Chris Hayes

Chris has over two decades of expertise developing digital and integrated marketing solutions, having most recently served as Global CMO of Code and Theory. While at Code and Theory, he shepherded a comprehensive repositioning of the agency’s business development approach and positioning, resulting in the acquisition of the largest account in the agency’s history, New York Life. In repositioning Code and Theory, he allowed the agency to break into new categories such as health and wellness, insurance, and tourism, adding Quest Diagnostics, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Intel, Google, and Brand USA to the agency’s roster. Prior to Code and Theory, he drove periods of unprecedented growth as the Global CMO of Young & Rubicam, HUGE, and Critical Mass. As HUGE’s first-ever CMO, he took the agency through a period of rapid expansion, winning fifty pitches in a single year, and orchestrating the 2014 partnership between Samsung and Usher, which produced one of the most successful viral videos of all time. As Global CMO of Young & Rubicam, he repositioned the storied Madison Avenue agency and evolved its client base for the future. Chris is a strong strategic thinker, active practitioner, and perennial entrepreneur. Chris is frequently quoted on CNN and in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and Advertising Age.