Rob

Gaedtke

Rob Gaedtke—a legend at ping pong (unless you check the old app we use to keep score)—is known for promoting a positive work environment at KPS3, helping engineer Santa Maria Valley’s swirl machine, and sneaking an Office reference into any presentation he can. With over 20 years of leadership experience (and a personal motto of “do amazing things”), Rob knows that no challenge is too grand for KPS3.

Rob doesn't just help our team produce award-winning work, he leads the charge when it comes to pushing our agency upward. Stubborn about his goals (but flexible about his methods), Rob will always put people first—and it shows. From sitting in the bullpen at the office, working on client strategy and always being game for a huddle, he wants to really know each and every one of his coworkers. During new hires’ first week at the company, Rob meets and individually walks through the company culture and financials, emphasizing his core values of being real, having fun, and building amazing things. The importance of human connection is one of the main reasons KPS3 has won “Best Place to Work” back to back to back to back (you get the point) for years.

After a stint as a gymnastics coach, Rob signed on as a Production Supervisor at Jeff Dow. He then became an Art Director at KPS3 until 2007 before going off to learn what the other sides of agency life looked like, including project management, account management, and leading the travel and tourism division at One to One Interactive (formerly 12 Horses). Armed with impressive experiences, he rejoined the KPS3 crew as VP of Creative Services in 2010 and, five years later, accepted his current role as President & CEO.

Rob is all about the end game. He constantly seeks opportunities to push his own limits—both personal and professional—and is the first to make sure others do, too. If he finds the boundaries of a project, he makes himself go just a little bit further (hence why he looks back on his family’s grueling, ice-cold 14-mile backpacking trip with fondness).

A longtime board member of The Children’s Cabinet, Rob regularly volunteers his time throughout the community. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for both the School of Journalism and the School of Social Work at UNR, the Advisory Board for TMCC Business School, and the Washoe County Manager’s Advisory Committee.

As someone who enjoys the big things in life—from being an Ironman finisher and running a business to racing a rickshaw across India and biking 200 miles across Europe—Rob never forgets how lucky he is. He notices it most when he’s wrapping up an innovative project, bragging about his children’s achievements or chatting with his mom several times a week. But in the end, Rob’s luckiest win is getting to share life with Shayna (wife), Carter, and Hailey (children).

Certifications & Awards:

• Certifications
  • If the building is burning, don't sweat it—Rob is a level 1 firefighter (from TMCC).
  • If your site goes down, Rob can really mess it up as he has a PHP/MySQL cert from the early 2000s.
  • If you need help measuring data, Rob can help sift through the numbers and interpret them correctly since he’s Google Analytics certified.
• Awards
  • One of the “Twenty Under 40” winners for 2011
  • AAF Reno’s “Ad Person of the Year” in 2017
  • Leadership Reno-Sparks Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019
  • Vistage Leadership Award in 2022