John Arends
CEO

John’s passion for harnessing the power of ideas, communications and branding has led him across a diverse landscape of professional service.  A journalism grad from Iowa State, John has penned inaugural addresses and speeches for governors and a U.S. vice president, created multi-million dollar sponsorship programs with McDonald’s, Chrysler, Konica, Asics, DuPont and K-mart for Olympic sports teams, and led business-to-business client/agency partnerships to category dominance.  He serves as a director on several boards, including the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the Marketing and Advertising Global Network (MAGNET), and is riding at his best when contributing to the growth and vitality of the Arends family of clients and creative talent.

Ken Jackson
President / Creative Director

Ken's enthusiasm, energy and natural leadership inspire the agency's creative teams to stay on the bike path to achieve winning results for clients. A graduate of Columbia College, Chicago, Ken brings more than 20 years of graphic design experience to anchor the agency's creative services. Ken is also a key rider on the ARENDS strategic planning team, pushing hard to develop highly integrated programs for market-leading clients such as Siemens, Lucent Technologies, Philips Lighting, and Tyco.

John Barnett
VP Account Planning

John likes to figure out how products, people, and marketing organizations work. His background in the fields of journalism, mechanics, education, and psychology have prepared him for a marketing communications (bike) path in life. An eighteen-year B2B veteran, John's research and foundational writing have supported such brands as Ingersoll-Rand, Siemens, Bussmann, Lucent, and others. John is the father of three daughters, he coaches in a special education athletic association, and rides daily with the ARENDS creative and strategic planning teams – preferably without a helmet.

Brian Joosse
Director of Interactive Initiatives