President - Julia Abbott Koivumaa

A seasoned communications veteran with over 15 years of marketing communications experience, who is equal parts an advertising and public relations strategist.

A CPM - Certified Professional Marketer with the American Markting Association; she is A heavy-duty professional in the busines-to-business and business-to-consumer arenas. Some people who know her use words like...creative, passionate, fearless and original. An out-of-the-box thinker. Others call her...cool, calm and rational. A straight-ahead linear thinker.

Who's right? They both are. Because Julia puts it all together. And it coalesces into a force to be reckoned with. Deconstructed it is made up of pure pursuasion coupled with motivation. Creativity driven by strategy. Strategy driven by creativity.

And the unfailing confidence to maximize opportunities whenever and wherever they pop up. Not a bad thing to have on your side.

Prior to starting VALOCOM in 2002, Julia opened and ran the Houston office of a regional advertising and PR firm, was corporate marketing director for a large furniture retail chain, and corporate communications strategist for LookSmart among other work experiences. She started out strong and gained experience working for global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide and advertising agencies McCann-Erickson Worldwide and Bates Southwest.

She holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree in journalism/communications with a concentration in advertising and public relations from the University of Houston. She is active in the community and sits on the board of Lawndale Art Center.