Project Worldwide
Project Worldwide, sometimes simplified as Project, is a privately held Auburn Hills, Michigan-based advertising holding company. Founded in 2010, the company owns 13 agencies, including George P. Johnson and Partners & Napier, through an employee stock ownership structure. Robert G. Valley Jr. is the company's Chairman and CEO. History. Project Worldwide was founded in 2010 by Robert G. Vallee, Jr., then Chairman and CEO of George P. Johnson, an event and brand marketing firm based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. George P. Johnson, which traces its history back to 1914, managed several agencies it had previously acquired, including  California-based agency Juxt, Australian agency Spinifex Group and Germany's Raumtechnik. The company's executives formed Project Worldwide as a holding company, to include George P. Johnson, and the company was structured so that its employees would own 100% of the company through an employee stock-ownership plan (ESOP). In 2011, the company acquired Rochester, NY-based agency Partners & Napier. In November 2012, the company acquired Denver, Colorado-based full service agency Motive. In March 2013, Project funded the launch of Argonaut, an advertising agency based in San Francisco, which became one of Project's agencies. In May, the  company launched shopper marketing firm Shoptology. In August 2016, Project acquired Brooklyn-based public relations agency Praytell. In October, the company acquired NY City-based digital creative agency Wondersauce. In March 2017, the company launched Project Pledge, an matching program for employee donations to charitable causes. In October, Project acquired Melbourne, Australia-based consumer engagement agency Dig+Fish. In December 2018, Project acquired Auckland, New Zealand-based experiential agency Darkhorse. In October 2019, the company merged its Los Angeles-based agency Pitch into its Denver-based agency Motive. Agencies. As of December 2019, Project Worldwide consisted of the following 13 agencies : Philanthropy. Project runs an employee philanthropy program called Project Pledge, using Calgary-based donation platform Benevity. Project matches its employee's charitable donations tax free up to $5,000 per employee, up to $1 million annually.