Francis J. Kelly III

Fran Kelly is a graduate of Amherst College and The Harvard Business School, and a forty year veteran in the field of branding, advertising, and integrated marketing. Fran is currently President & CEO of CEOVIEW Branding LLC.

From 1994-2014, Fran helped build and lead Arnold Worldwide, one of the nation’s top advertising firms, serving in the roles of CMO, President, CEO, and Vice Chairman. Arnold’s Drivers Wanted campaign for VW and Truth anti-smoking campaign for The American Legacy Foundation both won industry recognition as the most admired campaign in the world. Well known Arnold success stories include VW, Volvo, Titleist, Truth, Ocean Spray, Jack Daniel’s, New Balance, Hershey, Reese’s, Progressive Insurance, and Fidelity Investments.

Fran began his career in marketing on Madison Avenue in 1978 at Young & Rubicam, working on iconic American brands like Jell-O, Johnson & Johnson, and Certs. He left Y&R in 1981 to attend Harvard Business School where he received his MBA in 1983. Upon graduation he co-authored the book What They Really Do Teach You at the Harvard Business School. 

In 1983, Fran left Harvard but stayed in Boston, joining Humphrey Browning MacDougall.  In 1989, Fran moved to one of America’s most creative shops, Leonard Monahan in Providence, RI. Teaming with creative partner David Lubars, LML was renamed Leonard Manahan Lubars & Kelly. Over five years, Fran helped LML&K attract and win over a dozen high profile new accounts while also winning numerous prestigious regional and national creative awards. During this time Fran also served as president of the Boston Ad Club.

In January of 1994, Fran joined Arnold as Chief Marketing Officer where he helped the agency shape its successful Brand Essence strategic philosophy. In 1995 he helped develop the now famous “Drivers Wanted.” campaign for VW. Fran became President of Arnold in 2001, was named CEO in early 2006 and became Vice Chairman in 2010.

In March 2014, Fran launched his consulting firm, CEOVIEW Branding LLC. CEOVIEW’s mission is to help growth oriented CEOs better understand the high ROI of superior branding and to help them develop the most powerful brand vision and direction for their unique enterprise. CEOVIEW specializes in working with passionate CEOs of interesting brands across categories and at different budget levels. CEOVIEW Branding has helped 40+ interesting organizations improve their brand building over the past 5 years.

When not working, Fran is an avid golfer and proud father of adult twins. He is a member of the Boston Ad Club Hall of Fame and co-author of a second book, The Breakaway Brand.