• by Larissa Faw , March 28, 2019

Katie Ford is set to join Twitter as head of global brands starting April 8. 

Based in Chicago, Ford will lead the team overseeing the platform's global advertising partnerships and key accounts. 

She replaces Melissa Barnes, who is now Twitter's managing director of Canada and Latin America.   

Ford spent 24 years at Publicis Media as president, client solutions, handling accounts including P&G, Coca-Cola, Kellogg and USAA. Most recently she was Chief Client Officer at Amobee. 

Her agency-side background will be a key asset to helping Twitter navigate how big brands work with platforms like Twitter. 

"Finding the right leader who can both support the strength of this team and help set it up for the next phase of growth and success requires a special leader, which is what we found in Katie," says Sarah Personette, who joined the social platform last fall as vice president Client Solutions.

A few years back Personette was U.S. president at Interpublic’s UM.