Position: Head of Marketing + Brand, Partner

Preferred Propellant: Black Maple Hill Bourbon (red label, obviously)

Preferred Inanimate Red Object: Swedish Fish

Derek is a collaborative, strategic thinker who enjoys jumping head first into complex marketing and communication challenges. While his background and training are at the intersection of economics and marketing, his passion is for creative, well-orchestrated, and unexpected answers to common marketing problems.

While at Red Propeller, Derek has successfully led storytelling and brand integration into the built environment of high-rise, mid-rise and mixed-use residential communities, corporate office spaces, and adaptive re-use developments. As a marketing director he has branded and launched over 8,000 units of multifamily housing and directed hospitality and tourism marketing for destinations across North America.

Early on in his career, Derek happened upon an uncommonly diverse set of experiences. He ran a six-year communications campaign that successfully raised over $150M in federal and state funds to replace five unsafe and aging elementary schools on a military base.

His branding vision refocused and reshaped two of the Pacific Northwest’s most coveted restaurant chains, Ivar’s and Taco Time. Derek’s focus on well-planned campaign strategy led to the most successful public interest air pollution reduction campaigns for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Prior to joining Red Propeller, Derek was the director of visual communication and strategy at BCRA, a top design firm. He led a team of marketing project managers, graphic designers, copywriters and media buyers as they executed comprehensive marketing campaigns for clients in the retail, multi-family, education, non-profit and government sectors. Derek also served on BCRA’s leadership team, providing direction on firm strategic planning and operations.

As a way of getting his feet wet in the branding and marketing world prior to joining BCRA, Derek served as a project manager for High Point Solutions (now Masterworks). In his time there, he developed and managed email marketing campaigns, website UI/UX design, brand development and promotions for international non-profit organizations, including World Vision and Search Institute.