The Times Hires Kristin Barbour as President

Jun. 25, 2024

The Times welcomes Kristin Barbour as President of the inventive ad agency. In this role, Barbour also becomes a partner of The Times, alongside partner, and COO Angie Aguilera, who has moved to majority ownership. Aguilera’s expanded leadership role and the addition of Barbour puts The Times on a trajectory to be certified as both minority and female-owned, boasting a 75% female C-suite. Both moves signal a new era of The Times’ progressive evolution as a company. Their majority female-led ownership and leadership reflect their ongoing mission to modernize the advertising industry and its creative offerings by practicing their fundamental belief that diversity is creativity.

A creative executive with vast experience delivering game-changing results, Barbour is a proven builder and manager of interdisciplinary teams that generate client wins, inspire internal talent development, and continually move the needle forward. She is a culture-first leader who values authentic connection and courageous leadership, giving others the courage to champion the best ideas and divergent thinking. Her career began at Campbell Ewald, a marketing and advertising company based in Michigan, eventually leaving to work as VP and later SVP at DDB Worldwide in Chicago. She was part of the team at DDB responsible for the historic win of the McDonald’s account in 1997 and later earned the title of Ad Age’s Marketer of the Year Award for the launch and activation of the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It!” global campaign. Barbour then became Managing Director of Camp+King’s Chicago office, where she landed a Papa Johns partnership and relaunched the brand to an unprecedented business turnaround, earning Camp+King the title of AdAge’s Best Small Agency of the Year and Silver overall.

Barbour’s passion for growth, combined with The Times’ culturally driven world-class creativity, positions the company to reach its next significant milestone in its fifth year in business. On the bleeding edge of what a novel model in advertising looks like – everything from how the agency operates to its reimagined collaborative process – reflects The Times’s ethics that center diversity in all forms and protect it as a creative asset. This iconoclastic ethos has attracted many high-consumer brands to The Times, including Airbnb, Foot Locker, White Claw, Hershey, State Farm, DoorDash, Hulu, and AutoZone.

Barbour said:

“The Times was born future-proofed. It’s in our name, from the unique breed of talent we curate to the unfiltered lens we give our clients, to see precisely how and where their brand should intersect with consumers in culture. Advertising is at a crossroads. This isn’t a moment for iterative evolution. We need a revolutionary cultural shift. Continuing to do more of the same will not move agencies or brands forward. I believe what we are building is the agency of the future in an industry that is desperate for reinvention.”

 

The Times’ CEO Jason Peterson added:

“We have a different vision for the future of advertising. Five short years ago we burst into the creator's age of marketing. Kristin embodies that fearless, dauntless spirit. She believes in the future of this industry and has a desire to help create the golden age of creativity in the industry. Her talent as a leader is unmatched, her energy is contagious, and her presence has a ripple effect that inspires creativity and drive. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and we’re fortunate to have her lead us into this next era for The Times.”

 

The Times have changed, leaving the old rules of advertising behind. Now people want to wear, eat, drink, watch, buy what they believe in. Advertising must foster a belief system, to be worn on the sleeve as self-identity. Advertising used to talk at you, we talk with you, for you, about you. Our creatives have evolved into creators. Our work doesn't simply check the box, it detonates hype & frenzy. Our work is diverse and inclusive and rooted in culture. Our work practices what we preach. Our Internet Super Highway strategy practice is a brand gps for Culture, arming brands with the best chance they’ve got to make people care and share.