Amanda Banker, Client Services Manager

Whether a client is eager to market a new product, seek a fresh solution to an ongoing challenge, or just experience a slight shift in thinking, Amanda is the person assigned to make that happen. She solicits client input with diligence and care, and then assembles a list of appropriate "givens" before each ABR brainstorming session. She later coordinates timelines, budgets, and the many efforts of ABR's graphic designers, programmers and editors. "Every project is different," says Amanda, "and where clients are concerned, customization is key!"

Repeat businesses may merely need some extra bells and whistles, while new ones crave transformational light bulb moments. Either way, Amanda delivers. Her associate's degree in business management, her experience as an account and project manager, and as a staff writer for a medical education company have all fine-tuned her insights and talents—like an over-the top attention to detail, and an ability to hear what a client is not saying. ("I want to increase productivity" may really mean, "I want to be a company hero.") "Part of my job," Amanda reveals, "is to play an invisible role, and let this client look very, very good in front of his peers."