Our Leadership
The secret sauce to truly innovative work will always be the people
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Michael (@mjsikorsky) co-founded Robots and Pencils in 2009 with the then-contrarian view that mobile would be more transformative than the Internet. Since then, the agency has become a trusted strategic partner to some of the world’s best brands, helping its clients harness the power of mobile, web and frontier technologies to transform their businesses.
With a growth rate of 4,971% in the first five years, Robots and Pencils was named the 34th fastest growing technology company in North America by Deloitte. Michael credits Robots and Pencils’ success to talent obsession.
Michael is also a sought-after speaker on the topics of innovation, business strategy, and mobile and frontier technologies, having guest lectured at Harvard Business School, Stanford, MIT and Columbia University. He is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award winner (2013). His insights, products and ideas have been featured in Wired, CNNMoney, Profit Magazine, ZDNet, and 9to5 Mac.
I think of art, at its most significant, as a DEW line, a Distant Early Warning system that can always be relied on to tell the old culture what is beginning to happen to it.
Tracey brings 18 years of expertise in marketing, technology and process improvement to her role at Robots and Pencils.
Since joining the company in 2015, Tracey has proven to be an expert at finding ways to grow the business while improving operations for the benefit of the company’s talent and clients. Her areas of expertise include cross-functional team leadership, project management, content strategy, business and process analysis, user experience and customer advocacy.
Tracey began her career as a software developer, analyst and consultant for multinational companies across the financial and medical sectors, including Bank of America and Siemens Healthcare.
Innovation by itself turns out not to be the trump card we expected; more important is the ability to scale innovation, to blend creativity with discipline.
Scott Young brings more than 25 years of strategic consulting experience to his role as Senior Vice President of Robots and Pencils. With deep proficiencies in web, mobile, commerce, and related technologies as well as large-scale implementations, he is skilled at orchestrating transformative solutions that allow brands to optimize their digital channels and create consistent omnichannel experiences.
Over the course of his career, he has worked with a number of notable brands, including Sherwin-Williams, J.Jill, National Instruments, Newell Rubbermaid, LuxotticaGroup, Coach and Eaton Corporation, to deliver unique business strategy and technology platform solutions.
Scott spent his early years consulting at Deloitte, followed by Whittman-Hart, Brulant and Rosetta. Immediately prior to joining Robots and Pencils, Scott was the Executive Vice President of SapientRazorfish responsible for their global IBM partnership. In 2017, SapientRazorfish was named the IBM Commerce Partner of the Year.
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
Widely recognized as a successful entrepreneur and proven, high-growth business leader, Len brings his expertise and nearly 30 years of experience to his role of Chairman at Robots and Pencils.
Previously, Len was the Chairman, CEO and founder of Brulant, Inc, an interactive agency that uniquely fused the creative design and internet marketing capabilities of an agency with deep technology expertise and “Big 5” management consulting firm knowledge and approach. By 2008, Brulant was the third largest, privately held interactive agency in the US, a three-time Inc. 500 winner, an eight-time Weatherhead 100 winner, and a five-time NorthCoast 99 winner for best places to work.
In 2008, Len successfully negotiated a merger with Rosetta and was appointed Vice Chairman of the agency with the responsibility for strategic growth and expansion, as well as mergers and acquisitions. By 2011, Rosetta was the largest independent interactive agency with revenue exceeding $250 million and was acquired by Publicis for almost $600 million.
In addition to his role at Robot and Pencils, Len is the Chairman and CEO of Next Sparc; serves as an Operating Advisor and General Partner to Resilience Capital Partners; and sits on the boards of Flight Options, COMS Interactive, Streamlink and Hoodmart. He is also actively involved in real estate market investing in both office and residential properties with strategic partners largely within Ohio.
Len is an active executive committee member and past Chapter Chair for the Cleveland Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He has received various awards and earned significant recognition as a foremost entrepreneur and high-growth business leader. Len was named the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and to the Crain’s Cleveland Business annual “Who’s Who in Technology” and “40 under 40” lists.
Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.
Kierston is a dynamic talent executive with a background in the consulting and digital marketing industries. For more than 20 years, she has helped companies build thriving cultures through growth and process change.
Kierston’s approach to talent is founded in a deep understanding of service industry business models in a global context. She has extensive experience building cultures that enable teams and individuals to deliver their best for client satisfaction.
Prior to joining Robots and Pencils, Kierston held positions at Accenture, Brulant, Rosetta, Razorfish and Kalibrate. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision at Purdue University, is an affiliate of the Society of Human Resource Management, and has been a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) since 2003.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
With experience in entrepreneurial, start up, turnaround and corporate environments, Miles leads Robots and Pencils finance team as CFO.
Previously, Miles was VP of Finance at Hilite International, a global Tier 1 automotive supplier based in Marktheidenfeld, Germany. Miles spent the most formative years of his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Transaction Services group, where he ultimately achieved the level of Director, providing both buy-side and sell-side diligence and consulting services to corporate and private equity clients in the US, South America, Europe and Asia. Miles has also worked at a regional turnaround consulting firm and a federal bank in West Palm Beach.
Miles holds a BS in Accounting and an MBA in Finance from Case Western Reserve University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (Ohio - inactive), Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor, and Certified Turnaround Professional.
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
Nathan Carmon is the Operating Executive at Robots and Pencils, bringing over 30 years of strategic consulting, user experience creation and connected device development to his role.
Previously, Nathan was one of the principals who helped build Brulant/Rosetta into one of the top 10 privately held digital agencies in North America before selling to Publicis in 2011 for almost $600 million. At Rosetta, Nathan delivered annual account revenue growth of 190% and closed the first two agency multi-year AOR agreements. At Brulant, he led the financial services vertical sustaining a 58% CAGR and expanding financial services from 18% to 30% of Brulant’s revenue.
Before joining Brulant, Nathan was an Ernst & Young partner and Cleveland’s Office Leader. Nathan started his career at Procter & Gamble and was the principal designer of an analytical process (OLAP) tool, today known as IBM® Cognos PowerPlay®. He holds a BSc and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
Matt is the SVP, Client Services at Robots and Pencils, focused on fostering long-term client relationships. He has a proven ability to lead and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver meaningful business results for his clients.
Previously, Matt was Partner and SVP at Rosetta, a division of Razorfish. He managed several long-term client relationships for the agency, acted as the chief solution architect for its Financial Services vertical, led the Project Management Office (PMO) for its central division, and oversaw a portfolio of client accounts that included Sherwin-Williams, Signet Jewelers, Fifth Third Bank and Citizens Bank.
Prior to joining Rosetta, Matt was a software engineer and solution architect for companies including Progressive Insurance and IBM, where his work resulted in several patents. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Material Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things.
Dave brings more than 15 years of experience to his role of VP, Finance at Robots and Pencils, where he is responsible for finance, accounting, tax and treasury functions.
Prior to Robots and Pencils, Dave was an integral member of a number of oil and gas companies. He was Corporate Controller of Pure Energy Services Ltd. from 2009 until its sale to FMC Technologies in 2012 for $282 million, representing a 500% growth in the company’s market capitalization during his tenure.
Dave holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary as well as his Chartered Accountant designation.
The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.