The Deep End: Authors
Brent Robertson
You know that place where left and right brain meet? No—it’s not just the corpus callosum! It’s Brent Robertson’s sweet spot.
Brent is Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of Fathom. He designs, builds stuff out of wood, can throw a mean pot, and has the magical ability to fix almost anything merely by glancing in its direction. The bonus? He can accomplish it all while doing some light philosophical reading and mapping out strategic pathways for Fathom’s next evolution.
Though he’s wired like a creative, Brent approaches business with the sensibility and aptitude of a seasoned entrepreneur. Clients and business leaders, colleagues, artists and philanthropists alike go to Brent when they want to discuss new opportunities and dive boldly (but safely!) into the future. When not at Fathom, Brent can be found at conferences and events speaking on emerging trends of industry and culture in a crowd-driven business.
A University of Hartford alum, Brent is a Hartford Business Journal 40 Under 40 and Business Champions award winner. He currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Trustees for the University of Hartford and on the Board of Directors of the AIGA.
Bruce Kaechele
When the Fathom team is knee-deep in strategy and reaches a critical moment, it’s pretty common to hear the phrase, "Get Bruce."
As Fathom's Creative Director, Bruce Kaechele brings an approach as artistic as it is logical to every project. In his past life as creative director for other agencies, Bruce worked on campaigns for brands like Unilever, Dannon and Coca-Cola. His experience with crafting brand concepts for products has served Fathom clients well as he brings a smart, fresh perspective to all the industries we serve, from not-for-profit to retail.
Bruce’s innate sense of timing and near-saintly patience help him lead the creative team on all fronts from vision to message. Bruce has a knack for finding the most brilliant nugget in a current of creative gold, scooping it up and polishing it down to the shine. When helping set the stage for brand experiences that keeps audiences coming back, clients and Fathomites turn to Bruce. Lucky for us, when we say,"Get Bruce," he's there at the ready (or at least at the pinball machine).
Suzi Craig
Leading the charge for marketing and outreach for Fathom and its clients, Suzi is the team's social butterfly and night owl. If there's a must-attend event, she's either running it, working it or speaking at it.
Professionally, Suzi's worn many hats. She’s been a reporter and an event planner, and she’s a published author, too. As a hungry and budgetless entrepreneur with only grassroots marketing tactics at her disposal, she co-founded group88, a flex-time meeting and office space for independent professionals. Suzi has the ability to really hear a challenge and examine it from every angle, plus the energy to concentrate her immense amount of resources to create connections that fling open the door to opportunity.
At Fathom, Suzi brings her experience in grassroots marketing, social media and event planning to help build fan followings for the company and our clients. She crafts everything from social media strategy to PR that sticks. Suzi also leads discussions throughout the region on how organizations can foster inspired communities of active champions.
Joe Philippon
If you want the latest on what’s going down at Fathom (or pretty much anywhere else), Joe’s your man. A long-time Fathomite, father of two, political junkie and all-purpose wiseman, Joe is a walking, talking, warm-hearted hyperlink.
As Director of Web Development, Joe is the center of our online universe when it comes to ensuring everything works and that when it goes out the door, it’s just the way we want it. As comfortable with the big picture as he is with the smallest details, Joe helps us stay on track and keep everything in perspective.
With Joe's wealth of knowledge of both print and web, we often turn to him for answers on the best way to save clients money, save us time and save everyone some headaches. And if Joe doesn't know the answer, there's always that Internet thing.
Louisa Handle
Adding to Fathom's unique cast is Louisa Desson, our Director of Strategic Marketing & Content Development. With a Master's in Journalism from Stanford and a mind as keen as an obsidian-edged blade (look it up—it’s even sharper than steel!), Louisa keeps her eye on the details without ever losing sight of the big picture—and how it can change. We’re lucky to have this sharp and thoughtful wordsmith on our clients' side (and ours too).
A natural explorer, Louisa approaches her day as if she's traveling unknown lands, enthusiasm and fresh eye included. This curiosity translates into her strategic thinking and writing, the basis for which is the personal, hands-on approach she uses to get to know our clients before ever putting pen to paper. Skilled at uncovering the facts that make a compelling story, Louisa has an intuitive sense of just the right question to ask and what sets a client apart from their competition.
At Fathom, Louisa applies her flair for cooking substance with style to content creation and SEO plans that get results, and she’s essential to creative planning sessions with the Fathom team and clients. But don’t ask her to pull out your stitches or help bandage any wounds—carnage is her only weakness.
Ben Callaghan
It’s true: he hunts, he fishes, and he’s avoided consumption by hungry bears, but Fathom’s Art Director, Ben Callaghan, is far more than an avid outdoorsman. Ben’s got boatloads of artistic talent and a sense for the visually harmonious that could inspire jealousy in the most discerning of aesthetes. Essentially, he’s Davy Crockett in designer jeans.
For Ben, great design isn’t great unless it works. He has the admirable ability to hear a need, see the right solution, and craft inspiring, beautiful concepts that make as much sense as they do excitement. A practical strategist with the heart of an artistic advocate, we trust to Ben to guide Fathom’s creative team on identity, web and print projects that have both purpose and soul.
With clients, Ben isn't afraid to ask the tough questions and typically prefers to work with people who will fire them right back. In every project, Ben continues to surprise us by finding unique, spot-on approaches to visually conveying a brand’s essence and message. Plus, he keeps us in crazy wildlife stories, for which we’re eternally grateful.
Michelle Bashaw
Ever know one of those really cool, hip moms who just seem to be a magnet for style? We do. A brand new mom of baby girl Riley, lead designer Michelle Bashaw's natural instinct for being the stylish Fathomite ever hasn't waned one ounce. Step into Michelle's office at Fathom and suddenly you're transported to a fun, kitschy Greenwich Village shop where all guests are welcome.
With an eye for cultural and stylistic trends and an unmistakable style of her own, Michelle understands how to shape fresh, innovative designs while remaining true to the spirit of the brand. Clients gravitate toward Michelle’s thoughtfully conceived and tailored designs well-versed in color, detail and “feel,” that, while appearing uncomplicated, carry deeper meaning below the surface.
Fathom’s flea market maven, Michelle has been known to scour local yard sales for the best of finds and bring them to their final resting place in her funky office (and home, of course). She also continually astounds with the most original and elaborate of theme-party costumes. Michelle holds a B.A. in Graphic Design from Central Connecticut State University.
Jennifer Ford
If Fathom were a circus (or should we say "when"?), Jenn is our ringmaster, juggler and high wire act. Her role is to keep us on track by managing our work flow in all areas of interactive, brand strategy and design projects. As sunny as her native Florida, Jenn takes on these great feats with the ease of a ballerina gliding effortlessly through the air and a fearless lion tamer with only a whip and a smile to keep danger at bay.
It’s hard to imagine how we got anything done before she arrived and we're pretty sure we didn't eat either. If there's something home baked in the kitchen, there's a good chance Jenn had a hand in it. When she isn’t flexing her administrative muscle in the office or baking at home, Jennifer likes to hit the gym for a spinning class, head outside for a walk to see the New England foliage, and travel to new places. A dedicated Florida Gators fan, Jennifer received her B.A. in advertising from the University of Florida.
Caitlin Schiller
Our former full-time writer turned foreign correspondent, Caitlin is our virtuoso of vocabulary and goddess of grammar. From thoughtful interviews with clients to her ability to strike just the right tone and style for a brochure, Caitlin demonstrates a tremendous range with the written word and wise observations of human nature that make it ring true.
We are sad to see Caitlin leave Fathom’s physical environs, but like mama birds proud to see one of their own take flight, we are happy she has found a home in Madrid, Spain where she’s working toward total Spanish fluency (and a Master’s degree). At this point, we’re kind of inured to her going—this marks the third time she’s left Fathom for Iberian lullabies—but are glad that she’s extending Fathom’s European offices from Poland and Germany to Spain.
Now we interact with Caitlin from afar (and with fewer tears as time treks on) and wait anxiously for her contributions to The Deep End, a word of the day or an outrageously funny video that cracks up even the dourest of Fathomites.
