Thedrum

Growing up in Boston, one of 9 children, Michelle Cardinal, co-founder and CEO of R2C Group in Portland, Oregon, got the TV bug. Big time. 70s TV, according to Cardinal, was an escape and it was part of the foundation that led her to LA where she began her career as a media buyer in the informercial business. From there, the evolution began — a commitment to continually elevating television marketing and doing something unheard of in the go-go, get-the-quick-hit 90s: helping brands use television to build for the long-haul. Setting her sights on going big with the likes of Phillips, Hoover Braun and Estee Lauder, Cardinal played the role of outsider, putting aside conventional thinking to build R2C Group. Even the home base of Portland has an outsider feel, but Cardinal is loyal to The Rose City and proud that it is part of the story. In fact, she’s playing an active part in being part of the solution of Portland’s homeless problem — another important way of thinking big. Like her family, Cardinal’s tea