Brad Brinegar, advisor to PALAZZO Investment Bankers

Brad Brinegar
Partner, Chairman, CEO, McKinney

Brad has led Durham, North Carolina-based McKinney since 2002. Since his arrival, McKinney has doubled in size by building one of the most innovative businesses models in the advertising industry, one that blurs the line between traditional and digital media. As a result, McKinney has been recognized as one of the nine best agencies in the country by Advertising Age and as one of a handful of agencies setting the standard for creativity in advertising by One Magazine.

McKinney’s launch campaign for the Audi A3, “The Art of the Heist,” remains a paradigmatic example of communications integration and innovation and was a pioneering success in social media. Work for Audi, Sony, Travelocity, Polaris Industries, NASDAQ and others have earned 20 Effies over the past seven years. This ranks McKinney ninth out of over 130 agencies winning the American Marketing Association’s recognition of communications-driven business success. McKinney’s clients also include Nationwide Insurance, Sherwin-Williams, Gold’s Gym, Coldwell Banker, Nike, Newell-Rubbermaid and Abbott Laboratories EAS Sports Nutrition.

Brad is on the board of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and founding chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB’s) Agency Advisory Board.

An anthropology major at Dartmouth College with a finance MBA from Columbia University, Brad spent two decades at global advertising giant Leo Burnett in Chicago. He rose from trainee to CEO of Leo Burnett USA

"A great team that delivered a great result." Tom Luckie
President & CEO
Luckie & Company
"Engine is fortunate to have partnered with PALAZZO.
The team was fully committed to our success throughout the process and we found the firm’s experience and technical expertise unsurpassed."
Peter Scott
Chairman and Joint Chief Executive
The Engine Group
"Phil Palazzo was instrumental in making my acquisition of The Dowd Agency a reality. His sound counsel helped me understand the nuances of the deal and his negotiating skill was greatly appreciated by both agencies. I have been in the PR business for 30 years and Phil's counsel is as good as it gets." Don Middleberg
CEO
Middleberg Communications, LLC
"Hiring Phil Palazzo proved to be one of the best investments I’ve made for my company. He’s provided invaluable counsel for us on acquisitions, valuation models and compensation plans. His vast financial and business experience enable him to provide insight for business owners on many fronts." John Gallegos
President, CEO
Grupo Gallegos
"Phil has been a key counselor to McKinney on a wide range of issues. His experience, judgment and negotiating skills were all in full display during the recent buy-back of our agency. We were very fortunate to have him on our side of the transaction." Brad Brinegar
Partner, Chairman, CEO
McKinney
"When I hired Phil to help me sell my business I had no idea how valuable he would prove to be. His help with positioning my company, and his insights and negotiating skills, proved to be of significant value to the sale. I am forever in his debt." Richard Shaw
Founder
Shaw Marketing Group
"Phil developed an innovative incentive compensation plan for our key executives delivering significant value to the agency. He is truly an outstanding advisor and his knowledge of our industry is unparalleled." Peter Stern
President
Strategic Agency
"When I started my agency
I knew Phil’s advice would prove to be a key to our success. Today, he is a trusted advisor, providing counsel on a host of issues ranging from management compensation to acquisitions."
Steve Farella
CEO, President
TargetCast tcm
"Phil provided invaluable insight and counsel throughout a highly confidential sales process. His commitment to our company and his unrelenting focus on maximizing shareholder value led to an outstanding result." Bob Chandler
CEO
Chandler Chicco
"Phil helps entrepreneurs by showing how the price they will get for their business seven years from now can be dramatically enhanced by the decisions, processes, and planning they put in place today." Steve Gardner
President
Gardner Nelson & Partners
"For us, results count, and for us, Phil Palazzo delivers. Phil has drawn on his rich experience as a communication executive to provide our firm strategic and financial counsel that has been instrumental in our growth." Liz Kaplow
President & CEO
Kaplow Communications
Incentive Compensation

Please fill out below to subscribe to THE PALAZZO REPORT