Communication Arts

Effie Awards

Clio Awards

The American Advertising Awards

Jay Chiat Awards

Art Directors Club

L[A]

Ad Age BtoB Awards

Graphis

Ad Age Small Agency Awards

Obie Awards

The Drum

John Barleycorn

Sharon Napier is the Executive Chair + Founder of Partners + Napier, a full-service creative and media agency, twice ranked among the Top 20 Most Effective Agencies in North America by Effie Worldwide. Sharon oversees all executive leadership with a focus on total company growth, including strategic capabilities and acquisitions, enriching client relationships, and championing a diverse and inclusive culture. Her guiding mantra that 

 has fostered teams built on empathy, trust, collaboration, hustle, and shoulder-to-shoulder client partnerships.

 as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising, Sharon has earned her reputation as a trusted voice in our constantly changing creative industry. She has been featured in publications such as 

, and has been a featured speaker at the 4A’s Transformation Conference, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Advertising Week, and the ANA Financial Management Conference. She also served as the keynote speaker at Ad Age’s inaugural Small Agency Conference.

Sharon sits on the Global Strategic Leadership Team of Project Worldwide, an independent and employee-owned holding company of 14 leading agencies. She also serves as Chair of the 4A’s, our leading industry trade association.

Executive Chair + Founder

Courtney Cotrupe leads with a perfect mix of sharp strategic thinking, collaborative style, and creative soul. She oversees all client growth and agency operations, with a progressive vision that continues to evolve our talent and capabilities.

Under Courtney’s leadership, we’ve seen year-over-year double-digit growth, welcoming clients like Smashburger, MD LIVE, BMW Financial Services, Highmark Health, Instant Brands, and Conduent. She founded our media planning and buying and analytics offerings, and in 2020, she expanded content capabilities with the launch of Gammut Productions, a state-of-the-art, in-house content studio.

Courtney is a board member on the national American Advertising Federation, chair of the 4A’s New York State Council. Outside of the office, Courtney cherishes the time she spends at her family’s camp in the Adirondack Mountains, purchased by her great-grandfather in the early 1900s for just $3,000.

Chief Executive Officer

Rob directly shapes our work across all clients and disciplines, spanning creative, digital, content, and design. Since joining Partners + Napier in 2019, Rob has led breakthrough campaigns and concepts for NYU Langone Health, Smashburger, Xerox and more, and welcomed new clients, including telehealth leader MD LIVE.

Rob joined us from MullenLowe, where he oversaw creative for Google Cloud, U.S. Cellular, and Royal Caribbean. Previously, at Arnold Worldwide, Rob worked on Volvo, Timberland, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Santander Bank, and spent seven years creating national campaigns for the iconic 

 Top 15 Ad Campaigns of the 21st Century. Two of Rob’s campaigns now reside in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.

Rob’s work has been recognized by every major award show globally, including Cannes, D&AD, the Effie Awards, and the One Show. His campaigns have been featured in 

Chief Creative Officer

Karen is an executive strategy leader known for solving complex brand and business challenges by uncovering the human truths that move audiences to act. She brings more than 20 years of experience across insights, strategy, communications planning, media, and transformation, with a track record spanning client, agency, and consulting roles – most recently serving as the Chief Strategy Officer on the global American Express account at Dentsu. Beyond her work on American Express, Karen has led strategy for brands including Walmart, Subway, Crayola, Nestlé, Target, and NBC Entertainment, and has helped bring to life culturally resonant work such as the early launch of 

Chief Strategy Officer

Jen makes sure we scale with soul. She has big goals. She also has the experience to make them real, strengthen client relationships, and drive future growth through critical insight and thoughtful foresight.

With 20+ years with brands like Birds Eye Foods and Bausch + Lomb, she understands the realities our clients face. She also knows how to tap into opportunity, helping national architecture firm CPL double in size over a handful of years. Doing that right takes more than ambition. It takes leadership that is in tune with economic drivers, cultural shifts, and the people who make it all possible.

While balancing creative and commerce isn’t easy, it’s absolutely essential for our team to offer the talent, tools, and next-level capabilities that will leave a mark on business. Jen keeps us a step ahead, which keeps our clients looking forward.

Beyond wrangling numbers, Jen is passionate about family, well-earned vacations, and sneaking a run in when she can.

Chief Financial Officer

Dustin brings a modern, audience-first approach to communications strategy that ensures creative ideas are built to move through culture, not just appear in channels. During his 17 years across Mullen and MediaHub, he led social media and digital work for Burger King, KFC, Uber Eats, Royal Caribbean, Cadillac and Google, shaping integrated brand ecosystems that drive consideration and choice. Dustin specializes in understanding how people engage with content across platforms and moments, and in designing creative ideas that are inherently shareable, scalable, and effective. His role ensures that strategy and creative are grounded in real consumer behavior and built to perform in today’s media landscape.

VP, Head of Media Innovation

Recognized as a 2020 Adweek Media All-Star, Jordan is one of the top media innovators in the industry. As head of The Media Group at Partners + Napier, Jordan champions the intersection of media, creative, and analytics as one powerful offering. He combines data and instinct through a proven audience-led approach and is relentlessly focused on delivering results for clients.

The Media Group encompasses paid, earned, and owned channels across traditional and digital backed by signature capabilities in communications planning, retail planning, business planning, and analytics. Under Jordan’s leadership, media has evolved to become our highest growth area, with 47% growth in 2020, serving clients such as MD LIVE, Smashburger, Conduent, Rakuten, and others.

Jordan built his career in NYC at ZenithOptimedia and Universal McCann Worldwide, managing Global and US media budgets for brands like L’Oreal, Darden Restaurants, Verizon Wireless, Reckitt Benckiser, and ExxonMobil.

VP, Group Media Director

Matt is a seasoned writer and creative director with 15+ years of leadership experience. He’s got a knack for simplifying the complex, bringing unexpected insights to his ideas, and helping brands of all backgrounds carve out unique voices — whether it’s for a global BPO, a national telehealth disruptor, or an iconic luxury car brand.

Matt’s work has been recognized nationally in service of a diverse range of clients including Bausch + Lomb, Delta Private Jets, Delta Vacations, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Real Good Fish, and others.

When he’s not running creative, you’ll find him out running the roads, tending to his gardens, or spending time on Lake Ontario with his wife and daughter.

VP, Group Creative Director

Costa is a digital creative who uses ad blockers. Why? Because he doesn’t want to see invasive, obnoxious, ineffective ads. Ever.

He’s much more into using technology to create meaningful connections with people and earning their attention.

Over the last 12 years, Costa has helped clients build brands, launch products, and outmaneuver market obstacles through cutting-edge experiences that engage with humans.

He has helped brands like JetBlue, Burger King, Google, and Harley-Davidson earn attention with everything from voice-bots to virtual reality. While the tech is complicated, the intent is simple — whether we’re in the real world, the metaverse, or your own social network, the right message delivered the right way always resonates.

When he’s not in the Matrix, Costa enjoys a potent combination of brewing beer, making hot sauce, and trying to keep up with his kids.

Group Creative Director, Creative Technology

As VP of Operations, Melissa Smith has been a cornerstone of Partners + Napier for over 15 years. As the agency’s first project manager, she built the discipline from the ground up—establishing the infrastructure, processes, and team that drive some of the agency’s most ambitious, award-winning work.

Melissa leads with calm focus and a big-picture mindset, guiding teams through complexity while keeping creative excellence at the center. She believes operational excellence is the engine of great work—continually creating and refining systems that boost efficiency, support team growth, and deliver greater value for clients. Before joining Partners + Napier, Melissa held roles at Hill Holliday, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen, giving her a deep understanding of what it takes to execute at the highest level.

VP, Operations

Cara Mittler brings 25 years of experience leading integrated, retail-focused work across brand portfolios at every stage of growth. She’s known for her ability to quickly integrate into any business, building trust quickly through sharp insight, clear communication, and follow-through.

In her role as VP Client Experience and Creative Operations at Partners + Napier’s Vine Creative Studios, Cara pairs deep client partnership with a relentless focus on creative quality—ensuring that all work is delivered with excellence and consistency. Her experience spans some of the most tightly regulated industries, including beverage alcohol, healthcare, and B2B tech, where executional rigor is essential. Cara’s leadership is defined by her ability to keep teams aligned, creative on track, and work flowing at scale—making her an essential force behind Vine’s ability to deliver efficient, high-impact creative every time.

VP, Client Experience and Creative Operations, Vine Creative Studios

Katy Collar brings more than two decades of creative leadership to her role as VP, Group Creative Director at Partners + Napier’s Vine Creative Studios. As a founding leader of Vine, Katy helped shape the agency’s proprietary model for creative excellence at scale—bridging big brand ideas with the nuance of shopper and retail environments.

Katy is known for bringing a high level of craft and quality to every execution, elevating below-the-line work into high-performing creative. She delivers ideas that flex across formats, channels, and brand tiers—always with intention, precision, and impact. With a collaborative, hands-on leadership style, Katy guides teams to create work that balances creative ambition with business realities. Her work has been recognized by leading industry awards including Graphis, Communication Arts, the American Advertising Awards, the John Barleycorn Awards, and many others.

VP, Group Creative Director, Vine Creative Studios

Partners + Napier is an integrated creative and media agency that helps brands leave a mark on people, business, and culture.

Audience-led
Results-Driven

Awards + Recognition

Audience-ledResults-DrivenResults-Driven

Awards + Recognition

Audience-led
Results-Driven