laura maness

Laura Maness is Global CEO of Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces®—Grey—(grey.com). Only the sixth CEO in the celebrated agency’s 105-year history and first woman to attain the role, Laura's building on Grey's international capabilities and expertise while bringing people together from across AKQA and the WPP network to deliver growth for some of the world's most loved brands. In addition to shaping Grey's global strategy across six continents, Laura is committed to building on the strong foundation of Grey's storytelling prowess and Famously Effective work by fueling a values-led culture of creativity and continuous impact.

Laura ignites meaningful change as a sustainability thought leader with certificates from Harvard in Sustainable Business Strategy and Sustainability Leadership, and Modern Board Governance from Stanford Law. Her board roles span the world’s largest NGO for orphaned children (SOS Children’s Villages), nonprofits (Tory Burch Foundation, B Lab U.S. & Canada), VC-backed AI enterprise startup (Alembic Technologies), and organizations committed to uniting the ad industry around responsible growth (4A’s, ACT Responsible). She also co-chairs 50/50 Women on Boards, the leading global education and advocacy campaign accelerating gender balance and diversity in the boardroom.

An investor/advisor in Village Global and her own fund (This Is Wholehearted), Laura is passionate about giving back, building community, and helping entrepreneurs intentionally grow.

As a founding member of Chief, Women’s Purpose Community, ForbesWomen's Forum, The Post and Fast Company’s Impact Council, she consults, advises and invests in ideas designed to make the world better.

Featured in publications like Forbes, Inc, and Thrive, and a recognized industry voice speaking at ANA, Ad Age, Adweek, Brand Innovators, CES, ChiefX, Digiday, Harvard Business Review, The Economist and more, Laura's accolades include: one of the first agency leaders to take 3% Conference's Pledge for Pay Equity; Working Mother of the Year and Changing the Game Quantum Leap winner by She Runs It; Campaign magazine Female Frontier honoree for Championing Change; Digiday's Top Boss for Worklife; a finalist for The Drum's CEO of the Year; Act Responsible's Ad Industry Champion of Good at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity; 50 Women To Watch for Boards; Creativepool's Annual Awards 2023 Creative Leader of the Year (alongside Grey being named Agency of the Year).