WPP Media has appointed media agency veteran Andrea Suarez CEO for its Latin America operations. 

Previously, Suarez spent 16 years in top management posts at IPG Mediabrands, including a two-year stint as global CEO at UM. 

She left the company last June as it was reorganizing in preparation for its merger with Omnicom. 

Prior to leading UM, Suarez was global president at Thrive, a bespoke agency unit within UM that was dedicated to client Nestlé. Earlier she was Mediabrands’ CEO in Latin America.  

Suarez replaces Cesar Recalde who is stepping down from his role after 15 years in the business, 12 of which were spent with WPP Media in Latin America. 

Suarez is one of several senior executives appointed at WPP Media in recent months. Angela Steele and Stephanie Prager, both formerly with Publicis, joined the company respectively as US chief client officer and global client president.