A sixth grade advertising assignment sealed the deal and led Fran to find her path and understand that the best visual communication should always give rise to an emotion, or change someone’s view of something.
Studying marketing and advertising led to a 15-year career in publishing on the ad side of the business before Fran launched the award-winning Sharkey Advertising in 1999. “To me, the secret to longevity in this business has always been to create work to tell stories—in any medium—that resonate with people emotionally. It never gets old. Whatever story we’re sharing needs be filled with passion, creativity and honesty. I try to bring that to even the smallest projects I work on. The need to create, experiment and play is, I think, essential to the way I work and, above all else, essential to my overall happiness. It keeps me up at night, and it’s why I still check my iPhone when I’m on vacation—but I love it,” says Sharkey.
Nurturing talent over the years and leading by example has led to fairly simple goals—do smart, breakthrough work with respect for the talent you work with. A bit of a self-proclaimed workaholic, Fran is an avid traveler with her family, loves everything Italian due to her heritage, quotes movie lines, and appreciates a great book when she can find the time to read!
Jess started with Sharkey Advertising almost 7 years ago as a designer. She recently has taken on a new role as Sharkey Advertising’s Art Director, where she supervises and unifies the creative vision of all print and digital projects while making sure the final product communicates visually. The agency counts on Jess to oversee the creative output of the agency. “I love to manage multiple projects and work with the writers, artists, and developers to meet deadlines – and of course exceed client expectations. Inspiration is all around us and for me, absorbing all of NYC brings out some of my best ideas. When I’m not art directing, I still love designing logos. Creating something that sets the whole brand excites me,” says Jessica.
Before working at Sharkey, Jess graduated from the School of Visual Arts in NYC where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Post graduation, Jess was a marketing designer for Family Circle Magazine at Meredith Corporation. Jess loves photography, traveling, green tea lemonades from Starbucks, and chasing after her sweet and rambunctious little boy, Jack.
Vince Santoro recently joined the Sharkey Advertising team bringing with him a wealth of experience in the media world. As our key Account Director, Vince provides a strong emphasis on efficient account management, sharp copywriting skills and creative digital product development. In his role as Account Director, Vince will oversee the efficient coordination of all project deliverables for key accounts to assure that they meet customer goals and expectations as well as Sharkey Advertising standards. In the area of Copy Director, Vince will manage copy development and editing for all print, web and collateral material.
Prior to joining Sharkey Advertising, Vince was Publisher at MilitaryLife Publishing, a highly regarded trade publication and consumer website and spent many years as Marketing Director with the Gannett Corp., where he managed top national accounts. Vince lives in Stratford, CT and enjoys deep sea fishing, sailing and cooking Italian cuisine.
Englishman Matt Atherton leads our web development team. With over 20 years of experience of designing and building websites, Matt is in a great position to not only supervise the work done for our clients, but to also offer expert opinion and guidance to Sharkey customers. From simple single-page websites to complex corporate web systems, SEO and Google AdWords, Matt and our extended team have the resources and knowledge to provide our clients with the perfect solution – every time. “We’re leveraging the power of creativity, technology and design to create what we hope to be enduring brands. We’re doing this by taking a holistic approach to design and programming—extending the brand, product and digital ecosystem in unison. We believe this is the most effective way to create memorable products and lasting experiences.”
When Matt takes a rare break from his keyboard, he can be found arranging, singing and recording a cappella music, or in his “man cave”, constructing modular LEGO buildings.
Coree is a typography enthusiast, creative spirit and lover of all things design. Growing up she was always the kid that would rather sit and paint or draw, rather than play kickball (and it’s still that way today!). She went on to receive her Bachelors of Fine arts from Southampton College and since then she has had the great fortune to make a living doing what she loves. When Coree is not in the studio working on her latest set of designs, you can find her traveling with her fisherman fiancé, painting any number of the rooms in her house for a second time because the color isn’t ‘just right’, or cuddled up on the couch with their sweet rescue-cat Olive watching home renovation shows.
Sarah came to Brooklyn from Idaho with a pit stop in Colorado. Bringing with her a love for all things potato and beer. She has a passion for beautiful, clean design and motion graphics and can be found nerding out on typography more often than not. She was heavily influenced by modern art in her formative years which is what drew her to design
Sarah has a vast knowledge of editorial and marketing design, including advertorials, event signage, social posts, and sizzle reels, after spending the last 6 years in the publishing industry. Her favorite way to work is with a beer in hand and punk rock on her playlist. When she’s not working Sarah enjoys going to the ballet, exploring and eating her way through New York, making soy candles in her kitchen, and hanging out with her two cats, Havok and Warhol.
Kate has over 30 years of marketing execution experience, delivering innovation and cost savings to a wide range of brands. From global Fortune 500 clients to local small businesses, Kate is a collaborative partner who excels at print production management, from vendor selection and negotiation to quality control and process efficiencies.
Kate’s strong proficiency in print processes, including large format litho, silkscreen, web, and digital, drives her ability to successfully execute our print programs. From direct mail, newspaper ads, circular and specialty magazine inserts to packaging, POP, in-store signage and outdoor campaigns, Kate brings clients a broad range of products and services focused on building and enhancing their brands. Kate also runs our promotional division – developing unique branded merchandise, trade show booths and banners, special box promotions and more – to boost brand awareness. When not focused on marketing execution, Kate enjoys long-distance biking, golf and college football.
With over two decades of business experience and hundreds of professional clients, Tracey brilliantly creates bright, bold and energetic headshots. Her corporate work has been described as professional, approachable and powerful. Since developing a distinct headshot style, clients continually tell her she has a gift for finding just the right light and a talent for making everyone feel comfortable and look good. Tracey is continually grateful to have a successful career in something that drives her passion. Tracey loves palm trees, Edy’s Slow Churned Ice-Cream French Silk Flava, and has an Inhale love, exhale gratitude attitude.
Adorable nine-year-old diva mini Maltese, Coco Chanel enjoys snuggling and yummy treats! This five-pound lap dog has the best view of the computer screen and get’s a sneak peek of all work that is launched from Sharkey Advertising. Coco gets along with people but not so much other furry friends as she likes to be the center of attention. She hates wearing adorable outfits, her bi-weekly grooming and having her teeth brushed. Her favorite things are going for a walk (of course, she is carried and her little feet don’t touch the pavement), having her belly rubbed, and greeting guests at the door.
