CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2023 - Highdive, the highly-awarded, fast-growing, sought-after independent advertising agency, announced today that its leader and co-owner, Megan Lally, has been elevated from managing partner to CEO.
"Megan has always been the leader of this company, and now we're making it official," said Chad Broude, co-chief creative officer and co-owner at Highdive. "Our late partner, Louis Slotkin, used to whisper 'smartest person in the room' about her. He was right seven years ago, and he's right today."
As CEO, Lally sets the vision for the agency and drives its operations, overseeing growth, account management and strategy with her direct and human leadership style. In the last year, the demand for Highdive's different approach to big-brand advertising led to 20 percent YOY growth, expansion to more than 100 employees and earning recognition on Ad Age's 2023 A-List and Crain Chicago Business' Fast 50. Highdive's work is known for tapping into pop culture and creating social currency, topping the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter three years in a row and often tapping into cultural currency with the likes of Danny DeVito, Anna Kendrick and Bill Murray.
"Megan is an exceptional leader and visionary. Her passion is infectious and she makes everyone around her want to be the best version of themselves," said Mark Gross, Highdive's co-founder and co-chief creative officer. "She has a genuine passion for great work, and it shows in her dedication to excellence. Her positivity, enthusiasm and drive make her a joy to work with, and under her leadership, Highdive will continue to soar to new heights."
In addition to new, coveted clients such as Dollar Shave Club and State Farm, Highdive continues to grow its business and creative opportunities with longer-term, creatively-driven clients including Jersey Mikes, Boost Mobile, Beam Suntory, Lay's, Perfetti Van Melle (Airheads, Chupa Chups, Mentos), NHL, among others.
"As a leader, Megan is all about relationships, healthy relationships. She understands that if you've got strong relationships in both directions, the work will follow and the business will follow," added Jon Marks, Senior Director at Beam Suntory.
Prior to starting Highdive with Broude and Gross in 2016, Lally worked at the top, big-brand agencies including Leo Burnett and DDB where she worked on award-winning campaigns for Allstate, Donate Life America, Capital One, PepsiCo, AB InBev and State Farm.
About Highdive Advertising
Founded in 2016, Highdive (highdiveus.com) is an independently owned, full-service creative agency headquartered in Chicago. With a focus on creating work so powerful it can't be ignored, the agency has a simple promise: to create the healthiest client and agency relationships in the world. Led by seasoned advertising executives who set out to create an agency made up exclusively of top performers across every discipline, Highdive is breaking the traditional agency model to deliver big ideas for brands including Jeep, Ram Trucks, Jersey Mike's, Boost Mobile, Airheads, Lay's, Beam Suntory and Rocket Mortgage. On a rapid growth trajectory, Highdive was selected as an Ad Age A-List Standout in 2023 and was named Advertising Age Small Agency of the Year (Midwest, Gold) three times.
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SOURCE Highdive
