• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 28, 2014

Rob Kabus has been appointed Global CEO of BPN, part of IPG Mediabrands. He succeeds Mauricio Sabogal who left earlier this year to join WPP’s Kinetic as CEO. Liz Ross, who has been president of BPN’s North American region, is shifting to the role of Global CMO, IPG Mediabrands.

Kabus joins from San Francisco ad shop Eleven, where he was president and CMO. Earlier, he was with Vizeum Global Management, Aegis Group and McCann Erickson.

Kabus’ appointment reunites him with Matt Seiler, Global CEO at Mediabrands. The two worked at Goodby Silverstein & Partners some 20 years ago — as did Jim Elms, now Global CEO at Initiative, also part of IPG Mediabrands.

The appointment was announced internally by Seiler in a memo to Mediabrands staffers Tuesday morning. “Rob is as dynamic as the agency he will now lead here at IPG Mediabrands. He’s a proven strategist, driven by a creative and media-savvy mind, backed by an impressive resume spanning over 25 years,” Seiler wrote. 

BPN was launched two years ago and now has 36 offices operating in 28 countries. Clients include Hillshire, Morgan Stanley, Six Flags and Aje Group, among others.

Seiler also noted that Liz Ross, who has been president of BPN’s North American region, is shifting full time to the role of Global CMO at Mediabrands. Her appointment to that role was disclosed in September. At the time, the agency said she would continue in the BPN role until a successor was named.