John Gardner loves change. He likes to challenge the status quo, upset the apple cart, make waves and rock the boat – all in the name of building connections and relationships between people, businesses and communities. John knows that change is natural. To him, it’s a signal that things are working. He would tell you that change is essential to the human experience. And while it makes most people itchy, it makes John content.

John’s career has been marked by anticipating, embracing and driving change in the marketing and business development arena. Most recently this has led to the transformation of Luckie into an agency focused on getting companies closer to their customers, to finding the human in their brand. His expertise in marketing, technology, data analytics, statistical modeling, consumer behavior and customer engagement has changed the game for Luckie’s clients. His passion for developing leaders has changed the lives of Luckie’s people.

For many years, John has been at the center of the marketing revolution created by the impact of technology and data. As co-founder of Integrative Logic, John brought the science of data and the art of marketing together in a data analytics firm that helped clients achieve a higher return on their marketing investment. Early in his career, as director of business intelligence for imc2, he championed the benefits of data-driven marketing.

A Microsoft Certified Professional, tennis enthusiast, military history scholar and lover of Alabama football, John is all over the brain map. He is happy to engage in conversation about all of those topics. He is also a highly regarded speaker and writer on the subjects of change management, leadership development and marketing trends.

What drives him: Leadership, creativity, innovation

With Luckie since: 2001

Expertise: Leadership, marketing and business operations, digital and brand strategy, business intelligence, CRM, database management, analytics

Key client experience: Chick-fil-A, Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels, Wyndam Hotels, American Airlines, Regions Bank, P&G, McKee Foods, Kohl’s, Saks, Disney, Liz Claiborne, Bayer, Nestlé, L’Oréal, Lane Bryant, Galderma Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, TAP Pharmaceuticals