Annie Bakst

Some people become creative. Annie was declared creative. Albeit by her mom, and albeit at age 5, her cerulean sky met the grass of her house rendering in a way that would be lost on lesser artists of any age. And so Annie met her beginnings as “a creative type.” Honing her craft at the MoMA’s kid’s classes on Saturdays, Annie believes she gave Calder a run for his money. We believe she had a rampant overabundance of ideas that simply need proper channeling.

Fast forward a decade or so and it turns out her prowess with markers could make her some money on Madison Avenue. (Oh yeah, that degree from Parsons didn’t hurt either). Never one to stagnate, Annie moved on to some agencies across the river and then across the country where she gained notoriety as a dot-com guru and garnered a not-so-fair share—as in a lot—of awards (and probably a healthy down payment on her house from what we’ve surmised). In every instance, where she excels is in making the mundane magical. No one loves a good idea more. LOVES. Hence the reason she’s done a bang-up job of raising the bar on the agency’s creative output.

This talent has proved instrumental to hmc2’s winning—and retaining—countless accounts. And those of us who are privy to her heirloom tomatoes recognize, her passion for her art, in whatever iteration, is boundless. Annie lives on 27 acres with her artisan-bread-baking husband Robert, her dog Redford and a bear who’s convinced she’s got the best blackberries this side of Smuckers. A pretty exciting canvas for a little Jewish girl who’s still into crayons.