Brien Takes Top U.S. SMG Post

Nick Brien, who had been leading Burnett’s London operations, will join SMG as president of U.S. corporate development, a new position. Brien will report to SMG chief executive Jack Klues.

Klues said he needed someone who could “diversify” SMG’s offerings, “particularly in the U.S.”

“He started to move that agency beyond flat [print] work and television commercials,” Klues said. “That kind of vision and leadership to make it happen is exactly what we need.”

After founding his own media company, Brien joined Burnett’s London office as an executive media director in 1992.