Randall Berlin

Global Account Director at Urban Science

Steve has the unique ability to deliver top-rate results in the face of conflicting objectives and multiple personalities among his business constituants. His complete understanding of the entire media/advertising process, combined with his tremendous interpersonal and communication skills enable him to consistently exceed client expectations. He is a highly skilled professional and leader with the ability to manage multiple tasks to get the job done...on time and on budget.

July 18, 2011, Randall was with Ford Motor Company when working with Steve at Team Detroit (Formerly Young & Rubicam Advertising)

 

 

Brian Rogers

EVP - Managing Director, Team Mazda

Steve is one of the most knowledgable executives in the automotive advertising business today. He brings an uncanny insight to his clients business and was consistently the top performer on my team year after year.

July 4, 2011, Brian managed Steve at Team Detroit (Formerly Young & Rubicam Advertising)

 

 

Charles Conder

Owner at Nationwide Conder Insurance Agency

I was a member of the South Texas Lincoln Mercury Dealers Advertising Association for 18 years. I acted as chairman of this group for over 5 years. Steve was our account director representing the advertising agency we worked with, Young and Rubicam. I worked with several account managers all with mixed results. I can safely say that the time spent with Steve as our account director was the most productive and pleasant of all. Steve has his hand on the pulse of the industry he is representing. Most of all he knows how to organize and implement successfull and vibriant marketing plans. He was especially successfull in making sure the details of the campaigns were on time, the content was targeted correctly and always within budget. He organized his team so that every detail was covered. 
I would reccommend Steve to anyone for virtually any job they employed him to do. He will provide positive results and pour his heart and soul into whatever the task is. My only regret is that I couldn't mark every box in the Attributes section of this reccomendation on Linkedin. He's that good.

June 24, 2011, Charles was Steve's client

 

 

Scott Empringham

Owner/Partner at Flash Point Communications and Owner, Flash Point Communications

Steve is one of my mentors. When it comes to Strategy & Execution he's the best. One of the rare, clear voices in advertising that really walks his talk. He sees the big picture, can articulate it clearly, motivates his team and delivers results. In addition, he's never afraid to get his hands dirty. In this way, he leads by example and generates a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, alignment and support from his team. For these reasons and about a dozen more, he's been one of my mentors for a long time. If you're looking for a strong leader that people will follow, he's your guy.

June 24, 2011, Scott worked indirectly for Steve at Team Detroit (Formerly Young & Rubicam Advertising)

 

Rachael Buhagiar

Account Supervisor at The Garage Team Mazda

Steve is a very motivational and inspiring manager. He provides every member of his team a great deal of support while allowing them the bandwidth to grow and develop their skill set. Steve has excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrates that through his client and team relationships. He provides his clients with the highest level of service and above all else Steve is a manager who provides support and guidance to his team at all times. Having Steve as my manager was the best possible working and learning environment I've had in my career to date and would work for him again if the opportunity arose.

August 2, 2011, Rachael reported to Steve at Team Detroit (Formerly Young & Rubicam Advertising)

 

Larry Hice

Executive Director for North American Sales & Marketing at General Motors

I interacted with Steve over a two-year period in his capacity as SVP Management

Supervisor for Campbell-Ewald, General Motors South Central Region lead agency for

cross-divisional initiatives and the Chevrolet account. Steve was a well-respected

member of my team and could always be counted on for positive contributions to help

advance our business.

 

Steve interacted with all members of my marketing staff and was my liaison to the other

divisional agencies. As a member of my regional senior leadership team, Steve

participated in regional staff meetings, and in meetings with GM's senior management

that I hosted. He always represented the Region well, and was a reliable and excellent

communicator with all parties, making sure that all divisional agencies worked

harmoniously in the Region's best interest.

 

Steve willingly volunteered to assist me any way he could, from speech writing, to

developing marketing plans, to managing and driving cross divisional programs. He was

a self-starter, and could be counted on to fulfill his obligations thoroughy and

professionally. His understanding of the business enabled him to be a valuable

contributor and resource.

 

I enjoyed working with Steve. He clearly had the Region's and GM's best interest at

heart in all that he did. I would highy recommend him, as he will be an asset to any

organization he joins.

January 2001, Larry was Steve's client

 

Mark Beillissimo

Executive Vice President Account Director, Campbell Ewald

Steve is an accomplished manager of people, processes. and business organizations. His

well crafted skills include an ability to identify the basic issues, understand the roles of involved

parties, identify the decision-makers, and set strategy to accomplish tasks.

 

I experienced Steve's effective management style while he worked for me at Campbell-Ewald

Advertising. In his capacity, Steve ran an expansive start-up account consisting of a fourteen state

region of General Motors communications in the Southwest. While his task was focused mostly

on Chevrolet, Steve also was responsible for overseeing all joint GM divisional marketing within

this region.

 

When I hired Steve, I had a good sense that his diverse automotive marketing experience would

serve him well in a start-up situation with all Its complexities. After all, there was a multiplicity of

clients, agendas, and other agencies involved in trying to craft a cohesive marketing program.

What I was more than pleased with was the way Steve energetically jumped in and identified the

important drivers of GM's business, effectively worked with three layers of management, five

separate divisions, dozens of inlfluencial dealers and other agencies, and was able to craft

effective formal and informal operational guidelines. He was extremely intluencial at organizing

perspectives into clear direction and gaining buy-in and approval of strategies and tactics. On

program after program, Steve was able to pull together a coalition of GM corporate, regional and dealer clients and get tough decisions made and get advertising created. In short, he got results.

 

Steve's strength in business comes from a key insight into what drives value in an organization,

and what it needs to do to increase that value. I suspect he is so good at this for two reasons: he

really enjoys the challenges and opportunities that come with each business situation, and, he

has a strong desire to learn new business skills and try new ideas. As such, I found him to be an

extremely strong counsel on issues beyond his Southwest regional assignment. He was also an

active and helpful team player with the other four regions of the account group.

 

For the reasons stated here, I can enthusiastically suggest Steve Leh be given the highest

consideration of your organization. 

January 2001, Steve reported to Mark

 

Bruce Waldo 

Regional Vice President, Western Auto 

I worked with Steve in my capacity as Regional Vice President for the Caribbean.

Before he assumed the responsibility for marketing and advertising for this area, we did

not have an integrated communications program developed specifically for this market.

Instead, we received a translation of the stateside program, which was not very beneficial

since the business model and target audience are completely different.

 

In the first weeks after joining the company, Steve came to the region, visited the stores

and developed a clear, comprehensive understanding of the issues the company faced in

the Caribbean. He developed a marketing plan specifically for this market that has

increased business substantially. Steve also helped the other departments, particularly

merchandising, pricing and replenishment understand our needs, which also was of

tremendous benefit.

 

Steve demonstrated superior marketing and advertising ability. He also has a deep

understanding of the retail business and was a very positive, dedicated team member. His

contribution was very great and we will always remember and appreciate his efforts to

help us.

 

In my thirty-four years in the retail business, twenty-nine with Sears and five with

Western Auto, I have not seen a person with more focus, dedication and commitment to

do the right things right to make the business grow. I highly recommend him, as he will

be a tremendous benefit to whoever he joins.

December 1988, Bruce was Steve's colleague

 

Rene de la Cruz Vila 

President, de la Cruz Associates Marketing & Advertising

Steve was our client in the position of Director of Retail Marketing,

Western Auto Supply Company. His responsibilities included Western Auto brand in

Puerto Rico and US Virgin Island market. The marketing and advertising plan

developed and implemented for the Caribbean under Steve's direction was the first one specifically created for this area and not a direct extension of the US plan, which never worked well. The sales increase of 530% in the customer average purchase amount experinced during his tenure, attests to his expertise.

 

We worked together hand in hand to make sure that all marketing projects complied with

the sales objectives of Western Auto Supply Company. Not only did we work as a team

but Steve is a great leader and he knew exactly where he wanted to guide the agency.

 

The excellent results achieved in Western Auto Supply Company in Puerto Rico and in

the U.S. Virgin Islands were directly related to his achievements in directing the marketing and communications. 

 

Not only does he have an in-depth knowledge in marketing and advertising, but his leadership

inspires people to work with him as a team and get the job done.

 

I highly recommend Steve.

January 1999, Steve worked with Rene and his agency on the US Virgin Islands and Ruerto Rico business

 

Greg Bringle

General Merchandising Manager, Western Auto

I am a former General Merchandising Manager for Western Auto Supply Company. In

that role, I had senior merchandise management responsibility for the Parts America

outlet brand in the states and the Western Auto outlet brand in the Caribbean. In that

capacity, I regularly interacted with Steve in his role as the corporate Marketing

Director.

 

Steve's addition to the Western Auto team was very positive and brought immediate

benefits to the organization in a number of areas. First, Steve reached out to all

departments to understand their needs and concerns and then worked in concert with each

department's managers and staff to determine the best way for the marketing department

to help the organization achieve its goals. This was a significant change for the better

from the previous operating procedure in the marketing department.

 

With his knowledge of marketing as well as the overall business, Steve looked out for the

best interests of the corporation, not just the marketing department. He developed a very

responsive team that earned the respect of the organization for their responsiveness and

ability to develop and execute marketing programs and tactics.

 

His team developed and implemented a new process for advertising merchandise

selection that dramatically improved operations while substantially reducing the time

necessary to accomplish this task. As a result, communications to all departments also

improved tremendously which benefited the whole organization.

 

The meetings that Steve conducted were well prepared. The agenda was sent out prior to

the meeting with a request for input and comments to make sure the necessary topics

were covered in the most efficient manor.

 

Steve was a very valuable team member and a tremendous resource for the entire

merchandising department. He was respected throughout the organization and earned the

reputation as a person to turn to get things done right. I highly recommend him.

January 1999, Greg was Steve's colleague and internal client

 

Scott Woods

Chairman & CEO, First Commercial Bank, Leawood, KS

I have known Steve Leh for nearly two years as the result of a very large transaction between

First Commercial Bank, N.A. and a business which he bought, very successfully operated and later sold. 

During that time I had several opportunities to observe Steve's reaction to circumstances which tested

him in a variety of ways. He met the test in every instance including the one which I

consider most important, the test of his character. Steve is a thoroughly honest person

with the highest ethical standards. I am pleased to give him the strongest possible

character reference.

January 1998, Scott was Steve's banker

 

Jim Duffack

Former Chairman, Kansas City Region Toyota Dealers Association

For ten extremely successful years, Steve managed our advertising account, three with Saatchi & Saatchi and seven on his own. He turned a very bad situation into a good one.

When Saatchi sent Steve to this region, the board

and the entire dealer body had already lost trust and confidence in the agency. We were

tired of poor service and bad treatment from Saatchi. We were going to change agencies.

Steve immediately took control of the situation. Issues that remained problems were

fixed. He met personally with all the dealers and listened to what they wanted. 

 

When he left Saatchi, the Board, on our own, reached out to Steve and asked him to start an agency and take over our account. It was a tremendous success. 

 

He put an annual planning process in place that resulted in much better media buys, in some

cases rates were up to fifty percent better than what Saatchi had been paying. He

convinced the four dealers who were not in the association when he arrived to join,

which helped everyone tremendously. 

 

Steve also revamped our accounting system, which saved us a lot of money. The new

system made accurate budgeting possible, which Steve is excellent at, and allowed us to

invest our funds and earn money. The combined benefits to the association of these three

things were very substantial and we continue to use the system Steve developed today,

twelve years after he developed them.

 

Another key strength of Steve's is his ability to manage not only the big picture but the

little things as well. He has a tremendous ability to get things done quickly and make

sure nothing falls through the cracks. The meetings he conducted were always extremely

well prepared and the materials were always well presented. He is an excellent

communicator and always kept the board and the dealer body informed.

 

Steve has a strong moral character and always maintained the highest standards of

quality and integrity. His work ethic and commitment to excellence are outstanding

traits.

 

I strongly recommend Steve.

January 1995, Jim was Steve's former client

 

 

Jim Lewis

Former Chairman, Kansas City Region Toyota Dealers Association

I have known Steve since 1985, with ten of those in a professional capacity as a member of the

board of directors and past President of the Kansas City Region Toyota Dealers Association.

Steve is a can do guy. When he sets out to do something, you can bank on it being done

correctly and right now. It does not matter what it is, he will accomplish it and it will be

done right. He was consistently praised in regional dealer council meetings for his

outstanding work. Getting seventy-six dealers to agree on anything is tough, but they all

agreed Steve did an excellent job. Likewise, he got his employees to raise their performance

level to his standards.

 

Working with the dealers, Steve improved our media buys. He also helped the dealers do a

better job with their individual media buying by publishing a "media brain book" every year

that gave us the information we needed to know what to buy locally.

 

Steve also reduced our administrative and creative production costs. So, the same budget went

farther towards generating traffic and sales. This had a very positive effect on the bottom line.

 

Steve is also an excellent and extremely gracious host. He always made sure things were

perfect because his preparation left no room for error. Everything was expertly planned and

nothing was left to chance.

 

In the ten years Steve managed our account, we had a certified financial audit by a big six

accounting firm every year. Every year the results were the same: everything was perfect. He

is an honest man of outstanding character and integrity.

 

Without reservation, I highly recommend Steve.

January 1995, Jim was Steve's former client

 

Kent Gedman

Managing Partner, Grant Thornton

I have known Steve professionally for over twenty-five years in his capacity as the Account

Supervisor for Saatchi & Saatchi in the Kansas City Region, as President of Ad Concepts, Inc.,

and as owner of Select Distributors, Inc., as a business consultant to a private equity group, as CEO of SafeShip Internatioinal and as owner of SL Marketing & Communications LLC.  In every position, Steve has demonstrated a superior work ethic, a mastery of complex strategies and the accompanying ability make them into profitable business plans, a tremendous 

work ethic, integrity, and the ability to work well with people.

 

As the accountants for the Kansas City Region Toyota Dealers Association, Grant Thornton was

responsible for compiling the financial statements of the Association. In this capacity, I

interacted regularly with the Toyota Dealers Advertising Association Board of Directors and was

very familiar with their dissatisfaction with Saatchi & Saatchi, their agency of record when Steve was sent to Kansas City to take over the account. Due to Steve's efforts, the

acrimony between Saatchi and the dealers ceased, and the relationship became very productive until Saatchi had problems elsewhere they wanted Steve to leave the Kansas City Region.

 

For the years Steve owned Ad Concepts, with his consent, we performed an audit of the financial statements of that company on behalf of the Kansas City Region Toyota Dealers Association, which always resulted in our rendering an unqualified opinion. Steve's honesty

and his habit of doing things correctly were demonstrated continually.

 

Another of Steve's strengths is his ability to develop consensus in a group. Many times, I saw

him present concepts and plans to a group very divided on the direction that should be taken.

With his excellent communication skills, Steve always managed to overcome the objections and

convince clients to come to agreement on the issues at hand.

 

I highly recommend Steve.

Kent was originally an auditor of Steve's business back in 1985. He later became his CPA and remains friend and advisor to this day.

 

 

Bob Elser

EVP, Creative Director, Ad Concepts

I worked for Steve for nine years. He is an excellent manager and has a rare ability to inspire fierce loyalty among his co-workers and employees. Steve can get people to reach for the sun, the moon and the stars even though they may be standing on a small step ladder. He is demanding in the sense that he wants everybody to share his high expectations for excellence and performance. To complement that drive, he is one of the fairest people I have ever been around.

 

My personal belief is that leaders are born and not made. Steve is a natural leader who can rally the troops in the darkest hour, as well as maintain perspective and momentum when things are going well. As as aside to his leadership skills, Steve is hands down the best negotiator I have ever seen.

 

I have worked in large, medium and small corporations and have been exposed to numerous management styles and personalities. Steve is able to strike a balance between making the tough managerial decisions and being a kind person. Anybody who has ever worked for Steve knows he cares about them personally. He treats everyone with respect.

 

Steve is an extremely bright, well-educated, experienced manager and dedicated family man who could make a valuable contribution to whatever company he joins.

January 1998, Bob use to work for Steve.