Michelle Ruiz-Ponce
Vice President of Integrated Marketing & Strategy / Chief Insight Architect & Firestarter
Originally from Southern California, Michelle moved to San Diego in 2025 after two decades in New York and Los Angeles, where she led brand marketing and communications strategies for global companies including Meta, P&G, Toyota, Pfizer and Bank of America.
With more than 20 years of experience, Michelle’s bread and butter is building insight-driven, culturally fluent campaigns that sit at the intersection of strategy, creativity and brand purpose – helping brands not just reflect culture, but shape it. Her work brings together integrated marketing, brand strategy and digital innovation – spanning multicultural, next-gen, influencer, social and paid media – to build campaigns that resonate in culture and deliver measurable business impact.
At NST, Michelle brings a strategic lens to brand positioning and growth, helping evolve the agency’s capabilities while building high-performing teams and unlocking new opportunities.
We Asked Michelle …
What’s your favorite tool in the toolbox?
It’s all about pattern recognition. I love connecting cultural shifts, audience behavior and business needs to find the white space that can fuel creativity and deliver real results.
What have you learned so far in your career?
Great work starts with how you lead people. The strongest teams are built by putting people in the right roles, understanding what motivates them and creating the space for them to do their best work. That’s when people thrive, when the best ideas come to life and when the magic truly happens.
What’s your proudest moment?
Leading P&G’s largest consumer activation in the company’s history: The Everyday Effect. It was a one-day takeover across New York City, featuring over 9 lifestyle events and over 25 brands. The campaign drove a more than 20% increase in retail sales in the Northeast and earned multiple industry awards.
Where can we find you outside of work?
Spending time with my husband and two kids, enjoying a good book, listening to hip-hop music, discovering new red wines or planning my next trip.
