Chip Griffin founded SAGA to help owners of PR and marketing agencies build businesses they actually want to own. He works with agency leaders to improve profitability, reduce unnecessary overwork, and make more confident decisions about the future of their firms.
An experienced entrepreneur and agency owner himself, Chip brings both the perspective of someone who has built and grown multiple businesses and the humility that comes from learning hard lessons along the way. He understands the challenges agency owners face because he has sat in the same chair, navigated similar tradeoffs, and lived with the consequences of those decisions.
Chip joined his first agency more than 30 years ago as a Junior Account Executive, gaining an early appreciation for the unique pressures and opportunities that define agency life. Since then, he has founded, grown, bought, and sold more than half a dozen businesses, giving him firsthand experience across the full arc of ownership.
At the core of Chip’s advisory and consulting work is the Build to Own approach he developed to help agency owners align their businesses with their personal and professional goals. As he often says, there is no reason to take on the risk and stress of ownership if the business does not give back what the owner wants from it.
In addition to founding and leading his own companies, Chip has served as an entrepreneur from within larger organizations. He was one of the first Chief Digital Officers at a major public relations firm, where he helped build and scale a digital communications practice.
Chip also co-founded CustomScoop, a media monitoring company that was acquired by CARMA in 2015. Following the acquisition, he served as North American CEO and later Chief Operating Officer of the global media intelligence firm.
A sought-after speaker and commentator, Chip has been creating content for decades. He launched his first blog in 1999 and has been podcasting since 2006. His writing has appeared in leading publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he has served as a regular columnist on topics spanning communications, technology, and public policy.
Chip has also held numerous nonprofit and volunteer leadership roles, including serving multiple terms as Chair of the American University School of Public Affairs Advisory Council and as President of the AU Alumni Association. Outside of work, he spends his limited free time honing his sports and portrait photography skills.