Chief Strategy Officer

BastionBUNTIN; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

BastionBUNTIN, headquartered in Nashville, is seeking a Chief Strategy Officer to lead strategy across global brands and client partnerships. The CSO will guide growth, shape strategic offerings, and drive measurable impact by bridging insights and creativity with data-driven decisions.

The role leads cross-functional strategists, partners with executive leadership, and shapes the agency’s future-ready capabilities, including AI-enabled planning and measurement frameworks.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in senior brand strategy roles, including agency experience.
• BA in Advertising, Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
• Proven success in developing and implementing brand, communications, and business strategies for leading brands.
• Strong commercial acumen with ability to link marketing investment to ROI.
• Deep understanding of behavioral economics, data analytics and measurement principles.
• Excellent research and insight generation (qualitative & quantitative).
• Ability to lead workshops and sprints; comfortable with AI/data-driven planning.
• Experience leading diverse strategic teams in integrated or creative environments.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the strategic vision and direction for Buntin/Bastion and its clients.
• Partner with agency leadership to evolve the Agency’s value proposition in response to market shifts.
• Champion the integration of strategic insight across disciplines with data-driven grounding.
• Build, inspire, and lead a team of cross-functional strategists.
• Serve as senior strategic advisor to executive clients across brand, business, and digital strategy.
• Lead new business pitches with strategic leadership that differentiates the agency.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Brand strategy

Client partnership

Team management

AI/data-driven decisions

Storytelling & presentation

Stakeholder influence

Education

BA in Advertising/Marketing/Business/Communications

Tools

AI tools

Data analytics tools

Job description

BastionBUNTIN is a full-service independent agency that exists to solve the world’s hardest client problems. Headquartered in Nashville, BastionBUNTIN is the U.S. business of global independent agency network Bastion with more than 400 team members across Nashville, Los Angeles, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Auckland, and Wellington.

Combining the scale and capabilities of a global network with the agility of an independent agency, BastionBUNTIN delivers integrated services built for the modern marketer. Our clients span a wide range of industries and include Kellogg’s, United Airlines, Spotify, L’Oreal, Avocados from Mexico, Yoshinoya, Cotton Candy Grapes, SERVPRO, CFP Board, Trex, Coca-Cola Consolidated, MARS, Republic Bank, Clayton Homes, and TennPop Seltzer.

Job Summary

The Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) is the strategic engine of the agency—transforming complexity into clarity and guiding clients and teams toward confident, ambitious decisions. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CSO partners closely with the CEO, Chief Creative Officer, and other discipline leads to drive business growth, shape the agency’s strategic offering, and future-proof its capabilities in an evolving market.

This role leads and mentors a high-performing team of cross-functional strategists, working directly with clients to define direction, unlock growth, and deliver measurable impact. The CSO brings deep expertise across brand, business, communications, and commercial strategy—bridging insights and creativity to deliver value for both clients and the Agency.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and lead the strategic vision and direction for Buntin/Bastion and its clients.
• Partner with agency leadership to evolve the Agency’s value proposition, services, and positioning in response to market and technological shifts (including AI and data transformation).
• Champion the integration of strategic insight across disciplines, ensuring creativity is grounded in purpose and data-driven intelligence.
• Build, inspire, and lead a team of cross-functional strategists, fostering collaboration, learning, and innovation.

Client Partnership & Growth

• Serve as a senior strategic advisor to executive-level clients, guiding them in areas including brand, business, communications, digital and social strategy.
• Translate complex business challenges and consumer insights into actionable, inspiring strategies that drive growth and creativity.
• Build long-term client relationships rooted in trust, vision, and results.
• Lead new business pitches, providing strategic leadership that differentiates Buntin/Bastion in the market.

Creative & Thought Leadership

• Inspire creative teams with bold, clear strategic direction that enables breakthrough ideas.
• Collaborate closely with creative leadership to ensure work is both strategically grounded and creatively outstanding.
• Represent Buntin/Bastion externally through thought leadership, attending industry events, speaking engagements, and awards programs—enhancing the agency’s reputation as a strategic leader.
• Drive development of new strategic offerings, including measurement frameworks, investment modeling, and data-driven planning tools.

Operational & Team Excellence

• Oversee strategic processes, tools, and methodologies to ensure consistency, efficiency, and excellence in delivery.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, insight, and innovation within the strategy team and across the agency.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to shape agency vision, culture, and organizational priorities.
• Manage performance metrics and contribute directly to agency financial and growth targets.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Must possess 15+ years’ progressive experience in senior brand strategy roles, including some agency experience
• BA in Advertising, Business, Marketing, Communications, or related preferred
• Proven success in developing and implementing brand, communications, and business strategies for leading brands.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect marketing investment to business outcomes and ROI.
• Deep understanding of behavioral economics, data analytics, and effectiveness measurement principles.
• Skilled in research and insight generation, including qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Ability to lead workshops and sprints as required
• Expertise in leveraging technology, AI, and data to enhance strategic decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience leading diverse strategic teams in integrated or creative agency environments.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and presentation skills—able to inspire both clients and internal teams.
• Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders with confidence and clarity.
• Natural collaborator with a curious mind and a calm, credible leadership style.
• Deep appreciation for creativity as a strategic business tool.

BastionBUNTIN Culture

BastionBUNTIN is headquartered in Nashville with offices in Los Angeles and New York. We strive each day to embody our agency’s values: Always Client Centric, Be All In, Create Fearlessly, and Do The Right Thing. These make up the foundation of who we are and how we treat each other and our clients.

Our culture is one of hard work and collaboration, striving to continually strengthen our clients and each other. In addition to our client work, we dedicate time throughout the year to donate work and money to philanthropic causes, to celebrate agency wins and traditions, and to gather together as an agency community. In addition, our Nashville office is dog friendly with numerous furry friends contributing to our work day-to-day.

BastionBUNTIN Mission

BastionBUNTIN exists to put clients, brands, and people in a position of strength to live with conviction and win on results. We are an agency built for the modern marketer, bringing together deep expertise in World Building, Radical Collaboration, and Super Human capabilities to deliver disproportionate impact for clients through the most advanced thinking across every touchpoint.