Profile: Kandi Arrington, Senior Vice President, Client Leadership, Customer Development, The Mars Agency

Kandi Arrington has a knack for bringing different stakeholder groups together around a common goal. And while the growth-driving concepts and marketing plans that result are what get reviewed and documented, her first goal has always been to be the leader of a team that everyone wants to be a part of – “a team thatis known for encouraging others, accomplishing the impossible and being rewarded personally and professionally,” she says.After earning a marketing degree from Southern Arkansas University in 2000, Arrington went to work as a marketing director at the Medical Center of South Arkansas for nearly four years. In January 2007, she started down the agency path, joining Saatchi & Saatchi X as an account executive and working her way up to senior account manager. After a brief stint at JWT Action in Rogers, Arkansas, she went back to Saatchi & Saatchi X for more than four years. In August 2016, she moved to The Mars Agency as vice president, client leadership and Bentonville team lead.Arrington points to three key areas that have helped her build collaborative, business-fueling relationships with clients, peers and partners: active leadership, business acumen and being a connector. “With my active leadership mindset, I consistently practice active listening, empathy and stewardship,” she says. Listening to understand the needs, goals and motivating factors of her clients, peers and partners to help build a vision and action steps for the team is critical. Additionally, she puts herself in their positions and figures out ways to drive mutually beneficial solutions for opportunities in business, internally and externally; basically, the idea is to treat both The Mars Agency and clients’ businesses as if they were her own.Arrington strives to know her clients’ businesses inside and out, including their competition and retail environments, which leads her team to be proactive in bringing solutions that solve problems and identify opportunities.Weekly learning sessions with her team and brainstorming sessions with partners keep everyone updated on what’s new, why it’s important, and implications or opportunities for the business. “Our clients have raved about how we help them speak the retailer’s language and keep them up-to-date on what’s new, what’s out and what’s coming,” she says.Navigating this environment can be difficult, but Arrington takes pride in helping others internally and externally connect for mutually beneficial partnerships. “I’ve developed tenacity and determination to drive action beyond what seems impossible to discover new ideas, solutions and partnerships, and enjoy bringing this to the table for our agency, our clients and our partners,” she says. “I truly believe nothing is impossible and … always consider a ‘no’ as an opportunity to find a different way, discover a new approach and develop a game-changing idea.”Serving as the senior vice president of client leadership and customer development since February 2019, Arrington has successfully increased existing client revenue across multiple businesses and was the key developer and presenter in a new business pitch that resulted in winning business of the largest client in The Mars Agency’s history.

Profile: Kandi Arrington, Senior Vice President, Client Leadership, Customer Development, The Mars Agency

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