Women’s Advisory Council

Cindy Gibbs, Founder, Big Fish Branding 

Cindy Gibbs, founder of Big Fish Branding, pursued her interest in advertising and earned a degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. Having gathered a wealth of more than 20 years of advertising experience as she lived and worked in several parts of the country, Cindy saw the need for a service to provide promotional items to medium sized clients that were striving to stand out from their competition. In 2005, she settled in Colorado and set up Big Fish Branding to answer those needs, bringing her unique perspective to the table with every client project. Through targeted, creative campaigns she has received many national awards, including PPAI’s Pyramid Gold Award for a Big Fish self promotion campaign. Her client portfolio includes a variety of industries including hospitality, construction, and the marine industry. In August of 2015, she acquired Capstone Promotions, a similar-sized distributorship through iPROMOTEu’s Distributor Exchange. Of course, every hard day of work, comes with a hard day of play. When the work is done, Cindy is at the barn riding her horse, or depending on the season, inland surfing or snowboarding with her family.

Theresa Gonzalez, President, Stay Visible, LLC

For many years, Theresa has had a passion for marketing. It started out with a love of direct mail that turned into owning a full service promotional marketing company. For 15 years, Theresa has been successfully running Stay Visible, LLC incorporating that original love of direct mail and special packaging with products and creative ideas.  Stay Visible has been a consistent Top 20 and Top 50 producer within iPROMOTEu and was named fastest growing affiliate by iPROMOTEu in 2011 and 2013.  Theresa was honored to receive the Bronze Image Award from PPAI.  Theresa has extensive experience with universities and the education sector and continues to grow with that market.  Theresa is very proud to be part of the iPROMOTEu Marketing Committee as well as the iPROMOTEu Women’s Advisory Council and enjoys being surrounded by people that share similar visions.

Chris Hartley, President, MCM Productions 

MCM Productions is a Certified, Small, Woman Owned company founded by Chris Hartley, a graduate of McGill University (BA Economics). After a successful career in the ski industry, she determined that a void existed in the promotional products market. In 1993 Chris began MCM Productions in the basement of her home. 12 years later, her husband suggested they move out of Massachusetts and they relocated to Park City, Utah.  Within four months of the move, she began discussions with iPROMOTEu. After careful due diligence, she made her decision to become an affiliate within two months. Chris Hartley of MCM Productions was recognized by the Advertising Specialties Institute as their “Person of the Year 2009” out of 130,000 industry sales reps.

Teresa Molnar, Partner, Avalon Image Group

Terri’s background includes 12 years in the promotional/marketing field, with a specific focus on customer service, office management and financial responsibilities.  Terri also co-founded Avalon Image Group in 2007.

Prior to working in the promotional products industry, Terri worked for 14 years as the Business Manager at Bill Doll & Company.  Her responsibilities included: managing all aspects of the company’s marketing programs, researching and validating information on out-going publications and controlling financial operations.  In addition, Terri was responsible for handling conferences and event planning for the company.

Her responsibilities at Avalon include: sales management, financial operations, office management and customer service.  Terri is also well connected with senior industry executives and is involved with various industry associations and focus groups.

Shawna Tromczynski, Partner, Avalon Image Group

Shawna’s background includes 13 years in the promotional/marketing field, with a specific focus on customer service, promotional products, apparel order management, and customized branding and marketing.  She co-founded Avalon Image Group in 2007.

Prior to working in the promotional industry, Shawna worked In Human Resources at the Telxon Corporation as the Compensation Manager.  Additional responsibilities at Telxon included managing Employee Service Award Programs, creating the employee store, facilitating sales gifts/incentives, and designed the employee motivational award program.

Her current responsibilities at Avalon include: key account management, implementation and administration of marketing initiatives, in-house fulfillment programs and product research.  Shawna is well connected with primary industry executives and is involved with various industry associations and focus groups.

Stephanie Zafarana, MBA, President, Pica Marketing Group

Stephanie, as head honcho, wears many hats. She grounds Pica with her business background and adds a feminine touch to the creative process for her clients. Additionally, she uses her process and consulting experience to help clients build marketing plans, create processes and organize their marketing efforts.