Innovator. Builder. Catalyst. Speaker.

Fusing big, bold ideas with AI expertise to drive better outcomes for start-ups, rule breakers, turnarounds, and non-profits.

In other words, if you really want something unprecedented, you're in the right place.

“Lesley is one of the best big idea thinkers in the business. But her real superpower is that in addition to the big ideas, she understands strategy, data, and analytics to make the ideas not just big but impactful”.

Mark Yahiro, GM RealSense

Common Problems I Can Help With

How I Work

Go-To-Market Boot Camp for Start-Ups

Bring your product to market at low cost, high impact, and minimal waste. Tailored to your timeline and budget, a comprehensive plan will be developed that drives alignment around outcomes.

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BIG Idea Lab

You provide a budget and business goals. I work independently with my network of collaborators or with your marketing team or agency to develop disruptive, IMPACTFUL, successful ideas. The BIG Idea Lab can take several formats, from industry specific workshops to custom day-long sessions with tools and data specific to your industry.

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Status Quo Shakeup

I offer half-day, full-day, or multi-day sessions to spur business transformation. Whether it’s interpersonal challenges with teams, stagnating product development, or general malaise setting in, these shake-ups will be focused on your business’s specific challenges with a custom approach rooted in many proven methodologies and frameworks

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AI Marketing Automation

Audience Intelligence

Brand Strategy

Channel Marketing

Content Creation

Demand Generation

Experiential Strategy

Product Positioning

Sponsorship Strategy

Storytelling

Tribe Building

Prior Partners

About Me

When I was a senior in High School, I led a group of over 100 high school girls to a color war victory by reimagining what it could be, and that experience changed me forever. When your first taste of innovation leads to success beyond your wildest dreams in high school, it’s addictive.

After college, I taught myself HTML. Computers have always fascinated me, and that catapulted me into a successful digital marketing career launching first-generation websites for brands like HBO, Budweiser, Heinz, and Sony. It also taught me the mantra that content is king, so I went in search of how to make compelling content.

After a couple of years in freelance live event production, I found myself in the halls of 1515 Broadway at MTV Networks. First, I led sports and music development as VP at Spike TV and then led talent, development, and production at MTV Caribbean.

Hoping to return to digital, Warner Brothers Television and Time Inc. tapped me, I became the first GM of Essence.com, the biggest and most profitable destination for Black women. In this role, my content strategies generated more revenue per unique visitor than 95% of magazine websites.

Since moving to Chicago in 2012, I have worked at a series of creative agencies, building the muscles that only agencies can build - speed, omnichannel vision, and industry agnosticism. Post-pandemic led me back to tech, where I led marketing for Intel’s Incubation and Disruptive Innovation group, where we served as an in-house agency for Intel’s Incubation program.

Let's Make Some Noise