• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 2, 2022

Media agency Mindshare, part of WPP’s GroupM, has appointed Kathy Kline Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer for its North America region. She succeeds Joe Maceda who last year was promoted to Global Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer. 

In her new role Kline is tasked with elevating the agency’s strategy and innovation practice to deliver best-in-class solutions to clients. She will collaborate with the agency’s North American and global leadership teams across data strategy, media planning, and investment.  

She will report to Amanda Richman, Mindshare’s NA CEO. The two previously worked together at Publicis Groupe’s Starcom. Most recently Kline was Chief Strategy Officer at Starcom before leaving last year. Prior to joining Starcom in 2005, she served at Leo Burnett as a planning specialist.

Richman credited Kline’s “unparalleled media and strategy expertise,” and her “unwavering commitment to creativity, actionable insights, and human understanding. Over the years, she’s built numerous high performing teams and driven business results for clients in every category and around the world.”

Kline’s announcement follows a number of other recent leadership appointments at Mindshare, including:

• Lesley Conway as CEO for Mindshare Canada. 
• Jeff Malmad as Global Head of Commerce. 
• Kelly Garland as Managing Director, Invention+ Lead for the U.S., who will work with Kline to drive innovation. 
• Brian DeCicco as Chief Data Strategy & Analytics Officer for North America. 

Kline’s appointment also follows word earlier this week that  Mindshare launched a new suite of machine learning products (dubbed Precisely Human Intelligence) designed to help brands better understand the motivations, mindsets, and emotions that drive consumer decision-making and then buy those audiences at scale.

In April Mindshare and performance marketing agency Neo announced the completion of their integration which began several years ago.