John Colasanti has joined VSA Partners Inc. as chief operating officer. He was previously CEO and managing partner of Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis. He is credited with helping steer Carmichael Lynch from a regional, print-focused shop to a nationally-recognized, multi-disciplined agency serving clients ranging from Subaru to Northwest Airlines.

At VSA, Colasanti will help expand the branding firm's consumer-facing capability. "With John on board, we're formalizing our advertising offering," said VSA partner and CEO Dana Arnett. Colasanti believes VSA's capabilities are in step with the new marketing landscape: "People look beyond mere products when making decision; they care about how a company conducts itself."

VSA Partners famously designed the exquisite torch logo that was for a brief while the symbol for Chicago's failed Olympic bid. But the logo was found to violate International Olympic Committee rules and was replaced with a much less impressive star logo,also designed by VSA, which has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis and New York.