The Shipyard Introduces New Operating Model

Matt Bruot Named President of The Shipyard Collective

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following The Shipyard's recent acquisition of Fahlgren Mortine, the reigning PRSA agency of the Year, and its subsidiary TURNER, one of the nation's leaders in travel, tourism and lifestyle marketing, the firm introduces a new operating model, The Shipyard Collective.

"With the Shipyard Collective, we have built one seamless agency value proposition that leverages all our amazing craft and creative disciplines in paid, earned, and owned media,"  said Rick Milenthal, chairman and CEO of The Shipyard.

Traditional agency structures often rely on silos and specialties that create unnecessary friction. The Shipyard Collective breaks down these barriers bybringing together talent from diverse crafts and ensuring client success drives everything. It unites the right resources and professionals to meet clients' exact needs. The Shipyard Collective's unique approach reduces complexity and delivers improved results for clients.

All three agency brands – The Shipyard, Fahlgren Mortine, and TURNER – and their leadership will remain intact. Milenthal said the new model ensures these specialties work together cohesively for client success.

"The Shipyard Collective lets clients - no matter the entry point of our relationship, whether advertising, communications, experiences, media, innovation, or someplace in between – be surrounded by professionals bold enough to imagine, daring enough to act, and experienced enough to trust."

Milenthal announced that Matt Bruot will serve as President of The Shipyard Collective. Bruot previously served as chief financial and operating officer at The Shipyard.  

"Matt has proved to be an outstanding partner and steward of our financial growth, partnership strategy, and organizational innovation. He is an exceptional leader and the right person to help us drive this vision forward."

Regarding his new role, Bruot said: "This is an opportunity to bring to life a new way to manage the agency business with creativity and innovation at its core. We're creating something special to help our client partners engineer brand love while improving marketing effectiveness and ROI. Additionally, the new model provides a home for our talented professionals to focus on their craft and not the minutiae of business operation or agency rivalries." 

Marty McDonald and Christine Turner will continue in their roles as brand-level presidents of Fahlgren Mortine and TURNER, respectively.

ABOUT MATT BRUOT

Matt Bruot is a talented financial and advertising agency executive with vast experience in, strategy, and agency leadership. He joined The Shipyard in April 2016 as executive vice president and director of finance.

Before his tenure with The Shipyard, he led financial operations and analysis at Resource/Ammirati. His new role at The Shipyard Collective extends his leadership to overseeing operations and ensuring seamless delivery that drives client value across the Collective.

ABOUT THE SHIPYARD COLLECTIVE

The Shipyard Collective brings together talented individuals and organizations across the creative, communications, media, and digital landscape to grow brands that audiences can't help but love. It is uniquely designed and organized to Engineer Brand Love through partnerships, investments, and acquisitions of amazing organizations, with creativity and innovation at their core.

Collectively, its agencies are recognized as one of ADWEEK's national Fastest-Growing Agencies (The Shipyard), the 2024 and 2023 Best Mid-sized Agency nationally by the Public Relations Society of America (Fahlgren Mortine), and Outside Magazine's best places to work (TURNER).

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, The Shipyard Collective has offices in Sacramento and San Diego, California; Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; Boise, Idaho; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; and Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio.

Media Contact: Lynne Collins, [email protected] 

SOURCE The Shipyard