Phyllis Stahle has participated in building some of America's strongest brands and marketing programs, ranging from Rolaids Antacids to Bay Banks in Boston and Wachovia Bank in North Carolina to the financial services giant USAA in San Antonio, and even the New York Stock Exchange.

Stahle brings her deep experience to The Alliant Group from her own successful startup consultancy, Petersen Partners, where she served a variety of clients including international banking interests and commercial market research concerns.

Prior to founding Petersen Partners, she served as senior vice president, corporate marketing, at the $8 billion insurance and financial services firm USAA in San Antonio. From 1997 to 1999 at USAA, she helped drive a period of rapid growth by creating a first-ever integrated corporate marketing program, guiding development of a comprehensive corporate visual identity system, and launching a unified corporate-wide advertising program. In addition, she initiated a major overhaul of the company's relationship marketing infrastructure.

At both Bay Banks (now part of Fleet Financial Group) and Wachovia Bank between 1989 and 1996, she served as a senior vice president. During this period, her experience in securities, banking, and insurance allowed her to continually introduce innovative products and marketing approaches. These included a successful line of branded mutual funds, brand repositioning, and a complete small business product and advertising initiative.

At the New York Stock Exchange from 1985 to 1989, Stahle was managing director, strategic planning, working for NYSE Chairman John Phelan, with responsibility for streamlining the Exchange's strategic planning process. She also developed and implemented marketing programs to promote trading of equity and futures products.

Stahle also has experience in the health care industry, having served as a senior product manager at Warner-Lambert Company and as an associate at Porter, Novelli in Washington, D.C., supervising communications programs targeted at motivating health behavior changes for various governmental agencies. Today Stahle is board chairman of the Southwest Mental Health Center in San Antonio, a not-for-profit hospital providing inpatient mental health treatment for children and adolescents.

From 1975 to 1979, Stahle worked in consumer goods as an associate product manager for General Foods in White Plains, N.Y.

Stahle graduated with honors from Stanford University in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in economics before earning her masters in business administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1975.

Stahle also served as adjunct professor of marketing and advertising (undergraduate) at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., from 1982 to 1984 and as adjunct professor of marketing (graduate business school) at American University in Washington, D.C., in 1980.

Today Stahle and her son, Charles, reside in San Antonio, Texas, with her miniature dachshund, a Cairn terrier, three bunnies, a Leopard gecko lizard, and four fish. She is allergic to cats. Outside interests include running, raising herbs, and serving as merit badge chairperson, Boy Scout Troop 66.

	Most memorable inspiration:
	If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.

	Best career moment:
	Seeing a protégé do well.

	Worst career moment:
	Realizing that you, like all other senior managers, can be sent to corporate Siberia.

	When not working:
	Running, raising herbs, and being merit badge chairperson of Boy Scout Troop 66.