Chairman, The Martin Agency

John Adams has spent 41 years at The Martin Agency, an award-winning advertising agency based in Richmond, Virginia. The agency has been included on the Advertising Age “A-List” five out of the six years it has been published and most recently, The Martin Agency won an Emmy for an interactive documentary created for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Adams plays a key role on the team that continues to bring national attention to Martin, representing such brands as Discover Financial Services, GEICO, Mondeléz, Walmart, Hanes, Kraft Foods and BFGoodrich.

Adams is an active leader both locally and nationally. He is Chairman of the board of directors at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter, and also serves on the boards of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. He is a past rector of Longwood University and has served on the boards of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Historical Society.

A member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, Adams lectures frequently on marketing and business issues throughout the United States. *John Adams will also be presented with the David Bell Award for Industry Service.