COSTA MESA, CA--(Marketwired - September 22, 2016) - Rauxa, the largest, woman-owned independent advertising agency in the U.S., today announced the appointment of Laurel Rossi as its chief marketing officer. Rossi is most noted for her success in building and scaling creative businesses, and her consistent commitment to diversity of all kinds.

At Rauxa, Rossi's mission is three-fold:

• Building the agency's brand-consulting, experiential, and social capabilities, including Cats on the Roof, Rauxa's content studio in Los Angeles
• Delivering award-winning creative for clients
• Championing its stated commitment to diversity in the industry

"We're resolute in our commitment to growing our digital offerings, to advancing diversity in our industry, and to tapping data first and foremost to drive our work every day," commented Gina Alshuler, CEO, Rauxa. "What we see in Laurel is a true industry leader who can adeptly bring these pieces, and more, together to build our brand and our solutions, as we pursue the next wave of growth."

Rossi joined Rauxa from Havas, where she served as president of both its Strat Farm and Life & Wellness agencies. At Strat Farm, an agency she started and sold to Havas in 2011, she led work for marquee brands like AT&T, Nestlé, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Weight Watchers. Before that, she spent 10 years with Hill Holliday, where she held numerous roles, including managing director of the New York office. Throughout her career, Rossi's leadership and work on client campaigns have been recognized with honors, including Cannes Lions, Effie Awards, One Show, and the Financial Communications Society's "Financial Marketer of the Year Award."

Just as importantly, Rossi is a long-time inclusion advocate. Currently, she is spearheading the upcoming launch of Creative Spirit US, a national neurodiversity platform to be announced at Advertising Week 2016 in New York this month. Rauxa will be a founding member and one of the underwriting sponsors of the program, which matches young adults with disabilities to jobs in the creative industry. Rossi is also on the board of The Advertising Club of New York, and chairman of its Foundation. In addition, she serves as a trustee for the Williams Syndrome Association.

"Many things drew me to Rauxa: its entrepreneurial spirit, its consistent investment in new technology, its impressive client roster, and its recent stance on diversity. At the same time, I saw a tremendous opportunity to tap into my expertise in building creative businesses, and to harness my decades-long commitment to inclusion of all kinds in our industry," shared Rossi. "It is a rare opportunity that you find an organization with the entrepreneurial culture of a start-up, the innovation of the best tech firms, and the consistent endorsement of its blue-chip clients-all in one package. Rauxa's independence and ambition to leave a mark on our industry as both an inclusion advocate and as an unwavering client partner was irresistible."

Rossi's addition to Rauxa's C-suite makes her the sixth female executive out of eight, in an agency that also celebrates diversity of race, gender, ability, and passion. The news comes on the heels of key Rauxa client wins such as Vans and Alaska Airlines, and the appointment of award-winning creative director Kate Daggett as chief creative officer. Like Rossi, Daggett fills an entirely new position at the agency.

"Our agency is built on a tradition of digging in, doing the work, and providing measurable results and continual optimization for our clients," said Jill Gwaltney, founder, Rauxa. "Laurel joining our executive team will fuel our growth by creating a bigger presence for us as a diverse, independent digital agency that is a true contender in our space and a partner to some of the most notable brands in the world."

For more information, visit www.rauxa.com.

About Rauxa

With a distinct approach of equal parts head, heart, and hustle, Rauxa has been helping brands to acquire and grow customer relationships, by all means measurable, for 17 years. The company's data-rich approach fuses customer insight with fearless creative to accelerate results for clients, including Gap Inc., Delta Dental, and Verizon. The country's largest woman-owned independent advertising agency today, Rauxa is powered by a team of more than 230 marketing professionals in six offices across the country. Find out more at www.rauxa.com or @rauxaagency.

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