Jim Allman

Chairman

Jim joined DeVries’ management team in June 2004. He brings a very strong consumer marketing and communications background from his twenty years of experience at two preeminent advertising agencies: J. Walter Thompson and Ammirati Puris Lintas, where he was the Chairman of the New York office.

A true globalist, Jim has lived and worked in the US, Italy, UK and Thailand. He has also stewarded global brands and relationships with clients such as Unilever, Dell and Burger King. For three years, before joining DeVries, Jim was the Executive Vice President for Worldwide Marketing at Sotheby’s, the 250-year-old auction house.

A graduate of Georgetown University with an MBA from Northwestern, Jim is a member of the Board of Directors of Project Renewal, New York’s largest not-for-profit organization supporting the city’s chronic homeless, as well as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

Stephanie Smirnov

Chief Executive Officer

A 12-year veteran of the agency, Stephanie Smirnov brings two decades of consumer public relations to her role. She oversees the agency’s Strategic and Creative Services function which includes emerging media, research and analytics and branded entertainment. Stephanie is an avid blogger with deep connections in the world of mom bloggers; she is also a regular on the blogger conference circuit, having spoken recently at conferences such as Type A Mom, Mom 2.0 and the EVO Conference. Stephanie is also well connected in the beauty industry, having spent much of her career as a beauty specialist and having held leadership positions at L’Oreal USA, Inc. and the Donna Karan Beauty Company. She is currently a member of the Board of Governors of Cosmetic Executive Women and an active member of the Cause Marketing Forum.

Follow Stephanie on Twitter or read her blog.

Michael Thomas

Chief Financial Officer

Michael joined the DeVries management team in December 2007.

He brings a strong client service background with twenty years of financial experience including five years in southeast Asia.

Michael’s career began at Coopers & Lybrand where he worked in both the New York and San Jose audit practices servicing clients in the financial services, consumer and technology industries. He then joined Quantum Corporation where he spent two years at their worldwide headquarters in Milpitas CA before transferring to their Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. Upon returning to New York, Michael joined the Interpublic Network working for Octagon Sports Marketing and Weber Shandwick. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and resides with his wife in Manhattan.

Yvonne Shaw

Vice President Human Resources

Yvonne joined us in 2005 to lead our human resources function so that we attract, develop and retain the best talent. She brought extensive experience in public relations, consumer products, entertainment and consulting.

Yvonne was VP Human Resources for CMG where her largest client was the NY office of Weber Shandwick. Previously, as VP Human Resources for Vivendi Universal’s global corporate divisions, she was a strategic leader through mergers, acquisitions, talent management and diversity. Earlier in her career, Yvonne was a Senior Consultant for Organization Resources Counselors, Inc.

Yvonne has a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the State University of New York at Albany, and is a member of SHRM and the NY HR Planning Society.