As President & CEO of The ADVERTISING Club of New York, the industry’s premiere forum for exchanging ideas, recognizing creative excellence, innovation, cultivating talent and promoting inclusion, Gina Grillo is a champion of the industry. She leads The AD Club team and over 5,000 members with access to a network of thought leaders; the fuel for creativity; progress toward greater diversity and inclusion; and the best training for professional development.

In her 20+ years at The AD Club, Gina has transformed the Club into the voice of the modern ad industry which, in turn, shaped the conversation around diversity of thought, start-up innovation, support of Young Professionals, cultivated the importance of bravery in advertising, and has become a platform to the entire advertising, marketing and media community in New York. The Club, now in its 120th, year remains a reliable and trusted source for thought leadership, giving back to serve the community and fostering young and diverse talent.
Through i’mPART, the Club’s diversity initiative that aims to raise awareness of the benefits of diversity in business and the importance of increasing and retaining a diverse workforce, The AD Club has made a $2 million investment in the nation’s leading diversity programs thus far.

Gina is a force to be reckoned with – she oversees the International ANDY Awards, leading them to hold the first ever LIVE judging event accessible to the entire industry in 2018. In an effort to strengthening the advertising/marketing industries and advocate for diversity retention, she sits on the NYC Virtual Enterprise Advisory Board, the Advertising Week Board, and is also a Founding Member on the Board of the ADCOLOR Industry Coalition. In 2017, the 4A’s named her to their esteemed list of ‘100 People Who Make Advertising Great.’
Gina also works closely with the prestigious industry leaders who comprise The AD Club’s Board of Directors to support the Club’s mission to move the advertising industry forward. Prior to joining The AD Club, Grillo held positions at Young & Rubicam and MTV Networks. A St. John’s University graduate and native New Yorker, she resides here with her husband and three children.