Kellyn Smith Kenny

Kellyn is an award-winning global executive known for her analytical horsepower, razor-sharp customer insight, and her unique ability to lead and inspire diverse, high-performance teams that drive transformational change. Kellyn is a strategic force who has successfully optimized iconic brands across multiple industries.

Kellyn joined AT&T Communications as Chief Marketing & Growth Officer in November 2020 to accelerate customer acquisition, increase customer lifetime value, and deepen AT&T’s premium position. She currently oversees advertising, brand strategy, media strategy and planning, market research and insights, competitive and customer intelligence, and strategic partnerships for AT&T Communications.

Prior to AT&T, Kellyn served as the global Chief Marketing Officer at Hilton Worldwide, where she led marketing for the company’s 18 trading brands (which include Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn, etc), and the Hilton Honors loyalty program with 106M members, across 120 countries and 6,000 hotels. While at Hilton, Kellyn built a world-class marketing capability that functioned as an engine for efficient growth, delivered enduring brand value, and improved the company’s core economics globally.

Before Hilton, Kellyn held senior positions at Uber Technologies, Capital One Financial, and Microsoft Corporation. Kellyn joined Uber to lead the global marketing organization and build the Marketing Department from the ground up, quickly propelling Uber’s topline growth which delivered staggering bottom-line efficiencies. At Capital One, she served as Senior Vice President for the Consumer Banking division where she pioneered agile delivery within Capital One and helped redesign the interaction model across Product, Marketing, Brand, Digital, and Operations, which led to breakout growth and innovation. Prior to Capital One, Kellyn spent more than 5 years at Microsoft in product management, enterprise marketing, consumer marketing, and retail marketing roles within the Windows and Microsoft Store businesses.

Kellyn has been recognized by Fortune, Adweek, Brand Innovators, and HotTopics for marketing innovation, effectiveness and leadership. She’s been featured as a Top 100 Most Innovative CMOs in the World, Top 50 CMO, Top 20 Most Tech Savvy CMOs, Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing, and Working Mother of the Year. Her marketing & advertising campaigns have won multiple EFFIE Awards, CLIOs, Cannes Lions, and SHORTY Awards.

Kellyn has her undergraduate degree in Economics with a minor in Computer Science from Colgate University, and an MBA in Management & Strategy, Decision Analytics, and Marketing from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.