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INGRID SMART

Ingrid Otero-Smart is the President/CEO of Casanova Pendrill. Ingrid started her career at McCann Erickson in her native Puerto Rico. If she could be from anywhere she’d be from Santa Fe, New Mexico or Venice, Italy. She joined CP after three years as President of Anita Santiago Advertising. Previously she was with Mendoza Dillon & Asociados, rising to President and COO. Her client experience includes automotive, packaged goods, travel, pharmaceuticals, financial services, retail, and technology categories, and she has worked with companies such as Ford Motor Co, Cingular, Sears, Kraft Foods, IKEA, Wells Fargo Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and McNeil Consumer Products, among others. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) and a past President of that organization. She has twice been named one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics. As a working single mom, she enjoys watching movies and playing video games with her son. And when she’s not with her son, she’s out buying shoes and reading. It’s no wonder Lucky Magazine is her favorite website. When Ingrid isn’t shopping she enjoys eating alcapurrias, arroz con habichuelas, bistec, and any Puerto Rican dish. If she could predict the next big fad she’d invent it herself. The most rewarding part about working at Casanova is the CP team and their passion. Ingrid is having as much fun as she did when she first started in the ad business!

ELIAS WEINSTOCK

Elias was born and raised in Mexico City, but if he could be from anywhere, he’d be from beautiful Paris. He left Mexico City for Syracuse, New York, where he got a Masters Degree in advertising. Elias has been in the advertising business for 17 years, and one of his first gigs was as a copywriter with Font & Vaamonde/Grey. In 1988 he joined Conill/Saatchi & Saatchi where he was eventually proclaimed Executive Creator Director. Currently, Elias is VP and Creative Director at Casanova Pendrill, influencing ideas like this and that. He has a proven track record and has won numerous awards throughout his career, including Cilos, New York Festival medals, Addys, Beldings, and Se Habla Español Awards. Elias is a dedicated and hardworking creative. Good thing he enjoys his job and what is considered “work” doesn’t seem like it all. He predicts the next big fad will be anything with an Apple logo”i” in it’s name. His favorite site is Audible, which shares the web’s largest collection of downloadable audiobooks. He loves Fideo Seco and can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

RAMÓN VALADEZ

Ramón Valadez was born in Harbor City, CA but if he could have it his way he’d be from the happiest place on Earth. Ramón is one of the rising Planning stars in the Hispanic marketing industry, pulling from a robust advertising career that spans roles in Media, Account Management, and Strategic Planning both in the General and Hispanic markets. Playing to his passion for Strategic Planning, he transitioned to a full-time Planner position to be able to concentrate on bringing innovation and creativity to the strategic process. Ramón has been instrumental in helping drive measurable results across various businesses, ranging from packaged goods to entertainment, and is a force of nature when it comes to creative thinking and quest to push for bigger and better work. He brings new ideas and enhances the planning process in each of the businesses he works on. In his spare time he sits through hours of the Fresh Beat Band, iCarly, Handy Manny, and anything on Sprout TV.  If he’s not fascinated by cartoon stories you can find him on Facebook. He believes the next big fad will be robots that clean your house. His suegra’s albondigas are his favorite Latino dish in addition to her costillitas de puerco. The most rewarding part about working at Casanova for Ramón is the constant evolution.

MICHELLE BREGOZZO

Michelle is originally from Irvine, CA, attended San Diego State and even got to study abroad in Madrid for a semester. Her main passion is travel, and her life goal is to compete on the Amazing Race. Michelle spends way too much time on Facebook, but also enjoys tweeting here and there (you can find her @bregozz). She hopes the next big fad will be the ability to instantly purchase what you see on the TV screen… then she could own all the shoes from Sex and the City. Michelle loves working at Casanova because she gets to experience Latino culture every day.

DENNIS DEMORI

Dennis is originally from Long Island, NY and has lived up and down the East Coast (Boston, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami). He’s a graduate of Boston College and the Account Planning Boot Camp at Miami Ad School. Prior to joining Casanova, Dennis freelanced as a Socio-cultural Researcher//Trend Hunter for Peep Insights in NYC. Client experience includes financial services, technology and packaged goods categories. His biggest passions are food and travel, while his current project is learning Japanese for an upcoming visit to Japan. He’s kind of obsessed with the Internet too – you can find him posting on Twitter (@DennisDemori and @CasaPendrill) and blogging at DennisDemori.com.

PAVEL ESCOBEDO

Pavel is a born and raised Regiomontano — that is, a native from Monterrey, Mexico. If he could be from somewhere else, he’d be from San Francisco,  one of his favorites places on earth. Pavel joined the Strategic Planning team at Casanova with more than eight years of experience in consumer insights and innovation. He has worked for brands such as Pond’s, Dove, Axe, Camel, Lucky Strike, Clorox, Armor All, Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. In his free time, Pavel enjoys  a good cocktail and good music. Just like the other members of the planning team, he’s usually online,  whether it’s contacting friends through Facebook or browsing Amazon for his next good read. His favorite latino food is homemade enchiladas. Pavel thinks the best parts of working at Casanova are the focus on ideas, the great brands we have as clients and the prime location in beautiful sunny SoCal.