About

Carrie Gerlach Cecil

CEO 

Premier communications and brand strategist, Ms. Cecil specializes in strategic, litigation and crisis communications and reputation management.

Ms. Cecil has pioneered revolutionary branding campaigns and high-stakes reputation problem-solving services to increase and protect her client's integrity and legacies.  A well-known speaker and author, Ms. Cecil is one of the preeminent leaders in litigation and crisis communications, brand terrorism, media and social media training and reputation risk mitigation. An experienced corporate image specialist and trusted speechwriter, she confidentially directs her clients on how to preemptively and positively maneuver sensitive issues that impact their businesses.

Over the past two decades, Mrs. Cecil has developed close working relationships with some of America’s top law firms, energy and entertainment corporations, political candidates, CEOs and professional and collegiate sports stakeholders to create proactive reputation tactics in lockstep with the legal and brand strategies.

She has counseled countless c-suite executives and decision-makers from entities and corporations such as Noble Energy, Charter Communications, Sony Corporate America, ESPN, FOX Sports Net, Universal Television/Studios, The Tennis Channel, The Pac-12 and Big 12 Conferences, Columbia Tri-Star, Sony Pictures, Miramax, MGM Television and Domestic Films, the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NASCAR.  She continues to work in higher education with institution presidents and chancellors, their cabinet and legal counselors to prepare them for and respond to issues proposed by government, Board of Regents/Trustees and governing body regulators.

Mrs. Cecil handled government and public relations as well as community affairs for global entertainment companies including serving as the director of entertainment communications for Turner Network Television (TNT), based in Los Angeles. She inaugurated her tenure with Turner Entertainment Group in New York as the manager of East Coast public relations. She began her career in strategic communications at Rogers & Cowan Public Relations, Inc., and with the Honorable Senator John McCain.

Jennifer (JJ) Hermes

Strategic Communications & Public Affairs Specialist  

J.J. Hermes is a strategic communications and public affairs specialist at ANACHEL Communications.  She was instrumental in the establishment of ANACHEL Communications in 2000 and has advocated for and collaborated with Carrie Cecil on various endeavors since 1995.

Ms. Hermes is an accomplished communications and public affairs strategist. She has provided advice and action on public relations, media strategy, community outreach and program development, institutional writing, and internal communication campaigns for Fortune 100 companies, academic medical centers, media conglomerates, every major professional sport league, non-profits, and start-ups.  

At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ms. Hermes reported directly to the COO and handled all matters of internal communication. While she acted as chief strategist and writer of the Great Place to Work application and coordinator of the employee satisfaction survey, St. Jude’s ranking rose from 80 to 39 (out of 100 companies) on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

As chief communications strategist and spokesperson for Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket in Los Angeles, Ms. Hermes fulfilled all public relations and marketing aspects of team programming agreements for 19 business partners through communications project management with 18 directors and 4 departments.

Treasured for her writing skills, Ms. Hermes is uniquely skilled at transforming both basic and complex issues into compelling storylines and palatable marketing and sales tools.  A community relations advocate, she counsels organizations on the establishment of local, grass roots initiatives that combine internal intelligence and altruism with key business partners to target youth, high school, collegiate and vocational audiences. Ms. Hermes’s strategic mindset is valued as both a team leader and a confidant/advisor.

Bill Oakes

Strategic Brand, Marketing, Sponsorship and Events Partner

A seasoned sports marketing, sponsorship, communications and event production professional, Mr. Oakes partnered with ANACHEL to deliver strategic revenue and brand partnership opportunities for their clients across the globe.

Prior, to joining ANACHEL, Mr. Oakes served as the senior associate athletic director for Wake Forest University where he had responsibility for their external operations including revenue development [inclusive of Learfield IMG relationship], partnership integration, strategic communications, marketing, fan engagement, Nike branding review, digital strategies and tactics, social media platform campaigns, ACC Network liaison, event management, concessions, and management of the LJVM Coliseum and the tennis and golf facilities.

As the Tournament Director and Chief Operating Officer for Winston-Salem Professional Tennis, Mr. Oakes was responsible for all aspects of the Winston-Salem Open, which is an ATP World Tour 250 event held each August at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex. The tournament has featured a number of the top players in the world and was named the 2016 ATP World Tour 250 Tournament of the Year.

Mr. Oakes represented the American Tournaments on the ATP Tournament Council for five years, served on the ATP 250 Television Committee and chaired the worldwide ATP 250 Tournament Executive Committee from 2017 to 2020.  While at Winston-Salem Professional Tennis, he spearheaded the efforts with a local organizing committee to create the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic and Gears and Guitars festival held annually North Carolina.

Mr. Oakes has produced, marketed and sold sponsorships for professional sporting events for close to 30 years; and hosted tennis television and radio shows since 2004, including doing play by play at the US Open for usopen.org radio.

Named a Triad Power Player by the Triad Business Journal for 2017, 2018 and 2019, Mr. Oakes is active both nationally and locally as a volunteer for the USTA, Imprints Cares Forsyth County, and Young Life Forsyth County.

Mr. Oakes and his wife Shea have two daughters, Ansley and Lealand and reside in Winston-Salem, NC.

Hunter Ruetz

Sports Business Development

Hunter Ruetz is a business development and success partner team member for SM2’s collegiate and professional sports clients. In his role he helps athletic stakeholders, athletes, coaches and staff minimize risk and empower their teams through relevant social media training and education.

Mr. Ruetz works to establish new partnership opportunities for SM2 including researching strategic integration, implementing tactical marketing strategies and mining new market opportunities for the business development team.  As a member of the partnership success team, he insures that potential clients not only on-board SM2’s social media education, but that they are empowered by the training and that their process is turnkey and successful.

Originally a Southern California native, Mr. Ruetz attended the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in order to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing with a certification in Sports Management.

Ramsey Poston

Principle

A leading strategic, litigation and crisis communications specialist, Mr. Poston has partnered with Ms. Cecil over the past decade to deliver maximum results for their clients across the globe.

Mr. Poston develops comprehensive strategies to ensure that every client’s image remains intact and that their client’s position gets a full and public hearing. His varied and comprehensive media contacts allow him to present a strong case for his clients and his media savvy and connections help him to promote a positive position. Mr. Poston’s clients have included businesses and executives from a broad spectrum of industries including sports, energy, entertainment, consumer and healthcare.

Mr. Poston worked with NASCAR to manage the crisis around the death of Dale Earnhardt, who was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500 that year. Three years later, Mr. Poston took over NASCAR’s Communications Department, leading a team of 30 public relations professionals covering all aspects of the sport’s communications, which included working closely with the legal team.

Mr. Poston served as NASCAR chief communications strategist and spokesperson for all litigation and crisis situations. During his tenure at NASCAR, Mr. Poston successfully led the litigation communications efforts in a number of high-profile cases. He has been the on-record spokesperson for NASCAR’s most sensitive issues often conducting full press conferences with broadcast and print media in concert with legal strategy. As NASCAR’s spokesman, Mr. Poston has conducted close to 1,500 interviews.

Mr. Poston developed close working relationships with some of America’s top law firms to communicate NASCAR’s defense in concert with the legal strategy. Some the recent cases include, AT&T Mobility v. NASCAR (contract dispute); Maricia Grant v. NASCAR (racial and sexual harassment); Jeremy Mayfield v. NASCAR (substance abuse policy extending to claims of negligence, breach of contract, and defamation); and, Kentucky Speedway v. NASCAR ($1.2 billion Anti-Trust lawsuit).

Prior to joining NASCAR, Mr. Poston served as a senior vice president at the Washington, D.C. public affairs firm Powell Tate. Powell Tate was the brainchild of two former White House press secretaries — Jody Powell and Sheila Tate — who believed in the power of collaboration to build successful communications campaigns. While at Powell Tate, Poston specialized in crisis communications. He led the firm’s Labor & Employment practice, providing strategic communications counsel to companies in a number of employee-management scenarios including litigation, contract negotiations, plant closings, unionization campaigns and corporate campaigns. Mr. Poston has worked with chief executives and their legal counselors to prepare for and respond to citations and fines proposed by government regulators including actions taken by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB).

Janet Bess

Director of Finance

A premier business management executive with over 30-years of finance experience, Ms. Bess directs all corporate business management endeavors including accounting and billing for Anachel and its sister company, SM2. Anachel protects and maximizes valuable brands through unmatched senior communications strategies and tactics to positively impact revenue and reputations.

Ms. Bess brings her vast knowledge and background working with high profile client’s including Grammy-winning Artists and Hollywood’s best-known actors, writers and directors to her role as director of finance for Anachel. At Anachel, she services some of today’s most well prestigious brands and clients as well as meeting the needs of Anachel’s rapid market growth.

When not in the office, the UCLA graduate is actively involved in various non-profit organizations, including church supported ministries such as Cathedral Cares, servicing homeless individuals in the Charleston area; Youth Empowerment Services, mentoring teen girls; and serving as the annual Conference Coordinator for the Dream Girls Conference for at risk middle and high schools girls.

Ms. Bess and her husband Kenneth have a daughter, Shannon.

Robin Fisher Roffer

Strategic Marketing & Brand Partner

Media brand strategist and storyteller, Robin Fisher Roffer leads an award-winning creative team adept at unearthing a brand’s mission, essence and filter, its look, feel and tagline, market positioning, value proposition and key messaging to both consumers and the trade. The CEO of Big Fish, Robin also serves as an Advisor and Partner to ANACHEL Communications, Inc., CEO, Carrie Cecil.

Prior to running Big Fish, Robin was in at the beginning of TNT as Manager of Creative Services. During her tenure at Turner, Robin greenlit the campaign that turned CNN into The World’s News Leader. With a mission to guide companies and their people to write, tell and live their greatest story, Robin has authored four books including Make A Name For Yourself, and her latest book, Your No Fear Career.

Robin also keynotes corporate conferences at companies such as AIG, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Starwood, and Walmart, and top business schools like Columbia, Northwestern, USC, and Wharton.

Michael Overing

Business Affairs & Litigation

With decades of first amendment and social media best-practices, Michael Overing brings specialized legal expertise to ANACHEL and their clients. Mr. Overing is an attorney and faculty member at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism where he teaches courses in intellectual property, media law, entertainment and first amendment rights.

Mr. Overing joined ANACHEL in 2017 providing specialized depth in digital media best-practices for professional and collegiate sports programs, athletes and executives. As ANACHEL protects and maximizes valuable brands through unmatched senior communications strategies and tactics to impact revenue and reputations, Mr. Overing develops overall policies to meet the unique goals of ANACHEL clients while respecting their constituent’s rights. From digital brand terrorism to cyberbullying, he works to minimize risk and protect ANACHEL and their partners. He has been a featured columnist for the Online Journalism Review and is a go-to interview choice for major media outlets on issues affecting rights and practices in online social media.

Mr. Overing is a member of the California bar and the American Bar Association.  He received his J.D. from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) in 1989, his M.A. degree from the University of Southern California in 1986, and his B.A. degree from the University of Nebraska in 1984.  He makes Pasadena his home with his wife Theresa, and their sons, Robert, John and Andrew.

Will Witherspoon

Media and Social Media Educator

Will Witherspoon brings over two decades of professional football experience to Anachel. Anachel protects and maximizes valuable brands through unmatched senior communications strategies and tactics to positively impact revenue and reputations.

As an on-campus and professional football media and social media educator for Anachel, the former NFL linebacker engages his audiences on critical media strategies for presentation, public speaking and social media best-practices. He also serves as an on-camera educator for the on-demand customized NFL, NHL, and Collegiate Athletics eCourseware.

Mr. Witherspoon was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He has also played for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he is passionate about producing healthy and nutritious food and owns the sustainable Shire Gate Farm near Owensville, Mo. Mr. Witherspoon is blessed with three daughters.

Patrick Conley

Investigative Services

As an Anachel Investigative, Digital and Forensic expert and strategic partner, Mr. Conley creates and implements strategic federal, state and digital background analysis, crisis, and tactical plans for Anachel. Anachel protects and maximizes valuable brands through unmatched senior communications strategies and tactics to positively impact revenue and reputations.

Mr. Conley is a national security, intelligence and investigative firm. Established on the FBI principles of Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity. He is also the CEO of Franklin Global.

Mr. Conley served in a variety of assignments during his 20-year career, combating fraud, corruption, terrorism, violent crimes, stalking and kidnapping investigations. He has experience investigating complex white-collar crimes, money laundering, organized crimes and public corruption. He testified numerous times in federal and state courts and was recognized for his efforts by the Attorney General, the Director of the FBI and heads of various state and local agencies. He brings real world experience in threat mitigation, designing security and response plans for major domestic and international events, including the Olympics, World Cup, Super Bowl, World Series and the U.S. National Political Conventions. Mr. Conley has conducted dozens of domestic and international security protection details for U.S. Government dignitaries and foreign officials.

Mr. Conley enjoyed a 17-year career on the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) where he served as Team Commander and Team Leader. In that role, Mr. Conley conducted hundreds of high risk operations and developed numerous multi-agency tactical plans in support of some of the largest tactical operations in the U.S. He was the primary tactical representative for the FBI Rapid Deployment Team, which responded worldwide to major crises involving the United States or its interests. In 2008, he was temporarily assigned to Afghanistan in furtherance of the FBI’s counter-terrorism mission. 

Since his retirement from government service, Mr. Conley has provided investigative expertise for cases relating to the bank failure crisis, international fraud and money laundering, asset investigations, trade secret violations, food product tampering, school incidents, internal and external corporate fraud and theft, workplace violence, adverse terminations, missing person cases, identity theft, stalking threats, kidnappings and a variety of family matters.

Mr. Conley consults with Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and private clients on investigative matters and security related topics. Mr. Conley is member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, the California Association of Licensed Investigators and the World Association of Detectives.