Eric Groves

Principal/Chief Sales Officer

Lately Eric has been morphing into a cowboy. Not sure why. Probably a mid-life crisis — he’s at that age when guys like to change things up. One day he comes to the office looking all designerly and the next day it looks like he’s fixin’ to do chores on the back forty. Lots of funky western shirts with pearl buttons, occasional cowboy boots— haven’t seen a cowboy hat yet (thank goodness!), but we wouldn’t be shocked if he walked in one day sporting one. If he does, we’ll know the transformation is complete.

Ryan Parlee

Principal/Chief Operations & Technology Officer

Ryan has a brilliant mind…..most of the time. Yes, he’s as sharp as a tack when it comes to web architecture and he’s fluent in dozens of languages that only a computer chip could appreciate, but when it comes to every day, around-the-house smarts, well……not so much. You see, he once was teaching his young kids the intricacies of building smoke bombs and by the time he was done with his mini science experiment, half the kitchen was gone and six firetrucks came to visit the Parlee household. They did end up with a completely remodeled kitchen when all was said and done, and he claims it was all part of the plan.

Scott Helms

Principal/Chief Branding Officer

You probably recognize Scott from his performance in the movie “Whiteboyz.” No?! You’re kidding! Okay, it had a total box office draw of $33… but man, Scott really let his acting chops loose in this flick. The way he molded perfectly into the two-second background scene along with 35 other extras was impressive stuff! If they ever give an Oscar for best performance for a non-speaking, barely visible, leaning-against-a-wall, most-likely-never-to-be-noticed person in a terribly awful movie, the vote would have to go to Scott.

JP Smith

Principal/Chief Marketing Officer

Nancy Monteith

Vice President Marketing & Operations

Joel Barbosa

Creative Director/Vice President

John Anderson

Creative Director

Despite having a name that Tom Cruise might use to check into a hotel – John Anderson as a person contradicts his generic moniker. John is an accomplished musician who writes and composes ditties that sound like they’re right out of the 80’s…on purpose. He also has serious acting chops and was awarded the Iowa High School All-State Actor of the Year in 2004! With those sort of accolades, John is almost famous! Come to think of it, maybe John Anderson isn’t his real name after all.

Jesse Balmer

Videographer

There’s a shooter in the house, and we couldn’t be happier. Jesse, aka J-balm, is our video shooter with a right to carry. And boy, is this dude packin’ some heat. He honed his craft at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and then brought his artsy-fartsy talents back to Des Moines. Around here, J-balm is da bomb behind the camera and inside the editing suite where he cranks out killer commercials and brand videos faster than you can say viral. But wait, there’s more. Jesse is also a skilled jazz pianist. Listen closely and you’ll hear some of his keyboard mastery on our videos. This talented punk is our Thelonious Monk.

Michele Bechtold

Project Manager

Patti Bond

Office Manager

Sean Cox

SEO & Analytics Manager

Lynn Cutshall

Lead Developer

Lynn lives for food. Seriously. We think the only reason he works is so that he can frequent the many fine dining establishments in the area. He’s developed a very sophisticated palette over the years and claims he can actually taste the difference between a chalupa and an enchilada from Taco John’s! Actually, he’s introduced our staff to a plethora of varied and interesting dining experience. If he could change careers he would love to be a critic of fine eateries and write a daily column for the Des Moines Register. He even came up with a snappy name for the column – “Lynn’s Guide for Avoiding Salmonella.” Hey, a man’s gotta dream!

Jeremy Downes

Lead Developer

A former cabinet maker and finish carpenter, Jeremy hails from Irvington, NJ and now enjoys crafting everything from custom MySpace layouts to slinging code. Jeremy’s journey started back in 2006, when flip phones were all the rage. When he’s not busy squashing bugs, you’ll find him cooking up beats in his digital studio or sipping on the finest wines this side of the Mississippi.

So whether he’s dropping beats or crafting code, Jeremy brings a sprinkle of pizzazz and a boatload of skills to the Flying Hippo crew!

Brian Fiser

Director of Photography

Brian, aka Mr. Flip-The-Switch, graces us everyday with the biggest of smiles and most friendliest of demeanors. There’s just something about his aura when he walks in that makes you want to give him a big hug. For fear of litigation, I’ll stop there… do NOT hug this man. The only hug you’ll get from this collegiate wrestler is the air-stopping grizzly bear variety. But, if you do say “Uncle” quick enough, be sure to ask him about his multiple Emmy awards and his biggest passion outside of family, the wrestling team he coaches. You should also ask to see a picture of him in his wrestling singlet. Talk about a pin-up!

Kate Frana

Graphic Designer

Aaron Greenfield

Digital Marketing Manager

Megan Halsch

Senior Account Manager

Megan is confident she sings with a beautiful soprano voice. But from the vocals we’ve heard, we think she should sing tenor… fifteen miles away from us. However, Megan makes up for her lack of vocal ability with her strong work ethic, enthusiasm and personality.  

She’s also an old soul when it comes to tunes. If you ever see a pretty girl driving around blaring ragtime music—it’s probably Megan! She does have a confession… *whisper voice*… She’s a closet Taylor Swift fan… *loud voice* … She just can’t shake it off, shake it off!

Aaron Johnson

Director of Digital Marketing

Kristin Kerr

Director of Branding Account Services

You know how sometimes you can tell what a person is like just by looking at them? Well, that is not the case with Kristin. By all appearances she’s a buttoned-up professional, but behind the petite, mild-mannered exterior lies a slightly twisted daredevil in heels. Let me paint the picture. She once felt the need to swim with sharks (yes, sharks…with pointy teeth!) Why, you ask? No, stinkin’ clue – I told you, she’s twisted. She also loves the horror flicks. “Slash and gore, give me more!” – that’s her mantra. Her favorite movie? “Jaws” of course.

Madeline Lickteig

Graphic Designer

Meet Madeline, aka Maddy, the creative powerhouse behind Flying Hippo’s graphic design magic! As a Graphic Designer, Maddy gets to flex her creativity muscles daily, whipping up designs that pop and sizzle. Fun fact alert: Maddy’s name is misspelled on her birth certificate! And get this—she’s never laid eyes on the ocean. Yet. When she’s not crafting eye-catching visuals, Maddy’s busy memorizing lines from her favorite TV shows like The Office. Dwight sums up her work and life philosophy: “Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ and if they would, I do not do that thing.”

Henry Perez

Art Director

Leslie Prudhomme

Marketing Strategist/Account Executive

Meet Leslie, our chaos coordinator extraordinaire hailing from Edmond, OK, and making waves at Flying Hippo as a Marketing Strategist/Account Executive! In her world, every day is a whirlwind of excitement and unpredictability, and Leslie wouldn’t have it any other way. She kicked off her journey on May 22, 2023, and hasn’t looked back since, bringing a decade of higher education experience and five years of Salesforce wizardry to the table. As for college, Leslie’s been around the block, hitting up four schools in just five years—now that’s what you call academic versatility! With Leslie at the helm, chaos never looked so good!

Santiago Quintero

Senior Marketing Strategist/Account Executive

Alex Schroeder

Creative Director

Jerry Stoner

Director of Brand Voice Development

Weed be remiss if we didn’t mention Jerry Stoner’s stellar resume over his illustrious 20-plus year career. He’s written national ad campaigns for some heavy hitters such as McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Napa Auto Parts and Domino’s Pizza. On top of that, he acts, sings and plays guitar! What can’t he do? He truly smokes everyone when it comes to cranking out creative ideas that create buzz. But to be blunt, what Stoner wouldn’t appreciate that?

David Warren

Web Developer

This is the bio of David Warren

He grew up somewhere foreign

In a Russian town that’s hard to spell

And he’s been to ten countries, as well

But there’s more than meets the eye

Then just a web-development guy

He loves to write poetry

As you can probably see

He’s an accomplished theater actor

He admits his cooking is a disaster

He once told a story about his chili exploding

(He better just stick to coding)

Saulo Zayas

Director of Multimedia & Video Production