CIEN+, an award-winning Cultural Intelligence® firm member of Culture+ Group, is proud to announce its inclusion in the prestigious Inc. 5000 list for the third consecutive year. This recognition highlights CIEN+’s unique research and marketing empowering the world’s most iconic brands and corporations to successfully understand how to turn shifting demographics and the power of diverse segments into business growth and shareholder value. The firm offers proprietary market research, business strategy, inclusive marketing, and media solutions for companies that want to tap into high-growth, diverse market segments.
“For over a decade, and well before the DEI awakening, our firm has been translating for the C-suite how cultural trends can turn into profits, while also leaving a positive footprint on society. Our products, technologies and offerings continue to evolve with the market shifts, which is why we continue to outpace the traditional marketing category with a new fresh take on how brands can turn inclusion into a superpower for business growth!” Said Lili Gil Valletta, Co-Founder and CEO of CIEN+ and the independent parent conglomerate Culture+ Group.
Responding to market needs, the firm is now part of an independent conglomerate of Cultural Intelligence® Companies, created in 2023 by its founders to anticipate the need for scaling. The Culture+ Group structure opens a new chapter for growth as the firm leverages decades of experience while creating a broader structure that strengthens talent growth, verticals of expertise and investments, and acquisition opportunities.
“As the market has evolved and our business has grown, so have our client needs and expectations,” explained Enrique Arbelaez, Co-Founder. “As we expand on our vision, joining forces with interdisciplinary companies under a single group will allow our teams and clients to exponentially grow and innovate from the inside out; unlocking purposeful profits that tap into the realities of a fast-approaching majority-minority market.”
This year, CIEN+ ranked No. 1873 on the Inc. 5000 list and 181 in Advertising and Marketing, a significant rise from last year’s No. 2029 position across all industries nationwide. The company is also one of the few certified minority-owned and woman-owned companies featured and is proudly an NMSDC Corporate Plus® Member.
In addition to this recognition, the independent group has also been recognized by Medical Media and Marketing (MM+M) as part of the Top Agency 100, as one of the Best Healthcare Agencies in North America, and featured by AdAge as one of the 10 Independent Agencies for Brands to Know in 2024, among others.
“As we celebrate this achievement, we’re reminded that it’s not just about recognition but the journey of growth, innovation, and partnership,” said Enrique Arbelaez. “Thank you to our clients for being integral to our story and betting on inclusive impact and development with us. When you grow, we all grow!”
Learn more information on the Inc. 5000 list
For more information about CIEN+, visit www.cien.plus
Methodology
Companies on the 2024 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2023. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2022 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places.
About Inc.
Inc. Business Media is the leading multimedia brand for entrepreneurs. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.’s award-winning work reaches more than 50 million people across a variety of channels, including events, print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
About CIEN+
CIEN+ is an integrated Cultural Intelligence® marketing and consultancy firm specialized in inclusive market research, business strategy and marketing solutions for companies that want to tap into the full power of diverse consumer markets. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas and with satellite offices across the U.S. and Latin America, the firm was founded in 2010 by two corporate executives turned entrepreneurs, Lili Gil Valletta and Enrique Arbelaez, who created the company they wish to hire, intersecting the power of data and culture for brands to drive societal impact and business growth.
The company is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), NMSDC Corporate Plus ®, Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) and Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB), and has been recognized by the Inc. 5000 as one of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, Top Agency 100 by MM+M and PRWeek Most Influential in Healthcare, among others. For more information visit: www.cien.plus
