Brand & Growth Leader.
Builder.
CSO / CBO.
I find the belief underneath a business — and turn it into growth.
TBWA. Publicis. Phenomenon. Omelet.
On both sides of the table — agency and operator.
Worked with brands like these
When all the pieces are there, but it still isn't clicking
I've spent 20+ years in rooms where the product is good, the team is smart, and the ambition is real. Yet something isn't connecting.
Usually, it's not execution.
It's clarity.
My career hasn't gone in a straight line.
I've started companies. Worked inside big ones. Led strategy at agencies. Sat next to founders figuring things out in real time.
Different environments.
Same job:
Make the business make sense—so it can grow.
After a while, you start to spot it pretty quickly
The business changes faster than the story.
When that happens, teams drift, the positioning gets a little fuzzy, and growth stops building on itself.
That gap is where I do my best work.
And honestly, it shows up more often than most teams like to admit.
I don’t really think of it as “doing marketing”
The insight the company had been circling around.
Make it simple enough that anyone can get it.
Get everyone rowing in the same direction.
Reinforce it across everything you do.
Sometimes it’s positioning. Sometimes GTM. Sometimes it’s fixing how a team works. It’s all the same problem.
From product-innovation shop to strategy-first partner.
Stepped into leadership at Phenomenon. Scaled the business. Helped position it for acquisition.
Repositioned the shop as a strategy-first partner to CMOs, CEOs, and founders. Built the culture, scaled the teams, shaped the platform. The work followed. So did the revenue.
- Project revenue grew 50% and 12+ new client initiatives won in one year
- Partnered with Amex, HBO Max, LVMH, Live Nation, Intuit, Theragun, Fatty15, ZOA Energy, TD Ameritrade, and Central Pacific Bank
- Helped TD Ameritrade launch its first advertising campaign — 45% YOY lift in business leads
- Championed blue-sky initiatives: reimagining live entertainment with Live Nation, and launching Swell, Central Pacific Bank's digital-first fintech spinout
The real output wasn't a campaign.
It was an agency with the clarity to grow — and the conviction to be acquired.
Built a strategy practice for leaders who had to grow.
Dendro was a strategy-first consultancy for founders, VCs, and operators staring down the gap between their brand and their business.
As Head of Strategy, I built the frameworks, the products, and the pipeline — turning ad-hoc consulting into a repeatable practice. Then led the work that earned the next engagement.
- Clients: AdventHealth ($12B), Prudential ($60B Fortune 100), Byte, Tech Square Ventures
- Built three proprietary products: Fractional Chief Brand Officer, Marketing Investment Analysis, GRO Segmentation
- Created Brandathon — a week-long sprint pairing growth startups with top creative and marketing leaders
The real output wasn't a deck.
It was alignment — between a brand, a business, and the people who had to grow both.
Real moments
This is what it's all about. Life happens.
How I tend to approach things
This is usually where we start. The rest builds from here.
This simple framework underpins my approach to making businesses understandable and ready for growth, no matter the specific challenge.
I use this to align teams, not just define strategy.
How I approach building brands
the
Product
is the
Brand
is the
Advertising
I don't just disappear into decks
I'm usually in the room with leadership, asking the uncomfortable questions and working with teams to make ideas real. I connect decisions across product, marketing, and experience.
Across agencies, startups, and Fortune 500 engagements, I've led teams, guided C-suite decisions, and connected strategy to execution at every stage.
If the work doesn't change behavior, it doesn't matter.
Over time, I stopped thinking in campaigns
Now I build systems.
- Ways teams find insight faster
- Ways ideas get made and tested quickly
- Ways brand shows up consistently
- Ways AI actually saves time
Most companies don't need more ideas. They need fewer, better ones—and a way to actually execute them.
What people say
"One of the most sophisticated brand strategists I've ever worked with, he presents himself with zero ego and easily galvanizes everyone around him." — Austen Tully, Director, Account & Agency Management, Cox Communications
"He knows how to help brands envision different futures, provide clarity on their strategy, and get the entire company behind it." — Brandon Murphy, CSO, Trade School
"He can simultaneously lead 20 work streams, maintain 98% recall accuracy on anything, and be the neighborhood's father-of-the-year... every year." — Todd Hovey, B2B SaaS Marketing Expert
"Add him to any community, company, or project, and he makes it better." — Chris Motely, CEO, Mentor Spaces
A little more personal
I'm a dad. I'm an investor.
I've built things that worked—and things that didn't.
I'm drawn to smart people, low-ego teams, and real problems.
I don't have much patience for performative marketing.
I care about doing work that actually matters—and keeping the bar high.
Where I tend to create the most value
When a company has momentum but lacks clarity.
When brand and growth aren’t aligned.
When the category is crowded or hard to win in.
When leadership needs a sharper point of view.
If this sounds like the right fit — let’s talk.
I’m looking for a company that treats brand as a strategic asset, not a cost center.
Where the leadership still cares about the craft.
Where there’s a real problem to solve.
and real latitude to build something meaningful.
If you’re building something that needs both a story and a system—
and you want someone who can help you find it, align around it, and actually execute it—
that’s where I do my best work.
Ryan Stoner