James Heekin III, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group and a member of Pingry’s Class of 1967, delivered the Keynote Speech for Pingry’s Career Day on January 25. Career Day provides an opportunity for Pingry juniors and seniors to learn about potential careers from Pingry alumni.

Mr. Heekin has spent 37 years in advertising and is in his seventh year at the helm of Grey, one of the world’s top marketing organizations. It serves one-fifth of the FORTUNE 500 and operates with 10,000 employees in 154 cities in 96 countries. “This is an intensely competitive business. Every marketing company must figure out how to differentiate itself from other marketing companies,”
Mr. Heekin said. Grey’s approach is to offer each client “famously effective” advertising to make the product part of everyday culture, such as the ETrade baby.

Under Mr. Heekin’s leadership, Grey has added clients including the NFL, T.J. Maxx, DirecTV, and Red Lobster. “Advertising Age” named Grey to its prestigious A-List of the world’s best agencies (2010, 2012, and 2013), and
“Fast Company” honored Grey New York in its “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” issue (2010 and 2011).

Prior to joining Grey Worldwide in 2005, Mr. Heekin was Chairman and CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide (now Havas Worldwide), for whom he launched the company’s global
marketing services brand, Euro RSCG 4D, the world’s largest digital network. He has also worked for McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, McCann-Erickson Worldwide, and
J. Walter Thompson.

Mr. Heekin is a member of Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame. He was named to both the All-Conference and All-State football and lacrosse teams in 1966 and 1967, and
served as captain of Pingry’s football and lacrosse teams his senior year. Mr. Heekin continued to play football and lacrosse at Williams College, where he was named to the All-New England football team (1970 and 1971) and All-New England lacrosse team (1970), and named captain of the All-American lacrosse team (1971). He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree as a double major in
Psychology and Literature.

About The Pingry School:

The Pingry School is recognized throughout the United States for its academic excellence, Honor Code, arts, athletics, and universal concern among faculty
for each student in the school. The school’s mission is to foster in students a lifelong commitment to intellectual exploration, individual growth, and social responsibility, while preparing them to be global citizens and leaders of the 21st century. It does this by providing an unparalleled intellectual experience for its students while guiding their development as people of honor and character. Pingry, a K-12 coeducational, independent country day school, was founded in 1861 in Elizabeth, New Jersey by Dr. John F. Pingry and is spread over two campuses: K-5 in Short Hills and Grades 6-12 in Martinsville. The diverse student body is composed of approximately 1,070 students from 108 communities and 14 counties across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For more information visit the school’s web
site, www.pingry.org. Follow Pingry on Twitter: @thepingryschool.