Originally from Boston, MA, life after her studies at the University of California Berkeley led Fredda to a 30-year adventure living and working in Europe by way of Paris and then London.
Having started her career as a foreign correspondent at the then named International Herald Tribune and Associated Press, Fredda quickly realized that life had other plans in store for her. Much to her dismay, uncovering the next great Watergate scandal simply wasn’t in the cards. Thankfully so many other interesting doors opened along the way that she (mostly) got over her original disappointment.
From Disney Consumer Products EMEA to the NHL and NFL, to some of the world’s most renowned agencies including Momentum, Octagon, Ogilvy One and Redmandarin, Fredda has spent the past 20+ years working predominantly in sports & entertainment marketing, strategy and sponsorship, including eight years as the Global Chief Strategy Officer for Havas Sports & Entertainment (now Havas Play). She returned to the states at the beginning of 2018 to join RedPeg, an independent brand engagement agency as the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer. In late 2020 she launched Gingernut Thinking in D.C., a globally focused strategic marketing and brand consultancy working with brands, SMEs, agencies and nonprofits.
Her extensive career has seen her work with the likes of American Express, Barclays, Carlsberg, The Coca-Cola Company, Essilor, Eurostar, FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, MINI, the NBA, Nestle, and Yahoo! amongst others.
In addition to her board positions and mentoring, Fredda recently completed her Master’s degree at Georgetown University, and is now an adjunct professor teaching experiential marketing.
Fredda has two children, and one very fluffy Maltichon named Elvis (after Costello). She’s passionate about supporting children/adults who are neurodiverse and never gets tired of watching The Princess Bride. She hates clowns with a passion.
This is Fredda’s sixth year as a proud Marketing Academy mentor in the U.S.
