Independent agency Cornett has promoted vp/director of brand strategy Jessica Vincent to president, a role that will allow her to focus on client relationships. Owner and current president Christy Hiler will retain her leadership duties as she shifts her title to CEO.
With Vincent as president, Hiler will be able to focus on developing new business strategies that benefit the overall growth of the agency.
“The relationships we have are so important to our business, and Jessica is very good at building and maintaining them,” Hiler said in a statement. “She has built a strong reputation of leadership and has earned the respect of our teams and clients, and so now is the perfect time to refocus her relationship-building ‘superpower.”
Vincent navigates the complexities of business and creativity in advertising, and has expertise in experiential, cause marketing and sponsorship activations. She has managed clients in numerous categories, including sports, entertainment, tourism, health and wellness and education.
Vincent’s career highlights include securing Guinness World Record and Shorty awards for U.K. HealthCare and helping win the Legoland partnership for Cornett.
“Our agency has a proud history of long-lasting, trusted client partnerships,” said Vincent in a statement. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue working closely with our client teams, concentrating even more of my time and attention on strengthening those bonds while collaborating cross-functionally within the agency to exceed expectations at every opportunity.”
As owner of Cornett, Hiler has helped raise the stature of the small agency to wider recognition. In 2022, she was included in ADWEEK’s Women’s Trailblazers List. That same year, the agency added Busch Light and Legoland to its roster of clients, and Cornett won Gold at the National Addy Awards. For the past two years, the Kentucky Chamber has listed the shop as one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky.
In addition to driving Cornett’s vision and dramatic growth over the years, Hiler is passionate about seeing more woman-owned ad agencies. To help increase the number of women and non-binary owners she created Own It, a podcast and initiative recognizing female ad agency owners and their journeys to ownership. She is also one of the founding members and leaders of BLAC—an independent agency internship collective designed to bring more young Black people into advertising.