Kelley gay

As senior vice and chief marketing officer (CMO) for OneAmerica Financial ®, Kelley Gay leads the company’s overall marketing, communications and stakeholder experience strategy, driving exceptional brand experiences and business results across the enterprise. Kelley Gay currently serves as the Senior Vice and Chief Marketing Officer for OneAmerica Financial (OAF), overseeing the company’s marketing, communications, and stakeholder experience strategies.

Experience: OneAmerica · Location: Greater Indianapolis · + connections on LinkedIn. View Kelley. INDIANAPOLIS – (Aug. 24, ) OneAmerica ®, a national provider of insurance and financial services, has promoted Kelley Gay to chief marketing officer (CMO).

Kelley Gay General Information Biography. Ms.

As senior vice and chief marketing officer (CMO) for OneAmerica, Kelley Gay leads the company's overall marketing, communications and stakeholder experience strategy, driving exceptional brand experiences and business results across the enterprise. The power of reflection, including an ability to critique herself and receive constructive criticism, is central to Kelley Gay's desire to constantly expand and perfect her skills.

As vice of corporate marketing and communications, Gay oversees seven business units that support the delivery of OneAmerica's brand management initiatives. Success in her role at the life insurance, retirement plan and employee benefits company based in Indianapolis requires her to strengthen the company's culture and offer inspiration through storytelling.

Each day, Gay draws upon childhood, collegiate experiences and on-the-job learning to develop herself as a person, professional communicator and corporate executive. Raised in Londonderry, New Hampshire, with her twin sister, younger sister and parents, Kevin and Joan Hunt, Gay had a happy childhood. Her father, a retired NFL player, encouraged Gay to pursue athletics at a young age. Her mother drove home the belief that you can do anything you set your mind to.

After trying a variety of sports, Gay decided to focus on basketball. Through hard work and self-enforced practice, she became an up-and-coming star. During her final years of high school, Gay was recruited by numerous colleges and ultimately decided to attend the University of Connecticut and join its rising basketball team.

I had a very narrow view on life and what was expected of me as a student-athlete. I knew UConn and their coaches would challenge me. In , Gay's freshman year, the women's basketball team, under coach Geno Auriemma, won its first national championship. And while Gay celebrated with her teammates and basked in their groundbreaking accomplishment, internally she was struggling to come to terms with her role on the team.

My pride and my head got in the way. Riding the bench tested Gay's emotional strength and belief in her abilities. It was a physically and mentally taxing process, but over time Gay was able to find her feet and thrive in the supporting role that her coaches and team needed her to play. Trust in myself, teammates and coaches was a really important part of my journey," Gay said.

I was determined to help this team and work for playing time.

Gay graduated from UConn in with a bachelor's degree in English and began working as a communications specialist at Phoenix Life Insurance Co. Although Gay quickly learned that an office job working in a cubicle wasn't necessarily suited for her energy level, she focused on how she could best benefit from this position to propel her career. After two years, Gay had learned to develop strong relationships and connect with colleagues.

She realized that working hard didn't mean one had to work hour days. Instead, it meant working smart and focusing your efforts. From my playing days, I knew I respond better to before-the-game coaching versus after-the-game coaching. Gay became a financial advisor for Smith Barney, now Morgan Stanley, in After two years, she joined MassMutual as a director of life product marketing, a position that broadened her business skills.

Gay credits her career growth to having strong mentors who invested time into developing her. She remained at MassMutual until , eventually becoming an assistant vice . In her role today at OneAmerica, Gay regularly reflects on lessons she learned as a student-athlete to strengthen her relationships. Working together creates better outcomes. Gay believes that for organizations to thrive, employees must embrace adaptability — a trait she feels is undervalued in today's workplace.