Charlene Raytek

Strategy Director, Simplification, based in New York

Charlene Raytek is fascinated by what, on the surface, seems to be a paradox: the simultaneous presence of simplicity and complexity. As an example, she cites the “awe-inspiring” beauty of architecture that yields structures that are elaborate yet perfectly suited to their designated function.

This form-follows-function ethos drives her to search for creative, simple—but not simplistic—solutions to organizing and conveying extraordinarily complex information. It is present in every project she oversees, most prominently in her guidance of the IRS Taxpayer Notice Initiative, in which she and her team worked with the IRS to create new forms that make it easier for taxpayers to understand and resolve their tax issues.

In addition to reducing taxpayer headaches, Charlene has worked on creative strategies for such clients as Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Penske. After starting her career with us as a strategist and writer, Charlene worked in the financial services industry for 14 years. She spent six years at Lehman Brothers, her last position as head of Internal Communications (Americas) for Corporate Communications, and eight at Merrill Lynch in a range of marketing and communications positions. In her first tenure at Siegel+Gale, she focused on simplification programs for financial services and telecom accounts, developing strategies for large-scale document management programs.

Charlene holds an MA in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University as well as a BS in management and a BA in communications from Waynesburg University.