Purple Strategies Welcomes Former Ogilvy CEO John Seifert and McKinsey Senior Partner Emeritus Bob Frei to Its Advisory Board
Adds Global Agency Leadership and Management Consulting Expertise to Purple’s Board of Seasoned Cross-Sector Leaders
Purple Strategies, a strategic advisory firm focused on reputation, issues and advocacy for many of the world’s most important companies and organizations, today announced that John Seifert, former Worldwide CEO of Ogilvy, and Bob Frei, Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company, have joined its Advisory Board.
The additions further deepen Purple’s trusted counsel at the highest levels of business and industry. Together, Seifert and Frei bring firsthand perspective on how leading organizations build reputation, drive performance and address the most pressing issues of the day — a combination Purple believes is both rare and increasingly necessary for clients navigating today’s stakeholder landscape.
“Bringing together someone who spent a career building some of the world’s most recognizable brands with someone who spent decades guiding companies through their toughest business challenges speaks directly to what makes Purple unique,” said Kristen Morgante, CEO of Purple Strategies. “John and Bob each bring a rare vantage point on how the biggest organizations build value and protect it, and we’re fortunate to have both on our team.”
Seifert and Frei join Purple’s Advisory Board, which also includes:
- David Bickerton, corporate communications strategist with 20 years leading communications and advocacy at BP
- Donna Brazile, veteran political strategist and former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee
- Machalagh Carr, founder of Quell Strategies and former Chief of Staff to Speaker Kevin McCarthy
- Neil Golden, former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s and current board member of Panera Brands and INFI
- Jerry Krulewitch, former EVP, General Counsel and Secretary of McDonald’s Corporation
Advisory Board members provide strategic counsel to the firm on client challenges, contribute to thought leadership that advances the field, and help identify new opportunities for Purple to add value for its clients. To learn more about Purple’s approach and our work with clients like Abbott, McDonald’s, bp, and Johnson & Johnson, visit our collection of perspectives and insights.
More on Purple’s new Advisory Board members:
- John Seifert spent more than four decades at Ogilvy, including serving as Worldwide CEO and leading its global creative and communications network, before retiring in 2021. He previously led Ogilvy North America as CEO and directed Ogilvy’s Global Brand Community — responsible for the network’s 50 largest clients — deepening relationships and leading award-winning campaigns for Fortune 500 clients such as American Express, BP, IBM, Coca-Cola, Ford, Unilever, and Siemens, among others. John now chairs the advisory board of the Yale School of Management’s Program on Stakeholder Innovation and Management and serves on the boards of Jupiter Medical Center and Dynasty Financial Partners.
- Bob Frei spent 35 years at McKinsey & Company advising boards and management teams on strategy, organization and performance, and is now a Senior Partner Emeritus of the firm. In more than two decades as a Senior Partner, he led McKinsey’s Oil & Gas Practice in the Americas, co-led it globally for five years, and co-led the firm’s global Agriculture & Chemicals Practice for ten. His clients ranged from global industry leaders to small-cap, private and family-owned companies across chemicals, petroleum, agriculture, basic materials, electric power and natural gas. From 2022 to 2025, Bob served on the Board of Kraton Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company. He is an advisor and investor in the relaunch of World Team Tennis. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics from Princeton University.
