As Vice President of Idea Architects, Susan leads a variety of early innovation charges, including consumer connects, insight development, concept development, and concept optimization. She also leads Super Group^® ideation sessions to inspire ideas for new products, services, promotions, packaging, and more. Susan possesses the unique ability of cultivating and maintaining a high-energy creative environment which allows individuals to flourish, but her true gift lies in the characters she brings to life in sessions.

Prior to joining Research International, Susan was Vice President, Creative Strategy at Landis Strategy and Innovation in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She has
worked with a variety of outstanding clients, including Brinker International, Coca-Cola, Denny’s, General Mills, Gillette, Hershey’s, Jostens, Kellogg’s, Kodak, KFC, Kraft Foods, LG, Miller Brewing Company, Minute Maid, Nestlé, Pillsbury, Quaker, S.C. Johnson, Taco Bell, Unilever and University of Michigan.

Susan received her B.A. in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focusing on interpersonal communication and psychology. She is certified in Creative Problem Solving and a leader at the annual Creative Problem Solving Institute. She also studied improvisation at Josephine Forsberg’s Players Workshop in Chicago.

In her free time, Susan pursues her passion for food, music, reading and all things Italian. Above all, her favorite pastime is exploring the city of Chicago with her husband Rob and dynamite son Roman.