Chad Hickey

“Over a 20+ career in advertising, Chad stands out as one of the most effective leaders I’ve ever had the pleasure of reporting to. Chad’s strengths are many, but I think there are a few key areas where he truly proves himself exceptional. First, is Chad’s focus on strategic planning. Chad is process oriented in the best possible way. He is committed to applying data-driven thinking to both internal and external challenges and is great at setting goals for the departments that he leads. Beyond being excellent at executing against the stated plan, his communication skills insure that everyone in his organization understands the plan and what their role is in executing against it. Goals are clearly communicated, and Chad holds his team accountable for working towards achieving them. Second, Chad is great at building team culture. Having both worked with Chad, and competed against him, I’ve always been impressed with the team’s that he has been able to build. Chad knows how to recruit talent that will thrive in a given environment. And while creating successful culture is complex, I believe that Chad has distilled some key underlying principles that apply to any organization. First, he hires people who excel at working autonomously. Chad demands a lot of people, especially his direct reports, but he also gives them the freedom to run their business. Second, at all levels, he recruits individuals who collaborate well together. Chad believes in team wins and team goals, and he is great at making sure that people on his team put the needs of the org and group success ahead of individual attainment. Finally, Chad is an excellent teacher. From the beginning of working with Chad, he has always encouraged me to seek his assistance when needed, and he is always there to help brainstorm a solution to a problem. He understands how to coach his team to get the best results and cuts to the chase to figure out what is standing in the way of achieving success. In the year that I have reported to Chad, I’ve learned more from him about managing talent than I have had from any other of my managers. I have no doubt that working with Chad has made me a much stronger manager. In short, I can’t think of any organization that wouldn’t benefit from working with Chad or having him as a leader. He is smart, kind, fun, disciplined, and solutions-focused. ”