Julie Batliner, president of advertising agency Carmichael Lynch, oversees the leadership and direction of her booming business

By Lexi Symonds

Julie Batliner, BJ ’96, graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism with a Bachelor’s degree and a passion for integrative marketing. She bounced between public relations and advertising agencies early on in her career in search of a job that would allow her to tell stories using various tools and effective methods. Her four years as a journalism student taught her invaluable skills that she would carry with her into the professional world and use to promote women’s rights.

“The strategic thinking and curiosity that allowed me to dig into case studies and why things are the way they are were so important,” said Batliner. “In terms of great and persuasive writing, the ability to write well helped me in all aspects of my job. The people I met while I was there allowed for amazing information exchange with my peers and hands-on professors.”

After dabbling in various career paths, Batliner found a love for complex thinking and wanted to study and apply it to how people make decisions. She found a passion point in investing herself into the subject matter she was working for, embodying Carmichael Lynch’s rally cry daily “come together, stand apart” by assisting her employees in working as one to help brands distinguish themselves.

“I attribute my success to curiosity and lifelong learning,’ said Batliner. “You’re never done learning, and I am always open to seeking new knowledge.”

Batliner’s day-to-day routine varies, but she always begins her morning with a healthy intake of news, trades and breakfast briefings. She believes as marketers it is essential to be in the know with what’s happening in the world. After the pandemic, her company switched to a “work from where you need to” philosophy, which many employees appreciate.

The strategic thinking and curiosity that allowed me to dig into case studies and why things are the way they are were so important.

Julie Batliner

“A day at the office could include anything from briefs with clients, business pitches, meetings with teammates and even panels celebrating our employees,” said Batliner.

Batliner is notably a strong advocate for women’s rights and equality in the business world. At Carmichael Lynch, women make up more than half of the senior leadership team. She believes that women represent a large amount of economic power and a different set of insights and leadership skills helping to contribute to business success. Baltiner believes there needs to be continued focus on policies that advance women’s ability to contribute up to the highest levels. She advocates for continued education on gender bias, focus on pay equity, good maternity and childcare benefits as well as more opportunities to contribute to leadership.

She takes pride in her company’s ability to adapt to the personal lives of its employees, especially working parents. When COVID-19 hit, her company built on successful remote work with a thoughtful approach, allowing everyone more flexibility with the “work from where you need to” model that is being adapted worldwide. Carmichael Lynch provides their employees with a membership and 10 free days to Care.com — an online marketplace for childcare supplies and other wellness goods — along with a breastfeeding program called “Milk Stork” that delivers milk for free to the families of traveling moms. They also implemented a phased entry approach to maternity so mothers can comfortably return to work after giving birth.

“After the pandemic hit, we kept asking ourselves ‘how do you help others and give people some control back that they’ve lost these past couple years?’” said Batliner. We want employees to have help in their personal lives so they can focus on their job and their family at the same time.”

Batliner has been individually recognized with two Stevie Awards in the categories of Female Executive of the Year and Woman of the Year (2016), been named a PRWeek Power List Most Influential Communicator (2018 and 2019), and been named a Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It- an award to honor those outstanding, multitasking moms who work in marketing, media & tech (2017).

“If I had to give anyone some words of wisdom, I would say read whatever you can get your hands on and stay curious,” said Batliner.

Updated: January 30, 2023