Laura Maness

Laura Maness is Global CEO of Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces, Grey Group (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 the AKQA Group and WPP network to deliver breakthrough, high performance work for some of the world's most loved brands. In addition to shaping Grey's global strategy in 50+ countries, 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.

A thought leader featured in publications like Business Insider, Forbes, Inc, and Thrive, and a recognized industry voice speaking at ANA, Ad Age, Adweek, Brand Innovators, CES, Digiday, Mirren, S.H.E. Summit, USACE, Women In Retail Leadership Circle, YMS, Allyship & Action, 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; Creativepool's Top Influencer of the Year, Top 25 CEO, Top 100 Creative Leader; 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; recently named 50 Women To Watch for Boards, and celebrated in Creativepool’s Annual Awards 2023 as Creative Leader of the Year (alongside Grey being named Agency of the Year).

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

A Village Global investor/advisor passionate about giving back, building community, and helping entrepreneurs intentionally grow, Laura founded This Is Wholehearted where she consults, advises, and invests in ideas designed to make the world better. She’s also a founding member of Chief, Women’s Purpose Community, ForbesWomen Forum, and The Post — Built By Sport (as a former D1 collegiate athlete).

Residing in Manhattan's Upper East Side with her husband and athletic son, Laura enjoys being an ice hockey mom, SoulCycle, pilates, French rosé, bold Cali reds and #5amclub walks in Central Park. You can find her on X, Instagram and Threads @lauramaness.