• by Larissa Faw , April 23, 2015

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) Canada has a new leader. The Publicis-owned agency has promoted Alexandra Panousis to Chief Executive Officer succeeding Bruce Neve, who is leaving the agency.

Panousis has risen through the ranks of the agency since joining six and a half years ago. She first served as SVP Group Media Director before becoming President in 2010. She also sits on the Canadian Media Directors Council.

“In Alex we have a very talented leader with an impressive track record of delivering growth and new thinking," says Iain Jacob, President EMEA for Starcom MediaVest Group. "She is an incredible agent of positive change and has been instrumental in driving SMG’s transformation in Canada. Under her leadership we’ve seen phenomenal success at the major awards ceremonies, establishing SMG as one of the most awarded agencies in the market. I cannot think of a better person to build on the momentum that Bruce has started.”

Panousis will work closely with the network's sister agencies and will focus on elevating the role of communication planning influenced by consumer behavior and innovation. "We have been on an incredible journey diversifying our business and building scaled digital, content and data practices," says Panousis. "I am looking forward to continuing to reinvent the possibilities that media can offer with one of the strongest management teams in Canada.”