Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, announced its support for VetsinTech (ViT), the leading national non-profit dedicated to supporting veterans through tech-based programs and opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship. The partnership is led by Stagwell’s Maggie Malek, CEO of MMI Agency and Army veteran, and Justin Lewis, Constellation chairman and Marine Corps veteran.
MMI, Constellation and Stagwell are also supporting ViT’s 8th Annual Veterans Day Gala on Friday, Nov. 11, in San Francisco. The Gala is held each fall to fund educational scholarships for veterans and military spouses and to celebrate Veterans Day.
“Veteran leaders like Maggie and Justin bring invaluable experiences and skillsets to our business and we’re grateful to have their leadership,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “We’re excited to partner with VetsinTech and open up new avenues to support veterans in building fruitful, rewarding careers within the technology ecosystem.”
Malek and Lewis have each published an open letter in recognition of Veterans Day to inspire veterans to think bigger about their futures and to encourage the creative technology community to hire veterans.
Malek, whose grandfather and uncle served in WWII and Vietnam, writes about the impact of their stories, and being fueled to be part of something bigger following a death in the family and the events of 9/11. After carving out her place as a top-performing female in the Army, she details her path of floating in and out of different jobs, maintaining internships while attending school, eventually leading to a place where she could blend her love for writing with her love of people: MMI Agency. A decade later, she became MMI’s CEO. Read Maggie’s full letter on LinkedIn here.
Lewis, who joined the Marine Corps as an insecure 17 yr. old, eventually spent six years in the Corps including being part of the force that rescued Captain Scott O’Grady from Bosnia (a story represented in the film “Behind Enemy Lines”). After bouncing around jobs, one day while delivering UPS packages he applied to a business developing websites using HTML, CSS and Javascript. After teaching himself dozens of programming languages, Lewis founded Instrument, now one of the leading digital innovation agencies. Read Justin’s full letter on LinkedIn here.
Inspired? Join Stagwell in our support for VetsinTech.
About VetsInTech
Based in San Francisco, with more than 70,000 vets strong and 20 chapters across the country, VetsInTech is the leading national non-profit devoted 100% to springboarding veterans into tech careers. VetsinTech harnesses the national technology ecosystem to benefit veterans returning from active military duty who want to apply their exceptional training, skills, and experience to a new technology career. Comprising technology industry leaders and former service members, VetsinTech is the only non-profit supporting our veterans through tech-based programs and opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship. For more information, interested parties can visit www.vetsintech.co.
About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
Media Contact:
Sarah Arvizo