Two Industry Veterans Grow our Global Team
2022 was a successful and pivotal year for Perceptual Advisors, where we set the foundation for a highly differentiated global full stack brand strategy, marketing communications and public affairs firm. We ended the year with a robust portfolio of clients led by founders, funders, entrepreneurs and disruptors, across industries and geographies. We are incredibly grateful for the clients who have entrusted us as their partners, and we are humbled to work with them.
Perceptual Advisors’ model is built for these times. Clients must deliver even greater results to their stakeholders—and they need strategic partners who work alongside them and share their relentlessness and sense of purpose. This is hard-wired into our ethos as a firm.
Every member of our team has been a c-level executive at the world’s most iconic brands and marketing firms. We do not delegate execution to inexperienced junior personnel - we roll up our sleeves and do the work ourselves, and we are accountable for delivering on our commitments to our clients.
As we enter 2023, we are thrilled to announce the next phase of our growth with the addition of two talented and highly experienced professionals.
Daniela Polk has joined as Managing Director and Head of our newly established Entertainment Division and Consumer Marketing. Based in Los Angeles, Daniela is a seasoned strategist with more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of entertainment and brands, and she has played a role in some of the most innovative brand activations in the entertainment industry. Over the past seven years she has led content and communications for The NOW (a health and wellness startup), and helped launch Husslup (a Hollywood-based entertainment start-up). During her career she has served as a branded entertainment producer, executive and consultant on shows for Netflix, HBO Max, NBC, FOX and CBS. Daniela began her career at Burson-Marsteller in the firm’s media practice. She earned her BA from The Johns Hopkins University.
Jessica Piha-Grafstein has joined as a Senior Advisor. Based in Seattle she is a global brand communications executive who has worked with startups and Fortune 50 companies. She has 15+ years of experience in corporate, internal, brand, crisis and CSR Communications. Most recently Jessica led Communications for Funko, the leading creator of pop-culture collectables, where she was responsible for all Corporate Communications, Philanthropy and launched the company's ESG program.
Earlier in her career, Jessica was a journalist and producer with CNN and CNN International, earning a Peabody and Dupont-Columbia Award for work covering Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian Tsunami.
We are proud to have these two world-class professionals join our team. Watch this space for more news—we’re just getting started.Dan is a seasoned marketing and communications professional. He co-founded Perceptual Advisors with Claudia Gioia based on their shared belief that our work is—and must be—an instrument of business strategy, not an end unto itself. In his current capacity, Dan serves as the outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for several Perceptual Advisors clients, working directly with company founders and CEOs to craft and execute marketing and communications strategies geared to drive revenue and optimize profitability.
During his career, Dan has held several senior executive roles, including serving as Senior Managing Director with Teneo, a leading global consulting firm, where his clients included Softbank Vision Fund, Delta Airlines and Activision-Blizzard, among others. His corporate roles have included serving as SVP/Chief Communications Officer at eBay where he was responsible for the company’s brand strategy and all global communications. He also served as the Chair of eBay.org, the company’s charitable foundation.
Previously he was Managing Director of Corporate Communications & Brand Marketing at Countrywide Financial Corp, and Senior Vice President of Issues Management and Public Affairs at VISA. Dan also led the corporate and financial practice in the western U.S. for Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s largest communications consultancies. Before that was the firm’s Market Leader in Miami. Dan also has public sector experience, having served as Vice President and Special Assistant to the President of The Beacon Council.
Dan holds a B.A. from Tulane University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law.