Our Story
We started helping businesses grow in 2013. We became North Dakota's first Google Partner and in less than a year we were helping 25 businesses.
Today, we've helped grow 170+ businesses through performance-driven digital marketing and even made it onto the Inc. 5000 list in 2020.
Our Team
We are a talented group of shark-loving marketers that love what we do.
Rick Berg
CEO | Co-Founder
Rick Berg
CEO | Co-Founder
Fun Facts About Rick:
- He once lost a game of poker while playing by himself.
- Legend says that Rick never sleeps or eats.
- His favorite craft beer is Bud Light.
Sean Maki
President | Co-Founder
Sean Maki
President | Co-Founder
Sean was born in Singapore but considers Hopkins, MN his hometown. He studied Industrial Engineering & Management at NDSU and helped start AdShark back in 2013.
Fun Facts About Sean:
- He casually tests gravity on the weekend by jumping out of planes.
- He exclusively wears flannels from backcountry.com.
- He flunked out of joke school.
Jack Yakowicz
Director of Operations
Jack Yakowicz
Director of Operations
Jack grew up in the Twin Cities and moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area for college in 2011. He's now a proud Concordia College alum with years of marketing and business development experience. Jack joined the AdShark team in 2020.
Fun Facts About Jack:
- Jack records music in his free time under the name Jacksun.
- Jack claims a banana is a better start to his morning than coffee.
- Jack is great at holding conversations because he's legitimately interested in everything.
Whitney Jensen
Digital Marketing Manager
Whitney Jensen
Digital Marketing Manager
Whitney is from Cleveland, ND and has a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She graduated from Minnesota State University of Moorhead. Whitney has been part of the AdShark team since 2018.
Fun Facts About Whitney:
- She's easily the hardest working person in the office.
- Her first desk "wasn't good enough".
- Not the biggest fan of Applebee's.
Nick Due
Creative Manager
Nick Due
Creative Manager
Raised in the small town of Washburn in central North Dakota, Nick graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations. He has been with AdShark Marketing since 2016.
Fun Facts About Nick:
- He pretends to be fluent in German.
- He has a special savings account just for buying board games.
- Still waits outside Best Buy certain mornings to get his hands on new release CDs.
Justin Monroe
Digital Marketing Strategist II
Justin Monroe
Digital Marketing Strategist
Justin is from Moorhead, MN and has stayed in the area to this day. He graduated from Concordia College where he majored in marketing and minored in english writing. He joined our team in April of 2021.
Fun Facts About Justin:
- Has only been on one rollercoaster and it remains the most terrifying experience in his life.
- Once convinced a group of college students on a bus to spontaneously drive to Nevada from Salt Lake City just so they could say they've been there.
- Originally wanted to be a music teacher but changed his mind on the day he was signing up for classes. Regrets nothing.
Robb Vedvick
Video Content Creator
Robb Vedvick
Video Content Creator
Robb is originally from Bismarck, ND but got to know the Fargo-Moorhead area during his college days. He spent almost 8 years doing video work for a TV station in Bismarck before coming to AdShark. Robb joined the AdShark crew in June of 2022.
Fun Facts About Robb:
- Straps a magnifying glass to his face while painting minifigs in his free time.
- Patiently waited eighteen months to get a graphics card at market value.
- Favorite black coffee is from McDonald's.
Evan Engler
Digital Marketing Strategist
Evan Engler
Digital Marketing Strategist
Evan has spent most of his life right here in Fargo. Born and raised here, he moved to southern California to pursue a degree in Business Marketing. After graduating, he came back to North Dakota and started working for AdShark in July of 2021.
Fun Facts About Evan:
- Wanted to be a marine biologist but also wanted to do marketing... so AdShark seemed like an obvious choice.
- Had a short fling with the state of California but ultimately came crawling back into North Dakota's lefse-making arms.
- Brags that he has visited more countries than states... but how about provinces, Evan!? Huh?
Mike Mulvaney
Manager of Web Services
Mike Mulvaney
Manager of Web Services
Raised in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Mike graduated from MState with a degree in Computer Programming. He has been part of the AdShark team since 2016.
Fun Facts About Mike:
- Leaves the country so often the TSA knows him by name.
- Supports the AdShark team all the way from sunny Florida.
- Sole supporter of the sugar-free drink industry.
Bri Lee
Senior Creative Designer
Bri Lee
Senior Creative Designer
Bri is a Moorhead, MN native now residing across the river in Fargo. She recently moved back to the United States after spending 5 years living abroad in Ireland. She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead in 2016 and received her masters in Dublin in 2018. She has been with AdShark since November of 2022.
Fun Facts About Bri:
- Due to her 5 years spent living in Ireland, we're not convinced that she's not spiking her coffee with a shot of Guinness each morning.
- As a travel-lover, she takes pride in never being late for a flight. However, one time she got stranded on the side of the road for 6 hours in a blizzard causing her to miss her flight. She had to be rescued by the National Guard. Quite the excuse.
- When asked why she has a cat even though she's allergic to them, she said, "I just love them too much to not have one." When we asked her cat, Granger, what he thinks of that, he said, "meow".
Kylee Larson
Digital Marketing Strategist
Kylee Larson
Digital Marketing Strategist
Kylee is originally from Alexandria, MN, but moved to Fargo when she was in middle school. She stayed in the area and graduated from NDSU in December of 2020. Kylee completed an internship with AdShark previously and is back to fulfill a full-time role.
Fun Facts About Kylee:
- Is utterly terrified of lady bugs — especially when they fly.
- Has finally learned to doggie paddle but beyond that can’t swim.
- Has a passion for dill pickle chips and can eat an entire bag in a single sitting. But what’s the big dill with that?
Vanessa Blanchet
Digital Creative Designer
Chris Jensen
Digital Marketing Strategist
Chris Jensen
Digital Marketing Strategist
Chris proudly calls Moorhead, MN his hometown. He graduated from Concordia College with a degree in Hospital Administration & Business. He has spent over a decade working in the marketing industry. Chris joined the AdShark team in 2018.
Fun Facts About Chris:
- He starts each morning in the bakery section at the grocery store.
- Chrissypoo claims he has never had a nickname in his life.
- He consistently beats the sun to work.
Samantha Carver
Digital Creative
Samantha Carver
Digital Creative
Sam is from the small town of Carlos, MN. She received her Associate's degree in Digital Media Design from Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls, SD. Sam joined the AdShark team in 2020.
Fun Facts About Sam:
- She's the office TikTok expert.
- Tea doesn't have enough zing for her, so she orders special stuff with TRIPLE caffeine.
- She comes off as timid and quiet - but we expect she's filled with rage like most designers.
Nick Loock
Digital Creative
Nick Loock
Digital Creative
Nick is from Moorhead, MN and is currently attending college at MSUM. He is pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design and a minor in Studio Arts.
Fun Facts About Nick:
- He had changed his major 4 times by the time he made it through his sophomore year of college.
- In 2017, he hiked a small mountain in Assisi, Italy entirely barefoot. But it wasn't just to prove he's not "assisi".
- He went through multiple keyboards and demanded new monitors within his first month at AdShark. Pretty bold for someone who started as an intern.
Aubrey Hovland
Digital Marketing Strategist II
Aubrey Hovland
Digital Marketing Strategist
Aubrey is originally from Rugby, ND, famously known for being the geographical center of North America. She is a recent grad from the University of North Dakota with degrees in marketing and management and a minor in international business. She started with AdShark Marketing in 2018.
Fun Facts About Aubrey:
- She auditioned to be one of the voice actors for Memberberries on South Park (Member!?).
- She was hired strictly on her ability to roast the PPC team.
- She's not very talented when it comes to eating turkey legs.
Eric Anderson
Creative Content Strategist
Eric Anderson
Creative Content Strategist
Eric is from Fargo, ND and is proud to call it his home. He graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a BS in Advertising and a Minor in Mass Communications. He has been with AdShark Marketing since 2018.
Fun Facts About Eric:
- He forgets his lunch every day.
- Naturally one of the funniest humans to walk the planet.
- He likes to answer telemarketer phone calls as a telemarketer himself.
Gavin Longthorne
Digital Marketing Strategist II
Gavin Longthorne
Digital Marketing Strategist
Gavin is from Hillsboro, ND. He moved a few miles south to Fargo to pursue a degree in Marketing (with a minor in Biology) at North Dakota State University. He started working at AdShark in August of 2021.
Fun Facts About Gavin:
- Is an aficionado of all things boneless chicken wings.
- Has a cat named Britta that, much like the filter, loves water.
- Pedaled a bike over Beartooth Pass but almost didn't make it. Or should we say... bearly made it.
What Is An AdShark?
Great question, we'll spell it out for you Webster style.
Ad•Shark
[ad-shark]
noun, plural Ad•Sharks. (capital "A" and "S")
1. A person highly skilled at internet marketing or online advertising.
2. A highly effective digital marketing agency
Join Our Team
Our relaxed office atmosphere, outgoing culture, and variety of employee perks make AdShark a great place to work. Interested in joining the fiercest sharks in the game? Check out our openings and apply today!
