J2 Marketing is stepping into 2026 with a new leadership structure, and we want to formally introduce the two people taking the helm.

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The Johnson family founded J2 with a conviction that this region deserved better marketing, and over the years, built it into something bigger than they could have imagined. Now, the next stage of that growth means putting the right leaders in the right seats. Austin Loveing steps into the role of CEO and Mark Norris as COO, two people who haven't just shown up for J2, but have spent years shaping what it is today.

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Austin Loveing | Chief Executive Officer

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Austin has spent over a decade inside the creative and marketing world, but his investment in J2 goes beyond tenure. Since joining, he's been a driving force behind building the team that exists today, recruiting talent, developing creative leadership, and defining what quality looks like at this agency. He initiated the executive structure now overseeing company performance, created the organizational framework the team operates within, and has consistently pushed to raise the bar on what marketing looks like in this region. Austin joined as a partner with the belief that J2 had the potential to be something significant for this region.

Austin has also led J2's giveback initiatives, sharpened the agency's sales strategy and service offerings, and spearheaded the acquisition of Thrum Analytics, bringing data-backed decision making directly to clients in this region.

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"A lot of agencies operate like production houses, making websites, logos, and videos without much thought to strategy or outcomes. But marketing is a business function. It should be aimed at moving a number. At J2, we're convictional about strategy just as much as we are about creative. The question we keep coming back to is: how do we elevate organizations from where they are to where they want to be?" -Austin Loveing

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Mark Norris | Chief Operating Officer

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Some people take a job. Mark made a bet. He relocated his family from Kentucky, committed fully to the J2 vision, and got to work building the infrastructure a growing agency actually needs. With over a decade of experience in production and team management, he came in with both the skill set and the conviction to transform how this agency operates.

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Where Austin has shaped the agency's vision and client work, Mark has built the engine that sustains it. He overhauled operations, restructured HR, took ownership of finance, and implemented EOS™ as the operating framework that now keeps the team aligned and accountable. Mark has championed a company growth plan, established reporting structures and meeting cadences that give the team clarity at every level, and built the internal scaffolding for an agency designed to grow. That same thinking shaped J2 Drive, a proprietary client framework that keeps marketing anchored to business outcomes, brings focus to the initiatives that matter, and creates clarity across every stage of the engagement.

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"Efficiency is the friend of creativity. We work hard to streamline our systems and processes so our team has the mental space for strategic and creative thought. We invest in the best tools and the best people. All of it in service of one thing: simple, effective marketing." -Mark Norris

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