Digital-First Marketing Veteran Will Accelerate Agency’s Growth Plans
Yes&, the independent, fully integrated marketing agency, has added Dawn Ridge as Senior VP of Growth. A veteran business strategist and client relationship builder, Ridge leads growth strategy and client impact across the agency’s B2B and higher education practices.
Ridge brings 20+ years of experience helping brands modernize, grow and thrive through data-driven strategy and creative innovation. Her record of success is built on her ability to blend creative insights with data-driven precision to deliver measurable transformation. Her award-winning brand initiatives include Kleenex, NBCUniversal and Cottonelle, and she is widely recognized for modernizing marketing ecosystems—replacing legacy processes with agile, ROI-focused solutions.
Ridge joins Yes& from The Zimmerman Agency, where she played a pivotal role in elevating business development outcomes and securing major new client partnerships. Her previous roles included serving as Managing Director, Client Engagement, VML, Chicago; Group Account Director, Bernstein Rein, Kansas City; VP of CUstomer Success, Evolv AI, Chicago; and Account Director/Head of Research, LKH&S, Chicago.
“Dawn brings a powerful blend of strategic insight, growth expertise, and client-focused leadership to Yes&,” said Debbie Bates-Schrott, CMO of Yes&. “I’m thrilled to have her on our team and confident her experience will help drive continued growth for the agency.”
Ridge joins Yes& in the midst of an aggressive growth trajectory. In the past year alone, the agency added a new Executive Creative Director, CEO and CFO; launched a major rebranding; and acquired four leading companies across multiple sectors, including a creative hot shop, a long-established full-service agency, a B2B agency and a communications training/crisis communications firm.
Ridge will leverage her capabilities as a strategist and team builder to drive omnichannel storytelling, AI-powered personalization and high-performance culture and help Yes&’s clients achieve clarity, relevance and growth in rapidly evolving markets.
“This is an amazing time to join a fast-moving independent and full-service agency like Yes&, because they are deeply committed to building out their offering, growing their clients’ businesses and helping to redefine the benefits that independent agencies bring to their clients,” Ridge said.
Serving clients nationwide, Yes& maintains hubs in the Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia areas. The agency delivers “positivity + possibility” through an expanding suite of capabilities, including branding, digital, analytics, media, advertising, customer experience (CX), market research, content development, studio services, event production, crisis communications, media training, and public relations. Clients include FEMA, Mercedes-Benz, IHG Hotels, Pirelli, Disney, the U.S. State Department, the Smithsonian Institution, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Pfizer, Google, the University of Virginia, the U.S. Mint, Akima, FINRA, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
