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AI Strategic Suite Leadership & Core Team
Depth, Breadth, and Strategic Alliances
At the heart of Growthential's AI Strategic Suite is a durable, cross-functional team with expertise in strategy, marketing, governance, change management, data and technology, and AI-augmented innovation.
We operate as a unified force, each member bringing experience overcoming complex, real-world barriers to business transformation. And we’ve also been intentional in building strong alliances. Our ecosystem includes world-class economists, behavioral scientists, technologists, data engineers, and experts in security, compliance, and policy, all prepared to support the needs of organizations as well as ambitious, fast-growing teams.
This breadth of expertise is your assurance that our offering is comprehensive, pragmatic, and designed to scale in step with your needs.
AI Strategic Suite Leadership & Core Team
Depth, Breadth, and Strategic Alliances
At the heart of Growthential's AI Strategic Suite is a durable, cross-functional team with expertise in strategy, marketing, governance, change management, data and technology, and AI-augmented innovation.
We operate as a unified force, each member bringing experience overcoming complex, real-world barriers to business transformation. And we’ve also been intentional in building strong alliances. Our ecosystem includes world-class economists, behavioral scientists, technologists, data engineers, and experts in security, compliance, and policy, all prepared to support the needs of organizations as well as ambitious, fast-growing teams.
This breadth of expertise is your assurance that our offering is comprehensive, pragmatic, and designed to scale in step with your needs.
Lynda Koster
Cofounder, Managing Partner & AI Solutions Strategist
Lynda Koster is a strategic growth advisor and business leader with over two decades of experience guiding Fortune 500s, scaling businesses, and transformation-stage companies through periods of change, inflection, and reinvention.
A hybrid thinker by design, Lynda built her career across brand, operations, and organizational strategy—bringing both analytical rigor and strategic vision to the table. She recognized early on that modern business leaders would need to be ambidextrous—equally fluent in creativity, data, and technology—and shaped her path accordingly. This perspective made her a trusted partner to senior leaders at top agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, FCB, and RICG, where she delivered record-setting results for global brands including Disney, United Healthcare, Verizon, Bank of America and others in financial services and healthcare.
She went on to lead North America Marketing Operations & Technology at PayPal, where she led the NA Marketing pipeline across 15 business units. Her integrated approach—blending customer insight, market intelligence, and scalable technology—helped drive double-digit growth and operational agility.
In 2020, Lynda co-founded Growthential, a growth firm rooted in the belief that strategy should always lead to action. As Managing Partner, she leads a team of multidisciplinary strategists, technologists, and marketers, collaborating with C-suite and leadership teams to shape growth strategies, build AI-ready capabilities, and lead high-stakes transformation initiatives with measurable impact.
Today, she is a trusted advisor and speaker on strategy-led transformation, marketing innovation, and the responsible, business-driven application of AI.
Outside of work, Lynda spends most of her time at her upstate farmhouse—alongside her husband Jeff, two Chihuahuas, and spirited flock of chickens—while still enjoying the creative pulse of NYC when the work (or fabulous meal) calls for it.
Lynda Koster
Cofounder & Managing Partner, AI Solutions Strategy
Christopher DeSantis
Cofounder & President
Christopher DeSantis is a lifelong entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience building and growing businesses rooted in innovation, adaptability, and real-world results. As the founder and longtime leader of Royal Impressions—later rebranded as RICG—he transformed a traditional print brokerage into a pioneering, data-driven marketing firm serving Fortune 500 clients including Prudential, Genworth Financial, and Oppenheimer Funds.
Christopher’s deep expertise in data-driven marketing technology consistently delivered breakthrough growth for his clients. Under his leadership, RICG became an early leader in variable data printing and multi-channel marketing—earning the trust of blue-chip brands such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and Samsung. Many of those relationships lasted for decades, a testament to his values-driven, partnership-first approach.
In 2020, after three decades at the helm, Christopher recognized a fundamental shift in the business and technology landscape. Eager to help companies navigate this new era, he co-founded Growthential with his business partner and long-time friend, Lynda Koster. The firm helps business and marketing leaders bring clarity to complexity and move confidently toward their growth vision. Together, they guide organizations in crafting actionable, customer-first strategies rooted in insight and designed for impact.
Christopher is known for his grounded leadership style and genuine interest in people. He believes that meaningful business outcomes start with shared understanding and deep collaboration. At Growthential, he continues to channel his passion into a consult-agency model that blends strategic depth with hands-on partnership to drive sustainable growth.
When he’s not working with clients, Christopher enjoys playing golf, catching a game as a lifelong sports enthusiast, or unwinding over dinner at his favorite local steakhouse. He lives just a ferry ride from New York City with his wife Angela and is a proud father of three grown children.
Christopher DeSantis
Cofounder & President
Melissa Wall
Chief Business & Marketing Growth Strategist
Melissa plays a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s AI innovation agenda. With more than 30 years of experience driving growth for B2B and B2B2C enterprises— particularly within financial services— Melissa bridges classical marketing expertise and forward-looking strategy to help organizations adopt AI in ways that are both accountable and growth-focused.
Her career includes leading go-to-market initiatives and lifecycle marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, where she developed targeted strategies that generated measurable ROI improvements and supported enterprise-wide transformation. At Growthential, she contributes to the AI Incubator and Governance Committee, providing guidance in aligning AI adoption with customer trust, and long-term business impact.
Melissa is also recognized as a trusted advisor to executives navigating the intersection of marketing and innovation. She frequently shares her perspectives through advisory roles, thought leadership forums, and mentorship initiatives, helping senior leaders translate emerging AI opportunities into measurable outcomes while protecting proven strategies.
Melissa Wall
Go-to-Market (GTM) & Growth Strategy
David Van Bruwaene
AI Policy, Governance & Compliance Advisor
David brings a rare blend of technical depth and strategic foresight as cofounder and CEO of our strategic alliance partner, Asenion, an end-to-end, scalable AI governance and compliance solution designed to bridge innovation with responsible risk management. An ethics-driven technologist with academic roots in philosophy (B.A. & M.A., University of Waterloo; Ph.D. studies at Cornell focused on NLP and cognitive science), David has built a career advancing transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI.
As a purpose-driven entrepreneur, David founded VISR, a cyberbullying detection platform acquired by SafeToNet in 2018, and co-founded Fairly.ai (now Asenion), where he developed solutions that continue to set the standard for responsible AI adoption. His influence extends into academia and though leadership, having lectured at the University of Waterloo and Cornell, and frequently speaking at global AI governance and risk forums including the Toronto Machine Learning Summit.
David is also recognized as a governance and ethics advocate, advising Fortune 500 and mid-market organizations on aligning technical innovation with regulatory expectations, social responsibility, and long-term value creation. His leadership consistently demonstrates how AI systems can be designed with both business outcomes and human impact in mind.
Together, we offer trusted innovation and robust governance focused on business growth and long-term value. By integrating Asenion and their advisory into Growthential’s AI Strategic Suite, we help organizations achieve measurable results across every stage of their AI journey—cutting through hype to deliver sustainable, policy-aligned outcomes that grow with your business and evolving capabilities.
David Van Bruwaene
AI Policy, Governance & Compliance
Stephen Marchewitz
Strategic Information Security & Risk Advisor
Stephen brings a powerful combination of executive leadership, cybersecurity expertise, and strategic foresight as CEO of our strategic partner, Intrepid Intelligence, a cybersecurity and risk management advisory firm delivering AI-driven, scalable solutions to safeguard digital transformation.
Recognized for his leadership across high-growth security organizations, Stephen has guided Fortune 500 and mid-market companies through complex governance requirements, emerging threat landscapes, and risk mitigation challenges. His career includes senior positions at SBS Cyber, TrustedSec, Binary Defense, and SecureState, where he built high-performing teams and shaped go-to-market strategies that balanced innovation with resilience.
Together, we help organizations seize AI's potential with the confidence that comes from secure-by-design principles, proactive risk management, and governance frameworks aligned to business goals. By integrating Stephen's expertise into Growthential's AI Strategic Suite, we shape AI journeys that are protected by design, resilient against emerging risks and aligned to long-term business goals.
Stephen Marchewitz
Information Security & Risk
Lindsay DiMeglio
Product, Solutions and Workflow Architecture Director
Lindsay provides guidance in designing scalable systems and workflows that enable AI adoption and long-term business growth. With over 15 years of experience spanning product management, marketing, business analysis, and user experience, she blends analytical rigor with strategic foresight to help enterprises align technology, governance and customer outcomes.
A core contributor to Growthential’s AI Incubator and Governance Committee, Lindsay plays a central role in ensuring AI initiatives are responsibly integrated into enterprise environments. She is known for operationalizing complex requirements into governed, repeatable processes— supporting adoption across teams and protecting strategic priorities in regulated and high-stakes industries.
Her career includes building data-driven solutions underpinned by precise data mapping, engineering workflows that connect people, platforms, and insights into accountable outcomes. This perspective allows her to navigate change with clarity, helping organizations embed innovation into existing operations while maintaining stakeholder trust and operational excellence.
Notable client and agency experience includes American Express, U.S. Army, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Sunoco, Starwood Resorts, New Balance, Bank of America, Ogilvy, Universal McCann, CAA, Sanofi, IBM, Delta, PGA, USTA, NFL, NBA and MLB.
Lindsay DiMeglio
Product, Solutions and Workflow Architecture
Priscilla Gomez
Audience Intelligence, Planning & Performance Director
Priscilla applies two decades of data-driven marketing leadership to help organizations adopt AI in ways that are strategic, responsible, and performance-driven. She is a core lead on Growthential’s AI Governance Committee, shaping frameworks that connect customer-first insights with governance, data integrity, and long-term business priorities.
Her background includes leading enterprise-level CRM and lifecycle marketing for more than 30 brands, generating $50M in annual revenue. She built and led a team of six marketers, desiging segmentation and reporting frameworks that tailored communications to 1.7M users with precision and informed senior management decisions. This foundation in data-driven growth makes her uniquely positioned to guide organizations in applying AI to achieve measurable, sustainable outcomes.
At Growthential, Priscilla translates strategy into cross-channel activation powered by AI-enabled performance insights and rigorous data storytelling. Known for navigating complexity with clarity, she helps senior leaders align workflows, integrate innovation into existing operations, and strengthen customer engagement with accountability and foresight.
Beyond strategy, she is recognized for her mentor-driven leadership style—fostering talent, collaboration, and creativity while grounding every initiative in measurable impact. Her resilience and vision have shaped her career through transformations, acquisitions, and enterprise growth initiatives—strengths she now brings to advancing responsible AI adoption across industries.
Priscilla Gomez
Audience Intelligence, Planning & Performance
Jeffrey Pajer
Chief Creative Strategy & Human-Centered Design
Jeffrey advances how creativity and emerging technologies intersect to deliver business impact. A founding member of the firm, he has been instrumental in shaping the development of Growthential’s AI Incubator and AI Strategic Suite–helping organizations adopt generative AI in ways that are strategic, responsible and human-centered.
Jeffrey is recognized for his ability to bridge human-centered design with AI-enabled innovation. He brings clarity and foresight to complex brand and customer experience challenges, ensuring organizations can explore emerging capabilities while staying grounded in creativity, empathy, and measurable business outcomes.
Respected for his “no-hype” approach, Jeffrey pushes boundaries while remaining pragmatic—providing guidance in how to harness AI and innovation responsibly, whether they are exploring new capabilities or strengthening proven strategies.
Jeffrey Pajer
Creative Strategy & Human-Centered Design
Kathleen McCaughey
Account Manager & Cross-Functional Enablement
Kathleen brings six years of account management expertise and a fresh, insight-driven perspective on today’s business and marketing challenges. Since joining the firm in 2020, she has distinguished herself by helping organizations transform complex goals into structured, scalable approaches—ensuring strategic intent is preserved throughout the lifecycle from concept to completion.
As a core contributor to Growthential’s AI Incubator and Governance Committee, Kathleen helps shape frameworks that align innovation with business priorities, accountability, and responsible adoption. She is known for fostering cross-functional collaboration, bringing clarity to complexity, and ensuring that intiatives deliver meaningful and measurable outcomes.
Her perspective underscores Growthential’s commitment to blending diverse experiences and viewpoints within the AI Strategic Suite. Valued for her agility, rigor, and continuous learning mindset, Kathleen thrives in multidisciplinary environments—where governance, foresight, and alignment turn ambitious strategies in results that endure.
Kathleen McCaughey
Account Management & Cross-Functional Team Enablement
Extended Alliance Network
Curated Trusted Partners
A curated network of trusted subject matter experts who collaborate with Growthential on select strategic initiatives requiring deep, domain-specific expertise. These specially selected and vetted alliances help us deliver targeted, high-impact solutions that extend our capabilities without compromising our methodology, core principles, agility, or strategic rigor.
This means our clients consistently have access to high-caliber expertise, integrated strategies and tailored solutions where needed—ensuring their most complex challenges are addressed with precision, speed, and results.