About

Strategic advisor to growth-focused enterprises 

Lisa Cieslak is an accomplished finance and operations executive with over 25 years of experience driving growth at creative and marketing companies.  She is a trusted advisor skilled at partnering with boards and executive management on M&A, complex transformation across multi-national organizations and enterprise risk management. Her career demonstrates success with steering strategy, P&L performance and operational efficiency while navigating the uncertain landscape during economic crisis and business disruption.  Lisa brings deep corporate governance experience through her work with corporate and nonprofit boards, including audit, finance, risk and strategy committees and she is a qualified financial expert. Lisa is an award-winning executive and recognized as an industry expert.

As Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of GMR Marketing and the Omnicom Experiential Group, Lisa provides executive leadership for over a $200M business supporting more than 500 corporate employees and 4,000 in-market staff. Lisa has led all aspects of global financial strategy, enterprise operations, legal and compliance, risk, information technology, talent, enablement office, and client delivery. She spearheaded the creation of a centralized Project Management Office that streamlined global delivery, optimized resource allocation, and improved margin performance through introducing new pricing strategies and reducing overhead, while strengthening client outcomes. She has also executed complex transformations across multi-national organizations—launching new business units, integrating post-acquisition teams, and building operational infrastructure to support scalable, profitable growth. She brings a seasoned perspective to evaluating strategy, understanding downstream impacts, and ensuring alignment with long-term value creation.

Lisa’s career spans decades of progressive financial and operational leadership within the Omnicom network, including Radiate Group, GMR Marketing, and Omnicom Experiential Group. At Radiate Group, she played a key role in identifying and integrating acquisition targets, expanding the agency network across the U.S. and Europe while enhancing profitability. She has also led budgeting, capital planning, and M&A diligence, and regularly engages with C-suite leadership on performance and planning. Her oversight of cross-functional teams provides her with a multidimensional view of enterprise health and stakeholder alignment.

Lisa began her career in public accounting as a Supervising Senior Auditor at KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, where she led audit engagements, assessed internal controls, and supported clients through regulatory compliance and financial reporting. Her public accounting foundation shaped her approach to fiduciary responsibility, internal governance, and disciplined financial stewardship.

She currently serves on the United Way Women United Leadership Council and Annual Campaign Cabinet and has held governance and committee leadership roles with First Tee of Southeast Wisconsin, Girl Scouts of WI Southeast, Lutheran Social Services, and Milwaukee Women, Inc. In these roles, she has been Treasurer, chaired finance committees, strengthened oversight practices, and supported mission-driven impact through financial transparency and board engagement.

Lisa holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. She was named CFO of the Year and a Woman of Influence by the Milwaukee Business Journal, honoring her leadership and impact on the business and civic landscape. Her professional affiliations include the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants, TEMPO Milwaukee, and Impact100 Greater Milwaukee.