-By Steve McClellan

NEW YORK WPP Group's MediaCom has hired Margaret Lewis as chief strategy officer for the U.S., a new position at the agency.

Lewis will oversee the development of communications strategy across all clients and be responsible for aligning the agency's insight and analytics capabilities with its broader communications and media planning resources.

"We are so pleased that Margaret has joined our team," said Barbara Cipolla, president, MediaCom U.S., to whom Lewis will report. "Today, innovative, integrated, insights-driven communications planning is the lifeblood of a great media agency. So when it came time to expand our leadership in this area, we turned to the best."

Previously, Lewis was evp, director of communications planning at Interpublic's Universal McCann, which she joined in 2006, and where she worked with key clients such as  Verizon, Microsoft, Intel, Sony Pictures, Weight Watchers and IHOP.  Prior to UM, she was managing partner and director of communications planning at WPP's Mediaedge:cia (where she worked for a time with Cipolla).

MediaCom said Lewis would work closely with Laura McFarlane, chief digital officer of Beyond Interaction, "to assure a holistic approach to communications planning that follows and engages the consumer."

Commenting on her new role, Lewis said, "MediaCom is an organization with vast resources, talented people and an exceptional client roster. It's a company with energy and momentum, and l am very excited to join a team that embraces creativity, challenges convention, and wins for clients."