Costa Mesa, California, United States
Jill Gwaltney is an energetic leader and board advisor with a demonstrated track record of building successful businesses by applying cutting-edge technologies to expand service offerings. Her approach is to drive growth by recognizing customer needs and building the team with the talent to innovate and act on the opportunities. She possesses a keen sense for identifying emerging trends in the marketplace and transforming companies to maintain competitive advantage. Ms. Gwaltney founded Rauxa in 1999 with just four employees. In the years since, it became one of the fastest growing ad agencies in the country with over 320 employees and 7 offices nationwide. The 20.5% year-over-year growth was driven by Rauxa’s unparalleled strength integrating data, technology, and creative strategy to improve results for Fortune 500 brands (Verizon, Audi, Amazon, Vans, Audible, Sirius, Western Union, Adobe and Blue Shield of CA) . With revenues exceeding $120M, she negotiated and sold to Publicis in 2019 and continued as Chair until February 2022 to consult on a four-agency merger and to lead business development. Prior to Rauxa, Ms. Gwaltney worked 20 years in the printing business. She started immediately after college graduation as the first female sales rep for Forms Engineering Company. She became the top salesperson after just one year and was promoted to Sales Manager and then Vice President of Sales. At the age of 30, she became President and led the transformation and rebrand from Forms Engineering to FEC that shifted the services to personalized direct mail production. During her tenure she increased sales from $1.2M to $44.6M. She negotiated the sale of FEC in 1996 for twice shareholder expectation of valuation and continued to ensure a smooth transition until September 1998. Ms. Gwaltney served on the Stanford Alumni Board from 2006 to 2011 and on the Brandman University Board of Regents from 2019 to 2021 when they were acquired by Massachusetts Global. She recently joined the advisory board of a web3-enabled start-up that is establishing a mechanism where people can build, secure, distribute and monetize their own data. Ms. Gwaltney led the involvement of Rauxa in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) organizations such as Advertising for Change and the 4A’s Foundation Faces of Talent. She was named as Adweek’s Disruptor in 2018 and was recognized by the Orange County Business Journal Women in Business in 2015. Ms. Gwaltney holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University.
Established this investment firm that specializes in industrial and commercial properties. Set the strategic direction and establish policies and procedures. Responsible for overseeing operations, marketing, sales, and customer service. Selected and managed key service providers.
Founded in 1999 with just four employees, it became one of the fastest growing ad agencies in the country with more than 320 employees and 7 offices nationwide. The 20.5% YOY growth was driven by unparalleled strength integrating data, technology, and creative strategy for Fortune 500 brands, such as Amazon, Chase, and Verizon. Grew revenues to $120M and negotiated the sale to Publicis in 2019. Continued as Chair until February 2022 to consult on a four-agency merger and lead business development. • Established Rauxa with the vision of doing the “whole package” as a direct mail specialist with creative and production expertise. Achieved immediate profitability with three accounts: Wells Fargo Bank, Tricor Mortgage, and Intuit. • Led the development and then expansion of creative, video production, media, data science, technology, and strategic consulting practices. Acquired digital and design firm ThoughtMatrix in 2012 • Recruited C-suite talent to lead the agency of the future: Chief Creative Officer, Chief Intelligence Officer, and Chief Technology Officer • Industry recognition includes being named Adweek Disruptor in 2018 (for championing gender equality and diversity) and winning Orange County Business Journal’s Women in Business award in 2005. Became largest woman-owned ad agency in the country in 2016. • Partnered with Vans to own the development of an industry-leading 3D customization platform. Continued to innovate, driving YOY increases in revenue from 30% to 125%. Developed VECAI Tool to turn images from custom designs to data which is then analyzed and visualized to provide insights into new product development • Entered the Pharma vertical in 2018 with assignments from Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene, later with Sanofi
Joined Forms Engineering Company after college graduation and progressed to become the President at age 30. Led the transformation and rebrand to FEC that shifted the services to personalized direct mail production. Sales increased from $1.2M to $44.6M. Negotiated the sale of FEC in 1996 for twice shareholder expectation of valuation and continued to ensure a smooth transition until September 1998.