Steve Santangelo

Strategy Director, Brand development, based in New York

Of all the projects Steve has tackled in branding and marketing in 25+ years in the industry, his favorite work has been in nation branding, which gave him the opportunity to explore new cultures, tackle complex problems and make a difference for people—both economically and socially. As a strategy director at Siegel+Gale, Steve has a relentless passion for crafting unexpected and elegantly simple branding solutions that can transform clients’ businesses. He takes pride in challenging himself and his team to dig deep into the client’s world to uncover the authentic truths that underlie effective strategies. Steve’s areas of expertise run the gamut of the branding industry, including positioning development, brand architecture, messaging/voice, market research, naming and copywriting. Among his clients are SAP, SAIC, Tata Consultancy Services and Adecco.

Before joining Siegel+Gale, Steve was senior director of Consulting at FutureBrand North America & Middle East, where he led branding engagements for such clients as UL (Underwriters Laboratories), Saudi Aramco, Nakheel, Batelco, Bahrain International Airport and LeisureCorp. His nation branding work at FutureBrand included leading the repositioning of Qatar and St. Lucia; consulting with Peru, Mexico, Hungary, Singapore and Australia; and managing the research, planning the content and serving as lead writer of the Country Brand Index for three years. While at the design firm Mangos, Steve worked with Cannondale Bicycles, BlackRock and Siemens.

Steve holds a BA with a double major in government studies and philosophy from the University of Virginia. In his spare time, Steve is a partner with Sir George Martin (legendary producer of the Beatles) and Wildheart Entertainment in On Record, a television documentary on the history of recorded music which is scheduled to air on PBS in the fall of 2011.