Our People

photograph of Alain Rostain Alain Rostain (CEO) is an expert on organizational innovation. His work over the last 16 years has included helping clients with:

Articulating the strategic mandate for innovation
Developing and executing implementation plansfor innovation
Designing and rollig out innovation culture change programs
Training leaders to drive innovation behaviors & results
Facilitating and coaching critical innovation teams

Additionally, Alain integrates creative collaboration methods and the innovative use of improvisational techniques to drive organizational effectiveness and results. Alain studied Artificial Intelligence at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Yale University. His academic work focused on understanding how people think, using computers as a model for cognitive thought. As a manager for Price Waterhouse's consulting practice, he developed valuable insights and practices to help people be more effective in the workplace while successfully creating and sustaining organizational change. Alain started Creative Advantage in 1993.

Alain is also the founder and leader of the improv in business community. He was introduced to improvisational theater in 1990. He immediately saw the power of the principles and techniques of improvisation to develop and support group collaboration, individual growth and results.

Alain is fluent in Spanish and French.

Dan Browne (Director) has been building relationships inside Corporate America to help foster innovation, learning and development for over 20 years. Leadership, Management and Customer Facing teams have grown dramatically through the coaching and guidance Dan provides. Dan’s first 15 years were spent consulting with organizations from Not-for-Profit to Fortune 10 organizations on the use of technology to innovate their business: products, services and business models. The last 5 years have been spent with leadership teams and managers at all levels focused on climate and culture work to integrate innovation into daily business. Dan is Vice President of Innovation at The Desai Group.

Dan's style and belief in serving others has helped him to create many long lasting partnerships with vendors and clients. Dan has a unique skill to see the big picture and create symphony among workgroups, partners and clients.

Outside the office, you may recognize Dan as Vice Chair of Our piece of the Pie, a leading youth development agency, helping Hartford youth become successful adults. Some days you may find Dan coaching kids in soccer, baseball/softball, lacrosse, or hockey. Each of these activities has helped develop skills that have helped Dan in leadership and innovation in business.

photograph of Denzil Meyers Denzil Meyers (Senior Consultant) is a branding and communications strategist, consulting since 1992 as Account Planner to many top 25 US ad agencies and their Fortune 500 clients. Previously, he worked at ad agencies Chiat/Day, Foote Cone & Belding, and D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles.

In 2001, Denzil founded widgetwonder, an internal brand consultancy and facilitators of living brand scripts, corporate storytelling, innovation practice, and co-creative skills training.

Denzil is a founding member of the Applied Improvisation Network. He believes improv experience has the power to transform organizational dynamics, change people's lives, and help evolve the emotional intelligence of the human race. He hopes it's not too late.

Denzil has co-authored a book, Beyond Branding, to encourage multi-national corporate brands to become more human, trustworthy, transparent, and empowering as a response to protests against globalization, a crisis of corporate credibility, and eroding faith in command and control management perspectives.

Denzil's first entrepreneurial adventure was as a writer and producer for radio, which remains his favorite electronic medium. Denzil can also be found twice a week playing percussion with a Brazilian Samba band, or occasionally making wine from the fine grapes of Sonoma County, California. He conducts a weekly workshop for creative writers.

Denzil is a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Esther Knecht (Senior Consultant) values personal growth and diversity. Esther received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Economics as well as an Executive Masters Degree in Human Resources in her native Switzerland. She received her second Masters Degree in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.

As the Director of Human Resources International for Winterthur Versicherung, Esther has extensive experience in the fast paced corporate world. She has had the opportunity to implement her expertise in Talent Management, HR Transformation, Expatriates, Consulting, Coaching and Facilitating Executive Training in Europe, the United States and Asia. Esther has traveled the world learning about people and their cultures. She has lived in Canada, Italy, France and Guatemala, and is fluent in German, English, French, and conversational in Spanish and Italian.

Esther’s passion is working with and inspiring people; she is curious, energetic and empathetic and considers herself a transformational activist. In her spare time she likes to dance, ski, hike in the mountains, and loves spending time with family and good friends.