03.9.2019

Laura McClure

Detail-oriented, logical and dependable, Ascend’s financial guru Laura McClure is at the core of our business planning and analysis. Working mostly behind the scenes, Laura ─ an accountant by trade ─ approaches problems with a strong analytical background, providing well-thought-out solutions. As the company’s Financial Manager, Laura has kept Ascend on a steady path, keeping us on solid financial footing at all times.

Laura is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. A lifelong learner, she’s expanded her role for Ascend into our many SharePoint projects, taking advantage of her background in software development.

She describes working at Ascend as enjoyable due to the array of challenges that keep her learning and growing.

Drew Lillie

Bringing a wealth of product marketing and program management experience to Ascend from the telecommunications, retail energy and packaged goods industries, Drew Lillie has over 20 years of hands-on, client-side experience developing and implementing successful marketing strategies, offers and programs for both Fortune 500 companies and mid-size firms.

Positive, inquisitive, and supportive, Drew has a passion for identifying pertinent customer insights that can help to enhance the customer experience and to drive incremental business.

Drew earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida and an MBA with concentrations in Marketing, Finance and International Business from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In between earning his degrees, he spent a couple of years as a commercial banker in southwest Florida, developing a strong preference for beachfront real estate deals!

Married with a daughter and a son, Drew enjoys reading, spending time with family, and sports, particularly hockey. No doubt, being the son of Canadian parents and spending a large portion of his childhood in Minnesota means he comes by this passion for hockey honestly! In fact, introducing the sport to his kids and teaching his son to play the game continues a long-time, family legacy with hockey…even in the heat of Texas! They hope to see the Dallas Stars win another Stanley Cup before too long!

Vamshidhar Keesara

Ambitious, confident, and hardworking, Vamshidhar Reddy Keesara is a quick study when it comes to new technology and business requirements.

Vamshidhar is skilled at working with many technologies and job functions, such as SQL Database Management, Power BI, Java Operating Systems (Linux, Windows, OS X), and Tableau. Vamshidhar came to Ascend from the University of Houston (UH), where he was a graduate assistant. Prior to that, he earned a Master’s Degree of Science in Computer and System Engineering from UH. Before being accepted into UH’s coveted program, he attended Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering. While attending school in India, he won the nationwide Technical Quiz hosted by the Nettur Technical Training Foundation.

In the years since, Vamshidhar has started living out his dream of visiting new places and making new friends, as well as launching his professional career at Ascend. “This is a place where I can use the technical skills I have acquired,” he says. “Even more important, I can learn new technologies, which is very important in the fast-changing world in which we live.”

Ujjwal Vinnakota

Yazhini Nandakumar

Ujjwal Vinnakota

Yazhini Nandakumar

Steve Judge

Steve Judge comes to Ascend with over 30 years in advertising and marketing ─ much of it from the agency side. He understands how to connect with customers using visual technology.

Working with a great number of verticals and Fortune 500 clients over his illustrious career, Steve has great insight into how marketing departments work and how they need help. Coupled with his marketing prowess, Steve’s functional management skills include account management, creative, IT, production, finance and HR.

Steve’s Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts is from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Linda, have five kids (four boys and a girl) ─ all out of college and successfully launched! Steve loves travel, golf, theater, reading, “sampling” wine and the symphony.

Stephanie Perks

Tina Page

Stephanie Perks

Tina Page

Rich Herbst

Founding Ascend in 2004, Managing Director Rich Herbst provides the visionary leadership behind our unique approach to marketing services, based on more than 30 years of experience in marketing and sales support.

The core of his background is in business-to-business services marketing and consumer packaged goods with firms such as Verizon Communications, ConAgra Frozen Foods, and James River Corp. He has solid expertise in the software, retail, restaurant, and real estate industries, where he has worked with small start-ups as well as large firms.

Rich served as a strategic leader in Verizon, leading a team that launched high speed internet and other online services for small and medium businesses.

Rich received his MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, an MDiv from the Brite School / TCU, and a BS in Education from the University of Maryland.

Rich is interested in music, spirituality, philosophy and nature. He aspires to one day write books on spirituality and philosophy.

Rakesh Arrabairu

Ron Handwerk

Rakesh Arrabairu

Ron Handwerk

Kyle Herbst

Kyle Herbst is a great representative for the professional versatility that characterizes Ascend Marketing. His grasp of cutting-edge digital marketing and his “human-first” approach to the projects he undertakes are critical to the successes he has achieved for companies such as Oracle, Nokia, Thomson Reuters and Universal Studios. He also contributes his energy, knowledge and big personality in his volunteer work with organizations such as Austin Pets Alive!, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Camp Community Storehouse and Helping Hand Home.

Sandeep Harpanahalli

Sandeep Harpanahalli loves data analytics, trend spotting, and drawing insights that lead to better business decisions. An example of his expertise is for a telecommunications client, where he performed analytics on how updates to the company’s switching device would affect call processing in various networks, which helped management make more informed decisions. Away from the office, Sandeep still applies his analytics and trend spotting skills, specifically as a foodie. He is currently engaged in a deep study of Texas barbecue.

Pamela Fleming

Creative, original, and funny describe Pamela Fleming. Having worked in diverse industries including consumer product goods, professional services, commercial real estate development and telecom, Pam’s rich background allows her to bring a wealth of marketing and project management experience to the table.

Her areas of expertise are expansive and include brand development and video production, website development, marketing planning and strategy, promotional campaign strategy and execution, to list a few. Pam enjoys the challenge of working on different types of projects, especially when they require the use of her favorite skills.

She studied at Southern Methodist University and has been on the cover of The Dallas Morning News.

As a coffee connoisseur, Pam’s favorite aspect of working at Ascend is having two different coffee machines to choose from!

Cindy Cunningham

Cindy Cunningham is Ascend’s “secret weapon” when it comes to reporting and analysis. With over 20 years’ experience in the world of telecom, Cindy has mastered the art of understanding the insights data provides and translates it all into actionable information – so that valuable business isn’t lost through neglect, but rather grown through customer knowledge. Customer retention is her specialty!

Chris Lewis

Dacia Owens

Chris Lewis

Dacia Owens

Darcy Borutta

A problem solver with a positive outlook, Darcy Borutta has the ability to see cross-functionally, pull the pieces together and drive business forward. She is results driven and loves to help people succeed and grow.

Darcy is energetic and a natural connector. Her clients rave about her infectious can-do attitude and uncanny attention to detail. She has extensive experience in creating comprehensive sales and marketing initiatives that drive results. Her process and analytics expertise helped to drive award-winning programs that have boosted the bottom lines of many companies.

Darcy is an accomplished project manager, sales and marketing professional, leader, coach, and mentor with 20 plus years of experience in telecom and insurance. She has proven success in leading cross-functional, cross-location project teams and meeting aggressive target dates by using a variety of project management tools and techniques.

Darcy has a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College and her Project Management Professional® certification from the Project Management Institute. She has won numerous sales awards, including the Circle of Excellence, Gold Market Leadership, Silver Chairman’s Leadership, and the Circle of Achievement Sales Award.

Darcy loves being a part of Ascend because of the culture and people, “We work hard and have fun!” She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and loves traveling, hanging out on the beach, hiking, boating, and yoga.

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Daily Archives: 03.9.2019

Laura McClure

Laura McClure

Drew Lillie

Drew Lillie

Vamshidhar Keesara

Vamshidhar Keesara

Steve Judge

Steve Judge

Rich Herbst

Rich Herbst

Kyle Herbst

Kyle Herbst

Sandeep Harpanahalli

Sandeep Harpanahalli

Pamela Fleming

Pamela Fleming

Cindy Cunningham

Cindy Cunningham

Darcy Borutta

Darcy Borutta

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