MEET PACO.
WE ARE ALL PACO.
PACO is not the CEO of our agency; in fact, he isn’t just one person. PACO is each and every multicultural American. If you haven’t already noticed, PACO is the new face of the American mainstream. He is influential, living in the best of both worlds and quite the trendsetter. You might want your brand to have a conversation with PACO, get to know him a bit more closely and maybe even sell something to PACO. Lucky for you, we can facilitate the conversation.
Want to know more about how PACO got started? It’s a fun story and you can read more about it in our first blog post.
PACO BIOS
Pablo Acosta
If you come to visit us at PACO, one of the first things you’ll hear is Pablo’s laugh emanating from his office way down the hall. He likes to laugh and he laughs often; it’s part of his creative process. He has spread his good humor working for agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT, D’Arcy and Publicis working on accounts like McDonald’s, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Burger King, Crest, Herdez, Subaru, and KFC. Pablo has won numerous creative awards throughout the US and Latin America. He has studied advertising, film and music, lectured on creative copywriting, and became a professional recording musician… seriously. Every week he practices the Japanese sport of judo.
Ozzie Godinez
Guadalajara-born Ozzie Godinez grew up in Chicago where he began to cultivate a deep-seated love for the White Sox (sorry, north-siders). In Ozzie’s vast agency experience, he has worked within multiple categories, including CPG, financial, home and personal care y mucho más. Though his full name is Osbaldo, in grade school he opted to go by Ozzie because it was a name that his peers and teachers could easily pronounce. Ozzie cooks like nobody’s business, effortlessly recreating some of his mom’s classic Mexican dishes. We have tried his food and will vouch for its authenticity awesomeness.
Rebecca Lopez
Becky Lopez has been an integral part of the PACO team since 2007, solidifying her role as one of PACO’s first employees. She is one of our account services gurus. Graduating with an MBA in marketing from University of Illinois Chicago and a BA in Spanish Business Translation from Northern Illinois University, she has worked at The Field Museum and Univision Radio. Over the years, she worked with clients such as McDonald’s, Allstate, Unilever, Harris Bank, Norwegian American Hospital, Easters Seals, and Tampico Beverages in the areas of advertising, promotions and public relations. When not working, she is hanging out with friends, or watching reality TV shows. She spends every Sunday with her mom and family. If you run into Becky here at the office or around town, you’ll see that she likes to experiment with different nail colors on the same hand.
Veronica Villalón
Dedicated account services pro and notorious fashionista, Vero (as we call her) packs a big punch into her little frame and is known for wearing sky-high stilettos even in icy Chicago winters. She has extensive agency experience as well as a background working in the non-profit, CPG and education sectors, ranging from local to international campaigns such as Aeromexico, American Cancer Society, Hormel Foods and Sears, among others. At PACO Vero works on advertising and public relations campaigns, managing the ComEd and New Futuro accounts. She is a proud alumnus of Columbia College Chicago, centrally located in the heart of the city, where she currently lives with her husband and two sons.
Melissa Mercado
Melissa Mercado is a graduate of Loyola Chicago where she studied psychology. She founded Café Media and has over 10 years of experience in marketing and communications, working for such companies as: AMCOL, Nuestro Queso, CBS Entertainment Communications, CBS 2 Chicago and Exito/Hoy Newspaper at Tribune Company. When she worked on the show Survivor, she got to go to the island of Palau (east of Guam, south of Philippines) where they were filming the show.
Mark Dominiak
Mark is our media contact strategist. He attended Ball State University and earned a degree in sales and advertising management with minor in astrophysics. He is a life-long resident of Whiting, Indiana as well as a life-long fan of the White Sox. Mark has 27 years of media experience from working at FCB and Insight Garden, during which time he has worked on such brands as Boeing, Circuit City, Kraft, DiGiorno, Zima Clearmalt, and Keystone. He also writes for Media Magazine. It is safe to say that he likes comic books as he has a collection of them that is over 6,000 strong.
Claudia Morón
Pint-sized Claudia Morón is in charge of PACO’s wallet. Her extensive experience working in finance stretches back many years and names Alberto Culver and DiMeo & Company among former employers. She has always taken on the responsibility of keeping the books, doing financial cost analyses, and developing financial forecasts. When she isn’t up to her elbows in numbers, Claudia jogs around town. Her two great kids tend to keep her on her toes, too.
Marie Walz
Marie Walz is our senior art director. Her attention to detail and creativity continually impress us. She has worked for such companies as Monster.com, Agency.com and an international contemporary art fair. She studied fine arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago and photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her love for Duran Duran is unwavering; she even created fan art that was displayed in a gallery. In fact, Marie’s artwork has shown at galleries around the globe.
Yuleni Espinosa
Yuleni is the PACO employee who has been with us the longest (aside from the co-founders, of course); she started with us as an intern. Once she graduated from the International Academy of Design & Technology, she was hired full time as an art director. She is a fan of all things dance and music. One of her favorite kinds of art to create is album artwork. She even designed a logo for a band, and the bassist loved the design so much he got it tattooed on his leg.
Alejandra Chavez
Account executive Alejandra Chavez is one of the newest additions to Team PACO. She was born in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Mexico but raised in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Alejandra earned an associates degree from William Rainey Harper College and later her bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a self-proclaimed nerd and bookworm who regularly practices Krav Maga, a form of Israeli military kickboxing. People pronounce her name many different ways, so she promises not to whip out her Krav Maga skills on you no matter how you say it.
Janet Escudero
Janet is a junior account executive at PACO who was brought on immediately following her fall 2010 internship with us. She graduated from DePaul University with a degree in multicultural marketing. Although she was born in Chicago, she says that she grew up in two worlds: Chicago and Michoacán, Mexico. She grew up with a dad that constantly played pranks on her (ask her about it sometime, there are lots of good stories there). Not a day goes by without Janet tuning into popular telenovela India.
Jonathan Moreno
Jonathan Moreno is a native Chicagoan and one of PACO’s newest junior account executives. He interned with us several times throughout his academic career at Northern Illinois University, where he earned his degree in marketing (with focus in interactive practices). Jonathan is a big fan of all sports, and spends a lot of time on the basketball court.
Denisse Ayala
Denisse Ayala is part of our digital team and spends most of her days at PACO on social media messaging and engagement. She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and has worked for other multicultural marketing agencies as well as volunteered her time to a host of non-profits. When she isn’t tweeting, Denisse works on her stellar violin skills as she’s been playing for over 12 years. Her parents are from opposite ends of Mexico (Michoacán and Durango), so she and her sisters get to savor the best of the two regions’ cuisines.
“Miguel” Thompson
“Miguel” Thompson is our “go-to” IT specialist and PACO’s personal doctor. With an extensive background in information technology and security, Miguel is there to cure any and all tech problems in the office. He makes sure all wires are connected to the right places and all computers and servers are running smoothly. Though he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, you can bet he’s got his watchful eye on you.
