Sheila Smiley brings more than 20 years’ experience to advertising and public relations agency
INDIANAPOLIS
Hirons, an advertising, public relations and digital agency with offices in Indianapolis and Chicago, has welcomed Sheila Smiley as senior vice president, media and digital. Rose Durbin, senior vice president and the firm’s longtime media director, will continue with Hirons in a consultancy role.
Smiley is an expert digital marketer with more than 20 years of experience leading strategic marketing campaigns from both the client and agency sides. She spent several years as a media supervisor at Hirons and other Midwest agencies before spending 10 years leading strategic digital and traditional marketing campaigns. She most recently served as the director of marketing for the Midwest Technical Institute and Delta Technical College.
“Sheila’s varied experiences have taught her how to navigate the nuanced relationships between agencies and clients,” said Durbin. “She’s been through the procurement process and has managed various-sized budgets from both sides, which will benefit our clients and partners greatly. I am confident our teams are in good hands.”
Smiley will oversee both media and digital departments and serve on the agency’s management team. Durbin will continue to contribute her extensive knowledge of complex industries – including health care, financial services, retail, media properties and hospitality – to the development and execution of Hirons’ strategic traditional and digital media campaigns.
“This is certainly a bittersweet transition for us,” said Hirons CEO Jim Parham. “Rose has played an integral role in the expansion of our media and digital teams over the last decade. This succession allows us to provide clients with Sheila’s extensive expertise while maintaining Rose’s counsel.”
Sheila earned a bachelor’s in advertising and business from the University of West Florida and holds a professional certificate in digital media and advertising from Duke University.