John Patroulis, a globally recognized creative innovator and leader whose work has expanded the boundaries of advertising, was named Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Grey in 2017. John heads creative across the Grey network based out of New York. Prior, John spent six years at BBH New York, starting as CCO and rising to become its first-ever Creative Chairman. Under his leadership, BBH became one of the most awarded agencies in New York, and John was named to the Adweek 50. Before BBH, John co-founded both agencytwofifteen and T.A.G. in San Francisco, where he led the Xbox Halo 3 "Believe" global campaign, the most creatively awarded campaign of the decade. He began his career as a copywriter at TBWA/Chiat/Day, where he rose to global creative director, helping adidas become the Cannes Marketer of the Year. John has won every top international creative honor several times over, including the One Show "Best in Show”, the Grand Clio, The Grand Effie, and the Cannes Grand Prix.
Debby Reiner, Grey New York’s first-ever CEO, has been part of Grey’s success for over 20 years. In 2018, Debby announced a vision for a new innovation model, including investing 75% of Grey’s resources and talent into creativity, a commitment that will provide clients with the highest creative value. Debby joined Grey in 1989 after graduating from Harvard, helping build Grey into the number-one beauty agency in the world. After a successful stint running Clairol at JWT, she came home to Grey to lead the global reinvention of Pantene in 1999 and went on to help create game-changing campaigns, from Ellen DeGeneres for CoverGirl to transgender model Tracey Norman for Clairol. She led the global pitch for Gillette in 2013 and later added Venus, Braun, and The Art of Shaving business in 2014.
Ben began his career at Grey in account management, spending five years here before leaving in 2007. He came back to Grey in 2013 as Director of Business Development, introducing current and prospective companies to Grey’s services locally as well as globally across the network. In recognition of his success in that role, he was promoted to Partner, Director of Marketing, North America in 2016. Currently, Ben serves as Managing Director of Grey’s NY office overseeing the Account Management department. As a member of the Executive Management Committee, he is an integral part of the New York management team, leading key accounts and the overall marketing of the Grey brand.
Ben’s contention that Grey is far superior to all other creative agencies is based on experience: In between his stints at Grey, he worked at multinational agencies BBDO and DDB. Ben was the lead account steward for companies in various categories including professional services, retail, spirits, luxury, fashion, telecommunications, hospitality, and finance.
Justine Armour joined Grey New York as Chief Creative Officer in early 2020. She will help set and implement the creative vision, oversee all creative development, spearhead the recruitment of top talent and guide new business creative efforts.
One of advertising's most-lauded creatives, Justine Armour has worked in Brisbane, Sydney, Portland and Brooklyn. She has spent the last three years at 72andSunny becoming Executive Creative Director, leading the creative department and overseeing clients such as General Mills, Diageo, Spotify, Halo Top and Grubhub.
Earlier in her career, Armour spent five years at Wieden+Kennedy. She helped reinvent iconic brands like Chrysler, Dodge, Old Spice, Secret and Herbal Essences and drove market place success. Along the way, she held creative posts at McCann Erickson, BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis Mojo in Australia.
“Justine brings a deeply impressive creative pedigree, a reputation for work that’s famous in the world as well as in the industry, and a thoroughly modern approach to leadership," John Patroulis said. "Not every great creative becomes a great creative leader, Justine has proven again and again, on big brands and at great agencies, that she’s both."
Cory Berger recently joined Grey Group as its first ever Worldwide CMO.
At Grey, Cory is responsible for driving the agency’s growth across the network, while leading the marketing efforts that communicate its iconic “Famously Effective” brand story and capabilities.
Cory previously served as Managing Director of independent creative agency, Pereira O’Dell, where he established and led its New York operation through an impressive run of growth and creative accolades. During his tenure the agency became one of the fastest growing and highly awarded creative shops in the city. In 2016, Cory’s efforts earned him a coveted spot on the Adage 40-under-40 list.
Prior to POD, Cory held roles at leading creative agencies including Mother, Momentum and Noise. A highly accomplished marketing leader, Cory has spent his career partnering with an impressive list of companies to develop breakthrough integrated marketing ideas and programs that inject brands into culture, and drive business results.
Jonathan, who joined Grey in 2015, has been charged with evolving our Strategy Group, one that is built for tomorrow and delivers breakthrough innovation. He drives the development and implementation of a single strategic POV and integrated creative thinking that leads to big-platform ideas true to our Famously Effective mission.
It’s been said that the future of advertising lies at the intersection of creativity, data, media, and technology. Jonathan brings a track record of success in all of these areas as well as in traditional brand planning. He joined Grey from Huge, the Brooklyn-based worldwide digital agency, where he served as Global Managing Director, Planning and Strategy, and oversaw an integrated strategic offering comprising over 100 individuals globally.
Jonathan has held senior leadership roles in strategic and account planning at both digital and traditional shops, including the digital agency Rosetta, where he developed and introduced a new planning philosophy for the “connected world,” and TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, where, among other things, he developed the global brand strategy for Michelin and led the Vonage account. He has forged successful integrated strategy models across disciplines as well as planning and creative collaboration across borders.
Lisa Fabiano, EVP, Chief of Staff Grey North America, brings over 20 years of progressive experience in corporate strategy, operational management, and human resources from global advertising and marketing firms. As chief talent officer for Grey North America, she led the strategy for the agency's human resource operations, including talent acquisition and retention, training and professional development, performance management, diversity, employee relations, organizational development, and compensation. Prior to joining Grey, Lisa was General Manager at HNW, a full-service integrated marketing communications agency, with expertise in the high-net-worth market. She worked in senior account management roles and as General Manager at Euro RSCG Worldwide, helping it become New York's fastest-growing agency and helping to develop the worldwide group into a top global agency network.
Chris oversees the financial operations of Grey North America, including financial planning, client compensation and profitability, client contract management and compliance, budget development, and resource planning. His acumen and oversight, combined with new policies he has developed, continue to enhance profitability throughout the agency.
Chris began his career at Ernst & Young, LLP & Andersen LLP, where he was recognized as an outstanding performer each of his nine years at the firm and quickly rose to Senior Manager. He serviced clients including WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, WebMD Health Corp., and Rémy Martin USA.
Chris holds a B.S. in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.