CLEVELAND – June 10, 2025 – Dix & Eaton today announced the retirement of Lisa Rose, who has been President since 2016 and a member of the D&E team since 1996. In addition, D&E announced five executive leadership promotions. All the changes announced today are effective July 1, 2025.
Lisa Rose is retiring after more than 30 years of varied corporate and agency experience, including serving as President for nine years, heading the agency’s investor relations and employee communications practices for several years, and leading large client projects in investor relations, corporate communications, change management, employee engagement and crisis communications. During Rose’s tenure as President, she has played critical roles in helping CEOs and executive teams transform their businesses; building out the capabilities and resources of the D&E team; significantly expanding the firm’s efforts around employee engagement and culture-building; accelerating its diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging journey; and executing and integrating D&E’s November 2023 acquisition of St. Louis-based Standing Partnership.
Upon retirement from her full-time position, Rose will continue to have a role with Dix & Eaton as a Senior Advisor and will remain a member of its Board of Directors.
“Lisa’s career accomplishments and the legacy she leaves at Dix & Eaton are remarkable,” said Chas Withers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dix & Eaton. “Her deep understanding of communications and business, ability to manage complexity and change, and distinctive style as a listener and counselor have made her one of the primary standard bearers for Dix & Eaton. She’s been an amazing partner and has had immeasurable impact on both our performance and our culture, and I’m so pleased that she’ll stay on with D&E as a Senior Advisor and ongoing member of our Board of Directors.”
The Dix & Eaton enterprise consists of two operating groups: Dix & Eaton, based in Cleveland, and Standing Partnership, based in St. Louis. The leadership changes include two newly created positions at the enterprise level and three promotions within the operating groups. The changes, which take effect July 1, 2025, are as follows:
- Melissa Lackey will become Enterprise President of Dix & Eaton. She previously served as Operating Group President for Standing Partnership since its acquisition by Dix & Eaton. Melissa was the former majority owner of Standing Partnership.
- Julie Steininger will become Chief People Officer of the Dix & Eaton Enterprise. She has been Executive Vice President for Standing Partnership responsible for firm operations and talent management. Steininger was the former minority partner of Standing Partnership.
- Gregg LaBar will become Operating Group President for the Dix & Eaton Operating Group, based in Cleveland. He has been the firm’s Chief Client Officer and the leader of the Sustainability/Investor Relations practice.
- Lisa Zone will become Executive Vice President for the Dix & Eaton Operating Group. She has been a Senior Managing Director and the leader of the Marketing Communications and Public Relations practice.
- Ashlyn Brewer will become Standing Partnership Operating Group President. She has been with Standing Partnership since 2010 and most recently served on the leadership team as a Senior Vice President responsible for leading Standing Partnership’s B2B Technology vertical.
Jim Brown will continue in his enterprise-level roles as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
Withers said, “We have been building out enterprise-level functions to focus on strategic evolution, solutions and service offerings, culture and values, and technology, including integration of AI/BI [artificial intelligence/business intelligence]. The combinations and opportunities that we are creating have led us to establish enterprise-level President and Chief People Officer roles, and we are very fortunate to have Melissa Lackey and Julie Steininger, respectively, stepping into those responsibilities.”
Withers continued, “We’ve created one of the largest employee-owned marketing and communications consultancies in the United States, and certainly one of the most distinctive in terms of strategic capability and insight in areas most critical today to clients in a quickly shifting marketplace. We’re reinvesting in our two operating groups, each with its own brand equity, to continue to drive client service, business development, marketing, thought leadership and community engagement. We have an industry-leading team, and we are delighted to be able to promote three accomplished leaders – Gregg LaBar, Lisa Zone and Ashlyn Brewer – into their new executive roles within our operating groups.”
Biographies
Lisa Rose
Lisa joined Dix & Eaton in 1996 and became President in 2016. She has more than 30 years of varied corporate and agency experience, including leading the agency’s investor relations practice for several years. Lisa has deep expertise in investor relations, corporate communications, change management and employee engagement.
Lisa is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and a former Board member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), for which she holds Investor Relations Charter certification. She is a current or former board member of more than 10 nonprofit organizations, including Business Volunteers Unlimited, Cleveland Leadership Center, College Now, In Counsel with Women, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, St. Joseph Academy and Towards Employment. She is a 2009 Leadership Cleveland graduate, 2012 winner of the YWCA Greater Cleveland’s Women of Achievement Award and 2017 Crain’s Women of Note honoree.
Melissa Lackey
Melissa joined Dix & Eaton in 2023 when she and her co-owner, Julie Steininger, sold Standing Partnership to Dix & Eaton, at which time Melissa became Group President of the Standing Partnership Operating Group within Dix & Eaton. She held that position until now being named Enterprise President of Dix & Eaton.
Melissa had been the majority owner of Standing Partnership since she and her partners bought the firm from the founder in 2014, after working at the company for 15 years in various positions. Since then, she’s been intentional about transitioning the organization from its PR roots to a full-service strategic marketing consultancy. She counts B2B marketing, digital strategy, lead generation and sales enablement among the many tools in her toolbox. Melissa also frequently is called on to help organizations navigate crises and issues and effectively manage change.
She currently serves on the boards of directors for FOCUS St. Louis and the Gateway Region YMCA. She previously held board positions with both the United Way of Greater St. Louis and SSM Health Foundation. Melissa has been a recipient of the Enterprising Women magazine’s Enterprising Women of the Year award, a YWCA Metro St. Louis Leader of Distinction, Inspiring Workplace’s Inspiring Leader and a St. Louis Business Journal’s Most Influential Business Women. In April, she was inducted into the St. Louis Titan 100 Hall of Fame.
Julie Steininger
Julie joined Dix & Eaton in 2023 when she and her co-owner, Melissa Lackey, sold Standing Partnership to Dix & Eaton. Prior to being named to her new role as Chief People Officer, Julie served as Executive Vice President of the Standing Partnership Operating Group within Dix & Eaton. In addition to providing senior counsel to clients, Julie has held a wide range of talent management responsibilities that include recruiting and retaining high-performing team members. Since joining Standing Partnership more than 25 years ago, Julie has helped many clients make the connection between a positive reputation and stakeholder trust through her experience in strategic planning, thought leadership, and issues and crisis management.
Julie is a long-time supporter of the Missouri Botanical Garden, where she was a member of its Corporate Council for more than a decade. She is a member of the Issues Management Council, Women in Agriculture and the St. Louis Agribusiness Club. Julie is a graduate of Coro’s Women in Leadership program and has served on the board of the Coro Women in Leadership Alumni Association.
Gregg LaBar
Gregg has recently served in two Dix & Eaton leadership roles: as the firm’s Chief Client Officer and as Senior Managing Director leading the firm’s Sustainability/Investor Relations practice. Gregg’s role as Chief Client Officer has included ensuring delivery of client service excellence, facilitating staff professional development around client service, gathering and addressing client feedback, and managing the client journey road map. In his role as the Sustainability/Investor Relations practice leader, Gregg has been responsible for sustainability strategic counsel to clients, development of and alignment with reporting best practices, development of new business and new partnerships, and thought leadership in a fast-changing field.
A writer and editor by training, Gregg specializes in corporate storytelling and linking messages and actions to strategy. Prior to joining Dix & Eaton more than 25 years ago, Gregg worked in the trade media and as a sports editor. He is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio (DCNEO).
Lisa Zone
Lisa has led Dix & Eaton’s Marketing Communications and Public Relations practice for more than 15 years, helping clients define and implement strategies to tell stories and engage customers. Her work has included leading major client branding initiatives, developing product launch programs and helping both B2C and B2B companies harness the power of PR and marketing, including media relations, advertising and social media marketing programs. She also leads the firm’s own marketing efforts.
Lisa is past president of American Advertising Federation – Cleveland (AAFCLE) and an alumna of the Cleveland Bridge Builders leadership program. She was honored by Crain’s Cleveland Business in its “Forty Under 40” program (2010), was recognized by YWCA of Greater Cleveland as a Woman of Professional Excellence (2012), received a Young Alumni Award from John Carroll University (2015) and was inducted into AAFCLE’s Hall of Fame (2023). She is a 2025 Leadership Cleveland graduate. Lisa currently serves on the John Carroll University Board of Directors and is President of the John Carroll University National Alumni Association Board.
Ashlyn Brewer
Ashlyn has been with Standing Partnership since 2010, rising through the ranks from Intern to Operating Group President. Over the years, she has played a pivotal role in the firm’s evolution – from strengthening its internal marketing and business development functions to building new client capabilities in lead generation and marketing automation. Most notably, she founded and scaled the firm’s technology practice, which has become a key driver of growth over the past several years.
Ashlyn partners closely with vertical and partner marketing leaders at some of the world’s most innovative enterprise technology companies, helping them bring bold strategies to life through differentiated messaging and high-impact content. Known for her ability to drive measurable growth, she is equally committed to fostering a values-driven culture and empowering her team to succeed.
Her community involvement includes supporting the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri and the United Way of Greater St. Louis, where she is a member of the Women’s Leadership Society.
About Dix & Eaton
Dix & Eaton is a strategic corporate and marketing communications firm that consists of two operating groups: Dix & Eaton, based in Cleveland, and Standing Partnership, based in St. Louis. The firm offers a wide variety of corporate communications, sustainability communications, investor relations, marketing/sales enablement and public relations services to clients across the U.S. The firm serves a number of vertical markets, with distinctive expertise in manufacturing, technology, aviation, specialty chemicals, agribusiness, health care, professional services and more. Founded in 1952, Dix & Eaton is 100% employee-owned and one of the largest wholly employee-owned communications firms in the U.S. Learn more about the combined capabilities at www.dix-eaton.com and www.standingpartnership.com.
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