Our People
Meet the leadership team that makes great things happen. A savvy group of professionals, our leaders are experts at delivering long-lasting results and customer relationships.
Brian Linscott
Appointed to CEO in June of 2021, Brian has over two decades of experience advising clients and C-level executives on operational improvements, growth strategies, acquisitions, corporate development and capital structure across a variety of industries, including media, manufacturing and transportation. From 2015 to 2019 he served as Partner at BR Advisors, where he led the operational improvement of radio and printing companies, developed new partnerships and facilitated asset transactions. He also serves as Operating Partner at Traverse Pointe Partners since 2014, where he advises a private equity fund on financial and operational assessment of equity investments and developed post-acquisition operational strategies to create shareholder value. From 2013 to 2015, Brian served as a Managing Director at Huron Consulting Group where he managed client relationships, oversaw consulting teams and developed new business opportunities in Huron’s Business Advisory practice. From 2009 to 2012, Brian served as Chief Financial Officer/Senior Vice President at Sun Times Media, LLC where he created and executed a restructuring plan that led to substantial EBITDA growth, cash flow improvement and a successful sale of the company. Brian received his BS in Finance from the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Lauri Kearnes
Lauri is the Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for global accounting and finance operations. She brings over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance roles, including the last 18 years with Harte Hanks in various positions. Lauri has experience with ERP and other system implementations. She was instrumental in centralizing the accounting operations for the company to drive measurable savings and efficiency. She is committed to continual improvements in processes and systems to lead the company forward.
Lauri began her career in public accounting and held various roles at Nutraceutical Corporation and Brooks Automation. She currently serves on the OTCQX U.S. Advisory Council. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters of Accounting from Utah State University.
Joyce Karel
As Chief Commercial Officer, Joyce is responsible for leading Harte Hanks’ Marketing Services business, as well as managing clients, sales and marketing, and service offerings across the enterprise. She is focused on ensuring the company seamlessly delivers exceptional products and services for clients.
Joyce brings to this role extensive leadership experience, spanning advertising agency, consulting firm and corporate environments. She has always been committed to building and growing collaborative teams that deliver exceptional business results for brands.
Prior to Harte Hanks, Joyce served as President, U.S. East for MRM//McCann. Joyce has also held leadership positions at top advertising agencies, including Digitas, Ogilvy & Mather and Wunderman, as well as client-side roles at Whirlpool. She has partnered with many of the most respected brands, including Abbott, AT&T, Charles Schwab, FedEx, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark, Reckitt Benckiser, United Airlines and the United States Tennis Association, among others.
Lastly, Joyce sits on the Board of Advisors of Sandboxx, a company dedicated to connecting military communities.
Nina Hall
Human Resources
Nina leads a team of HR professionals, responsible for championing the company’s culture and providing tools and resources that create an engaging experience for all employees. She has served in a series of key human resources roles, supporting Harte Hanks’ locations in California prior to her relocation to Texas. With over 25 years of experience, her role includes oversight of talent acquisition, employee relations, human resources shared services, compliance, benefits and engagement for the company’s more than 2,500 employees worldwide. Prior to joining Harte Hanks, Nina held various HR management roles, supporting public broadcasting and information technology. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Pat O’Brien
Fulfillment and Logistics
Pat leads the Fulfillment & Logistics business for Harte Hanks, providing seamless operational support to our clients across the globe. Before joining Harte Hanks, he served as an Associate Director for CastleGate Logistics, Wayfair’s internal fulfillment and logistics division. In that role, Pat scaled operations for Wayfair’s Upholstery and Outdoor Furniture businesses, managing end-to-end logistics, fulfillment and strategic account growth for over $1B worth of inventory. He also led the sales and go-to-market strategy for Wayfair’s high-growth International Supply Chain offering (including their Ocean Freight, Asia Consolidation services, and Customs Brokerage businesses). Prior to Wayfair, Pat was a consultant for Bain & Company, with a primary focus on developing strategy and implementation plans for multi-year full-scale supply chain transformations for large retail and consumer products companies.
Pat received his MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after spending close to a decade as an officer and pilot in the U.S. Navy, deploying all over the world and instructing hundreds of future aviators.
Ben Chacko
Customer Care
With over 23 years of BPO industry experience, Ben is our Managing Director for Customer Care. In this role, Ben is responsible for the day-to-day leadership, strategic direction and business transformation efforts for our client partners and 2,000+ team members globally.
Ben started his career on the front lines and has been working his way up since. After joining Harte Hanks in 1999, Ben held multiple roles with oversight of operational delivery, coupled with various support departments at Harte Hanks, and has experience across a broad spectrum of industry verticals. Ben has significant experience implementing and running large scale multi-shore programs where he has consistently driven efficiencies while improving quality, customer satisfaction and profitability.
Gretchen Ramsey
As the Chief Strategy Officer, Gretchen is responsible for crafting the strategic opportunity for clients and ensuring that opportunity is met with the most compelling creative experience, perfectly measured and optimized for the environment of the moment.
Known in the industry for building mass experience ecosystems for clients from Coca-Cola to Johnson & Johnson, Gretchen built her craft at advertising monoliths McCann Worldgroup, Publicis, Grey Group and Omnicom. Now a noted thought leader on emerging behavior, she leads the Harte Hanks Behavioral Index, a global study that tracks more than 500 million pieces of data on human behavior.
Bob Wyman
After 23 years as a civil and criminal litigator, Robert “Bob” Wyman joined Harte Hanks in 2012. Along with his litigation experience, Bob also has a wide array of experience in the areas of international and multi-state employment law, real estate law, privacy law, banking law and contract law. He enjoys handling the diversity of issues that corporate law presents and recognizes the privilege of serving as the lead in-house lawyer for Harte Hanks.
