Unmatched
Experience.
Agile
approach.

Focused and flexible solutions that drive meaningful outcomes.

Eisenhower Fellowships

In 2015, Tom was selected as one of nine Eisenhower Fellows in the United States program. This honor took him to Ireland and Spain where he researched the impact of international economic development and public-private partnerships. Specifically, he focused on the political, business and cultural factors that built the brands of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga and Bilbao, driven by the transformational success of the Barcelona Olympic Games.

Etling Strategy Partners (ESP) is a CMO Strategy and Support firm headquartered in St. Louis. ESP offers you C-suite industry leaders with client and agency-side expertise, all designed to help you model and operate your marketing function more efficiently and profitably.

Our Mission

ESP exists to create authentic and game-changing solutions for your organization. We will collaborate with you to drive transformational outcomes for you and your customers.

Core Values
AuthenticAgileCommittedInnovativeConnected

How We Got Here

ESP’s model is the product of more than 25 years of client-side and agency CEO, COO and CMO leadership and learnings from our team.

Prior to founding ESP, Tom Etling was Chief Strategy Officer for Paradigm and previously created the marketing advisory practice at Brown Smith Wallace (now Armanino). From 2015 to 2020, Tom served as Chief Executive Officer and Partner at Dovetail, a St. Louis-based brand communications agency. There, he led brand strategy, stakeholder engagement and issues management for clients in diverse industries such as: healthcare, higher education, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, public sector, tourism and more.

Prior to joining Dovetail, Tom was Chief Executive Officer for St. Patrick Center, one of the country’s leading advocates for ending homelessness. Tom led the creation and implementation of a regional plan that balanced innovative solutions with long-term financial viability. In his other public role as Vice President of Marketing at Bi-State Development, Tom led marketing, revenue generation and customer experience for the organization’s core business units, including the Gateway Arch, Metro Transit and St. Louis Downtown Airport.

Tom Etling, Managing Partner

Our Inspiration

We invest in people who live out their core values and persevere through seemingly impossible challenges.

FOCUS AREAS

Heart

Women’s Athletics

Marfan Syndrome

Brain

Glioblastoma Research

Early Onset Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Anxiety and Substance Misuse

Humanity

Homelessness

Families of Fallen Law Enforcement Heroes

Eisenhower Fellowships