Knights of the Round Table

Aiding Brands in History on its quest are welcome contributors. Their entries add flavor, variety and valued expertise to the content of this blog. To each of you, thank you!

Cliff Gillock is a retired, award-winning, advertising art director/creative director. He worked at Baxter & Korge Studio, a highly regarded Houston design firm, and had a long career at several large national ad agencies, such as McCann Erickson, Ogilvey & Mather, and Young & Rubicam, working on accounts like Exxon, Shell, and Gulf Oil. In 1982, Cliff and Scott Black formed Black & Gillock Advertising. They created award-winning print and broadcast ads for local and national accounts. Cliff is past-president of The Art Director's Club of Houston and the Houston Advertising Federation. He twice served as chair of the AAF-Houston President’s Council. In 2007, he received the AAF-Houston Silver Medal for lifetime achievement and in 2013, was inducted into the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame.  Cliff is a native Houstonian and an enthusiastic baseball fan.

Edward Harris has long been recognized as one of the top marketing leaders in Houston, and for clients nationally and internationally. His  B2B branding and marketing expertise has helped many of the major oil companies. as well as vendors who serve the oil & gas industry. Harris is one of the original forward thinkers, developing tailored processes leading his clients to great success. These processes have also attracted major B2C clients who turned to Harris for help in building their brands. His agency has won numerous local and national BMA and Addy awards. He is a native son from Houston Texas who attended the University of Houston and the Wharton Business School.  

Mark Lamela is a 20+ year veteran of human performance, organizational development, and transformational change management across diverse industries, not to mention having served as a VP at Ernst & Young LLC. His global business experience gives him insight into the behavior of individuals, groups, cultures, and organizations, and how best to influence them. Mark's clients realize rapid and resilient growth, improved margins, risk mitigation, exceptional morale, and well-developed talent pools. He holds several change and process certifications; and author to numerous articles, blogs, and books, including two children books under Random House: A Rare Pair & Bongos Talking Drum.


Bob Lamons is a recognized B2B branding and marketing expert. Bob is a 40-year veteran of business-to-business marketing and a past international chairman of the Business Marketing Association. He is a G.D. Crain, Jr. Award recipient, a member of the Business Marketing Hall of Fame, and author of The Case For B2B Branding, the first branding book for business marketers. He wrote a monthly column on “Advertising To Business” from 1992 to 2007 for Marketing News magazine. Bob is a native of Tulsa, OK, and a graduate of the University of Tulsa.

Cecelia Ottenweller is based in Houston and her resume reads like the mad wanderings of a moonstruck calf. A variety of adventures have prepared Cecelia for her current job, including a 7-year stint as on-air traffic announcer "Ann Parker" on Houston's news talk stations, and a career as a museum educator at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. She's parlayed this varied experience into a decade-long career as a business communication consultant and Creative Director for HexaGroup Creative in Houston, Texas. She loves travel and currently splits her time between her work as an independent consultant and storyteller in Houston, and gallivanting around the globe.

Michael Ratcliff is the Director of Marketing Services at Sysco. He is a 30-year veteran of communications design who impacted brands such as Compaq, Pulse, Schlumberger, Shell, and a host of others. Ratcliff has earned recognition from industry peers, including the Business Marketing Association, Houston Advertising Federation, and the International Association of Business Communicators.

Paul Sage is a marketing consultant and writer, doing business as Sage Advice. Paul has directed marketing communications in both corporate and agency positions for major brands in telecommunications, banking, utilities, and business services. Paul also teaches marketing to college students at The University of Phoenix. More of Paul's musings on marketing can be found at www.paulsagemarketing.com.

William Falloure is a young officer currently serving in the U.S. military and holds a bachelor degree in History from Virginia Military Institute. He is also related to the editor of the blog, Brands in History. William produced the award-winning student documentaries, The Hellenic Revolution, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Among his honors are two 1st Place medals in the Houston ISD National History Day competition for Documentary (2010/2011). Falloure is an Eagle Scout with Bronze, Gold, and Silver Palms. His interests are history, military strategy, and lacrosse.

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A seat at the table: The Round Table seeks contributors. Know that being a trained historian is not a requirement, but being a professional in or related to the field of marketing is preferred. Nevertheless, some writing skill is required, along with solid knowledge of your proposed subject. So, send your entry proposal and your credentials to dhfalloure@gmail.com.