Our Team

Howard Moggs

Founder / Chief Growth Officer

Howard Moggs is the founder of TEAM UNCOMMON, a collective of elite growth leaders dedicated to making C-level growth leadership accessible to independent creative agencies.

With over 23 years of business development expertise, Howard started his career in London, driving growth for boutique creative shops before ascending to lead business development for global agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi/Team One, Publicis Groupe, Trailer Park, ENGINE, and BUCK, in the United States. Through this journey, he saw a persistent challenge: the most talented creative agencies often weren’t the most successful. His mission is to change that.

At TEAM UNCOMMON, Howard helps agencies stand out, command premium fees, and win more often by bridging the gap between what agencies sell (creative services) and what clients actually buy (solutions to problems). This philosophy, “clients don’t buy services; they buy solutions”, is at the core of every strategy TEAM UNCOMMON delivers.

Since its launch in 2021, TEAM UNCOMMON has partnered with agencies including Giant Spoon, Zambezi, Brand New School, SpecialGuest, 1stAveMachine, FutureDeluxe, Group of Humans, Party Land, Cornett, Convicts, and Stink Studios.

Unlike traditional consultants, TEAM UNCOMMON works collaboratively alongside agencies, taking shared accountability for solving problems that slow or prevent growth, ensuring they achieve their desired business goals.

Howard lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Esther, and their two sons, Forest and Ralph.

Rishad Tobaccowala

Chief Growth ADVISOR

Rishad Tobaccowala is an author, speaker, teacher, and advisor with four decades of experience specializing in helping people, organizations and teams re-invent themselves to remain relevant in changing times. He specializes in unleashing talent and turbo-charging productivity by delivering perspectives, points of view, provocations and plans of action but no PowerPoints!

Rishad’s best-selling book “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data” was published globally by HarperCollins and focusses on helping people think, feel, and see differently about how to grow their companies, their teams and themselves in transformative times. The Economist Magazine called it perhaps the best recent book on stakeholder capitalism and Strategy Magazine named it among the five best business books and the marketing book of the year. Rishad’s weekly thought-letter, “The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past” is read by over 30,000 leaders every week across industries and around the world.

  • Rishad is currently working on his next book to be published globally by McGraw-Hill in 2024 tentatively titled “Re-Thinking Work” which will help leaders and companies adapt to the coming new world of work which is far more than the challenges of remote but will include demographic changes, AI and much more. Rishad is also the host of “What Next?” a podcast where he speaks with a range of leaders across business, technology, academia, and the arts on how to make sense of the cultural, social, and business changes transforming us all.

    Rishad speaks on change, future trends and transforming work forces to a range of industries from platforms (Google, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Snap, Tik-Tok), to technology (Akamai, Juniper Networks, Intuit) media ( NY Times, Conde Nast, Univision, Paramount, NBCU), to blue chip firms ( Walmart, Procter and Gamble, H&R Block, Bayer, Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive) to Financial Firms (Zurich Financial, Bank of America, Citibank) to Industry Associations (Blue Cross Blue Shield, Illinois Department of Tourism, US Olympics, Radio Advertising Bureau, Outdoor Advertising Association).

    Rishad’s advisory clients include global firms such as Publicis Groupe and many executives at Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, private equity organizations such as Growth Catalyst Partners, Venture Capital firms such as Abundant Ventures and Greycroft, and technology platforms such as Crisp, Firework, Quilt, Shift Paradigm, Dumbstruck, Work Reduce, Spores Networks.

    Rishad spent nearly four decades at Publicis Groupe an 80,000-employee firm comprising companies like Epsilon, Sapient, Digitas, Leo Burnett, Saatchi and Saatchi, Starcom and Zenith dedicated to delivering marketing and business transformation. Before Rishad stopped being a full-time employee with Publicis Groupe (where he remains active as a Senior Advisor) he was Publicis Groupe’s Global Chief Strategist and Growth Officer and served on its Management Committee.

    Rishad has also been the Chairman of Digitas and Razorfish, two of the largest marketing transformation agencies in the world with over 11000 employees.

    Over his 40-year career Tobaccowala has worked across almost every area of marketing and strategy including brand advertising, media, database, direct and interactive marketing. As a pioneer in digital marketing, Tobaccowala helped create one of the first interactive groups and digital agencies 25 years ago and has helped launch a series of initiatives over the years from groups focused on gaming, social, mobile and search engine marketing.  Starcom IP, Play, Giant Step, SMG Search and Denuo are some of the brands Tobaccowala helped incubate.

    Tobaccowala was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators. He is the Ad Age Interactive Hall of Fame and has received a lifetime achievement silver medal award from the Chicago Ad Federation, an Inspire Award for motivating and building talent from the Advertising Education Foundation and the Association of National Advertisers and was named an Advertising Legend by the Advertising Club of New York.

    Rishad is also is chairman of The Tobaccowala Foundation, which helps over 10,000 people gain better access to health and education in India.

    Tobaccowala holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago with which he remains closely involved.

MATTHEW ANDERSON

CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER

Matthew brings over 25 years of agency experience, with 15 as a C-level leader (CMO, CGO and COO) at some of the world's most respected agencies: Deutsch NY, Publicis, Code and Theory, MMC, BBH , Havas and Harper + Scott.

Whether as a dedicated leader or a consultant, he has worked with agencies ranging from 10 employees to 1,000+. He's also worked across disciplines including full service, creative boutiques, PR, media, experiential and design. Throughout his career, he has help agencies achieve more than $1B in top-line growth.

Having a Marketing + Growth + Operations background, Matthew examines all aspects for how an agency goes to market, from positioning and targeting to structural and process improvements. His focus is on bringing more intentional and scalable growth, while removing organizational barriers that limit potential.

  • Matthew is a passionate team-builder and collaborator with a low-ego approach that brings out the best in people. He has directly led cross-functional teams ranging from 2-50+, always helping to foster a growth mindset and empowering individuals to become “owners.”

    He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids, and a couple of furry friends.

andi cross

CHIEF Growth OFFICER

Andi Cross has a background in venture, growth, digital, marketing, brand and communications. She's held roles at both large-scale and startup organizations—helping enterprise businesses differentiate and evolve, in addition to moving founders from ideas to businesses. 

As a growth strategist, Andi collaborates with established venture capitalists, startup studios and agencies globally, developing and executing holistic strategies for high-growth initiatives. She acts as an extension of their leadership team or serves as an advisor to startups.

Prior to this, she was the VP of Strategic Growth at Huge—a leading digital design agency. In this role she oversaw the global business development and strategic operations teams. Her core function was to ensure the agency’s 12 offices were on track for rapid growth, while also operationalizing the business development discipline. She also helped build out the business and brand strategy offerings, as well as a new venture arm alongside C-Suite. She was showcased in Business Insider’s “Meet 35 rising stars of Madison Avenue who are revolutionizing advertising” for her work at Huge.

  • Andi was the Head of Strategy & Business Development at Axcess Worldwide—a marketing strategy agency with expertise in luxury & lifestyle. She helped transform the business into a full-service agency—expanding beyond luxury into the world of mass marketing. Her client portfolio included brands such as Coca-Cola, Seagram's Ginger Ale, Fanta, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Las Vegas Sands Corp., Intercontinental Hotels Group, Jamba Juice, Majestic Steel, Hyundai, Fisker Automotive, Norwegian Cruise Lines, etc.

    During her time at Axcess Worldwide, she co-founded a lifestyle company—Bad Kids Collective—that ran successfully for five years. The company focused on dance music culture in metropolitan markets and consisted of three units—event production, fast fashion and content creation. The business was started online and saw rapid expansion. Andi was featured in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Elite Daily, Time Magazine, The Today Show & Buzzfeed for work in entrepreneurship, venture, innovation and disruptive strategy.

    In the early stages of her career, Andi held roles at Ogilvy & Mather in Business Development and Victoria's Secret Beauty in Product Development & Creative Operations. In 2009, she graduated from The George Washington University with a BBA. She studied abroad in Milan, Italy and has multiple certificates from Harvard Business School's HBX program in leadership and entrepreneurship. She was recently accepted into National Geographic’s Explorers Club for her work in ocean conservation.

    Splitting her time between Australia and America, Andi is an avid adventurer and explorer in her career and personal life, with a passion for travel, scuba diving, and anything that brings her closer to the ocean.

cathy saidiner

Chief operations OFFICER

Cathy Saidiner is an expert at leading brands, agencies and people through transformation and business growth. With a unique blend of C-suite client- and agency-side experience, she has an innate understanding of how to build and operate agencies to deliver what modern marketers need.

As CEO, President, Global Managing Director, and VP Global Marketing and Publishing, she has nearly three decades of creating positive business results highlighted by outstanding achievements for some of the world’s most loved and innovative brands and agencies. Along the way, she’s been honored with marketing's top effectiveness and creative awards.

An expert strategist, capability builder and operator across the full marketing suite, Cathy leverages experiences ranging from the cultural immediacy of Gaming to the deep consideration of Automotive to deliver insightful solutions for brands and agencies. She’s built and managed teams across EMEA, APAC and Americas, improving productivity and enabling exceptional results across diverse cultural and operating environments.

  • She has led global brand and digital transformations for Dove, Nissan, Pedigree, and Riot Games. She has built and led future-facing teams and business model transformation in agencies such as Ogilvy, McCann and TBWA\Chiat\Day. She grew and sold BLITZ, an innovative onmi-channel digital agency that specialized in leading its clients into the digital future.

    Her brand portfolio also includes Adobe, Disney Parks, Naked Juice, Kia, Primrose Schools, Northrop Grumman, Pioneer Home Electronics, Infiniti, Visa, Naked Juice, VIZIO, IHOP, and Nestle beverages.

    As a C-suite partner, Cathy drives accountability while propelling innovation, creativity and business results. Cathy is known for "seeing around corners" and cultivating high performing teams that are inspired to deliver at their full potential.

jarrett dube

CHIEF Growth OFFICER

Jarrett Dube is a marketing executive with 20 + years of experience across the sports, technology, entertainment, CPG and lifestyle categories, both domestic and international at or with some of the world’s most iconic brands and agency partners including Samsung, Nike, Coca-Cola, American Express, ESPN, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics, Creative Artists Agency, Wieden + Kennedy, Grey Advertising & Digitas.

Jarrett spent a number of years at ESPN in the Consumer Marketing Division overseeing notable campaigns such as ESPN’s flagship “This is SportsCenter” campaign, ESPN’s “Is It Monday Yet” campaign when ESPN acquired the rights to Monday Night Football as well as for the NBA, MLB, and across ESPN’s College Sports portfolio. From there, Jarrett went on to oversee Nike’s U.S. marketing efforts at Wieden + Kennedy including all “Just Do It” branded work, the 2008 Olympics Campaign, the Kobe “Car Jump” that took over culture, in addition to working with LeBron James and a host of other athletes across all of the Nike categories (Nike Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Men’s & Women’s Training, Livestrong) to continue to create inspiration for the Nike brand and drive the business across various product launches.

  • Following that, Jarrett spent three years overseeing Nike’s marketing efforts for Greater China, post the 2008 Beijing Olympics helping to take over the leadership position for Nike as the #1 brand across the entire region. From there, he went on to Creative Artists Agency to help lead iconic brands such as Coca-Cola & Google, developing marketing strategies and notable campaigns that helped insert these and other notable brands into popular culture through a number of entertainment led initiatives, while also advising CAA Sports clients on how to best grow their brands and win in the China marketplace.

    Post CAA, Jarrett spent five years at Samsung helping to lead its efforts in the VR category in addition to Samsung’s Mobile, Services and Connected living divisions. Going back to his sport, entertainment and technology roots, he then consulted for a couple of years leading the launch of Caesars Sportsbook in the U.S, then with Fanatics Betting & Gaming, eShare, as well as with iHeart Media. Previously, he was also the Chief Marketing Officer for TMRW Sports, where he developed the overall marketing strategy and brand for TGL, a new tech-infused golf venture co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

    Jarrett’s work across these iconic brands has led to a myriad of awards at some of marketing’s most prestigious shows including Cannes Lions, the Effie’s and the One Show in addition to being a member of the leadership team at Samsung when the brand was awarded Marketer of the Year by Cannes in 2016.

    Jarrett was born in Massachusetts, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and has lived in Boston, New York, Portland, Shanghai and now Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

KARINE SHAHAR

CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

An executive, entrepreneur and innate leader, Karine Shahar’s strength lies in her intuitive ability to read people and coach through her deep understanding of team cohesion, dynamics, and interpersonal relations.

Karine is a seasoned coach with 20+ years of “People Operations” experience working across diverse industries in 36 countries. Driven by out-of-the-box thinking paired with empathy and collaboration, Karine helps people and companies reach their full potential through organizational design, culture, recruitment, behavioral analytics, change management, compliance, employee engagement and mentoring HR teams.

Her true passion and superpower lies in her work with behavior analytics where she is able to get to the core of team cohesion, dynamics, engagement and interpersonal relations. By combining her strengths, Karine has the ability to imagine how an organization would best flourish and then constructs a team and processes where people and teams harness their strengths, leading to an overall impact that is seen and felt immediately. Her time at Media Arts Lab (Apple’s dedicated creative agency) was a pivotal experience in her career. 

LARS BASTHOLM

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER

Lars Bastholm is a vastly experienced advertising & media professional, previously serving as Chief Creative Officer at Google, AKQA and Ogilvy. 

His work as creative director has won a multitude of international awards, including 3 Grand Prix at The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

He has contributed to 4 books about digital advertising published by Taschen and recently published the book “Animals on the Verge” made in collaboration with Midjourney.

He is passionate about the intersection of storytelling, brands and technology.

ELIZABETH ROSENBERG

CHIEF REPUTATION OFFICER

Elizabeth Rosenberg is an entrepreneur, charismatic leader and visionary who drives authentic change and purposeful impact through her work. As the founder of The Good Advice Company, a marketing and communications consultancy, and with more than two decades of experience working with some of the most innovative brands and leaders in the world, Elizabeth taps her knowledge, intuition and truths to uncover and amplify purpose and ownable narratives.

Clients include executives at Google, Apple, NWSL, Nike, GSK, Riot Games, Kimberly Clark, amongst others and many of these leaders have been featured in top publications including Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and on Forbes annual CMO list.

Based in Los Angeles, Elizabeth is currently writing and speaking about purpose and spiritual health at work and truly believes there is a future where wellness, intuition and the corporate world collide.

adrian barrow

CHIEF BRAND OFFICER

Adrian is an accomplished brand strategist with over 25 years of experience spanning diverse B2B and B2C industries, including luxury, technology, telecommunications, financial services, media, entertainment, and retail.

He has held senior strategy roles at top global agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, Team One, Saatchi & Saatchi, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and most recently as Head of Strategy and Brand Transformation at R/GA, where he led the Connected Brands practice.

His expertise encompasses the full spectrum of brand innovation - from visioning, audience insights, cultural relevance, digital engagement, membership, and community building. He has become a prominent thought leader on leveraging code and culture to build brands that don't just make promises to customers but create tangible value for them.

  • Adrian co-authored the bestselling business book Legacy In The Making. His work has earned him awards from the UK Direct Marketing Association, Effie Worldwide, the AAAA's Jay Chiat Awards, and the ARF's David Ogilvy Awards.

    Despite the profound challenges facing the world, Adrian remains optimistic about the future and the potential for brands and people to make a positive impact.

KELLY GODFREY

CHIEF Growth OFFICER

A senior marketer and strategic executive for fast-growth tech, Kelly’s career spans 16+ years in marketing and regional leadership roles for both established and emerging consumer and B2B brands. Kelly has led marketing, growth and go-to-market for technology companies spanning the UK, ANZ, US and APAC including Ancestry, Go1 and StockX.

Starting out agency side in the UK, Kelly learned early-on the importance of a strong agency-client relationship and collaborative ways of working to drive business success. Creative, innovative and results-driven, Kelly has broad experience building & leading both internal and external teams, proven success in customer acquisition, brand development, localising customer experiences, and driving strong market growth.

DOUG ZANGER

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

If you ask Doug Zanger where he is in his career, he'll tell you that he's started Act Three. This stage is all about passion in service for the industry's talent, agencies and brands doing good in the world. 

Zanger is the founder of Indie Agency News - a global home for independent agencies that serves the brilliant people behind them. Fiercely loyal to his region, He's also the executive director of ThinkNW, an organization dedicated to creative and marketing growth in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, he teaches in the School of Business at Portland State University and consults companies on strategic narrative and visibility.

Anchoring it all is a consulting practice focused on strategic narratives and visibility for agencies, brands and talent. 

  • Act Two saw Zanger in the ad industry trades as an editor at Adweek and The Drum. He spent five years at Stillwell Partners, helping build the Advertising Week event profile in social media and content development. Zanger also had a stint at The Martin Agency as brand and purpose communications director.

    The springboard to the latter acts began early in his career. Starting in global banking and retail at Nike (while waiting tables at both), Zanger landed in radio, where he built in-house agencies, won a few awards and cut his teeth waking up at 3 a.m. as a morning show producer. 

    Zanger lives outside Portland, Oregon, with his wife, a lacrosse-crazed teenager, a horse-riding tweener, and a precocious Golden Retriever.

Tessa Hayward

Growth Program Director

Tessa Hayward is a strategic growth professional dedicated to helping modern brands and entrepreneurs build legacy and loyalty by telling authentic stories that matter.

A creative at heart, Tessa has garnered a diverse skillset in business development, marketing, public relations, and strategic communications while working at top-tier advertising agencies like Team One (Los Angeles) and Huge (Brooklyn).

Prior to going agency side, she launched her career in production and development as a creative producer for Nickelodeon International/MTV Networks, Sydney Theatre Company, and Yellow Creative Management, among others.

Tessa holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University and a Master of Arts from The University of Sydney. She lived in Florida, Boston, Sydney and New York before proclaiming Southern California as home in 2019.

An avid SCUBA diver and life-long ocean advocate, she is also co-founder of MerMade Plastics LLC, a sustainability company devoted to solving the ocean plastics problem.

michelle ora melamed

Growth Program Director

Michelle earned her B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley, which laid the foundation for a dynamic career in communication and marketing. She began her professional journey as an Account Executive in Advertising, representing iconic brands like Patrón Tequila and California Avocados, where she developed a passion for innovative marketing strategies.

Transitioning into the tech industry, Michelle co-founded a SaaS startup, taking on the role of “Jane of All Trades” with a focus on marketing and operations. Her leadership helped the team win first place in the 2020 New Venture Seed Pitch Competition, resulting in a $30K grand prize that fueled the company’s growth.

  • Driven by the desire to be a part of the ever-changing cultural, professional, and academic landscapes, Michelle pursued an M.S. in Integrated Business, Technology, and Design from the University of Southern California, graduating in 2022. Most recently, she served as a Software Sales Account Executive for startups in the Supply Chain and Logistics space, further honing her skills in sales and strategy.

    With a wealth of experience in advertising, marketing, sales, and operations, Michelle is dedicated to leveraging her knowledge to help businesses effectively market, sell, and scale. She believes in the power of storytelling, innovative solutions and a strong foundation to drive growth and is passionate about guiding organizations through the complexities of the modern business landscape.

JAMIE FiTZGERALD

Growth Program Director

Jamie Fitzgerald is an agency growth consultant at Uncommon, dedicated to helping creative agencies thrive through strategic insights and personalized guidance. With a background in communications, Jamie blends her experience in marketing, client relations, and business development to help agencies thrive.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Tulane University, Jamie moved to New York City, where she worked with international marketing firms, boutique agencies, and up-and-coming nonprofits. She has led global campaigns around scientific research and ocean exploration, secured and managed multinational brand and media partnerships, and helped raise millions for marine conservation.

At Uncommon, Jamie focuses on creating tailored growth strategies, fostering impactful partnerships, and building robust roadmaps that align with each agency’s unique vision. Jamie’s extensive experience with brands, nonprofits, and small teams makes her a dynamic leader in agency growth--bringing a collaborative, impact-driven approach to every partnership.

A scuba diver, conservationist, nature lover, and bookworm, Jamie devotes her free time to cause-based organizations. You can find her on the beach in Jupiter, Florida or Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

MARLA TOMORUG

DESIGNER

Marla’s professional journey is rooted in the realm of digital marketing, graphic design, and photography. With a wealth of experience in helping brands grow through establishing and enhancing their visual identity, Marla has a keen eye for what makes a brand resonate in the hearts and minds of its audience. Her approach integrates visual storytelling with strategic design, ensuring that each brand she works with not only stands out but also authentically represents its core values. 

Over the past three years, Marla has focused on conscious travel and ocean impact, using creativity as a compass to illuminate the interplay between humanity and our fragile blue ecosystems. When not behind her computer, Marla can be found surfing, diving and exploring our beautiful blue planet.