About Defero

Along with our media partner Visuality, company President Bill Phillips created Defero through collaboration, inspiration, and the realization that success is driven by effectively turning concept into creation.

In late 2007, during Bill's tenure as the Communications Director for the Florida Education Association (FEA), he and Visuality created a highly successful, nationally recognized campaign: Make Our Schools a Priority.

The result: a revitalized FEA brand that energized their membership and elevated the profile of the organization and its leadership team. The campaign repositioned FEA in an aggressive posture that enabled it to drive message to key audiences, all in a unique way that utilized web, email, social networking and traditional media.

From the success of that campaign, Defero was founded in early 2010 to capitalize on the synergies created through partnership.

Bill Phillips

Defero's President, Bill Phillips, has a unique professional background that enables him to work effectively with corporate and non-profit clients alike to provide advice and create strategy. He is a dynamic communicator, a savvy strategist, and fearless about tackling a challenge.

In 2004, Bill was a candidate for an open U.S. Senate seat in Florida. On the campaign trail, Bill traveled extensively throughout Florida meeting voters and discussing their issues and expectations. That experience provides Bill with a perspective on politics and the ability of political leaders to impact the lives of constituents. It also built him a network of political contacts that have become invaluable in helping him provide advice and guidance to Defero's clients.

Bill spent much of his professional career in the financial services sector, primarily focused on relationship development and sales management. He has worked for Fortune 500 corporations including Bank of America- Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and Citigroup.

In 2005, while employed by Citigroup, Bill helped to create and then launch the Flexible Equity Lending product nationally through the Smith Barney brokerage unit. As the National Sales Director for Flexible Equity Lending at Citigroup, he took this unique product and created a marketing strategy that resulted in $380 million in closed loans within the launch phase.

After successfully launching this lending product, Bill joined Smith Barney as Vice President, Private Client Lending. In this role, Bill integrated Citigroup's banking services into an acquired regional brokerage firm resulting in $500 million closed real estate and securities based loans.

In early 2007, Bill returned to his home state to leverage his professional expertise for a non-profit association, joining the Florida Education Association and settling in Orlando, Florida.

Today, Bill leads Defero and works directly with our clients to provide advice, develop strategy, and realize potential.

Visuality

Visuality is an award-winning, full-service media strategy and production firm with offices in Madison, WI and Boston, MA.

Hamilton Campaigns

A research and consulting firm with over 45 years of experience helping the nation's leaders make important decisions.

Efficient Messaging to Members

Discover an engaging, cost-efficient way to reach membership wherever they live and play online. Watch the video!