Dirk Defenbaugh
Strategist, Partner
For close to thirty years, Dirk has led the development of marketing and brand strategies with many of the world’s leading brands. He has been deeply involved with all facets of the marketing mix from brand strategy, consumer engagement, media planning and creative development.
Throughout his career, Dirk has been a consultant to retail brands including Walmart, Target, CVS, UPS, Starbucks. CPG brands have included: P&G, HP, SC Johnson, PepsiCo, Nike, and J&J. Dirk has also worked in the healthcare sector for Eli Lilly, Gilead, Humana, and Novartis.
Dirk has worked in all corners of the globe including emerging markets such as Russia, Lithuania and Slovakia as well as established markets throughout Europe, South America and Asia. Dirk has served on the Advisory Board for VMS&D magazine, been a speaker at more than 20 conferences and events and has been quoted in Forbes, Chain Store Age, The New York Post DDI Magazine and many others. He has been a guest lecturer at The Ohio State University, Columbus, College of Art and Design, The University of Dayton, and The University of Cincinnati.
Dirk served as the CEO of Interbrand Design Forum and has held senior leadership roles at companies including Fitch, Retail Planning Associates, Inventiv Health, Kantar Retail and Big Red Rooster. He has also worked on the client side for Liberty Mutual, serving in progressive management roles and was named Manager of the Year.
Dirk served for close to ten years as a judge for the International Big Ten Business Case Competition and has volunteered his time as a mentor in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University MBA program.
He resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Christine, his children Michael and Erica and his two dogs, Atticus and Remy.