 Meet the talented individuals that make up our award-winning team at the Energy Annex. |
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  Founder |
The energy that powers Kay Allison is the electricity of consumer insight igniting the explosive power of innovation. Kay’s early career at two top-tier advertising agencies honed her skills at engaging consumers and identifying their oftentimes hidden motivations. Not only was she adept at achieving understanding when others gave up in frustration, Kay always made it look so effortless. Where some researchers built castles of complexity, Kay insisted on referring to her work simply as “conversations.” Yet whenever agency creative directors were presented with particularly vexing and complex consumer issues, they often sang a common refrain: “Can we get Kay involved?” In 1999, Kay’s pursuit of consumer insight and innovation went entrepreneurial: She founded The Energy Infuser located in a significantly renovated loft—dubbed The Energy Annex—on Chicago’s near-west side. Her vision was to assemble a team of experienced marketing-idea people who shared her zeal and her consumer sensitivities; create an innovative physical environment that would contribute to the quality of focused consumer conversations; bring clients into the ideation process as co-collaborators; and as a consequence of all this, to build a business whose twin products would be privileged consumer insight and innovative marketing ideas arising from it. Today, The Energy Infuser is a highly successful, bustling, insight-and-idea enterprise with a feel and provenance all its own. Kay—in person and in spirit—is part of every single project. Collaboration and bonhomie pervade the workspace. Walls and doors are few; laughter and excited idea-chatter are common. In room settings as comfortable as one’s own home, consumers may be drawing cartoons about their secret food appetites… or creating iPod playlists for competing energy drinks… or matching liquor brands to different guests at a party. Marketing people from major consumer-product and service companies are routinely part of this scene, and very much part of the action. And from all this energy erupt the innovative ideas that have helped generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for those clients. Whenever Kay is complimented about building The Energy Infuser into a resource unique in the marketing-services world, she always responds the same way. “Conversations with consumers,” she says with a smile, “can be very rewarding.” |
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Together with Kay Allison, John Donicht started the Energy Annex and has guided it through several years of exponential growth. He is responsible for its smooth operation and the well-being of all who enter. Before partnering with Kay, he co-founded a B2B internet company and traded steel and agricultural commodities for five years. He still heads a successful publishing company specializing in commodities information. To relax, John bikes hills, skis moguls, and counts cards while playing blackjack. (Yes, he finds this stuff relaxing.) Foreshadowing his adult life as an entrepreneur, when he was a twelve-year-old country club caddy in Wayzata, Minnesota he would wade into the golf course ponds at night to recover lost balls, and then sell them the next day. John earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and is very proud that he paid part of his tuition by being an iron worker. You'll see this early job experience reflected in his ready smile, attentive listening and nerves of steel. |
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  Project Director & Day Manager |
Mary Elizabeth Smith embodies positivity and has a contagious work ethic that baffles the mind. Originally from Dallas, Mary moved to the Midwest to attend St. Louis University, where she majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. After graduating, Mary moved up north to Chicago, eventually blessing the Energy Annex with her exceptional skills, filling various roles as the company has grown. With such a sunny disposition, it should be no surprise that Mary’s favorite place on earth is the beach. As her skin burns easily, she is not hard to miss. Just look for the freckle adorned woman with a book in one hand and a bottle of SPF100 sun block in the other. When not at work or at the beach, Mary enjoys trying new craft beers on her porch and taking walks with her husband and their awesome basset hound, Miss Moneypenny. |
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  Project Director |
Kat Koelbl has the gift of effortlessly fusing her thoughtful, upbeat nature with a mastery of organization and diligence. Her proactive approach to customer service and her knowledge of marketing serve to simplify the lives of our clients. Kat possesses many skills that cannot be taught, but managed to expand her skill-set at Monmouth College, where she majored in both Communications and Public Relations with a minor in Business Administration. In addition to being a member of the Energy Annex team, Kat helps the city move more smoothly by volunteering for the Active Transportation Alliance, an organization dedicated to bettering conditions for biking, walking, and transit. If you ask Kat about her ideal day, she will gladly let you know, “Any day that incorporates bicycling, reading and hot cup of tea is a good day in my book”. With her uncanny ability to multi-task, it may be possible to catch her doing all three, simultaneously. |
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  Night Manager |
Dan Darrah has many talents that help him to anticipate the needs of clients and regularly exceed their expectations. He majored in Film at The University of Illinois at Chicago and played on the school’s baseball team. After college, he studied improvisational acting at Chicago’s Second City and Improv Olympics, and helped cofound the Playground Theatre. Dan is also an accomplished musician who has toured the country and played in countless legendary venues. The worlds of baseball, film, and music came together on the set “A League of Their Own” when Dan spent an entire afternoon playing catch with Madonna, a pretty tough client, in preparation for her role in the film. However, this certainly did not go to his head, as Dan is a down-to-earth guy who loves spending time with his wife, Dana, and their three children. |
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  Assistant Manager |
Zeek is a modern day Renaissance man. His optimism, along with his unique ability to learn just about anything in an incredibly short amount of time, helps keep the Energy Annex running as smoothly as it does. Zeek majored in Marketing at Northern Illinois University with a minor in Finance. He started a visual arts company when he was only eighteen years old, which has represented clients such as the Chicago Public Schools, Coca-Cola, and the American Diabetes Association. Zeek has done everything from managing Grammy winning music producers to having his artwork featured in Lincoln Navigator commercials. He believes anything is possible and has the resourcefulness to back it up. When Zeek is not learning Portuguese during the free-fall of his first time sky-diving, he may be lifting weights, painting a mural, consulting a new business, watching a documentary, skiing, or traveling with his wife, just to name a few. |
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  Director of First Impressions |
Kwesi Grant-Acquah is a talented communicator and a picture of consummate professionalism. He is always cool, calm, and collected and these qualities help to put everyone around him at ease. Kwesi grew up playing the piano and was also a talented athlete, excelling in both baseball and basketball. This was truly early evidence of Kwesi’s capacity to be exceptionally well-rounded. Kwesi currently majors in Radio/TV Broadcasting at Lewis University, where he hosts his own weekly radio show, utilizing his many connections in the Chicago music and nightlife scene. In fact, he periodically hosts events and constantly has his finger on the pulse of Chicago culture. If you want to know what’s going on tonight in Chicago, Kwesi is your guy. You can always recognize him by his distinct voice. Some people tell him he sounds like Barry White, while others say he sounds like the guy from the All State commercials. Either way, with Kwesi, you’re in good hands. |
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1123 West Washington Boulevard , Floor 3 Chicago, IL 60607 Phone: (312) 733-2639 Fax: (312) 733-2551 E-mail: info@energyannex.com