Chris Hanna

Chris Hanna is the founder and president of Atomic Design, the digital marketing and web development agency he started in Atlanta in 1996 — two years before Google existed. He's also the co-founder and president of TSM Agency, the national woman-owned trade-show and experiential staffing firm he built with his wife Caryn Hanna in 2005. He's founded or partnered in several other ventures over the same three decades.

Atomic has launched 1,200+ websites. TSM has staffed 2,000+ events. Across his businesses, Chris's teams have worked on or alongside brands including Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Harley-Davidson, Marvel, Kellogg's, and NASCAR.

He's been an entrepreneur and a designer his whole life. He's still in client work every day — writing the strategy, designing the systems, and running the engagements.

The entrepreneur kid

Chris knew he wanted to work for himself before he knew what that meant. At 12, he was mowing lawns and shoveling walkways in his neighborhood — profitable enough to pay two friends to help. In high school, he sold martial arts equipment. By 24, he had launched and sold his first company.

The artist and designer

Chris drew constantly as a kid. At 11, he won a national drawing contest and was first published in a national magazine. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), with a minor in Communications.

He started using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop on Version 1, set on knowing every corner of both tools. He folded his illustration work into his designs and was at the forefront of the computer-aided design and desktop publishing era that followed. His designs have won 11 international awards and been featured in best-of-design publications.

After graduating, Chris worked for one design studio for nine months before going out on his own. He's been independent ever since.

When Google grew up and SEO became a real discipline, Chris's analytical mind took to it the same way it had taken to the design tools. He's described early SEO as good detective work: pattern recognition, reverse engineering, hypothesis testing. He's been there through the entire digital marketing era.

Starting the agency

At 25, in 1996, Chris started Atomic Design out of a one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta as a print and brand studio. Early work included the catalog for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and projects touching brands like Kellogg's, Microsoft, and NASCAR. He delivered finished work to clients on floppy disks. He uploaded the company's earliest websites by hand over dial-up that dropped the connection every few minutes.

Four eras, one company

Most agencies are built for a single era of the internet. Atomic has been reinvented three times in thirty years:

• 1996Founded as a print and brand studio.
• 1997Pivoted to add web design and development.
• 2001Added SEO as Google's algorithm rose to dominate discovery.
• 2024Pivoted again — this time around AI search and automation.

Through every shift, Atomic has remained owner-led and operated without long-term contracts. Today the company is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, with continuing operations in Atlanta (the founding city) and Rochester, New York (Chris's hometown).

A second company

In 2005, Chris and his wife Caryn co-founded TSM Agency, a national woman-owned trade-show and experiential staffing firm. TSM has staffed events for brands including Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Harley-Davidson, and Marvel. Caryn serves as CEO; Chris serves as president. They've now been business partners for two decades — and married for the same.

Other ventures

Atomic and TSM are the two companies Chris runs day-to-day. He's also founded or partnered in others along the way:

• CitrusWeb — a SaaS company Chris founded and later sold.
• Hanna Properties — Chris's real estate venture.
• Rochester Healthy Living — a health magazine he ran for ten years.

Three decades of building means a lot of bets, partnerships, and operating experience that don't fit cleanly into "founder of one agency."

Atomic Design is an AI agency now

In 2024, Chris led the pivot that made Atomic Design an AI agency. The practice is now built around generative engine optimization, AI-driven content systems, and marketing automation — woven into every engagement rather than sold as bolt-ons. He's in client work every week, designing the architecture, setting requirements, and running the engagements.

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Minor in Communications.

Recognition

11 international design awards. Featured in best-of-design publications.

Certifications

Chris has spent 30 years in this work — designing, strategizing, building systems, setting requirements, running campaigns, running P&Ls. He isn't theorizing about AI marketing from the outside. He's in it every day, on real client work with real stakes.

If you're serious about building marketing infrastructure that lasts past the current AI cycle — not just testing tools — he's the person to talk to.

Family

Chris has been married to Caryn since 2004. They have two sons. Caryn and Chris are business partners as well as life partners — Caryn is CEO of TSM Agency.

Powerlifting

Chris has been training for 40 years. He set his first state powerlifting record at age 17 in New York. He now holds four Tennessee state powerlifting records.

What he's into

Diehard Buffalo Bills fan. Comic collector. Stereophile and concert-goer. Serious about food — Chris and Caryn both cook, and a lot of family time happens in the kitchen.