The story of Athena Global Advisors, one of Philadelphia’s premier marketing firms, began at a card table in the attic of Maggy Wilkinson’s Rhode Island home.
It was 2013. A single mom in her mid-forties, Wilkinson had recently left her high-profile job as chief operating officer of an international forensic accounting firm in the hopes of building the life she had envisioned for herself and her children.
“I thought, well, the biggest risk I can take is not believing in myself,” she said.
Thirteen years later, Athena has become a 160-person marketing consultancy, delivering major brand campaigns, live events, data, and research for clients like Comcast, Subaru, and the NFL. The company takes up a floor of Three Logan Square in Center City, and, in 2026, Athena merged with Philadelphia communications firm Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy (just down the road at One Logan Square), adding public relations to the mix.
Go Be Interesting
Wilkinson’s path to CEO is not exactly traditional. She grew up in Memphis, earned a bachelor’s degree in classics, and taught high school Latin and ancient Greek in New York City (hello, “Athena”!). She studied at the Vatican in Rome, and lived in a convent with a group of Lebanese sisters. Several twists later, she was running large-scale investigations into bribery and corruption across three continents.
Wilkinson calls herself a citizen of the world, and believes that seeing more of it has made her better at her job. It’s the reason why, after five years with the company, Athena employees can take a paid eight-week sabbatical to study any subject of their choice, anywhere in the world. One senior director spent her sabbatical visiting vineyards in California, Oregon, and France to see how winemakers use artificial intelligence, and came back with lessons for Athena’s clients about taking on new technology.
“Becoming a more interesting person, becoming the best version of yourself, is better for all of us,” Wilkinson said.
The Heartbeat of Athena
Being based in Philadelphia gives Athena its edge. The city, Wilkinson says, is the heartbeat of her company, and has enabled it to grow within a business community that’s small enough to keep everyone connected, deep enough to draw inspiration from, and open-minded enough to let people try new things.
“If you’ve got a little moxie and you’re willing to put in some elbow grease, this city gives you a chance,” she said. “There’s a vitality here that is just palpable, and an energy that I love.”
Her employees, nearly all of them Philadelphians, share that same energy — and a certain lack of pretense. “We’re not fancy pants at all here,” she said. “We’re very real.”
Authenticity is a core part of the culture at Athena, as well as Wilkinson’s leadership style. The CEO has several mentees and is a member of civic and cultural boards around the city. She’s poured her love of giving back into her firm, which adopted Mayfair’s Edwin Forrest Elementary School in 2022 as part of its corporate partnership with City Year Philadelphia. The entire company participates in the supply and coat drives and voluntarily purchases items to fulfill wish lists. The company also sponsors an apprentice each year through the Supervision to Aid Reentry (STAR) Program for formerly incarcerated Philadelphians.
High Standards, Open Door
Wilkinson’s leadership philosophy is all about assuming good intentions while expecting excellence.
“Nobody wakes up and thinks, gosh, I can’t wait to get to work today and really screw something up,” she said. “So I try to simultaneously have super high standards and be super supportive.”
That sense of support can be felt throughout the organization, including at the junior level. Many of Athena’s summer interns end up in full-time roles at the company. And for those on staff, there are opportunities for further development, like Athena University, an in-house training program open to all employees.
Team building is also an intentional part of the workweek at Athena. Every Thursday, the staff gets on a call for a current events quiz, with teams shuffling monthly, and winners earning a free lunch. The meeting feels like a family dinner: birthdays are celebrated; different clubs report in; and there’s almost always an announcement from Athena Assembly, the employee-run volunteer group that supports Philadelphia-based community organizations like Friends of the Wissahickon.
As for Wilkinson, her door is always open — literally. “I don’t think there’s anyone here at Athena who doesn’t feel like they can come into my office,” she said.
For four years and counting, Athena employees have voted the company a Top Workplace. As an accomplishment, Wilkinson ranks it just behind raising her children.
“It means the world to me, honestly,” she said. “What more is there than creating an environment that people are really proud to be part of? I think we’re an organization with a lot of heart.”