# Ryan Stern

> Ryan Stern is the co-founder and CEO of Collectively, a creator-marketing agency born from her early experience in editorial, food blogging and online communities. Since founding the company with Alexa Tonner in 2013, she has helped turn creator work from an experimental add-on into a strategic business function, guided Collectively through its 2020 acquisition by You & Mr Jones, now The Brandtech Group, and continued to argue for a relationship-led model that combines human judgment with technology and measurement.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Collectively
- **Organizations:** Collectively, The Brandtech Group, Glam Media, Mode Media, Foodbuzz, Federated Media Publishing, Mekanism, Architectural Digest, Condé Nast
- **Education:** BA in Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
- **Known for:** Co-founded Collectively in 2013 and has continued to lead it as CEO., Guided Collectively through its 2020 acquisition by You & Mr Jones, now The Brandtech Group., Won Gold for Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2015 Stevie Awards.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Began food blogging, an early entry into online creator communities.
- **2007** — Joined Foodbuzz as a digital content manager and later managed its blogger community and content.
- **Before 2013** — Worked in editorial at Architectural Digest and in digital media roles including Glam Media, Mode Media, Federated Media Publishing and Mekanism.
- **2013** — Co-founded Collectively with Alexa Tonner in San Francisco.
- **2018** — Collectively was named among Fast Company's top 10 Most Innovative Companies in advertising and marketing.
- **2020** — Led Collectively through its acquisition by You & Mr Jones and the combination with theAmplify under the Collectively name.
- **2021** — Named a finalist for Digiday Leader of the Year and featured as a Los Angeles Times Inspirational Women finalist.
- **2025** — Shortlisted for Advertising Week's Future Is Female Awards; Collectively was honored on Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies list.
- **2026** — Won Gold for Trailblazer in Marketing at The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Collectively in 2013 and has continued to lead it as CEO.
- Guided Collectively through its 2020 acquisition by You & Mr Jones, now The Brandtech Group.
- Won Gold for Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2015 Stevie Awards.
- Led Collectively when it was named a Fast Company Most Innovative Company in advertising and marketing in 2018.
- Led Collectively when it won Best Large Influencer Marketing Agency at the 2020 Influencer Marketing Awards.
- Won Gold for Trailblazer in Marketing at The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Featured in Adweek's Leadership Voices discussing Collectively's origin, its first $1 million program and pathways for creators to be paid on their own terms.
- **2026-06** — Discussed creator marketing as a core business function, including the importance of fandom, comments and consistency, on Advertising Week's Agency Alchemy.
- **2026-06** — Won Gold for Trailblazer in Marketing at The Drum Awards for Marketing Americas.
- **2025-10** — Recognized by Collectively for being shortlisted for Advertising Week's Future Is Female Awards.
- **2025-07** — Collectively was named to Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies list, including recognition among women-led agencies.

## Links

- Website: https://collectivelyinc.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sternryan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ryan-stern
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26