Creative Direction
Margo Pelak is an award-winning communications and marketing leader with more than 25 years of experience in growth leadership roles across Fortune 500 organizations and high growth startups, where her work has been instrumental in achieving revenue targets and profitability goals.
Margo has held strategic leadership roles at Flexan, Mogul, Presence Healthcare, Siemens, Sysmex America, Cap Gemini America, and Motorola Life Sciences, where she has excelled in raising awareness of people, products, brands, and services across multiple global channels. As a journalist, Margo has published more than 300 news and feature articles in local, national, and international publications.
Margo holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from National-Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago.
A NOTE FROM MARGO
This site contains a very small sample of my work - though my greatest asset is my brain! I am a strategizer at heart, and I help organizations grow. How can I help you achieve your goals?
Creative Direction
Creative direction showcasing manufacturing automation at a leading custom contract manufacturer in Lincolnshire, Ill.
Response to labor attack from AFSCME labor union. Creative direction, writing, and producing.
Video to promote commitment to heart health and an upcoming heart walk, for employees
Flexan (Life Sciences Division of Ingersoll Rand)
With a long track record of biocompatibility, medical-grade silicone is a trusted choice in short- and long-term implantable devices and components. Two common forms stand out: Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) and High Consistency Silicone Rubber (HCR). While both materials share some similarities, they also exhibit distinct characteristics that make them suitable for different applications.
Flexan manufactures silicone sleeves for cataract surgery - see advanced automation in action
An interview with Flexan's Frankie Swindell about the importance of relationships with customers
Mogul
Mogul, Inc. publishes high profile research report with groundbreaking insights
Tiffany Pham on Yahoo Finance for Women's Equality Day
In-depth review of gender and racial disparities on Fortune 500 boards.
Fortune 500 boards - a glimmer of hope
Danielle Correa's in-depth reporting on CIO Diversity
Many companies have issued bold public statements to promote diversity and inclusion in their workplace since the George Floyd tragedy and AAPI hate crimes. Are these actionable initiatives, genuine corporate culture change, or just "woke-washing" marketing efforts? A recent headline from The Telegraph of UK - "Corporate woke-washing is a minefield of hypocrisy."
Just 31 percent of board members at Fortune 500 companies are female, and that number drops to a staggering 7 percent for non-white women, new research shows. Of 5,403 board members, 69 percent are male, and 78.5 percent are white.
Sysmex America
Sysmex America, Inc. showcases how augmented reality applications can be used within the laboratory. Producer: PTC / Thingworx Script: PTC and Margo Schafer (Sysmex)
Ghostwriting/Medical/Technical B2B Primary Author: Margo Schafer Pelak (uncredited) Secondary Author: Anita Weissman (credited)
Sysmex America, Inc. demonstrates how Augmented Reality technology helps laboratory and hematology professionals simplify and automate their work.
(Project Management / Editing / Ghost Writing / B2B) Each year, more than 100,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with kidney failure, the final stage of kidney disease. 1 The most common cause is diabetes, accounting for nearly 44 percent of new cases. 1 Often, a consequence of kidney disease is anemia.
Resurrection / Presence Health Care
This ad is part of a comprehensive plan developed to combat a labor union's corporate campaign to discredit Resurrection Healthcare. Commercial won awards.
An Example Physician Newsletter
I have written literally hundreds of executive speeches
Media Relations Work - Front Page, Above the Fold. Author: Anne Paxton
Earned Media / Public Relations (Scroll Down for More!)
Results of proactive media pitch to promote groundbreaking surgery - aired twice on major Chicagoland network. Publicity value $70k. (Source: Cision) This surgery was also the focus of a one-hour special (earned, not paid) on TLC/Discovery, which aired six times. Publicity value for TLC/Discovery special was in excess of $600k. (Source: Cision)
Reactive earned media - Man rescued from Lake Michigan. Successfully encouraged patient to share his story. Coivered widely in print and TV. Value: 100k+ (source: Cision).
Many companies have issued bold public statements to promote diversity and inclusion in their workplace since the George Floyd tragedy and AAPI hate crimes.
Original News Release Regarding Removal of a 12-lb. Tumor at Saint Joseph Hospital
Proactive pitch to ABC-7 about groundbreaking weight loss surgery. Resulted in 3:48 segment aired in two major time slots. Coverage valued at more than $80k (source: Cision).
Media Relations for Certified Stroke Center
Patrick Reynolds, an anti-smoking advocate, spoke movingly at Saint Francis Hospital's annual HeartFest about the dangers of tobacco.
Journalism
Poignant, Pioneering Book Portrays Autism in Photographs
Cary Grove student dies while campaigning for relative
By Margo Pelak It almost sounds like an urban legend when Dr. Stephen Rivard casually mentions a 96-year-old woman who had repeatedly driven 40 miles several times a year over a 13-year quest to heal a painful, open leg wound.
By Margo Schafer Pelak 'Tis the season for vowing to lose a few extra holiday pounds, or perhaps pursuing that ripped six-pack you've always wanted - and that means getting to the gym more often, or dusting off that home treadmill and weight machine. How can you make sure your fitness resolutions stick?
Primrose School Teaches Character Development in Young Children
My interview with comedian Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob Squarepants
My article about Olympic Wheelchair Tennis Champions in Lake County
Firefighter teaches fire safety to kids by clowning around