• by Steve McClellan , February 11, 2016

Interpublic Group veteran Philippe Krakowsky has been named Chairman of IPG Mediabrands. In this newly created role, Krakowsky will partner with Henry Tajer, Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, to lead the media management company, which oversees $37 billion in global billings and oversees media agencies UM, Initiative, BPN and a number of specialty units.

Tajer took the helm of Mediabrands as CEO last March when he replaced Matt Seiler. Krakowsky will continue to report to IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth, while Tajer will now report jointly to both Roth and Krakowsky. 

IPG said that Krakowsky will continue in his corporate role as EVP, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, as he supports Tajer and his senior Mediabrands management team in further building the firm’s media operations, one of IPG's fastest-growing units.

Roth commented, "Henry and I have been discussing the idea of having a leader with the broadest perspective on our business join him as we look to develop our approach to media, which has become so central to the evolution of marketing. “

“For the last decade,” Roth continued, “ Philippe has played an important part in defining strategy for IPG, and worked closely with me and all of our agency leaders to implement our strategic initiatives. He'll be an ideal partner to build on the strong performance that Henry and his team at Mediabrands continue to deliver, further scale and advance our media offering, and increase the level of collaboration across the IPG network. “

For more than a decade, Krakowsky has played a key part in major strategic actions at Interpublic, including: oversight of the development and integration of digital/emerging media capabilities across the group; the creation of IPG Mediabrands; and leadership of the company's Healthcare Council. Krakowsky has also been responsible for designing many of the integrated, cross-agency client teams that are a hallmark of the company’s "open architecture" to serve clients.

Krakowsky has served on the board of a number of IPG agencies, including Ansible, Huge and O'Keefe Reinhardt & Paul, and mentors early stage companies as part of the R/GA Accelerator program. He also served as interim CEO of FCB for six months prior to the arrival of its current leader. Krakowsky started his career as an entrepreneur in the technology industry, helping to build and ultimately sell an artificial intelligence software development company to Apple Computer.