GroupM Reorganizes U.S. Operation

GroupM today announced a reorganization and a series of U.S. leadership changes that were orchestrated by Tim Castree, who was appointed North American CEO of the WPP media arm last December.

The moves are designed to “simplify” the operation and make it more accessible to clients, the company said.

Matt Sweeney, most recently Xaxis’ NA CEO has been appointed Chief Investment Officer, GroupM U.S. He is tasked with streamlining GroupM’s investment organization and will accelerate the integration of linear and platform-enabled automated buying in an increasingly addressable marketplace. 

Lyle Schwartz, most recently president of Investment, has been named Chief Integration Officer, GroupM U.S. In his new role, he will focus on developing advanced cross-channel implementation practices that more seamlessly connect audience planning with buying optimization.

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He will partner with Amit Seth, GroupM’s new Chief Product and Data Officer to ensure that connections between planning and activation are seamless. Schwartz is charged with scaling automation technologies so GroupM agencies spend more time on high-value client engagement.

Schwartz will also continue to lead the 2019 upfront negotiations for GroupM as Sweeney transitions into his new role.

Beth LeTendre, most recently CEO of Catalyst, has been named CEO of GroupM Performance U.S., where she will lead Xaxis and other performance marketing functions. She’ll now oversee more than 800 performance marketing experts across GroupM. Her main focus will be on growing GroupM’s specialist performance businesses and scaling best practices.  

And Jill Kelly, most recently Global CMO of Digitas, joins GroupM as U.S. CMO. She will support GroupM’s growth through her leadership of the company’s brand marketing, product marketing and business development practices. Her mandate is to communicate the benefits of the ongoing transformation and simplification of the business to external customers and internal stakeholders. 

“Our objective is single-minded and clear,” stated Castree. It is “to help our clients grow. We can do this by innovating, reducing complexity, applying technology to improve process and outcomes, and being faster to market. Our leadership team is energized and ready to take this on.”

 

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