Erin Jemas

About Erin Jemas

Thanks for checking out my bio! Pleasure to “meet” you.I’ve spent more than 15 years in the advertising industry, building a career at the intersection of finance, commercial strategy, and agency leadership. My experience spans independent, private equity–backed, and global network agencies — from the 15-person See3 Communications in Chicago to creative Kansas City powerhouses BarkleyOKRP and VML.I began my agency career at See3, where I grew from Finance Manager to CFO. That experience shaped my leadership philosophy: strong financial stewardship and mission-driven culture are not at odds — they fuel each other. I’m a servant leader at heart. I believe finance should empower creativity, not constrain it.At VML, I evolved from Client Finance into a broader commercial leadership role, becoming the department’s subject matter expert in pricing and contract negotiation. I was the first employee to transition into VML’s inaugural Commercial Operations practice, helping formalize pricing, scope, and contracting frameworks across the organization and leading the largest portfolio in North America.At BarkleyOKRP, I established the agency’s first Commercial Finance practice in 2024, building pricing architecture and deal governance to elevate deal quality and margin discipline. By embedding commercial strategy directly into the growth engine, I partnered closely with Growth and Account leadership to drive stronger, more profitable wins — contributing to COMPILE’s Large Agency New Business Team of the Year (2025) and a shortlist for Campaign US’s 2026 Pitch Team of the Year.Throughout my career, I’ve served as commercial lead on complex RFPs and large-scale agency engagements, specializing in pricing strategy, scope architecture, and contract design. In 2025, I completed Harvard Business School Executive Education’s Negotiation and Competitive Decision Making program to further sharpen my approach to deal strategy and commercial outcomes.Today, as CFO of GoLocal Interactive, I’m leading the transition from bespoke, time-based services to a monthly recurring, productized pricing model designed to increase speed to sale, strengthen contracts, and improve EBITDA performance. My passion is helping agencies sell value instead of hours — and building commercial systems that create clarity for clients and confidence for teams.If you’re interested in pricing, negotiation, agency growth, or simply swapping stories about the beautifully complex world of advertising, let’s connect!

Experience

1. Chief Financial Officer

   Go Local Interactive

   Oct 2025 — Present

Education

• DePaul University

  Bachelor of Business Administration - BBA, Business Administration and Management, General

  2002 — 2006

• DePaul University

  Minor - Spanish

  2002 — 2006

• University of Chicago

  Certificate in Arabic Language and Culture

  2017 — 2018

• Harvard Business School Executive Education

  Certificate of Management Excellence, Business/Commerce, General

• Northeastern Illinois University

  Master's of Science , Accounting