Barry Wacksman
EVP, Global Chief Strategy Officer
R/GA

Barry Wacksman is the Global Chief Strategy Officer of R/GA, overseeing business transformation, insights/planning and data/analytics as well as business development.  Barry is the co-author of Connected by Design (2014, John Wiley and Sons) and his articles have been published in a wide variety of industry publications. He has presented on topics pertaining to the Connected Age at conferences and events around the world.
    
Barry is a key architect of R/GA’s vision of “The Connected Age,” which focuses on growing brands through a connected ecosystem of products, services and communications.  This vision seamlessly combines digital platforms that consumers use on an ongoing basis with the episodic, storytelling content of campaigns to help brands achieve differentiation in an otherwise commoditized marketplace for consumer goods.

Since joining R/GA in 1999, the company has grown organically from an agency of under 50 employees to one employing over 2,000 staff in 17 offices globally.  Barry led the charge to acquire many of the world-class brands that make up R/GA’s client roster, from Nike to Samsung to Google to Verizon to Unilever.

Barry serves as Chairperson of the board of Miami Ad School and also serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Advertising Educational Foundation and Pilobolus Dance Theatre.  He graduated from Ohio State University with a B.A. in philosophy and was a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at Syracuse University.