Owned by women.Led by women.Bold by design.
A WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise
For the first time in our history, Hirons is proud to be a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise.
It’s a cause for celebration and a natural progression for a company with a 45-year history of providing opportunities, mentorship and enthusiastic support for women in business; a place where our long-standing supplier diversity program ensures our embrace of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility extends outside our own walls.
For us, this certification represents more than a badge of honor. It represents our commitment to cultivating a healthy, diverse workforce that inspires growth for clients and for women in our industry.
Leading by example
This announcement comes less than a year after appointing the agency’s first female CEO.
CEO Deana Haworth started her career at Hirons as a public relations specialist over two decades ago. She now leads our employee-owned firm, where two-thirds of the leadership team and employees are women. And, just as her mentors set the stage by providing her opportunities for personal and professional growth, so too is Deana. Within the agency, Deana oversees a mentorship program designed to elevate employees and promote professional development. Outside of the office, she serves on numerous boards and is active in the Indianapolis chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Former Hirons CFO Ann Kneifel leads Hirons’ board of directors as board chair, with current controller, Kim Short, serving as treasurer and Deana Haworth serving as secretary.
Empowering women in business
Despite recent growth in the marketing and communications industry, women hold a mere 10% of CEO positions among Fortune 500 businesses. The workforce still has a lot of catching up to do before achieving equal representation in leadership. Hirons is proud to help blaze the trail.
Our determination to encourage female leadership reinforces our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. From the top down, our workplace encourages unique perspectives and ideas that push us forward in pursuit of future success. We believe in fostering leadership skills in not just the C-suite but in all areas of the company. Hirons is building a pipeline of talented women who are prepared and empowered to lead.
We understand that when we build opportunities for women to create, excel and lead, we’re building opportunities for our business to do the same.
Women-owned and employee-owned
In addition to being women-led, Hirons is an entirely employee-owned company. As employee-owners, our success is directly linked to our clients’ success. Our fate isn’t tied to the instincts of a handful of distant investors — it’s linked to the team members responsible for day-to-day operations and client relationships.
In 2010, the agency transferred ownership to its team members through an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and, by 2013, Hirons became completely employee owned. Through the ESOP, employee-owners benefit from the agency’s success. The model serves employees across departments, from entry-level to executive positions. Our success is a testament to the progress being made in gender equality. And although there’s a lot of progress still needed across the industry, Hirons is proud to lead from the front.
Contact
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR WBENC CERTIFICATION?
Share your contact information and a few sentences about what you’re looking for in the form below. We move fast, so you’ll hear back soon.
English 
Spanish 