Chuck Hengel

How does a self-proclaimed introvert run a company? How does a bookworm who’s more comfortable on a bass boat than at a podium inspire an organization running at full steam towards what’s next to come?

The answer is “Chuck.”

Direct Response is filled with eclectic entrepreneurs. So when it came time to choose a living, a younger Chuck Hengel became captivated by this renegade industry of inventors and madmen. He had a brain for numbers, and one of the country’s largest DR marketers in his own backyard, so he cut his teeth crunching data at Fingerhut. Opportunity continued to knock, and he soon became the youngest partner at the nation’s premier DR print agency, Novus Marketing.

But entrepreneurs hang shingles.

So in 1997, Chuck founded Marketing Architects. He drew the name out of a hat, but stuck with it because architects, like entrepreneurs, are all about building. His vision was a company by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Day one he was responsible for everything. Making P&Ls. Making coffee. Solving customer issues. Solving the nightly garbage run. And his little lemonade stand transformed into one of the fastest-growing marketing firms in Minneapolis.

Incredibly enough, Chuck still finds time for what’s truly important in life. His wife Cindy. His beautiful kids. And, of course, bass fishing.