Justin M. Bell

Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Justin M. Bell joined Fordham in August 2023 as the University’s inaugural vice president for marketing and communications. As vice president, he leads Fordham’s central marketing and communications division in strengthening Fordham’s brand awareness, increasing enrollment, and elevating Fordham’s unique story to enhance reputation across audiences.

Prior to joining Fordham, Bell served as associate vice president for brand marketing at The Ohio State University, leading an organization accountable for growing and protecting the Ohio State brand while driving choice through top-of-funnel marketing strategies across owned, earned, and paid media. Bell also established Scarlet Studio, Ohio State’s in-house marketing and communications agency, charged with developing campaigns and executing brand-building projects on behalf of colleges and units across the institution.

Bell brings many years of marketing agency experience having worked with Fortune 100 brands across various industries. Prior to Ohio State, Bell served in senior leadership roles at Shiraz Creative in Miami, an international consumer marketing agency serving brands including Amazon, American Express, Porsche, Revlon, and Visa. He is also an entrepreneur, having launched a marketing agency in Miami that was acquired by Lion Agency as part of its expansion into the United States from Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Earlier in his career, Bell served nearly 10 years in management and consultancy roles at BDS Connected Solutions in Los Angeles (previously Creative Channel Services, an Omnicom Group agency). Prior to leaving BDS, Bell served as vice president of global markets, overseeing the agency’s expansion into Canada, EMEA, India, and Mexico.

A native of Huntsville, Ohio, Bell earned his Associate of Arts from The Ohio State University, before acquiring his Bachelor of Science in business administration at Ashland University, majoring in marketing.