Adrian J. Hopkins
External Affairs Committee Chair
Adrian J. Hopkins is the Senior Vice President of Internal Culture and Communications at Grey New York, an award-winning advertising studio within Grey Group. As the first leader to hold this role, Adrian creates content and experiences that help employees feel connected to agency strategy and to each other. Previously, he was Senior Director of Internal Communications at General Assembly, a global tech education company.Earlier roles in human resources, strategy, branding, and business development have shaped Adrian’s approach to people-focused transformation.
Before General Assembly, he led several culture change initiatives at The New York Times. There, he created the company's first global employee mentorship program, which produced higher promotion and lower turnover rates for its participants, particularly for employees of color. He also led the strategy to provide on-demand professional coaching to 4,700 Times employees and, as co-chair of the Black@NYT employee resource group, advised the company’s inaugural diversity report. For his impact at The Times, Adrian’s received the Publisher’s Award—the company’s highest employee recognition—twice during his five-year tenure.
He has also been a career coach and writer whose career advice and personal narratives have been published in outlets such as The Daily Muse, TIME, and Forbes. In 2023, Adrian launched a fashion art project called Trophe, which resurfaces bold ideas from the past.
Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Adrian earned a B.A. in History from Yale and an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and rescue dog.