Our Experts
We’re former big agency leaders, corporate professionals and journalists whose expertise includes programs that communicate rapidly, succinctly and effectively across earned, owned, paid and shared channels.
Gardi Wilks is Founder and President of Wilks Group (WG) an award-winning woman owned marketing agency with locations in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Southwest Michigan. As a well-known marketing thought leader, she sets the agency’s strategic vision and client service approach while also leading engagements in the food & beverage, hospitality & tourism, nonprofit and corporate sectors.
She has led award-winning multi-channel campaigns that helped drive brand awareness and stakeholder engagement, build sales, and support client growth. She has held fractional CMO positions at a number of organizations and previously served as Interim CEO for a client during Covid in 2020. She specializes in consumer segmentation, audience mapping and human behavior insights with a customer-first philosophy toward every client engagement.
In addition to her agency work, Gardi has a long track record of community service and as a higher education leader. She was former chair of Housing Forward, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization serving the needs of thousands of unhoused individuals across Cook County, IL leading housing first and job development initiatives, and was formerly an adjunct professor in the journalism department at Ball State University, where her student-led agency won national honors for their work.
She has a master’s degree in journalism, public relations and advertising from Ball State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Calvin College.
Brad Wilks is Managing Director at Wilks Group (WG). A long-time marketing communications strategist, his career encompasses an extensive array of leadership positions at some of the world’s leading agencies in New York and Chicago. His expertise includes strategy development, business-to-business marketing, travel, tourism and hospitality, higher education, and crisis communications.
He previously served as head of the Chicago and Midwest offices of several major public relations agencies, including MSLGROUP, Ogilvy and Sard Verbinnen & Company. Among the clients over his career include McDonald’s Corporation, General Motors, British Petroleum, Kimberly Clark and W.W. Grainger.
Fluent in Spanish, he was responsible for overseeing campaigns to promote cultural and tourism destinations in Colombia, including Bogota, Cartegena and Medellin. In addition, on behalf of the Mexico Tourism Board, he led a program to advance tourism to key cultural and food destinations including Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Mexico City. He is a member of the International Travel Writers Association.
In addition to his client work, he has been active in supporting media visibility for such global nonprofits including World Vision, Living Water, Opportunity International and International Justice Mission and has supported crisis response for natural disasters and conflict zones.
He was formerly chair of Goodcity, a nonprofit promoting entrepreneurialism within BIPOC communities in the greater Chicagoland area, helping to incubate more than 200 organizations, many of which continue to thrive. He has a master’s degree from Ball State University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.
Sarah Hintze is Senior Vice President at WG helping to oversee a number of consumer and food accounts. With more than 10 years of experience she has led award-winning campaigns for GoPro, Kalahari Resorts and Oscar Mayer.
Prior to joining the firm, she spearheaded numerous communications marketing programs at Edelman including Super Bowl activities for Nationwide and cause marketing efforts for the Kimberly-Clark Huggies brand. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a minor in political science.
Brent Allen is a seasoned corporate and agency sales executive with extensive experience in food & beverage consulting. His deep understanding of the sales and strategic planning process and how they align to drive growth has enabled Wilks Group to create sustained value. He specializes in identifying channels for growth, securing team buy-in, and empowering stakeholders to embrace innovation as a path to growth and market expansion.
With a proven track record across a broad spectrum of business sectors, Brent has previously served in the roles of CEO, VP of Global Sales, and Managing Director. In addition, he has extensive international experience, working with clients from New Zealand, Britain, and Italy, helping them successfully launch and grow their presence in the American market and beyond.
Brent collaborates with Wilks Group to serve clients through programs that demonstrate the value of strategic marketing solutions to accelerate brand awareness and top-line growth. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.
Bozena Luczak is Senior Vice President of Operations at Wilks Group, overseeing business operations, finance, human resources, and IT. With over 20 years of experience, she improves processes, boosts efficiency, and supports the team’s success. Bozena holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and computer science from National Louis University.