Core Team

Meet the Yates Advertising core team.

Susan Yates, Founder and President

Prior to launching Yates Advertising, Susan founded and managed FCB Direct San Francisco as Senior Vice President/ Director of Client Services. Starting with a staff of 2, she built to a staff of 35 and a client list that included Citibank, Pacific Bell, Hewlett-Packard, VISA, California First Bank, and Clorox. Additionally, while working at Grey and Cohn and Wells, she had the opportunity to partner with top-tier clients like Bank of America and Borland.

Susan has over 20 years of marketing communications experience. With a strong background in strategic planning and execution for major corporations, she is adept at the process of designing solutions to marketing challenges, and then shepherding them through the process of creative development, acquiring buy-in from stakeholders, and then executing with a strong attention to detail.

Fun fact: Most mornings at sunrise, Susan can be found rowing a single on Richardson Bay in Sausalito. She says it’s an amazing way to start your day!

Mary Hill, Production and Account Services

Mary is one of the most experienced production directors on the West Coast, and one look at her background shows you why. She’s held top production positions at such leading San Francisco Bay Area agencies as Ketchum, FCB and Cohn & Wells, working for top tier clients like Bank of America, Citibank, and PG&E.

She’s managed the print production, data processing, and lettershop at Yates Advertising for over 20 years. Her precision and attention to detail is just on the right side of obsessive, and she’s a whiz at finding ways to save production dollars without compromising quality. And these qualities also make her a great account person.

Fun fact: Mary is a sports stat and trivia fiend.  Every year on her daughter’s birthday, she also celebrates the anniversary of the 1884 exhibition game when the Dodgers and the Giants played each other for the first time. The Giants won.