• by Fern Siegel , Yesterday

Croud, the global media and creative agency, named Valerie Davis as U.S. CEO. She joins as Croud grows its U.S. base. Her appointment follows wins for ChapStick, Smirnoff and Nikon by Croud and Born Social, the digital agency it acquired in 2022.

Davis reports to Global CEO Luke Smith, who said his new hire “combines deep experience scaling agencies with a genuine people-first mindset. Valerie stood out, due to her wealth of experience across client, holdco and independent agencies, giving her a strong edge on what clients need from modern agency partners.”

At Croud, her charge is to elevate the brand and enhance client offerings across media, data and creative. Her appointment also signals a stronger alliance with Born Social in the U.S.

Previously, she served as CEO, North America at Assembly Global, tripling the Stagwell agency's U.S. revenue in five years and presiding over account wins for Anthem, T. Rowe Price and Brooks Running.

Before Assembly, she was managing director of North America at ForwardPMX and SVP-U.S. head of accounts at Reprise, an IPG Mediabrands company. Earlier, she launched Bloomingdale’s ecommerce platform.

Davis said of her new agency: “The culture is strong, the thinking is sharp and the commitment to clients is real. My focus is to build on that momentum and sharpen what makes Croud distinctive, both culturally and in the results we deliver for clients.” 

Founded in 2011, the agency is chaired by former Publicis Groupe Global COO Steve King. Its client roster includes Audible, Nespresso and Timberland.