Don’t sound the death knell for Possible Worldwide just yet. Though the Austin office might have disappeared and some of its top execs have defected in recent months, the WPP interactive operation is still thriving according to a memo penned by Tor Myhren and Michael Houston, president/CCO and managing director, respectively, of sister agency Grey New York. It appears that a “strategic partnership” has been formed between the sibling shops and as part of Grey NY’s increased focus on digital, the agency promoted five-year vet Doug Livingston (pictured) to EVP, director of digital integration while also solidifying its digital leadership. But why spoil the rest, read on in full after the jump.
As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve made tremendous strides in our digital skills, digital focus, and digital business over the past few years. Seamlessly integrating brilliant digital strategy and flawless execution into Grey’s offering is a top priority, equally vital to our clients’ success as it is to our own.
To ensure our commitment to this, we are pleased to announce that Doug Livingston has been promoted to Director of Digital Integration for Grey New York.
Effective immediately, Doug will be oversee all current digital assignments within the agency as well as our digital business development, recruitment, and training and development efforts, working closely with his team leaders to implement their shared vision for the agency. With Doug at the helm, we believe we have the strongest digital team to date in place, including:
Marci Ikeler, who will continue to oversee digital strategy, working closely with Doug and Suresh Nair, whose group is now responsible for Brand Planning, Channel/Media Strategy and Digital Strategy.
Andy Bhatt, who brings critical execution experience to our team and will remain in charge of digital production.
Alison Monk, who will take the lead to integrate digital thinking into our Account Management offering, working with all of our account leaders on all digital business and growth opportunities.
Fred Gerantabee, who has recently joined us as our very first Technology Director, and will oversee development and testing through our internal studio and key partners .
To further enhance our digital offering, we’re happy to also announce that we have entered into a strategic partnership with Possible Worldwide, one of WPP’s global interactive marketing networks with 1,000 people in 18 offices, formed by a merger of Bridge Worldwide, Schematic and a number of other digital boutiques about a year ago. Procter & Gamble is one of Possible’s largest clients, and we have already established a working relationship with the team on that business as well as a number of other client engagements.
This unique partnership will give Grey access to a vast array of digital resources and talent as we continue to provide our clients with leading-edge, best-in-class digital communications on a global scale. It immediately enhances our digital integration and capabilities and we are looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. Doug and his team will manage our relationship with Possible as well as other important digital relationships we have in place with companies such as G2, Accenture, Hipricket and the Nerdery, among others.
So please join us in offering a round of congratulations to Doug in his important new role and well-deserved promotion. Since his arrival as a consultant in 2008, he has made a major contribution first at the corporate level within Grey Group and now in our New York office, where he has served as EVP since 2009. With his leadership and a stellar team around him, we believe we have a clear blueprint in place to develop Famously Effective digital solutions for our clients.
Cheers,
Tor and Michael