Laurel Sutton

Principal, Project Lead

In business as in the avian world, birds of a feather tend to flock together. Many of the companies that have flocked to Catchword tend to be thought leaders in their respective categories. Which makes them feel right at home with people like Laurel Sutton. That might have something to do with the fact that she was the first person (ever) to receive a B.A. in Linguistics from Rutgers University (where she also majored in English). Or that she’s only a few phonemes away from her Ph.D. in Linguistics from UC Berkeley. Or that she co-founded a successful naming company called Catchword that works with innovative brands like Cisco, Adobe and Roche. Or that she actually enjoys testifying in court as an expert witness on naming and branding. Or that she has an inexplicable passion for MythBusters on the Discovery Channel.

Mark Skoultchi

Principal, Project Lead

There are a few signs that Mark Skoultchi is, in fact, a grown-up: his history degree; his wife and kids; his former role as creative director at Interbrand in New York; his title (Managing Director of Catchword’s East Coast operations); his experience working for grown-up brands like Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Xerox at Catchword. But, other than those decidedly “adult” aspects of Mark’s life, one generally has to come to terms with the following facts: he has jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet; his favorite possession is a Taylor T5 hollow body guitar; he’s an amateur astronomer; he used to collect snakes (and has the scars to prove it) and he eats an inordinate amount of peanut butter (chunky, if you must know).

Maria Cypher

Principal, Creative Lead

When you think of a “creative director,” what kind of person comes to mind? Okay, now completely throw that image out the window and meet Maria Cypher. Singer and guitarist in a rock band; Stanford MBA. Author of 3 children’s books (um, not all published); mother of 3 children. Father was a US diplomat; speaks fluent Mandarin. Started her career as a financial analyst at Oracle; started her own naming company with two other partners. Slightly obsessive about exercise; plays a decent hand of poker. Over the past 15 years, Maria has become a trusted advisor to clients like McDonald’s, Gap, Wells Fargo, Purina and countless start-ups, all of whom seem to appreciate her unique, entrepreneurial point of view. And her guitar licks.

Beth Gerber

Creative Director

We hear this a lot from clients: “You guys just seemed to get us right away.” There are reasons for this phenomenon, and Beth Gerber is one of them. After majoring in creative writing and organizational behavior at Brown, Beth followed her muse—into the world of advertising. Always fascinated by the human psyche, she applied three years of Gestalt psychology training to her work as an award-winning copywriter and creative director. As a creative director here at Catchword, Beth has worked with clients like Sony, Schwab, Leapfrog, HP, and Allstate, and leads positioning and brainstorming exercises she helped to develop. A closeted short-story writer and chocoholic, she is also an accomplished hula hooper and, if you’re really nice, she may demonstrate that talent for you.

Eunice Park

Project Director

Eunice never meant to play the name game. Little did she know that a B.A. in Anthropology and English from Amherst was perfect for this interdisciplinary discipline. Seasoned in every aspect of naming creation, communication, and collaboration – she brings persistence, perspective, and pizzazz to every project. She’s concocted names for Samsung, Chevron, Logitech, and Texas Instruments, along with helping to name a city in Dubai. Well-versed in all aspects of branding, she’s created positioning for Speedo and Capital One; messaging platforms for Xbox and Pattern Energy; naming architectures for Move.com and Safeway; and brand voice for De Beers and Coors Light. Along with words, you’ll often find Eunice playing with food, stringed instruments, and fire (poi).

Leena Mehta

Project Manager

You know that whole Russian doll thing about hiring people who are better than you are and ending up with a company of giants? We thought that was a pretty good idea, so we recently hired Leena Mehta as a project manager. Here’s why: first, she earned her MBA and a degree in mathematics/economics from UCLA. Then, she spent the next seven years in brand management, working for cosmetics brands like Estee Lauder and Bare Escentuals—so she knows what it takes to get a consumer product to market. Since arriving at Catchword, Leena has already headed up several internal and strategic initiatives. She prides herself on her ability to “move things along,” like moving her husband along from New York to the West Coast.

Monte Bartlett

Brand Strategy Consultant

Ever find yourself struggling to distill the essence of your brand? Meet Monte Bartlett, brand strategist and distiller extraordinaire. Since earning his MA in advertising from Michigan State, Monte has worked with clients like MoMA, Urban Outfitters and Old Navy on branding, naming and identity challenges—in addition to managing creative departments at Citibank and Sony Music. No stranger to brand research, Monte is equally seasoned in the arts of strategic planning, account management, and digital and graphic design. Other skill sets include his experiences as a grave digger at a pet cemetery, an archival librarian (of 10,000+ books from the French monarchy), and a decent short order cook. He can also make a whistle out of an acorn (a skill he has yet to deploy in a client meeting).

Shawn Rosenberger

Design Partner

Some people love the challenge of crosswords or sudoku. Shawn loves the challenge of solving marketing problems and creating one unique brand identity after another. For over a decade, Shawn has designed brand identities and packaging for some of the Bay Area’s leading design firms (Turner Duckworth, Enterprise IG, ILM …) and many well-known brands (Coca-Cola, Motorola, Jamba Juice, OpenTable …) He’s even picked up a few awards here and there, though he tries to stay humble about those things. Shawn partners seamlessly with Catchword to bring new brand names to life. When he’s not pushing around the mouse, you may find him on an outdoor adventure with his family, in search of a good wine, home-brewing, or tying on the running shoes. Oh, and yeah: Shawn also heads the design firm Thermostat, which he founded in 2008.