About

Bob McNeil Jr is a diverse markets strategy specialist with an extensive career in many fields. Over the years, he has innovated unique marketing concepts that have reshaped the marketing communications industry. Coming from humble beginnings, McNeil has worked to support many underrepresented communities and served on the Board of Directors of several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Current Roles and Duties

McNeil is currently the Chairman Emeritus of IMAGES, a national marketing firm founded in his GA TECH dorm room over 30 years ago and acquired by Dentsu Aegis. This full-service agency provides various services, including advertising, experiential branding, market research and public relations for various businesses and government organizations. McNeil has continually focused on supporting young people because he believes they are our future.

Over the years, McNeil has worked with many different brands, including Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Disney, Mattel, McDonald's, Nickelodeon, Synchrony, Target, Walmart and Wells Fargo. These companies have all seen steady growth since partnering with him and have continued to use his service for various marketing channels over the years.

This tremendous success has been partially fueled by a hard-working ethos taught to McNeil at a young age and by surrounding himself with smart, innovative team players. This philosophy has shaped McNeil's career and has influenced his commitment to community service. Even before graduating high school, Bob was a serial entrepreneur.

Background and Education

Bob McNeil Jr started life in the south side of Chicago in a neighbourhood where gang warfare and civil racial injustices were common. Many of his peers fell victim to this lifestyle and struggled to move beyond its influence. McNeil was lucky enough to grow up with parents who focused him on education and religion, giving him a strong moral background to avoid these adverse influences and become a strong person with moral conviction.

After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend a Catholic college prep school, McNeil started a small lawn maintenance business. At 12, he learned the importance of self-sufficiency and why community involvement mattered. While attending Georgia Tech, McNeil started another business out of his dorm room and eventually employed over 50 professionals to service multiple national clients. This business gave him real-world experience in marketing and helped him move on from learning these lessons to applying them. Bob earned an Executive MBA from Georgia State University and graduated from the National Minority Development Council Advanced Management Program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He also earned an Advanced MBE from the Tuck School of Business, giving him the theoretical and educational groundwork for his career.

This background has helped Bob McNeil Jr expand his portfolio and help his community in many ways. For example, he has been invited to talk at multiple colleges and even launched an internship program to help introduce underrepresented college students into the advertising industry through real-world opportunities. This program has helped many young people in the African-American and Hispanic communities find job opportunities they might not have been exposed to otherwise.

Awards and Achievements

Bob has also received several awards and professional honours and has been praised by many organizations. His firm was twice named Multicultural Marketing Agency of the year by the American Marketing Association. As the youngest recipient, McNeil also won the Moss Kendrick Award from the National Association of Market Developers.

Black Enterprise Magazine has also listed McNeil in the Top 100 Marketer List for over ten years. This publication honours successful marketing experts such as McNeil in marketing and advertising. For several years, his firm was listed as a BE100 (top 100 Black-owned companies in the US). Being listed in it for ten years is a major accomplishment, and he is one of the most heavily awarded marketers in the magazine's history.

McNeil was also awarded the Young Advertising Professional Award from the National Association of Market Developers, Advertising Executive of the Year from Target Marketing News and Outstanding Black Alumni Honoree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. This acclaim has helped push him to the top of his field and ensures that he will remain remembered for many years.

Volunteer Work and Hobbies

Like many successful business people, Bob McNeil Jr gives back to his community to help support its development. After coming from a challenging background, he believes in doing what he can to help others succeed. For example, he is known to volunteer directly with organizations like AID Atlanta, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Working with young people is particularly important to McNeil, as he works with the Boys and Girls Clubs and works to promote education throughout his community. It is important to showcase how education can transform a person's life and improve them. He has given over 100 pints of blood to the American Red Cross Community.

McNeil is also an avid church member of the Friendship Baptist Church, having served in this church for over 40 years. He works at The National Conference for Community and Justice and the American Institute for Managing Diversity. He has served on the Carter Center Presidential Museum Board of Councilors, the Maris School, and the Freedom Center, among many others.