Earlier this year, Arc was awarded Unilever’s U.S. retail, e-Commerce and shopper marketing account. Fast forward to today – with the team in the full swing of work.

As we know, old models don’t drive growth. To help the CPG behemoth achieve its ambition of “building the commerce model of the future,” Arc assembled leading-edge leadership from across the industry to help reach the next level of shopper-centric, performance marketing.

“’Real action, not just talk.’ That is a shared and continuous commitment for Unilever and Arc,” said Soche Picard, CEO of Arc Worldwide. “That is why we brought together this leadership team comprised of passionate, inclusive, egoless, collaborative and always action-oriented leaders. We couldn’t be more excited for the future of our business.”

Now, let’s meet the team.

Heather Collins — EVP, Account Director
After an 8-year stint at Catapult and Epsilon, Heather spent the past two years at iCrossing/Hearst where she grew Bridgestone business and led the Sargento team.

Dubbed the “dream business lead,” she’s returning to Publicis Groupe to play a key role in Arc’s Unilever business.

She learned early in her career how to eliminate silos and work across disciplines. Those skills have served Heather well when truly working as one with her clients’ in-house teams.

Alma Klein — SVP, Creative Director
Alma, one of P2P’s 2020 Women of Excellence finalists, has led award-winning creative for CPG clients including P&G, KraftHeinz, SJ Johnson and, for the last four years, Molson Coors.

Her work has won multiple Effies, Reggies and ADDYs. However, she’s most proud of the progress she’s made championing industry moms and advocating for greater representation and inclusion of women and minorities in creative leadership.

Lauren Elliott — SVP, Strategy Director
Lauren’s strategic leadership spans across commerce strategy (Unilever, GSK, P&G), brand & social strategy (L’Oréal Paris, Olay, Urban Decay) and purpose-driven initiatives for brands and corporations.

She brings an empathetic view to the shopper/consumer experience and an integrated approach to crafting solutions that drive categories, businesses and brands forward. She’s keen to create new ways to use data to answer juicy strategic questions.

Rhonda Gilbert — SVP, Account Director
With numerous industry retail recognitions under her belt—including three U.S. Commerce & Shopper Effie Awards and a Grand Effie Finalist—Rhonda brings a decade of shopper marketing experience across retailers like Walmart, Publix and Dollar General.

She is committed to helping brands and retail teams maximize data, implement a strategy and convert the cart.

Lynn Cross – VP, Account Director
For over two decades, Lynn has been on the front lines of shopper marketing—and our industry’s remarkable growth and transformation—through her work on such brands as Kraft, Kellogg, Georgia-Pacific, Mars (Food, Pet and Chocolate) and Reckitt Benckiser.

She also brings in-depth shopper insights across various channels and currently leads Arc’s Retail Center of Excellence.

Susan Laesch – VP, Client Operations Director
With 15 years of shopper marketing experience, Susan has led both agency and client teams through the development of best-in-class, omni-channel marketing campaigns for brands like Starbucks At-Home Coffee, Clorox, LOLA, Office Depot and Impossible Foods.

Now, as a subject matter expert and client integrator, Susan will serve as the senior client interface on transition progress and updates and develop new ways of working for internal and client teams.