>Rob Falls
Power Couples: Rob & Kathryn Falls
February 1, 2020
Story:
Barry Goodrich
Robert Sandrick
Jill Sell
Colleen Smitek
Lynne Thompson
Power Couples: Rob & Kathryn Falls
With high-paced careers and a dedication to giving back to the community, see how this couple still manages to put each other first.
Rob Falls looks good in a pink tie. Maybe that’s because his public relations, marketing and communications firm Falls, reinvented and improved Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio’s annual Pink Tie Guys award program.
Giving Back. Susan G. Komen established the award years ago because men weren’t giving to the cause as much as the renowned breast cancer organization would have liked. In 2017, Komen bestowed the honor on Rob himself for his contributions. Komen isn’t the only organization Rob stands behind. He says his company donates 5 to 10 percent of its profits to local charities and performs pro bono work for others. His wife, Kathryn Falls, says his concern for others is genuine.
“He has a heart of gold and always looks out for those in need,” Kathryn says. “And, we strive to live our lives together that way.”
Marketing Marriage. Kathryn has a high-paced career of her own. For 13 years, she’s been the director of marketing at Heinen’s Grocery Stores, the 90-year-old Cleveland-based chain with 23 stores in Northeast Ohio and Chicago. She helped her company recreate the grocery industry by, for example, introducing online ordering and curbside pickup in 2017. Heinen’s also was one of the first grocery stores to sell prepared foods, and it hosts healthy-cooking-and-eating classes. The company also gives back, making donations to food banks, schools and charities their customers choose.
Award Winning. For Rob, 2019 was a big year. His company, founded in 1994 and which today has about 60 clients, purchased Wyse, a Cleveland brand management and ad agency. In December, Falls took home 14 awards in the annual Public Relations Society of America Cleveland Rocks ceremony, which recognizes best efforts in local marketing and public relations. While awards are rewarding and giving back to the community is important, Rob’s relationship to Kathryn always comes first.
“She is one of the most caring and considerate people I have ever met,” Rob says. “She is always doing for others.”
https://clevelandmagazine.com/cleader/business/articles/power-couples-rob-kathryn-falls