Hugo Pérez
As a seasoned professional storyteller, Hugo Pérez is an expert at finding the compelling thread in brand stories that makes consumer connections come to life. His own story weaves across institutions, corporations, agencies, and firms of all types, fueled by wide-ranging global experiences.
Perez' passion is guiding individuals towards uncovering their talents & gifts as he learns alongside them. From concept through execution, he guides teams to create sustained engagement, develop authentic connections, and increase recommendations. An agile, full-stack marketer with deep experience in thought leadership & storytelling, he leads Local Boy, a strategy & creative consultancy primed to make brand stories hit their mark on any channel to any audience. Through fractional CMO services & seasoned, strategic consultation, Local Boy develops approaches that create sustained engagement, develop authentic connections, and increase recommendations.
As a digital native, Perez' unique points of view and creative skills have allowed him to uncover new approaches & lead initiatives that have impacted all types of audiences for wide-ranging clients including Starbucks, Taco Bell, Turtle Wax, Cricket Wireless, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Allstate, MTV, Mars Inc., Frito-Lay, and AT&T.
While in senior leadership roles at various PR/advertising/marketing agencies, he’s helped launch & lead new initiatives & departments focused on multicultural audiences, shopper marketing, pharma social media, and content strategy and creation.
Earlier in his career, Perez was an Emmy-Award winning field producer with NBC Network News where he covered many of the major stories that have left a lasting impression on the world. Among the thousands of stories, he was one of the first reporters on the scene at the school shooting at Columbine, he traveled the country reporting on the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, and was the field producer in charge of the historic visit of the Pope John Paul II to Cuba.
Perez is also an independent filmmaker, having produced three different award-winning short films to date.
A civic-minded leader, passionately engaged in helping the next generation of leaders, Perez is an active mentor, speaks frequently about storytelling in the marketplace, and serves on a variety of boards, committees, and task forces. He has been on the faculty of various higher ed institutions around the U.S. for over 15 years, including at West Virginia University, Moody Bible Institute, Columbia College Chicago, and DePaul. He earned his Bachelor's degree at Moody Bible Institute and holds a Master of Arts from Northwestern University.