Christine Fruechte Makes Adweek’s 2020 Women Trailblazers List

Today, Adweek honored 28 women on its 2020 Women Trailblazers list, including our own CEO Christine Fruechte. Christine joins executives from Land O’Lakes, CBS News, Starz, Twitter and more who are "actively building the future they want—pursuing an end to racial and gender inequality, leveling the playing field and making room for those who might otherwise be overlooked."

From being the first female CEO of a large Twin Cities advertising agency to championing diversity in leadership long before the #MeToo movement to leading the reinvention of the antiquated agency model in the last year at Colle McVoy, Christine doesn’t just have a record of trailblazing, it’s in her nature. She has spearheaded Colle McVoy’s tremendous growth and transformation, resulting in international recognition, a diversified client roster and consecutive year-over-year growth, driven by investments in emerging media and the creation of Exponent PR, 10 Thousand Design and an in-house innovation lab called Hatch.

Christine’s glass-ceiling breaking accomplishments inspire her to champion talent at all levels and promote diversity and inclusion throughout the industry. For ten years she has been a founding board member, past board chair, advisory board member, volunteer and donor for The BrandLab. She has also been on the boards of the 4A’s and 4A’s Foundation and on the Ad Council’s leadership council. Within Colle McVoy, she has championed diversity, equity and inclusion programs like our Inclusion Council, a staff-led team of employees from across the agency that helps nurture a culture that is supportive of all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, ages and cultures, and F.I.R.E, a pioneering female leadership and empowerment program. And she has long been an advocate for equal pay, evidenced by the agency’s certified affirmative action programs and equal pay certificate of compliance.

Christine and all the honorees are featured in the July 13th issue of Adweek for their efforts in challenging the establishment and fighting for equality across industries including advertising, marketing, media, technology and beyond. They will be honored at the Adweek Women Trailblazer Summit on September 30th. Read more about the list and Christine’s accomplishments here.