We’re a team of thinkers and idea makers, writers and designers, producers and managers—all who share a common yet aspirational bond...
To create brands that change the world for the better and to do so brilliantly.
KATHY KOHLER
Kathy Kohler founded Crescendo Branding to address what she perceived as a need within professional services—particularly in investment management—for communications service providers that understand the nuances of creating brands based on the intellectual property.
Recognized as an expert brand and marketing strategist, she earned that distinction through her work in high-impact roles where she has influenced major transformation initiatives, advanced growth strategies and created numerous brands and integrated marketing programs. Throughout her career, she has worked with many of the world’s leading companies, including Bank of America, Verizon, American Express, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Blackstone, Lazard, Chase, Cigna, and a host of other firms.
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She began her career as a metals trader specializing in copper and aluminum arbitrage for a London-based firm and was named one of the Top 10 Female Copper Traders in the world. Later, Kathy moved into institutional investment advisory and marketing roles inside major firms where her brand development expertise was honed and her love for strategic consulting bourgeoned.
Kathy studied business management at The London School of Economics and earned a BA from Iona College in New York. A talented speaker, she has addressed numerous organizations on the value of building powerful brands. Throughout her career she has held FINRA licenses including Series 24 Registered Principal, Series 7, Series 65, Series 63 and Series 3. When not working, Kathy enjoys being outdoors with her family, sailing and playing tennis.
BOB KOHLER
Bob Kohler is Managing Director, Head of Business Development and Operations and a co-founder of the firm. Prior to founding Crescendo, he enjoyed a successful 30-year career in various business development, operations and client services roles within the building and medical supply industries.
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Bob began his career leading the sales organization for one of New York’s prominent real estate development companies and then moved into strategic operations. From there he joined NALCO Supply as the Senior Partner responsible for Development and Operations. In this role, he helped grow the company and ultimately initiated and managed the successful sale. He continued in similar internal or consulting roles at such companies as Kamco, Vortran, Aquaware, and a host of other firms.
In his role at Crescendo, Bob is responsible for operations, business development and project management. On the client side, he partners with COOs, executives and solopreneurs to identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
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In addition to his business roles, Bob has had a life-long passion for emergency medical response and is a Paramedic and Emergency Response Educator. Bob studied Business Management at CW Post, Long Island University. In his free time, he can be found sailing, playing tennis or building exotic cars.
LISA JANE O'NEIL
Lisa Jane O’Neil is the founder of LJOPR and has built a reputation for expertise in creating and building domestic and global brands through strategic and creative public relations programs that bring the client’s vision alive and achieves public validation.
Lisa Jane’s background involves two decades of work across all aspects of financial services and technology and she has experience in strategic business planning, media relations, brand creation and awareness, content marketing, constituency communications, and journalism. In addition she has managed media relations in-house at The Blackstone Group and has worked at PR agencies in New York and Washington, D.C.
Lisa Jane spent eight years as an international financial journalist in Asia and Australia. She opened a bureau in Vietnam for Bloomberg Business News. Currently residing in New York, she was educated in Australia and the UK. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
SHALONI PINTO
Shaloni Pinto is the Research Analyst at Crescendo Branding. She studied at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, with a minor in Law and Society and English and a certificate in mediation. She is a Research Assistant at the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, specializing in collecting, extracting, and evaluating qualitative and quantitative data of conflict resolution systems to develop evidence-based approaches in workforce development. Shaloni formulates, develops and designs media, distributing a newsletter to a network of dispute resolution professionals including mediators, arbitrators, educators, and students. Investigating experiential evidence to support professional development in conflict resolution, she has aligned relationships with internal departments and external organizations to explore strategic opportunities to develop student-led initiatives and professional engagement at the Scheinman Institute.
A researcher specializing in labor and employment law, Shaloni has analyzed, researched and interpreted relevant judicial decisions, statutes, legal articles, and other pertinent material on employment relations issues including workplace discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, unpaid wages, and overtime compensation. She has drafted legal correspondence, memoranda, and agreements concerning cases in labor and employment litigation, corresponding effectively and expediently with prospective clients to evaluate the validity and strength of potential claims. A multilingual speaker, Shaloni is passionate about her community, creating and distributing a creative semi-annual publication to an audience of over 200 readers and organizing community-wide events, promoting solidarity among diverse group of organizations.
