As teenagers, Eric Bensussen and Jay Deutsch sell their first promotional product—a Seattle Seahawks sweatshirt.
Company becomes BD&A (later changed to BDA) with the “A” representing the Associates—the backbone of the agency.
Company becomes BD&A (later changed to BDA) with the “A” representing the Associates—the backbone of the agency.
New corporate HQ facility built in Woodinville, Washington, just outside of Seattle.
BDA partners with the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research, and to date, has donated more than $600,000.
BDA partners with the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research, and to date, has donated more than $600,000.
BDA China opens in Shenzhen to forge direct-to-factory relationships.
State-of-the-art Midwest Fulfillment Center opens in Plainfield, Indiana.
State-of-the-art Midwest Fulfillment Center opens in Plainfield, Indiana.
Named Preferred Premium Merchandise Agency for Major League Baseball.
Named Official League Store Partner for the National Football League.
Named Official League Store Partner for the National Football League.
Named Official Merchandise Licensee of Major League Soccer.
Named Official Branded Merchandise Licensee of the PGA TOUR.
Named Official Branded Merchandise Licensee of the PGA TOUR.
BDA opens new office in the UK to support the growing global demand for branded merchandise.
Named Preferred Premiums Supplier of the National Basketball Association.
Named Preferred Premiums Supplier of the National Basketball Association.
BDA opens new office in Manila, Philippines to better serve clients both domestically and internationally.
Launched more EMEA offices in Manchester, UK and Paris, France to support continued global demand.
Launched more EMEA offices in Manchester, UK and Paris, France to support continued global demand.
BDA celebrates its 35th Anniversary.
Expanding BDA's North American footprint, BDA opens new offices in Calgary, Toronto and Waterloo, Canada.
Expanding BDA's North American footprint, BDA opens new offices in Calgary, Toronto and Waterloo, Canada.
BDA announces PowerA sale to ACCO Brands.
Steve AvanessianEVP – Client Services & Sports Learn more about Steve |
Jon WilkersonEVP – NBD & Client Services Learn more about Jon |
Tara DenmanChief Human Resources Officer Learn more about Tara |
Jared CollingeChief Financial Officer Learn more about Jared |
Steve GomezChief Information & Digital Officer Learn more about Steve |
Chuck is responsible for all financial and business operations, sales and marketing, and administration for the Seahawks. As president of First & Goal Inc., Arnold directs the management of Lumen Field, Lumen Field Event Center, and WAMU Theater. Arnold is in his 28th season with the organization and fourth as team president, after serving as the team’s COO from 2013-18. In April 2021, the team announced his extension as president through 2027.
Lea has over 30 years of experience as a public and private company Board Member, trusted M&A Advisor, Private Equity Principal and Franchisee Operator of a global skin-care and cosmetics retailer. Her career has been entirely dedicated to working with high growth companies, primarily in the consumer and retail sectors, where she seeks to achieve outsized returns by applying her deep understanding of the financial and human resources and strategies required to fuel growth and innovation.
Rob builds iconic billion-dollar brands, creates desire with modern storytelling and ignites pop-culture by unleashing fan passion. Specializing in brand, business model and industry transformation with a focus on youth and popular culture – he has built some of the most iconic brands and entertainment franchises in the world, including Xbox, Nintendo, Minecraft, Pokémon, Mario, Zelda, Halo, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Surface, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and nearly 400 others.
Bob is one of the most brilliant guys in the room. He served as Senior Partner of McKinsey and Company after managing the firm's Seattle, Seoul, Korea, and Los Angeles offices.
As a one-time direct report to Warren Buffet, Jim successfully revitalized Brooks into one of the world’s premier running shoe brands. Before starting the ambitious journey of Brooks Sports as the running brand, Weber was the managing director of U.S. Bancorp's Piper Jaffray, a Seattle investment bank.
Tod is one of the country’s most accomplished and highly regarded executives across all professional sports leagues. After building the Seattle Seahawk and Seattle Sounders into two of the most successful franchises within their respective leagues, Tod left Seattle to become the CEO of the Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment LP at Lightning Hockey LP. In 2018, Tod returned to Seattle to lead the effort to bring the NHL back to Seattle. The Seattle Kraken will take the ice in October 2021.
Motivator. Philosopher. Innovator. Leader.
Jay is the heartbeat of the BDA. His vision of merchandising agency as a collaborative partner with our clients touches all aspects of our business, everyday.
If there were do-overs: Another 21-run, only make it a week in Vegas.
Fondest childhood memory: Playing pickup sports with the neighborhood kids.
Bucket list: Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.
Barry is a hard worker who leads with persistence and commitment. He has helped guide BDA's strategic direction and nurtured partnerships with the majority of Fortune 500 companies and entertainment properties. Barry wakes up every day with the purpose to drive the BDA business forward by delighting clients, winning new accounts, and assisting with the company's global expansion. Barry was 19 when he joined the BDA sales force and didn't skip a beat ever since.
When he's not working: Swinging a club
When he's not swinging a club: Swinging a hammer
When he's not swinging a hammer: Losing in cribbage to his wife
Rob is the connector who can spot the challenges and opportunities well ahead, define the right team, and lead them by example to get to the desired outcome. He brings decades of diverse experiences across consumer and corporate marketing, operations, creative services, and organizational development. Rob currently spearheads BDA global operations, sales enablement, product development, and marketing/strategic communications functions, laying down the foundation for purposeful and sustainable growth.
Hardware: One Gold Lion from Cannes International Advertising Show, Four gold Clios, and numerous other awards from his days with the Seattle Supersonics (NBA)
Greatest compliment: "Rob is someone you'd want to build your house and run your company."
Glory days: Played on back-to-back high school state champion basketball teams
Steve has been instrumental in the growth of our ProActivation™ division. His teams built sports marketing relationships with MLB, NFL, MLS, NASCAR, USOC, PGA Tour, NCAA, NHL and the NBA, and partnerships with Marvel, FremantleMedia, Sony Pictures and Fox Studios in the entertainment world.
Vacation he won’t stop talking about: Blessing the rains down in Africa
Obsession: San Francisco Giants baseball
Daily cardio: Chasing after his twins, who love running in opposite directions
For over two decades, Jon has led sales teams, trained hundreds, on-boarded dozens of assignments with many of the worlds most respected brands and has been a contributing factor to the explosive growth BDA continues to experience. Jon believes in people first. He is a passionate, energetic and proven leader who always makes himself available to anyone. He obsesses about winning, both in making BDA the best company to work for, and partner with, and by growing people personally and professionally.
When he's not working: Traveling the world with my wife and two teenage boys.
Backup career: Travel blogger and influencer.
Denman brings more than 20 years of executive level human resources experience to BDA. She has led culture and people strategies, talent acquisition, employee development, total rewards and employee relations across leading brands such as Rexford Industrial, Keypath Education, Ace (Westlake) Hardware, and H&R Block.
Hidden Talent: Cooking. I give cooking Italian, French and gluten-free classes for fun and even tried out for the TV show MasterChef. The dishes I am always asked to make the most often are chocolate croissants or anything Italian.
Childhood Nickname: My grandmother Mary Lou used to say 'you are such a goodie' because I was always willing to help her in the kitchen - and it stuck. Everyone just called me "Goodie" after that.
Jared is a visionary leader with an extensive track record of solving complex problems and improving financial results. His background includes stops at Dell, Honeywell and General Motors, where he shaped long-term business strategy, centralized and standardized accounting processes and improved productivity.
In the trophy case: Puget Sound Business Journal CFO of the Year
Backup career: Nature photographer
Saturday passion: Watching Michigan win
Steve is a dexterous leader who can build experiences connecting humans and technology. He brings more than 20 years of experience in driving digital product innovation and technology transformation. Steve has experience working for marquee brands such as Microsoft, T-Mobile, ING Direct – Sharebuilder and has been a local investor in technology start-ups.
Hidden Talent: Outside of my family and work, my passion is music. I am a songwriter and love to perform music with my band. We have two albums out and are currently recording a third!
Childhood Nickname: I've never had one, but it's never too late!
