It truly is a game of musical chairs in media agencies these days. Ali Reed, CEO of Omnicom’s PHD for three years until she left last year, has joined Dan Gilbert’s digital-first agency Brainlabs as UK chief growth officer, overseeing a team of nine – a big change from the more populous PHD.
Reed (above) says: “Joining Brainlabs in a role centred on growth is a brilliant step for me personally, as I look to expand my experience into the indie sector doing something I love. At a time when both clients and talent are asking for smarter, smoother and more transparent relationships and results, I can’t think of a better agency to work for to make that happen.”
UK CEO Dan Bottigileri says: “We took our time to find someone of both outstanding character and a track record to match. Ali has spectacular experience as a true partner to clients: delivering revenue and profit growth for some of the largest domestic and global advertisers, but above all she enriches the client and agency teams she works with a positive and enterprising mindset.”
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to work out whio’s on the way up and going the other way in media as the ad holding companies, in particular, constantly shuffle the pack. Days ago Frances Ralston-Good, who made her name at Omnicom challenger agency Hearts & Science, left her post as global chief operating officer of WPP’s EssenceMediacom, presumably as part of new GroupM boss Brian Lesser’s ongoing reorganisation. Have these seasoned media operators suddenly lost the knack or are the big ad holding groups cutting senior posts to save money?
The only certainly in medialand seems to be that there’ll be many more such execs seeking posts outside the holding companies as the looming Omnicom/IPG merger places many more on the market, willingly or unwillingly.
