BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hill Holliday President Karen Kaplan today announced the promotions of two account leaders within the agency, Leslee Kiley and Kerry Benson, to the position of Managing Director, giving them cross-agency leadership responsibilities in addition to their current client-specific responsibilities.
“Both Leslee and Kerry have successfully demonstrated an ability to maintain and build long-term client relationships across complex enterprises, adapt to the changing media needs, and drive significant business growth,” said Kaplan. “They represent the ideal qualities of Hill Holliday account leadership, and their expanded responsibilities reflect our conviction in their contributions for the agency’s continued success.”
With a reputation for building enduring relationships, Leslee Kiley has led large, complex teams in the development of competitive integrated marketing programs across all marketing disciplines. She has more than two decades of client leadership experience, and has for the past 5 years overseen the growth and expansion of Hill Holliday’s work across multiple Bank of America business units and assignments. Currently Hill Holliday serves as lead agency for Merrill Lynch, US Trust, and Bank of America’s corporate social responsibility and social media programming.
Under her leadership, the agency drove the successful re-launch of the Merrill Lynch brand following its 2009 acquisition by Bank of America. Kiley was also instrumental in the development of new brand platforms for U.S. Trust based on the current needs of affluent and high-net-worth investors.
In her new role, Kiley will assume additional responsibilities for client experience initiatives focused on creating a culture and a consistent approach to delivering modern marketing to Hill Holliday clients.
Kerry Benson has more than 20 years of client leadership experience, and for the past six years has overseen the growth and expansion of Hill Holliday’s work for Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance across personal, commercial and agency markets. In March 2011, Liberty Mutual was named Most Effective Auto Insurer Advertiser of the last year by Ace Metrix, and the Liberty Mutual Responsibility Project won the 2011 Webby in the Insurance category. During her career at Hill Holliday, Benson also helped launch Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in the grocery channel with a campaign that tripled projected sales forecasts and won the Ad Age Best New Product Launch Award for 2008.
In her new role, Benson will assume additional responsibilities for critical talent strategy, partnering with other agency executives to ensure a consistent, best-in-class approach to developing, recruiting, and managing modern and nontraditional talent.
Recent Hill Holliday new business wins include Major League Baseball, CIGNA, Supercuts, and Great Wolf Resorts. The agency won the 2010 Creative Media Plan of the Year Award for Dunkin’ Donuts and was named Boston’s Best Place to Work (mid-size company) in 2010 by the Boston Globe.
About Hill Holliday
Hill Holliday’s purpose is to create a singular, resonant idea upon which a company can build business success that endures for years, even decades. The ultimate reward for such a mission? Relationships that endure. Hill Holliday’s top five clients have been partners of the agency for an average of 16 years, five times longer than the industry standard. Their resonant ideas have achieved the highest international accolades for creativity and effectiveness: Hill Holliday has the distinction of being one of the very few agencies in the world to be awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes, the Grand Clio, and the Grand Effie. Behind this grand thinking are 850 employees in Boston, New York, and Greenville who bring talent and expertise to every area of communications – strategy and planning, advertising, digital and social, media planning and buying, and branded content -- on behalf of industry leaders like Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Dunkin’ Donuts, John Hancock, Chili’s, Novartis, CIGNA, Great Wolf Resorts and Major League Baseball. For a closer look at Hill Holliday’s people, work and ideas, please visit www.hhcc.com.