Chief Solutions Officer
Stan Phelps

What do you do when you've held your dream job? Dream bigger. 

Stan works with Synergy's clients to provide consumer experiences that are memorable, meaningful and on-target with their brand. Driven by client objectives and inspired by bold vision, Stan crafts programs that win big. 

He gained his know-how through a career filled with "dream jobs" for global mega-brands in sports including adidas, IMG and the PGA of America. Stan joined adidas immediately after finishing his graduate degree, moving to Portland, starting work and studying for the bar all at the same time. Over the years, he held a variety of marketing positions. 

The highlight? 

Working in Yankee Stadium as Brand Marketing Manager for adidas' partnership with the team. A native New Yorker, Stan was on hand when they won the World Series not once, but three times, even riding in the celebratory parade ("one to tell the grandkids"). 

Thinking it couldn't get any better, Stan had to stop and pinch himself when adidas asked him to manage Global Tennis Sports Marketing and relocate to Amsterdam. A lifelong tennis player and former assistant coach at Villanova, he jumped at the chance. Stan's career wasn't the only thing that changed from the experience. On the flight to Amsterdam, he met his wife, whose mother was Dutch. Some time later, they got together for first dates in Prague, Paris, Nuremberg and New York City. 

Today, Stan works with Synergy as Chief Solutions Officer. He takes a wide look at marketing with the premise of finding unique ways to engage customers, an approach that he's held since his first childhood job. He explains, "My first job was working in a Carvel and I loved the idea of creating something with the customers, even if it was just decorating cakes and making banana splits."

While at Synergy, Stan started a blog to provide insight for how emotionally charged engagement between brand and customer can create loyalty. His "9 Inch Axioms" are guidelines to help brands make the journey between the customer's head and heart, the toughest, but most critical span in brand marketing. This important concept and fun approach received acknowledgment from the blogosphere and his site was ranked in the top 40 for all content marketing blogs in 2009. 

You might suspect that Stan never sleeps. In the midst of all this activity, he still finds time to tweet, blog and create additional content with clear purpose and an innovative vision: to inspire people about the value of customer experience. Through social media, he helps to position Synergy as a thought leader in the event marketing industry. 

Stan's ideas have recently expanded to include the Marketing Lagniappe and the Purple Goldfish Project, helping brand managers understand the value of creating signature moments. He provides examples of those who are accomplishing this in big and small ways, each creating an "unexpected moment that makes people want to be drawn in and talk about the experience with others."

Stan received a B.S. in marketing from Marist College and a J.D./M.B.A from Villanova University. He lives in Norwalk, Conn. with his wife, Jennifer, and two sons, Thomas and James.