# Zihla Arbit

> Zihla Salinas Arbit is a Los Angeles-based advertising executive, agency founder, advisor and competitive dressage rider. After senior roles at RAPP, MDC Partners and Doner LA, she led Trailer Park Group, served as U.S. CEO and Global CMO of ENGINE, and co-founded the specialist agency network Conspiracy Theory. She joined Yes& as COO in 2024 and became CEO in June 2025, directing a growth strategy built around new business, organic expansion and acquisitions while advocating an improv-inspired culture of accepting an idea and building on it.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Yes& Agency
- **Organizations:** Yes& Agency, Conspiracy Theory, ENGINE, Trailer Park Group, Doner LA, MDC Partners, RAPP, Evalla Advisors, Marcus Graham Project
- **Education:** Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Isenberg School of Management
- **Known for:** Built Conspiracy Theory as a collective of specialist agencies serving Fortune 500 clients., Led ENGINE’s U.S. agency business and global brand as U.S. CEO and Global CMO., Promoted from COO to CEO of Yes& after one year, following contributions to new business, M&A, creative development and talent development.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2018** — Held leadership roles including CMO of RAPP, SVP of Strategy & Development at MDC Partners, and EVP and Managing Director of Doner LA.
- **2018** — Appointed CEO of Trailer Park Group, overseeing the entertainment marketing company’s strategy, branding, creative and production capabilities.
- **2019** — Added the Global CMO title at ENGINE while serving as U.S. Agency CEO, with responsibility for global brand identity and the integrated U.S. agency offering.
- **2021** — Co-founded Conspiracy Theory, a minority-owned and woman-led network designed to acquire specialist agencies serving major brands.
- **2024** — Joined Yes& as Chief Operating Officer to lead operations and contribute to new business, acquisitions and talent development.
- **2025** — Promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Yes& on June 25 after a year as COO.
- **2026** — Led Yes& as it added Symmetri Marketing Group, Metaleap Creative and Modo Modo and joined the Dawn network of independent agencies.

## Achievements

- Built Conspiracy Theory as a collective of specialist agencies serving Fortune 500 clients.
- Led ENGINE’s U.S. agency business and global brand as U.S. CEO and Global CMO.
- Promoted from COO to CEO of Yes& after one year, following contributions to new business, M&A, creative development and talent development.
- Served as a final-round judge for the Effie Awards.
- Received a 2020 One Show Merit credit as ENGINE chief marketing officer for HBO’s Recommended by Humans campaign.
- Won the 2022 California Dressage Society Training Level Amateur Perpetual Trophy with Leonis and placed first in the RAAC Elite First Level Test 3 with a score of 72.945.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Yes& acquired B2B agency Modo Modo, with Arbit citing the firm’s ability to communicate complex ideas across healthcare, manufacturing, fintech and enterprise marketing.
- **2026-05** — Yes& joined the Dawn network, giving the agency access to added strategy, creative, media and analytics capabilities for larger client assignments.
- **2026-03** — Chief Marketer named Arbit among its 2026 Top Women in Marketing, according to her LinkedIn honors listing.
- **2026-01** — Yes& acquired Chicago-based Symmetri Marketing Group to expand its B2B, technology and digital work.
- **2025-11** — Arbit appeared on The Immortal Life of Agencies podcast to discuss improv-inspired culture, client relationships and acquisition strategy.
- **2025-06** — Yes& promoted Arbit from COO to CEO, placing her in charge of continued growth through new business, organic expansion and acquisitions.

## Links

- Website: https://yesandagency.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zihla

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/zihla-arbit
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-22