Tombras Appoints Denice Heyward as SVP of Director of Business Affairs 

 Knoxville-based Tombras announced the appointment of Denice Heyward as SVP, director of business affairs. Previously, Denice was the interim director business legal affairs for R/GA on brands including Nike, Samsung and Verizon Wireless. Prior to that, she was partnerships and legal director at 72andSunny where she worked with General Mills, Facebook, Smirnoff, Comcast, and Seventh Generation. 

A New York native, Ms. Heyward will work out of the agency’s newly opened New York office, where she will lead and grow the business affairs team for the 350-person agency. She’ll be responsible for advising on all new business and partnership development to include: research, learning and development, external partnerships, and key hires. 

With over ten years of experience in the advertising industry, Denice got her start after a successful music career, during which won a Grammy for solo debut ‘You Have Been Right There’ (Track #5) on Hezekiah Walker & the LFT Choir’s ‘Love is Live’ Album for Best Contemporary Gospel Choir or Chorus Album of the Year. After experiencing first-hand the complexities inherent to music and talent agreements, she began studying the legal side of the industry and her career in business affairs was born. 

Denice is the latest executive-level hire following Jeff Benjamin joining as chief creative officer and Alice Mathews’ promotion to CEO.  

“As an African American woman in advertising, through my own experiences and amongst my industry peers of colour, the reality is that we are grossly underpaid, rarely promoted, and when in leadership positions we are often undermined and challenged differently,” said Denice. “Tombras’ president, Dooley Tombras, has assured me that the agency and its leadership team are committed to continuing to diversify, improve/change areas that still need growth, and pay disparity and promotion are of no issue at the agency - it was his transparency that prompted me to accept this leadership role.” 

“Denice is a game-changing hire for Tombras,” said Dooley Tombras, president. “She has the perfect mix of experience and vision to build the department and help take Tombras and our clients to the next level. She is going to be a tremendous resource to every department across the agency as well as clients as we do more work with top celebrities and artists, partnerships with influencers et al as we push the boundaries on culturally relevant work. Most importantly, Denice is an incredible chemistry fit for our agency and heck, I never thought we’d be able to say we've hired a Grammy winner.”