Mark A. Nystuen

Mark Nystuen brings thirty years of diverse experience to Kineo, primarily with the $110 billion asset LaSalle Bank, where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. His responsibilities at LaSalle included branding and identity, advertising, internal communications, public relations, crisis communications, sponsorships, and commercial, retail and wealth management marketing.

Mark is best known for his development and leadership of LaSalle's extensive sports and event marketing programs including the acquisition and expansion of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and a PGA TOUR Nationwide Tour event. Mark has worked with most of Chicago's major sports franchises, several Big 10 universities and a host of civic and cultural institutions.

Mark earlier held senior positions in the finance and planning areas of LaSalle.

Mark has a bachelor's degree from the University of North Dakota and a master's degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Joan Beaubaire

Joan Beaubaire comes to Kineo with a strong background in nonprofit marketing leadership. She was Chief Marketing Officer of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago where she led the organization through its crisis response to the September 11th attacks, the South Asia Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to that she was vice president at KemperLesnik Communications in Chicago where she developed grass roots strategy and communications for Millennium Park, Harris Music and Dance Theater, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Ravinia Festival, and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Joan also has served as International President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and spent several years involved in political consulting with the League of Women Voters of Illinois and the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Joan is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in journalism.

Jim Prendergast

Jim Prendergast has more than 25 years experience in public affairs and marketing communications. He is an expert on corporate branding and communication, with extensive experience in health, wellness and the environment.

Prior to forming Kineo, Jim was vice president of corporate marketing and corporate communications with Pfizer/Monsanto in St. Louis. He led communication efforts around the acquisition of several businesses and the merger of Monsanto with Pharmacia & Upjohn. He also led public affairs in Latin America including positioning work on a variety of labor, environment, trade, food and health issues

Prior to Monsanto, Jim was senior vice president of KemperLesnik Communications in Chicago where he headed the corporate practice. He started his career at Hill & Knowlton in Chicago.

Jim received a B.A. from the University of Illinois. His M.S. is from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

Deborah Schneider

Deborah Schneider has been a creative director for more than 20 years, bringing to Kineo extensive senior-level experience in developing strategic brand programs.

For more than 15 years, she owned her own successful design firm before merging Deborah Schneider Design with Liska + Associates in 2000. As president of Liska, Deborah focused on developing and implementing strategic branding programs for Fortune 100 companies, cultural institutions, member associations, financial institutions, service companies and manufacturers.

Deborah's client roster has included Motorola, Monsanto, American Dental Association, Mesirow Financial, Georgia Pacific, Domtar, Art Institute of Chicago, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Burling Bank and Equity Residential.

Deborah has a B.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an M.A. in English Literature from Northeastern Illinois University. She studied visual communication at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.