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Alumni Profile Geoffrey
Carlson Gage: Creating his own path Two years ago, Geoffrey
Carlson Gage ’89 fulfilled a lifelong dream and started his own advertising
agency, Geoffrey Carlson Gage LLC. Located on the edge of Lake Minnetonka in
Excelsior, Minn., GCG is a cozy and whimsical suite of offices, housing Gage
and three other employees. Prior to starting CGC, Gage was corporate communications manager at his father's company, Gage Marketing Group. Before that he was a copywriter for Campbell Mithun Esty. Growing up, Gage was blessed with strong mentors, including his grandfather, Carlson Companies founder Curt Carlson, and his mom and dad, Barbara and Edwin "Skip" Gage. As a student at Augsburg in the 1980s, Gage's entrepreneurial spirit was clearly evident. He sold, developed, and created advertising for the student-run newspaper, the Echo, and also developed a campaign to increase attendance at Augsburg hockey games. In addition, he landed an internship during his junior year at a small Minneapolis agency called Grant and Palombo Advertising, which secured his love for advertising. Today, Gage continues to stay actively involved with the College, generously donating both his time and resources. He most recently served on the Augsburg Now Alumni Advisory Committee. Gage fulfilled another lifelong dream when, along with his father and his brothers Rick and Scott, joined the ownership pool of the Minnesota Wild hockey team. "It has been really fulfilling to be part of bringing NHL hockey back to Minnesota where I'm completely convinced it belongs," Gage says. Gage and his wife, Kelly, a successful art historian and co-owner of CGC, have a son and a daughter—6-year-old twins. He credits fatherhood with adding perspective to his life. "As adults, I think we frequently overcomplicate things ... seeing the world through the eyes of our kids really helps me clearly focus on the essence of life." For Gage and his family, this "essence of life" is a motivating factor for their extensive involvement with the community, including their church, St. Therese of Deephaven, and numerous charities. Ultimately, Gage hopes he'll be able to look back and feel that he made a difference in people's lives. "The most satisfying aspect of what I'm doing is spending the hours God has blessed me with each day doing something that I love and am gifted at," Gage says. "If I can look back at our business and know it made a positive difference in my life, the lives of our employees, and the lives of our clients, then the time and effort it took starting and building this business will have been worth it."
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| Copyright 2007.
Augsburg College all rights reserved. |
Gage
describes his firm as a "traditional advertising agency with an Internet
twist." He prides his agency with offering a uniquely personable, strategically
creative, print and electronic service combination. "It's our goal to become
as seamless and integrated with our client as possible, in essence becoming
their brand advertising department or a complementary extension of their existing
internal department," Gage says.