Michele Prota
Chief Talent Officer
Forsman & Bodenfors New York
At Forsman & Bodenfors, Michele Prota strives to design working environments where people can do the bravest work of their careers. After almost five years at the global creative collective, she has made bold moves to change the industry from within, rallying the agency’s senior leadership around her belief that diversity is key to world-class creativity and inspiring them to embrace new roles as champions not just for womxn, but for overall equity and diversity. Her nearly 15 years experience in Talent and the business of people for multi billion-dollar companies, global advertising networks, and small tech-led creative shops has made Michele acutely aware of what drives creativity, employee happiness, business growth, and profitability.
Through her partnerships both in and out of the office and her collaborative approach to working, not only did Michele lead Forsman & Bodenfors to Global 3% Certification in 2019, she also played an integral role in the agency reaching pay parity amongst its team members in 2019. Additionally, Michele has landed coverage in industry outlets including Adweek, Digiday, Campaign, The Drum, and Muse by Clio, to name a few. Not only did she help lead the agency to win the title of Most Collaborative Culture at Digiday’s 2019 Worklife Awards, she also was named Campaign US’ inaugural 2019 Talent Person of the Year.
Before her time at Forsman & Bodenfors, Michele held leadership roles at The Barbarian Group, J. Walter Thompson, and Merrill Lynch. In 2018, Prota received the She Runs It Working Mother of the Year Award, which honors outstanding, multitasking moms who work in the marketing and media industry, serve as strong role models and mentors to others, and inspire their co-workers, families, and communities through their talent and tenacity. She is also a contributing webinar leader for the 4As and is an active founding member of She Run It’s #Inclusive100 initiative.
Her most important role, however, is played during the off-hours where she is mother to Bobby and Sonny and wife to an incredible human.
Through her partnerships both in and out of the office and her collaborative approach to working, not only did Michele lead Forsman & Bodenfors to Global 3% Certification in 2019, she also played an integral role in the agency reaching pay parity amongst its team members in 2019. Additionally, Michele has landed coverage in industry outlets including Adweek, Digiday, Campaign, The Drum, and Muse by Clio, to name a few. Not only did she help lead the agency to win the title of Most Collaborative Culture at Digiday’s 2019 Worklife Awards, she also was named Campaign US’ inaugural 2019 Talent Person of the Year.
Before her time at Forsman & Bodenfors, Michele held leadership roles at The Barbarian Group, J. Walter Thompson, and Merrill Lynch. In 2018, Prota received the She Runs It Working Mother of the Year Award, which honors outstanding, multitasking moms who work in the marketing and media industry, serve as strong role models and mentors to others, and inspire their co-workers, families, and communities through their talent and tenacity. She is also a contributing webinar leader for the 4As and is an active founding member of She Run It’s #Inclusive100 initiative.
Her most important role, however, is played during the off-hours where she is mother to Bobby and Sonny and wife to an incredible human.