Havas New York has named Lindsay Stein as its first chief of social impact.

With deep experience across media, advertising and philanthropy, Stein joins the North American flagship agency’s executive leadership team, helmed by CEO Laura Maness, who has been on a quest to champion change, raise creative consciousness and advocate for women and the broader DE&I community across the advertising industry and beyond. 

“In today’s society, purpose and profit do not need to be mutually exclusive--and advertising is no exception. In fact, the expectation is they work together to meet the needs of both motivating talent to feel good about what they’re working for, and reinforcing for brands that doing good is the business differentiator of the future,” said Maness. “I’m thrilled to have someone as passionate and mission driven as Lindsay take on this leadership role and move Havas and our clients forward in a meaningful way.”

Stein is charged with partnering with marketers and organizations to help them leverage their own values in order to create research-based social impact solutions that drive tangible change. Stein will also help reframe the metrics around how success is measured by developing custom social impact workshops, initiatives and projects that make a measurable difference.

Additionally, Stein will align and coordinate all purpose-based efforts internally to inspire a revitalized commitment to good and energize a community of culturally conscious thinkers. From the top down--team-building activities and creative campaigns, to internal philanthropic efforts and external messaging--employees will see, feel and embody the true meaning of social impact within the entire Havas framework.

“Brands and organizations have the power to effect significant, positive change in the world--change that is just as good for business as it is for society. The time for social impact is now,” said Stein. 
 
Most recently, Stein served as the CEO of nonprofit Today, I’m Brave, dedicated to unlocking bravery in today’s youth so they can take on the challenges of tomorrow. Since taking the helm last summer, Stein has helped the organization define three pillars of inspiration and change, including diversity, equity and inclusion, education, and health and wellness. This July, Stein spearheaded the launch of Today, I’m Brave’s inaugural Brave Camp, an event that brought together individual donors and over 100 advertising agencies and production companies to fund low-income and BIPOC youth to attend a transformative week-long event designed to inspire self-confidence and bravery through immersive wilderness experiences and a curated Brave Curriculum.

Prior to Today, I’m Brave, Stein served as the U.S. editor for Campaign Magazine. She also previously spent five years at PRWeek, covering consumer marketing and communications.