

She holds a BS, MBA and MPH from Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management. A Chicagoan who took a stint in Southern California, Michelle now calls New Orleans home.

Matt Kuttan has lived in 10 countries and speaks five languages. His trick for learning the real culture of a place? Talk to the doorman, not the concierge. A voracious traveler who wears his exuberance on his sleeve (literally — note his colorful wardrobe acquired along the way), Matt’s approach to multiculturalism is lived experience coupled with deep curiosity and a genuine love of people.

As CCO, Matt fuels the agency’s creative vision to reflect changing cultural trends and clients’ needs for creative that spans all media. He brings an omnichannel perspective to his creative product and challenges his team to incorporate human-centered approaches to solving business problems.

Prior to joining PETERMAYER, Matt led creative departments at multinational agencies including Leo Burnett, Saatchi X, Burrell, JWT and BBDO. His work has won awards including Cannes, Clios, One Show and Effies.

Matt has an MFA from Tiffin University and has taught at a number of academic institutions and portfolio schools throughout the U.S. as well as in London and Mexico. We aren’t sure where Matt’s source of exuberant energy comes from, but watch this space: We intend to bottle and brand it.

Adam Blankenship started out as an architecture/civil engineering double major — he wanted to build bridges. A pragmatist by nature, he did the math on the number of bridges designed and built in a given year and quickly realized the odds weren’t in his favor. He changed his major to advertising, and has been building bridges ever since.

Adam leads the account management and project management departments to ensure the agency is delivering on its promise to be “better together” with our client partners. He passionately believes in the power of creativity to drive business results and coaches his teams to be strong negotiators, empathetic problem solvers and tireless champions of great creative ideas.

Prior to joining PETERMAYER, Adam gained experience at global network agencies like BBDO and DDB as well as independent agencies like McKinney and RPA, working with a variety of brands across categories but developing specialized expertise with automotive brands. But his heart lies in the spirits space — ask him about Craft Cocktail Fridays, and clear your afternoon calendar.

Laura Thomas has spent more than 25 years building innovative ways of working and thinking in the advertising industry. Her voracious appetite for knowledge has driven her to explore an immersive form of strategy that marries statistical trends with real experience to drive insights that leap off the brief. Thomas has held leadership positions in strategy at Curiosity, Deskey and LPK, in addition to serving as Chief Innovation Officer for her own agency, Nontraditional. She has led her last agency to win after win strategically.

Thomas holds a BA in business administration from Thomas More University and resides in Cincinnati with her two teenage daughters and husband of 22 years. Although she’s always searching life’s moments for new ways to understand people, she spends her time beekeeping, doing hot yoga, playing Magic the Gathering with her kids and reading anything and everything she can get her hands on. She loves travel, specifically in nature, and has visited 22 national parks; her favorites include Denali, Olympic and Mount Rainier.

A collaborative, results-driven, executive with more than 35 years of experience in strategic marketing, branding and advertising. Passionate about cultivating authentic, genuine and trusting relationships. Curious about what motivates people and is adept at prioritizing and managing in a fast-paced environment.

David holds the record for PETERMAYER’s longest tenure, clocking in this Fall at 36 years. He leads the agency’s travel & tourism practice group, helping clients achieve their marketing goals and more importantly, visitation objectives.

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Larry Lovell has been a music lover his entire life. While completely devoid of musical talent himself, he vividly recalls the thrill of marching bands at Mardi Gras parades as a toddler as well as the awe-inspiring “duck walk” performed by guitarist Chuck Berry as he watched perched atop his dad’s shoulders at a concert in New Orleans City Park. While covering the Baton Rouge Blues Festival as part of his internship for Louisiana Public Broadcasting, he knew he wanted to work with media in some form or fashion, and that translated into a journalism degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU and a career in communications and PR.

Larry leads the PR and social media departments, working with clients, colleagues in the news media, content creators and influencers to develop and activate compelling messaging campaigns that deliver impactful results for brands through these communication platforms.

A PETERMAYER veteran of 20 years, Larry has led numerous award-winning campaigns for clients in many industries, including tourism & hospitality, banking & finance, consumer packaged goods, sports, gaming, real estate development, healthcare, culinary and technology. Prior to joining the agency, he was the marketing director for the Louisiana State Museum, and he worked in communications for the largest health insurance provider in Louisiana. And as a music lover, ask him about his 3,000+ collection of vintage vinyl albums that once was four times as large as it is now.

Bryan Rice may be best known for two things: building insane spreadsheets and being a repository for useless pop culture information. You are as likely to have a conversation with him on operational profitability as you are on why John Candy didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Or why Ricky Steamboat and Macho Man Randy Savage’s title bout at WrestleMania III is the most important match in sports entertainment history.

Bryan oversees business operations, which also includes the agency’s Project Management team, led by Jesse Delerno. His diplomatic approach helps ensure that agency operational health is in harmonious balance with client needs.

Bryan’s career began as an intern at PETERMAYER, working his way up through Production, Traffic and eventually, Project Management. During his career, he also worked as a Marketing Director at Ochsner Health System, prior to returning to PETERMAYER in 2016 to take over the Project Management team.

Bryan has a BA in Mass Communication from LSU. A native New Orleanian, Bryan has called Chicago home since 2019.

Keith returned to New Orleans full time in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to found the Loftin Group, LLC, a managerial consulting practice focusing in financial management, capital management, and strategic planning for emerging and high-growth businesses. 

Although Keith is new to the advertising industry, he’s no rookie to growing companies. Among his many prior clients are Krewe du optic LLC, a fashion eyewear company based in New Orleans as well as Preservation Hall LLC and the Preservation Hall Foundation, where he also served on the Board of Directors. He concurrently founded and operates Loftin Property Holdings, a real estate holding company which owns, invests in, and manages multi-family residential real estate in the New Orleans area. This business has grown to include over 380 residential units, filling an important gap in the current housing landscape of the New Orleans area.

A native New Orleanian, Keith received his BA from Louisiana State University and MBA from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.