Daryl Lee, Eileen Kiernan and Bill Kolb Elevated at IPG Agencies

Interpublic Group (IPG) made a series of senior leadership changes at two of its top agencies, as the holding company also announced a bump in its second quarter revenue. At McCann Worldgroup, Daryl Lee has been promoted to global CEO, up from his previous position as global CEO of IPG Mediabrands. Eileen Kiernan has been named Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, succeeding Lee in that role. Bill Kolb, currently CEO of McCann Worldgroup, will move to a chairman role at McCann. The changes take effect immediately, but the three executives will continue working with their existing teams and clients over the next month to ensure smooth transitions, with everyone settling into the new roles by Sept. 6. IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky cited Lee’s long record of leadership success, across both the media and creative agency landscape, as reasons for his elevation. “During his time leading both Mediabrands and UM, [Lee] has proven that he can build capabilities and inspire agency cultures that are fully focused on our clients, deliver growth and innovation, as well as invite diverse perspectives into the conversation…Daryl is well-positioned to advance the success of the network and drive it to further achieve its ambition of being the global leader of creativity that drives growth for our client partners,” said Krakowsky in a statement. Since 2019, Lee has served as global CEO of IPG Mediabrands. Before that, he was global CEO of UM, IPG’s global media and advertising agency. He has also been a champion of inclusion in media investment, notably through the industry’s first “Equity Upfronts,” which Mediabrands introduced in 2020. In 2016, Adweek named Lee “Executive of the Year.” For the past nine-plus years, Kiernan has served in senior global leadership positions at UM, rising from CMO of the agency to global president to CEO. IPG noted the importance of Kiernan’s promotion, making her one of the senior-most female executives in advertising. “[Her] depth of experience working across the media landscape makes Eileen the ideal executive to lead IPG Mediabrands,” said Krakowsky. Kolb previously served as COO of the McCann network, where he was responsible for overseeing business operations across all agencies and markets. Kolb’s long and successful history within McCann Worldgroup spans over two decades, inclusive of client leadership roles, as well as operating leadership at MRM and Momentum. He took over from previous CEO Harris Diamond in 2020. “I’m proud of all that we’ve been able to accomplish here at Worldgroup over the last two decades. Being part of the leadership teams at Momentum, MRM and here at Worldgroup, I’ve seen firsthand the magic and business results we can create for our clients when we help their brands play a meaningful role in people's lives. I look forward to working with Daryl as he carries our work forward, and with Philippe on broader group initiatives,” said Kolb in a statement. Q2 earnings: rise in net revenue, organic growth IPG also announced its second quarter results, with a net revenue of $2.38 billion, increased by 4.7% compared to $2.27 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Organic net revenue increase was 7.9%, which was comprised of an organic net revenue increase of 8.3% in the U.S. and an increase of 7.1% internationally. Second quarter 2022 total revenue, which also includes billable expenses, was $2.74 billion, which increased by 9.0% compared to $2.51 billion in 2021. Krakowsky said the holding company was pleased with its strong second quarter and first half, which he said was broad-based across global regions, client sectors and operating units. “A differentiator of our performance has been our ability to bring together creativity, digital technology and data to create marketing solutions that are responsive to the evolving business transformation needs of our clients. Our growth is largely driven by these highly relevant capabilities, with which we are solving for an expanding set of marketer needs for more precise, personalized, and accountable engagements at an individual level, with respect for data ethics and compliance,” he said. Krakowsky noted that IPG knows that the industry and the world is facing a period of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, but the company remains positive, having upgraded its 2022 organic growth expectation to 6%. “Given our growth through the first half of the year, we see upside and believe we will exceed 6.5% organic growth for the full year,” he concluded. IPG Rebounds From the Pandemic With 20% Organic Growth for Q2