Edward Ogiba, President
Ed has had 30 plus years of creative marketing experience, during which he has led the strategic marketing plans for over 200 major established Brand portfolios and new product entries. His successes cover a wide range of categories for a diverse range of Fortune 500 clients including Kraft, 3M and Quaker State.
He founded Group EFO in 1988 to strategically focus on Branding, Marketing and New Products services. For the previous 16 years he was at Ogilvy & Mather in the U.S. and Canada, where he was Managing Director and a member of the board.
He began his marketing career at Grey Advertising on the Procter & Gamble account. While at O & M he managed numerous accounts including General Foods, American Express and Sears. Ed also led the agency’s successful expansion into several new services, including two new product consultancies.
Ed has been active in the long term planning of such non-profit endeavors as the Ringling School of Art & Design, Tidewell Hospice, American Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding and the Urban Business Assistance Corporation (NYU). Ed first served as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army, followed by a direct commisson in the U.S. Navy. He has an MBA from New York University and BA from Notre Dame.
Grace Landon, Vice President – Partner
Grace manages the Group’s creative marketing and design efforts. She brings a unique blend of over 20 years of marketing, management and design experience across a wide breadth of package goods, fashion and service businesses.
Prior to joining Group EFO, Grace was the Senior Merchandiser for Vanity Fair, a division of VF Corp., where she managed the overall marketing and new product efforts which contributed to a 13% increase in profits. Grace was President of Merrison Garment, U.S., where she lead the domestic expansion of this Hong Kong based $100 million women’s wear manufacturer. Previously, she led Landav, Inc., an outerwear manufacturing company which supplied performance wear for companies such as L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, EMS, and Nordstrom’s. Her skill at innovation and project management led the National Endowment of Arts to select her to design and develop their National Medal of Honor for the Arts presented by President George Bush to such notable performers as B.B. King, John Jakes and Jessica Tandy.
Grace was educated in business and design at Parsons School of Design and Southern Illinois University. A mother of two, she has been highly active in many community endeavors including SMOA, Ringling School’s new Museum of Art in Sarasota, in home Hospice Care, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, The Connecticut Ballet, Connecticut Panel on Learning Disabilities and Hall-Brooke Hospital.
Larry Creter, Creative Director
Larry is responsible for overseeing the creative development of all the Group’s concepts. He combines a wealth of corporate marketing successes with cutting edge computer skills to create attention getting new product concepts and packaging that motivates consumers.
Before joining Group EFO, Larry was a Creative Director for Launch Creative Marketing, an award-winning innovative product marketing company in Chicago. He has designed sales generating marketing & packaging campaigns for a broad range of marketers such as Alberto-Culver, Helene Curtis, Tootsie Roll, Sanford Corporation and Kellogg’s.
He is a multiple winner of Graphic Design USA magazine’s American Graphic Design Award for excellence in communication and design.
Larry studied design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning, majoring in graphic design.