Stefanie Santos McLeese
Chief Marketing Officer

 Through her firm, Santos McLeese, LLC, Stefanie began serving Bluestem in January 2026 as fractional Chief Marketing Officer. In this capacity, she leads brand strategy, marketing, and communications for the firm, supported by the broader capabilities and operational resources of her team. Her work focuses on strengthening Bluestem’s brand, sharpening how it communicates its value, and ensuring its marketing and communications consistently reflect the firm’s identity and distinctive value.

Stefanie brings more than two decades of experience across financial services, higher education, professional services, and entrepreneurship. Earlier in her career, she led internal communications for Nissan Motor Acceptance Company in Irving, Texas, Nissan North America’s financing arm. Today, her consulting work includes extensive experience within the University of Illinois community, where she has provided brand strategy and marketing communications support for Gies College of Business, the School of Information Sciences, the College of Fine and Applied Arts, and University of Illinois Extension.

As an entrepreneur herself, Stefanie brings the perspective of both a marketing and communications expert and a business owner to her work. She is a graduate of the Chase for Business Coaching for Impact program, and her firm is registered in the Illinois Procurement Gateway, SBA-certified as a Women-Owned Small Business and certified through the State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program as a woman- and minority-owned business. She is also certified by the Public Relations Society of America in Strategic Communications. 

Stefanie holds various partnerships with former NFL Legends and actively works with retired NFL athletes as they build businesses, brands, and new professional identities in life after football. She's been commissioned by the NFL to lead brand identity workshops through the NFLPA The Trust in Washington, D.C. and at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. She is also an active member of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, International Business Council.

Across each of these settings, her work centers on helping organizations understand what makes them distinct and translating that clarity into authentic brand identities, messaging, and communications that reflect their values and strengthen how they show up in the world.