RENÉE MELLAS

GROUP PRESIDENT, AREA 23 AND IPG HEALTH CANADA

Administrative Assistant. Account Executive. Leader. Entrepreneur. President. Group President. Renée has worn many hats over the course of her 30+ year career, but the thread that runs through it all is her competitive spirit and desire to be the best.

Renée began her career at FCB (back then VICOM/FCB) straight out of college. After leading the launch of Celebrex, she co-founded and ran two start-up agencies for over a decade. She then returned to FCB as Managing Director of AREA 23. Now, 10 years later, Renée is a Group President responsible for AREA 23 and IPG Health Canada–with offices in Toronto and Montreal.

Prior to her feats in advertising, Renée was born in the Bronx and attended college via an athletic scholarship to play Division 1 soccer. She ultimately received a BS in Communications and an MS in Journalism and PR. Renée now resides in Connecticut with daughters Lauren and Brooke; Australian Shepherds Cooper and Cali; rescue cat, Oliver; and, of course, husband Greg.

Renée has 3 core tenets to her management approach: We sell creativity in everything we do; We do not have account services–we have account management; We never worry about our own business–if our client's business succeeds, we succeed.

And that “We” is Renée and her partner, Tim Hawkey, Chief Creative Officer. Under the leadership of Renée and Tim, AREA 23 has seen enviable, industry-leading growth.