Who we are

Jon Stamell, the firm’s founder has 25+ years of experience in market research, strategic planning and marketing, including international consulting, expansion and acquisitions, market research, brand management, image enhancement, e-commerce and multi-media. He formerly was cofounder of Communitas Online LLC and CEO of the largest advertising and pr firm in Northern New England. He has been profiled by CNN and CNBC, is the author of Celebrate Your Mistakes and FutureShift 2010. He has spoken many times in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia on industry and country branding.

Jon received his B.A. from the University of Michigan, did graduate work at Harvard University and received an M.B.A. from the University of Maine. On the side, he is a published cartoonist and his cartoons, taking a satirical look at business and technology, can be found at Gigundo Industries and in various publications.

Lidija Markes, has over ten year of experience working in web development. She worked for five years in a Public Relations department of a large metropolitan university and has worked on freelance basis with a wide variety of businesses on developing their web content and social networking presence.

Lidija holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and International Politics and is currently pursuing an MBA. Lidija’s skills include web development (HTML, PHP, MYSQL), graphic design (Photoshop, InDesign), database creation and management. Over the last two years, Lidija has also spent a lot of time developing various aspects of online social networking including blogs (Wordpress, Movable Type, Joomla) and site such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter.

César Hernández, before coming to futureshift, César worked for Interbrand, the largest global branding agency as a consultant in the verbal identity department. His experience includes messaging, corporate communications, brand strategy and architecture, naming and tagline development, brand management, interactive marketing and market research.

Originally from Madrid, Spain, he has also lived in Venezuela, Belgium and now the United States – giving him a unique understanding of different cultures and needs. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, On the side, César is an aspiring stand-up comedian and is a frequent flyer at karaoke bars across New York City.