Yes& Promotes Debbie Bates-Schrott to Chief Marketing Officer

Robert W. Sprague, founder and CEO of full-service creative agency Yes&, today announced the promotion of Debbie Bates-Schrott to chief marketing officer. Debbie has served as SVP since 2021. In this new CMO role, she is tasked with overseeing a team that promotes brand awareness, engages with prospects, and fuels substantial agency growth. Debbie is also a member of Yes&’s Executive Committee, responsible for setting a vision for the agency and implementing the plan to drive strategic growth, big business ideas and a high-performance culture that attracts and retains top talent. 

Debbie has honed her marketing expertise for the last 25 years. For more than 20 years, she led the certified women-owned agency, Beyond Definition (formerly Bates Creative), which was acquired by Yes& in 2021.

Over the course of her career, she has successfully focused on associations, nonprofit work, and commercial initiatives in the tech space. Some examples include Medidata Solutions, Inc., a Dassault Systèmes company, NACE (the National Association for College Employers), USAging, Transurban, Vibrant Health, Penn State University and VAI (Vertical Aviation International). Additional premium clients who have benefitted from her expertise include ExxonMobil, Cisco, VMware, McKesson and Adobe.

“Debbie has made a tremendous impact on the visibility of Yes& since she joined us in 2021,” said Robert. “In her new role, she will be bringing together our agency public relations, thought leadership, social, and martech to get the word out about the great things going on in our agency.”

Debbie is deeply engaged in community service. She serves on boards and volunteers for local nonprofits, including her current role as a board member for Blossoms of Hope. She also represented the American Marketing Association, D.C. Chapter, as chief creative officer and served as a board member for the Association of Media & Publishing, International Association of Business Communicators, and Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.

"As the new chief marketing officer of Yes&, I am delighted to lead our marketing efforts toward significant growth and recognition,” said Debbie. "This role offers an excellent opportunity to apply my expertise to elevate our brand, drive innovation, and foster meaningful connections with our audience. I look forward to achieving remarkable milestones together."

Yes& has been named one of Adweek’s Fastest Growing Agencies of 2023 and five times to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held companies. The agency delivers “positivity + possibility” through an expanding suite of capabilities including branding, digital, analytics, media, advertising, customer experience (CX), market research, content development, studio services, event production, crisis communications, media training, and public relations. Serving clients nationwide, the company maintains hubs in the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Chicago areas.