CINCINNATI – (January 10, 2023) – Ashlee Clarke, a powerhouse female entrepreneur, becomes the majority shareholder and CEO of Empower Media. Ashlee Clarke has a wide range of success in the entertainment, creative and business worlds and is bringing that collective experience to the award winning media agency. Clarke has been making a name for herself in the advertising industry in recent years as the Founder, CEO and CCO for the highly regarded integrated creative and media agency NitroC. In that time, she has also received accolades as a Broadway producer and winner of multiple Tony Awards.

Empower, founded in 1985 by Mary Beth Price, was purchased in 2018 by her son, Jim Price, who has run the company as CEO since 2009. Empower has significantly transformed its own business in the last four years – doubling in size and achieving 30% revenue growth since 2020. Jim Price will remain with Empower for one year as Non-Executive Chairman.

Empower is one of the largest independent media agencies and coins itself as The Un-Holding Company℠ focused on doing what’s in the best interest of clients – unburdened by shareholders. Key clients include Bush Brothers, Zaxby’s, Brooks Running, Wendy’s, Tempur Sealy, Newell Brands, Fifth Third Bank, Gorilla Glue, O’Keeffe’s, GNC, VTech, Famous Footwear, LIXIL, O-Cedar, Jack Link’s, Ashley, RoC Skincare, Rust-Oleum and E.W. Scripps.

Chris Clarke also joins Empower Media as Executive Chairman; his role is to oversee the strategic growth of both Empower’s clients and the Empower agency. An accomplished advertising industry veteran known for his thought leadership, Chris Clarke co-founded SapientNitro and guided it as Executive Chairman and CCO to become both the largest independent global agency and the biggest digital agency in the world, before selling to Publicis.

Empower’s Jim Price said, “It was time for Empower to enter a new era. We found the perfect partners who will maintain our values and strong independent position that will help Empower thrive for decades to come.”

It was of utmost importance to Price to build upon our female-owned legacy. This does indeed solidify Empower as the largest woman-owned media agency in America.

Ashlee Clarke, now CEO and majority shareholder of Empower said “What’s really exciting is we are inheriting quite the legacy that the Price family has built. The strides they have made for women in leadership and their focus on diversity, equity and inclusion has been a key driver of their growth. It’s my goal to continue to build on this momentum. 17% of the staff is diverse, and 64% of senior level positions are now held by women, with women making up 70% of the overall team based out of Cincinnati, Chicago, and Atlanta.”

With the addition of the Clarke’s and the NitroC team, Empower will add New York, Palm Beach and Houston offices as well as additional creative capabilities to grow the agency.

About NitroC

NitroCollaborative is a highly regarded, integrated creative and media agency with clients that include Sprouts Farmers Market, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Jockey and FreshPet.

Our team is made up of the most passionate and highly-regarded talent in the advertising industry. We believe in the power of collaboration, integration and flawless execution.

We have the most senior creative and media talent that work on our clients’ business daily to drive robust and effective creative, media planning and buying to generate ROI.

We pride ourselves on our agility – on providing flexible, dynamic, powerful solutions to every business problem, always with a sense of urgency – because your success is our success.

NitroC has offices in New York, Palm Beach and Houston. https://www.nitrocollaborative.com