We are Rival.

Eric is an entrepreneur who builds businesses through modern marketing, management, and innovation practices. Over the last 15 years he’s been lucky enough to help build some of the biggest brands in the world, from billion-dollar start-ups to Fortune 50 enterprises, and learn from some amazing people along the way. He spent 10 years in the agency world and was a first-15 employee and MD of EMEA for VaynerMedia, founded by Gary Vaynerchuck. He was the Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer for 11:FS, a global fintech consultancy that builds digital banking and insurance propositions from scratch. As co-founder and CEO of Rival, his main job is to hire the smartest people in the industry and get out of their way!

Jenna is a global leader in media and marketing with over ten years’ experience agency side, working in London, Singapore and New York on some of the largest and most innovative brands in the world. She met her cofounders as the VP, Media for EMEA and was one of the first ten employees on the paid media team at VaynerMedia. Prior to joining Rival, she was the global capability lead and VP for Media Strategy & Planning at Jellyfish, a marketing performance company operating in 20+ markets.

In a career that has spanned 33 years, Dean Aragón has worked on developing, activating and commercialising market-leading, global brands. Dean is the CEO & Vice-Chairman of Shell Brands International AG. He is also Global Vice-President – Brand, for the entire Shell group, leading the development of overall brand strategy, brand policies and brand standards. As a marketer, Dean focuses on leveraging the power and potency of a brand by harnessing its ‘humanity’. It ensures customers or stakeholders buy into a brand’s ethos and buy its value propositions. This comes from a belief that whether it’s B2B or B2C or B2B2C, it’s really all B2Humans. Prior to Shell, Dean spent 15 years in senior Brand Development roles at Unilever, across a range of categories and markets. Dean is involved in various industry forums: Board of Directors – ANA (Association of National Advertisers), Adweek Sustainability Council, Facebook Client Council EMEA, Steering Group for BRIM (Black Representation In Marketing).”

Tim joins Rival after the acquisition of his company HeyLet’sGo – one of the most highly regarded agencies in New England, and a winner at Ad Age’s 2023 Small Agency of the Year Awards. Tim’s account experience includes JetBlue, Lawn Doctor, Dunkin Donuts (Creative Director on the launch of “America Runs on Dunkin’”), Major League Baseball, Boston Celtics, Century 21, Plymouth Rock Insurance, Sierra, Harvard, Play-Doh, Indeed.com, plus major B2B and Fintech brands such as Envestnet, WP Engine and Computershare. His work as a Writer, Director and Creative Director has been featured in One Show (which he’s judged twice), Cannes, Clio, Webbys, Communication Arts, and the New England Hatch Awards (twice winning Best of Show). As a filmmaker, he’s directed hundreds of ads, and screened in competition at such festivals at Locarno, Montreal World, Vancouver, New Orleans and Independent Film Festival of Boston. Two feature documentaries he directed/produced, From Nothing, Something and make|SHIFT (rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!) have been acquired for distribution. Tim is also an ASCAP songwriter whose music has been featured in hundreds of television shows around the world - including one of those “Real Housewives” spinoffs, which made his mom super excited. His cover band once opened for Debbie Gibson at Syracuse University Dance Marathon.

Lance Koenig is an indomitable force in the world of brand strategy having worked with global clients over 20+ years. Prior to being CSO at Havas, Koenig spent three-plus years as Head of Global Strategy at The Martin Agency. He was Chief Strategy Office at Forsman & Bodenfors and EVP Strategy Director at Leo Burnett in Chicago. Additionally, Koenig had four years of experience at Mullen Lowe in Boston as SVP Director of Strategy. He began his career with Hill Holliday, Bailey Lauerman and Arnold Worldwide.

Jess has built her career empowering industry leaders and their teams to succeed in fast-scaling Marketing and Tech environments. Previously, she was Operations/Business Manager during key growth periods at VaynerMedia, founded by Gary Vaynerchuck and then at 11:FS, a global fintech consultancy that builds digital banking and insurance propositions from scratch. Most recently, she supported the Co-Founders of Permutive, as they secured Series C funding to be the privacy-first infrastructure for programmatic advertising. As Operations Director at Rival, she is passionate about building our tools, processes and thriving culture – anything that will help drive success for the team and the business!

I’m thrilled to be a part of an organization that has such a clear POV on how to help brands succeed and is actually creating the tools and tech to make that reality. And to be surrounded by so many humans are so much smarter than I am.

Viren joins Rival after the better part of a decade spent building a video production studio from scratch, serving global challenger brands in the FMCG, hospitality and professional services verticals. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has worked on building media and production business whilst leading creative teams to drive real impact. He is passionate about the inflection point of creative and commercial thinking and brings an diverse approach to Rival.

He has also served as the head of paid search at Omnicom in the UK, and spent his earlier career with Steak and Reprise Media. While his primary focus is in paid search and retail media, Rom is well-versed in Meta, Microsoft, Google, and many other ad platforms and capabilities. Rom's experience encompasses all major verticals, with clients including Waitrose, Virgin, Swarovski, TSB, Renault, Nissan, and many others. He has earned recognition from the Drum Search Awards and WARC for exceptional performance and has appeared on stage in partnership with Think with Google. Rom's true passion lies in crafting tailored solutions that consistently deliver exceptional results for our clients within the dynamic landscape of paid media.

Lisa brings over a decade of experience from agencies large and small where she learned how to effectively solve the most complex business challenges as nimbly as possible. She brings efficient strategic insight, creative thinking, and empathetic leadership to drive our clients’ businesses forward. Prior to joining Rival, Lisa was President of HeyLet’sGo, where she led and grew the agency’s client relationships and built its best-in-class operating model from the ground up. She’s led cross-functional teams on a wide variety of B2C and B2B clients including Harvard, Plymouth Rock Insurance, Bank of America, Toyota, Hasbro, Lawn Doctor, Computershare, and Envestnet. She’s a passionate advocate for the power an inspired creative approach can have to maximize the impact, efficiency, and ultimately outcomes for a brand.

Eniko previously worked as an in-house performance marketer and SEO specialist across several SMBs, most recently handling media planning and buying at London-based tech startup. She earned her Master of Science in Marketing from King’s College London, where she graduated with Distinction. Fascinated by all things brand strategy, Eniko’s focus is on helping challenger brands shape and develop their identities and narratives.

Adam brings over 12 years of marketing & consulting experience to Rival, across agencies, in-house and as an independent consultant. He has had the opportunity to work across all sectors with leading roles in performance, strategy and brand development - as well as building marketing teams and capabilities at agencies and in-house. His specialism has been working with challenger brands in challenger businesses, through which he has been fortunate enough to work with smart, talented people looking to do things differently.

Shail is a passionate marketer with expertise in digital commerce and paid media. He recently graduated with a Master's degree in Strategic Marketing from Imperial College London. With a keen passion for branding, marketing strategy, and consulting, Shail is dedicated to becoming one of the top marketers in the world.

I have managed paid media monthly investment over £1M, designing and executing the strategic vision to meet and exceed client KPIs. Having recently received recognition with a Silver Drum EMEA Marketing award, my passion lies in providing data-driven bespoke paid media solutions that break the mould and achieve measurable results in a world of "black box" models.

Gonçalo previously worked in the scientific sector, specifically developing mathematical and statistical models to study animal and human behaviour, specifically focusing on social behaviour. His experience includes approaches and methodologies of several scientific disciplines, including economy, psychology, and evolutionary biology, in world-leading institutes like the University of St Andrews and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse. He brings his analytical and scientific skills and knowledge to the marketing and technological world, where he aims to bring positive change to challenger brands that want to be competitive and be part of tomorrow's future.

An Art Director by trade, Mikayla has produced high-profile work in such diverse categories as retail, tech, finance, education, toys, home services, travel, and insurance. A graduate of Emerson College and The Creative Circus, her work has appeared in the Communication Arts Advertising Annual, Archive, Ads of the World, Adweek, Muse by Clio, and shortlisted at One Show. She was the most awarded Art Director at the 2023 New England Hatch Awards. Maddie, her 5 lb. Yorkshire Terrier, defends our dog-friendly Boston office with ferocity.

Since graduating in 2020, Yuri has honed his skills as an editor at Hill Holliday and through freelance work, contributing to multiple commercial projects featured on Ads of the World. He has further expanded his creative range, taking on diverse roles as an editor and shooter across various projects—from music videos, of which he has shot, edited, and produced hundreds, to commercials, social media content, and events. Bringing his unique vision and dedication to every project, Yuri is now a full-time filmmaker at Rival, where he continues to pursue his passion for storytelling, delivering high-quality, impactful content.

Master of multitasking and executive wizardry! As an Executive Assistant, Alyssia helps the Rival team orchestrate chaos into harmony, turning schedules into symphonies and meetings into masterpieces. With a blend of precision and personality, she is the secret sauce behind seamless operations here at Rival. Alyssia joins Rival after a decade spent in marketing and creative agencies.