Seth Grugle

Partner

From his humble beginnings as a pre-teen singing sensation in the suburbs of Dallas to being named Chief Scientist of the ICR Lifestyle Lab today, Seth has provided strategic leadership and creative direction for more than a decade on consumer public relations programs across every major brand sector – entertainment, hospitality, travel, food and beverage, retail, lifestyle, not-for-profit and consumer technology — for such clients as Planet Fitness, Fogo de Chão, Wingstop, Boston Market, Noodles & Company, Freshpet, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, LG Electronics, Denny’s, Corner Bakery Cafe, Taco Bell, Hilary Duff and the United Nations.

A burgeoning zoologist at a young age, Seth quickly realized that this creativity and knack for the written word could one day add an innovative, outside-the-box flair to countless award-winning projects, high-profile events and integrated communications campaigns. When he’s not crossing state lines to indulge in his favorite food – Cajun Chicken Littles from the Cheesecake Factory – he spends his time producing celebrity and influencer integrations, sponsorship activations, corporate social responsibility platforms and media relations efforts that take his clients beyond the newspaper page and into the realm of public consciousness.

Seth holds degrees in journalism, business administration and sociology from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in strategic public relations from the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Manhattan and dreams of one day winning an Olympic medal, winning “Survivor” and seeing his face pop up on a JumboTron (not necessarily in that order).

Anton Nicholas

Managing Partner

Anton is head of the firm’s consumer group, among others, and co-head of the firm’s special situations group. He has almost 20 years of experience in senior positions at leading U.S. and international communications firms, as well as running his own independent advisory firm (which is ironic, because he much prefers spinning on his Peloton bike than running). But his greatest talent to-date is playing classic rock hits by request on a sink. Any sink. Like bongos.

Anton has helped clients such as Alcon, Gulfstream, Massage Envy, Denny’s, Revolution Lighting, Marrone Bio Innovations and Sentient Jet implement long-term strategic communications programs, while helping take such companies as Papa Murphy’s, El Pollo Loco, The Habit, Materialise, Vectrus and Zoës Kitchen public. He’s also advised on a range of special situations and assignments, including M&A activity, IPOs, shareholder activism, litigation support, bankruptcy, product recall, industrial accidents, malfeasance, employee violence and regulator investigations.

Before joining ICR, Anton was a Managing Director and Partner at Sloane & Company. Before that he was CEO of Financial Dynamics International’s (now FTI Consulting) North American operations, having previously led the firm’s international special assignments group. But, his greatest accomplishment to-date is playing husband and father to his wife, two boys and two dogs.

If he weren’t making waves in communications, Anton would easily be making calls as a sports announcer. He holds a BA from the University of Richmond and an MA from Brown University.

Jessica Liddell

Partner

Managing Director Jessica Liddell knows the value of everyday practice. She describes herself as “big into fitness,” and this shows in her steady-paced and practiced approach to big-picture communications.

She’s spent 15 years developing her strategic counsel for high stakes situations like mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and crisis communication. Her skills in corporate and financial communications cover a wide range of industries, especially in the retail and restaurant fields. Jessica’s developed long-term strategic communications programs for international brands like Keurig Green Mountain, Vodafone and Cemex. And she’s advised IPOs for big-ticket brands like Shake Shack, AMC Entertainment, and Michaels.

Prior to ICR, she was senior vice president of boutique communications agency Berns Communications Group, and first cut her teeth advising companies on corporate communications at Abernathy MacGregor.

When she’s not steering a company’s IPO to victory or navigating the through a communications crisis, Jessica lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons. She also knows how to throw a proper soiree — her Great Gatsby-themed wedding took place in Paris.

Alecia Pulman

Partner

When you’re managing big personality brands like lululemon athletica, El Pollo Loco, and Michael Kors, you want a Managing Director like Alecia Pulman. She has over 15 years of experience handling crises of all kinds for top clients, providing strategic counsel and guidance when a lifestyle brand needs it most.

And she’ll manage your communications crisis, be it a natural disaster or a CEO succession, in a signature monochromatic ensemble. “No matter if I’m in LA, Texas, or NYC, I wear black,” she says. “Blue is as far as I’ll go on the color spectrum.”

Alecia combines an affinity for traditional corporate communications with contemporary media expertise to guide clients through the morass of challenges that a brand must face. She’s managed brand launches and positioning campaigns for heavy lifestyle brands like Tumi, bebe, and Tractor Supply.

Before her time at ICR, Alecia held senior media relations positions at FTI Consulting and Thomson Financial Consulting Group, after beginning her career at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. A self-described tequila-lover, she lives in Austin with her two dogs and one son.

Kyle Kostesich

Managing Director, Executive Creative Director

Whether it’s corporate identity or website design, social marketing or advertising, film or video, Kyle operates best in those spaces where human behavior and digital technology intersect. Admittedly, as a proud Penn Stater, he operates worst in spaces where Nittany Lions and Buckeyes intersect.

A classically-trained butcher, Kyle’s spent considerable time dicing up project briefs across all sectors. His client experience ranges from luxury brands, like The Ritz-Carlton, to global financial giants, like Mirae Asset, to healthcare industry titans, like Pfizer.

Prior to joining ICR, Kyle was Associate Creative Director at Evoke Health. Before that, he was Art Director of the award-winning Digital Branding Practice at Makovsky + Company, a top ten independent communications firm based in New York.

When he’s not hard at work, Kyle can be found helping his two young daughters diagnose their 79 stuffed animals’ ailments. In the other 6 minutes of free time he has a day, Kyle can be found missing layups at a basketball court near you.

Adam Belmont

Senior Vice President

Juggler at large (and not just multiple projects at once), Adam is responsible for leading accounts in the health, wellness and restaurant sectors within the ICR Lifestyle Lab, serving a wide variety of clients including Planet Fitness, Freshpet, Boston Market, Fogo de Chão, Wingstop and Noodles & Company.

Despite wanting to be a veterinarian for much of his life until he learned it involved so much more than just playing with puppies, Adam is well-versed in campaign development and event management, finding unique and creative ways to deliver on client objectives rather than trailing behind what’s been done before in the marketplace, particularly across home, lifestyle, culinary and technology verticals.

Prior to entering the ICR Lifestyle Lab, Adam worked in Ogilvy Public Relations’ Brand Marketing Group, serving global consumer technology and tourism clients such as LG Electronics and Guinness Storehouse. An eternal tourist at heart, Adam is currently lobbying for a way to teleport to faraway lands like Australia or New Zealand without having to fly for days on end. He’s hoping his years working for LG Electronics might offer a solution; with LG, he led a number of longstanding communications projects, including blogger engagement campaigns, product review programs and multi-million dollar product launches, for its home appliance division.

Adam is a graduate of American University and has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and minor in Spanish. A new dad, he lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughter and loves cooking any food that starts with “p” and ends with “asta.”

Dominique Wiggins

Account Director

A New York native and master horseback rider, Dominique graduated from State University of New York at Oswego with a degree in public relations in 2015. Before joining the ICR Lifestyle Lab, Dominique worked for a boutique public relations agency with such clients as INVO Coconut Water, Case Station and Empire Fragrance, for which she secured substantial coverage in top tier media outlets and blogs by flexing her creative muscles in new, innovative ways – some might even say she even released a “Genie in a Bottle” a time or two (her favorite guilty pleasure morning wake-up tune).

Growing up, Dominique had Olympic-sized dreams of laying it all out on the track and field. Today, she’s kicking butt and taking names with such gold-medal clients as Planet Fitness, Fogo de Chão, Wingstop, Boston Market, Noodles & Company, Freshpet and more.

In her spare time, Dominique enjoys spending time with family and friends, particularly playing aunt to her adorable nephew and four-year-old cat Butters. Dominique enjoys experiencing new and unique foods, especially in New York City (pizza is her favorite, of course), traveling and embracing new cultures.

Liz Ditrapano

Managing Director

With well over a decade of experience in counseling consumer brands (and even longer in clearing rooms with her singing “talents”), Liz has deep expertise in working with companies at all stages of their life cycle. With Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in hand, Liz develops strategic communications programs that support each of her client’s business objectives and create opportunities to tell their corporate story.

During her career, Liz has guided companies through a wide range of communications challenges, including IPOs, go-private transactions, M&A, corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, shareholder activism, executive transitions and other field-level issues that could have a great impact on a company’s reputation and valuation. Not bad for someone who grew up wanting to be a travel writer – and travel the world in doing so, of course.

Liz has worked across a variety of industry sectors, including real estate, technology, gaming and hospitality. She is a graduate of Fairfield University and currently resides in the ‘burbs of Connecticut with her husband and two wild, fun little boys.

Brittany Fraser

Senior Vice President

A corporate communications guru, but a psychologist at heart, Brittany Fraser first entered the Lab in 2013 and currently counsels leading retail, apparel, and beauty brands such as J.Crew, Michael Kors, Forever 21, Aritzia, Tractor Supply Company, e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. and more.

When she’s not going “Gaga” (her music idol) over a bowl of homemade ice cream from Buck & Bay in Jersey City or dreaming of vacationing on a beach in the Maldives, Brittany is responsible for the development and execution of strategic communications programs for both public and private companies in the retail sector. She has expertise in securing top-tier media coverage, raising brand visibility, creating executive thought leadership platforms, implementing media strategy around corporate announcements, and protecting brand reputation through crisis situations such as product recalls, store incident issues, company layoffs, restructuring, activist investors and more. Plus, she’s an identical twin, which is just plain awesome (and makes sense why Twix is her favorite candy bar).

Prior to joining the ICR Lifestyle Lab, Brittany was a member of the public relations team at KCSA Strategic Communications, where she represented a wide range of healthcare, technology and financial services clients. Brittany graduated with a bachelor of science in Psychology from St. Lawrence University, currently resides in Jersey City, but will never lose her Boston sports fan pride.

Madison McGillicuddy

Account Director

Hailing from Connecticut and consistently killing it in the cooking game, Madison recently graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in public relations. Before joining the ICR Lifestyle Lab, Madison worked for a nonprofit environmental organization, Sierra Club, where she managed the Moshannon Group’s media and social media efforts surrounding their largest event, the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

During her four years at Penn State, Madison filled her plate (pun intended) as social media editor and contributing writer for The Tab, opinion columnist for Greek news outlet The Odyssey and star intern at ICR in 2016 (the Lab just couldn’t let her go – and not just because her shih-poo Brady is so darn adorable!). Today, Madison “bakes up” magic for such clients such as Denny’s, Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Camping World, HotSchedules and more.

As a child, Madison had a short-lived dream of one day becoming a hair stylist, however, after realizing she is incapable of cutting in a straight line, she shifted her focus to the outside-the-lines world of public relations. In her spare time, Madison enjoys traveling, eating, spending time with family and friends. She currently resides in Connecticut.