Commentary

More Change At The Martin Agency

The Martin Agency today revealed its newly composed executive management team, as well as additional changes following the recent installment of Kristen Cavallo as the IPG shop’s new CEO. 

The agency also confirmed that longtime agency veteran and president Beth Riley-Kelley has departed. (That's not really a big surprise.) 

Cavallo joined the agency in December, following a sex-harassment scandal involving longtime Chief Creative Officer Joe Alexander, who was shown the door on Dec. 1. A number of women at the agency accused Alexander of harassment over a decades-long period. Many of those complaints were reportedly casually dismissed by previous management regimes at the agency. 

So while that sucks, Cavallo seems to be taking steps to quickly change the culture at the shop. 

“Today, we doubled the representation of female leaders on the executive committee to give men and women equal opportunity for success,” stated Cavallo. “Gender discrimination isn’t an HR issue. It’s a culture issue. And the fastest way to change a culture is to level the playing field in leadership.” 

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Making it her first priority as CEO she added: “I’m proud of this news. But we’re not done. Not by a long shot. We’re not diverse enough. We see it. We’re on it.” 

With the changes, 50% of the officers at the agency are now female. The executive committee has nine members; four are female. 

Carmina Drummond will take on the newly created role of Chief Culture Officer. Formerly senior vice president and managing director agency operations, Drummond will now oversee diversity and inclusion efforts, learning and development initiatives, and employee satisfaction. 

Along with Cavallo and Chief Creative Officer Karen Costello, Drummond joins CFO Janet White on the executive committee.  

Chris Mumford has been promoted from managing director to president. He will continue to serve as the account leader across all of the agency’s client relationships. His primary focus will be the coordination of IPG integrated service offerings for the clients who access multiple disciplines across the network. Clients include TIAA and GEICO. 

Steve Humble has been elevated to Chief Operating Officer from managing director of integrated content production and development. Humble’s responsibilities will include building new capabilities along with amplifying the efficiency and growth of the agency’s Richmond headquarters. 

Jerry Hoak has also been appointed to the executive committee as executive creative director, managing director. Per the agency, he has been instrumental in shaping the creative direction of the company. In tandem with Costello, with whom he will continue to work closely to further shape the agency’s creative vision. 

Chief Strategy Officer Michael Chapman and CMO Chris Shumaker round out the slate of nine executive committee members.

 

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