Finalists for Eastern Michigan University's executive
director for University Marketing and Communications include
a senior vice president for an auto company; a marketing
and communications director from a university; and a vice
president for advancement from a community college.
After an extensive regional search that yielded nearly
90 resumes, the University's six-member search committee
whittled the field to three finalists, who interviewed
on campus within the past two weeks and conducted public
forums where they could introduce themselves and answer
questions from EMU faculty, staff and students. The three
finalists are: Michael Wright, senior vice president, account
director, Cadillac, Leo Burnett Detroit; Ted Coutilish,
director IV, Office of Marketing and Communications, Wayne
State University; and Ruth Borger, vice president for advancement,
Lansing Community College.
"Our search committee presented three viable candidates
to the Eastern community for the executive director of
marketing and communications position," said Bernice Lindke,
interim vice president, enrollment management, who chaired
the search committee. "Each
candidate has extensive marketing and communications experience,
and each comes from a different arena. Michael Wright's
experience was in the auto industry; Ted Coutilish worked
in four-year private and public universities; and Ruth
Borger worked in the community college setting."
The following are synopses of each of the candidates'
experience as well as comments they shared at their open
forums. Candidates are listed in order of their public
forum.
Michael Wright
"I have a great passion for this University," said Wright,
a 1982 EMU graduate. "I thought EMU's College of Business
gave me a great balance of the theoretical and the practical," he
said. "I just rolled my sleeves up and got going. That's
what I got from Eastern."
He said that "can do" attitude stayed with him when he
entered the business world.
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Wright |
Wright is currently senior vice president, account director
for Cadillac, Leo Burnett Detroit, a position he's been
in since 2003. Wright directs all Cadillac account activities
for a $200 million-plus account, including advertising.
He has led a multidisciplinary team of approximately 100
people in the development and execution of a fully integrated
marketing communications plan, from market and customer
analysis to several high-profile, successful new vehicle
launches.
He engineered the "Break Through" campaign, which helped
fuel the Cadillac brand renaissance and four consecutive
years of sales growth. The campaign earned multiple awards,
including two "Effies" for effectiveness, an overall "Grand
Prix" for the 360-degree "Under5" campaign, and several
awards for collateral quality and art direction.
"I've had a great run in business, but what I really want
to do is put my passion behind my heart," Wright said. "Cars
are important. But, I'm not sure it's feeding my soul how
I want it to be fed."
While Wright said he is up to the challenges, he admitted
bridges have to be rebuilt between the faculty and administration.
He said he was successful in the business world because
he was collaborative.
"You need to share a vision, a story about Eastern Michigan," he
said. "But, it can't be done by any one party. It
has to be collaborative. There are challenges, but I see
the spirit of what EMU can be."
Wright pointed to his marketing ability to make old-school
brands — such as Cadillac and Oldsmobile — hip
again, which resulted in increased sales. A key
to that success was getting sales and marketing staff on
the same page and working together, he said.
As a leader, Wright said he does not subscribe to micro-management
and does not regard the marketing division as a self-contained
power base. He prefers to let his people do what they were
hired to do, and produce results.
"I have a belief in this place. These challenges are not
all that new," he said. "Frustrating jobs in my business
are not hard to come by. I don't care who gets the credit.
I just want to make a difference. And I want to do it with
something I care about."
Wright previously worked for Ford Motor Company, from
2000-2003, in a variety of capacities, including multicultural
marketing director, director of customer relationship marketing
and corporate marketing director. Prior to that, he was
regional marketing director, Western Region, Pontiac-GMC,
from 1999-2000.
Wright received his MBA from the University of Michigan
and his bachelor's degree in business administration from
Eastern Michigan University.
Ted Coutilish
Coutilish, director IV for Wayne State University's Office
of Marketing and Communications since 2005, likens building
a brand for a university to restoring an old home, something
he has previously done.
And he would like to create a winning marketing brand
for EMU.
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Coutilish |
"You don't have a brand. You don't have an image you've
crafted," Coutilish said at his open campus forum Nov.
17. "You don't have a marketing structure. You don't have
a clear definition of who you are. As a result, others
are defining you."
Coutilish pointed to Wayne State's brand of "World-Class
Education in the Real World," which he said he helped develop,
and emphasized the importance of promoting faculty.
"Faculty are extremely important to the image and the
brand of the university," he said of Wayne State. "We promote
our faculty in everything we do."
When asked how he would promote a definitive brand for
EMU, Coutilish said he would take a grass-roots approach,
talking to as many constituencies as possible, attempt
to get buy-in and see where common threads within the University
lie.
"Then, you can find something you and only you can say," Coutilish
said. "Then you have something."
In 2005, Coutilish was promoted from director III to director
IV at Wayne State to build and lead advertising, branding,
licensing, marketing communications, and client management
and customer relationship efforts.
Some of his other
accomplishments, according to his resume, in his current
position include:
- Plan university events, develop external media relations,
coach senior managers, and create reports, speeches and
Web site and media content.
- Build a university brand, image and familiarity among
primary audiences.
- Direct account managers in offering strategic counsel
to 80 internal clients.
- Create marketing communication strategies, plans and campaigns.
- Doubled Wayne State's familiarity among the general public
from 33 percent to 64 percent (2004-2006) and increased
unaided response to new Wayne State brand promise from
6 percent to 38 percent during the same period.
- Since 2004, increased Wayne State's share of voice in
the local media market from 4 percent to 11 percent, despite
advertising spending decreasing by one-third.
- Doubled Wayne State licensing revenue to $49,0000 over
six years.
Coutilish's previous positions include director III in
Wayne State University's Office of Marketing and Communications
from 1999-2005; publications director in Oakland University's
Office of Communications and Marketing from 1995-1999;
publications manager in the University of Detroit Mercy's
Marketing and Public Affairs Office from 1991-1995; and
various stints at magazines and newspapers from 1987-1991.
Coutilish received his master's degree in liberal
studies from the University of Detroit Mercy and his bachelor's
degree in print journalism from Wayne State University.
Ruth Borger
Like Coutilish, Borger said Eastern Michigan has an identity
crisis and must define what it is and what it wants to
be.
"Great things are happening here. We're doing great things
well, but we (EMU) don't articulate it well," said Borger,
vice president for college advancement at Lansing Community
College (LCC) since November 2003. "Are we a great place
to start? Are we a great undergraduate institution? Are
we a great graduate institution? I think we are on the
cusp of establishing that brand."
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Borger |
While at LCC, Borger said she was involving in developing
a brand for that that community college, which enrolls
approximately 19,500 students each semester. At
one time, the community college had a seal logo. But, with
the help of a marketing firm, that logo design changed
to a circle of stars with the slogan, "Where Success Begins."
That campaign, which was successful, was implemented with
the prior marketing director. But the campaign wasn't articulated
with a brand, Borger said.
During her open campus forum Nov. 20, Borger said LCC
recently concluded another marketing blitz, with the slogan, "A
Bright Choice, Right Choice." The campaign included
internal communications, including major exposure on LCC's
Web site; radio, print, television and billboard ads; extensive
media relations and the targeting of market focus groups,
she said.
"What works for a 42-year-old is not going to work for
an 18-year-old," Borger said, emphasizing diverse marketing
strategies are needed for different audiences.
In her current position, Borger is an executive leadership
team member who works collaboratively with the president
to advance the institution through integrated public
relations, branded marketing programs, governmental relations
and resource development.
Borger acts as the lead media
spokesperson for the college and has experience with
crisis communications, including a presidential transition,
financial aid and an on-campus murder of a college professor.
Borger serves as the principal writer and counselor to
the president for executive and institutional communications,
speeches and presentations.
"I assess relationships and nurture/cultivate them," Borger
said. "Increase enrollment. Increase donors. Increase
reputations. These are measures we look at for success."
Borger also leads the LCC Foundation, including its "Building
Community, Creating Opportunity" Capital Campaign, which
is at 77 percent of its goal. During her time in the position,
the Foundation's assets have increased from $3.4 million
to more than $7.5 million.
Previously, Borger was director of public relations at
LCC from 2001-2003. Prior to that, Borger was associate
director of Arizona State University's Hispanic Border
Leadership Institute from 1999-2001 and was director of
resource development/college relations at Macomb Community
College from 1988-1999.
Borger received her master's degree in American civilization
from George Washington University and her bachelor's degree
in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
