Leah Hattendorf

As The Escape Pod’s strategy leader, Leah prides herself on being “The People’s Planner,” bringing heart, empathy and a true desire to understand the lives of customers into the development of strategy. Firmly believing that without creativity, you don’t have a real strategy, her department’s approach is equal parts academic rigor and creativity.
During her time at The Escape Pod, Leah has been responsible for guiding the brand and communications strategy for Wheat Thins, Toys”R”Us, KIND, EGO and Winn-Dixie. Her leadership at The Escape Pod includes the creation of the Toys”R”Us brand promise that championed the importance of play in the social, cognitive and emotional development of kids. She was also responsible for positioning EGO as a tech brand in a category that had become functional and boring, resulting in year on year double-digit growth.
Prior to joining The Escape Pod, Leah was a member of JWT’s global leadership team for Kimberly-Clark, overseeing brand strategy and marketing plan development in Latin America, Australia, Russia, Europe, Southeast Asia and South Korea. At JWT NY she was a core team member responsible for turning around the Kleenex business with the “Softness Worth Sharing” campaign, resulting in share growth for the first time in over five years.
While at FCB, Leah reinvigorated Kraft’s Jell-O business, transitioning the brand from its earlier association with children to a low-calorie permissible indulgence for women, resulting in 9% sales growth vs. the prior year.She also spent time at DDB, successfully launching the Cars.com brand, resulting in a 30% increase in site traffic in just six months.
Leah is a graduate of the University of Illinois’s College of Business, and has studied at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.In her spare time, Leah can be found in her studio making art.