About
Jessica Hawthorne-Castro is the CEO of Hawthorne Advertising, a national leader in performance-driven marketing. Under her leadership, the agency has redefined results-based advertising by blending compelling storytelling with advanced data science. Through proprietary tools, deep analytics, and neuroscience-informed strategy, Jessica ensures every campaign—spanning creative, production, media, and strategy—drives measurable performance and long-term brand value. Jessica leads Hawthorne’s multidisciplinary teams in the development and execution of high-impact campaigns that deliver quantifiable results and enduring brand equity. Her hands-on, responsive leadership style has fostered trusted partnerships across a diverse client base, ranging from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 brands. A champion of innovation and operational excellence, Jessica has spearheaded forward-thinking initiatives across the agency. Under her direction, Hawthorne Advertising is proud to be recognized as a certified woman-owned business (WBENC), a Great Place to Work®, and a multi-year honoree on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies. A recognized thought leader, Jessica regularly contributes to leading publications including Forbes, Inc., AdAge, Adweek, The Wall Street Journal, MarTech, The Huffington Post, and the American Marketing Association, with hundreds of published articles. She is also a sought-after speaker on marketing, technology, and innovation. Jessica is deeply engaged in both professional and philanthropic communities. In addition to community and regulatory Board positions, she has served on the ANA ECHO Board of Governors and holds memberships in the Forbes Agency Council, TED International, Vistage, and YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization). Within YPO, she has held key leadership positions, including Chapter Chair and Executive Board Member for the YPO Pacific U.S. Region. Jessica began her career in Hollywood as a television literary agent at William Morris Endeavor (WME), where she represented acclaimed writers, producers, and directors for major network and cable series. She earned her B.A. from UCLA (Cum Laude) and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University (Magna Cum Laude), where she is a distinguished alumna, has been inducted into the LMU Wall of Honor, and serves on the Master’s in Business Analytics Advisory Board.
Jessica Hawthorne
Published content
expert panel
Marketing teams have never had more data, automation or channels to work with. Yet the problems that stall growth, weaken trust or drain a team’s energy often aren’t technical at all. They’re rooted in people: how customers feel, how teams collaborate, how leaders handle uncertainty, and how organizations respond when old assumptions stop working.That tension is becoming harder to ignore as AI changes both the volume and nature of brand communication. Americans remain cautious about AI’s broader impact, and recent industry conversations have pointed to a related marketing reality: As AI-generated content and commerce tools multiply, brands still need real trust, relevance and direct human connection to stand out.A marketing problem may look like a messaging issue, a measurement issue or a channel issue, but to resolve it, leaders often need to look deeper. Because no matter how many campaigns launch or what dashboards say, marketing is only effective if it reaches and connects with the audience—and that requires both inward and outward focus on the humans who write and receive the story.Below, members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank, a curated group with expertise in brand storytelling, customer engagement and the rise of AI in marketing, share and discuss examples of the human challenges that will always impact marketing and how teams can adjust their strategies once they adopt a human-centered viewpoint.
Company details
Hawthorne Advertising
Company bio
Hawthorne Advertising, a creative, analytics and technology-driven advertising agency specializing in strategic planning, creative development, production, media planning and buying, analytics, and campaign management for fully integrated marketing campaigns. With 40 years of proven success, the agency blends compelling brand storytelling with best-in-class analytics to deliver accountable, high-performance results. A WBENC-certified woman-owned business, Hawthorne is a leader in data-driven, accountable brand advertising. The agency provides integrated solutions across creative, media, digital, and mobile platforms, maintaining brand integrity while optimizing performance through advanced media buying strategies and cutting-edge analytics to maximize the effectiveness of clients’ media investments. Hawthorne has built strong, trusted partnerships with a diverse range of clients, from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies.