Philippe Krakowsky Succeeds Michael Roth as IPG CEO
The 18-year IPG veteran is currently COO
IPG veteran Philippe Krakowsky, who was named chief operating officer of the holding company just last year, will become CEO at the start of 2021. He takes over from Michael Roth, who has led the company for the past 15 years.
Krakowsky has been with IPG for 18 years. Prior to becoming COO, he served as chief talent officer and chief strategy officer. He’s also chairman of IPG Mediabrands, the company’s 13,000-person media agency.
“Philippe is the right CEO for the next era at IPG,” Roth said in a statement. “He is a brilliant strategist and effective leader who has played a key role in developing our open architecture client service model, as well as modernizing our data, marketing services and media solutions. Our partnership over the years has been a key factor in our long-term success with both clients and our people.”
Roth will remain chairman and CEO of IPG until Jan. 1, 2021. He will then become executive chairman of the board. Under Roth’s leadership, the holding company has fared well compared to competitors. “In each of the past five years, IPG’s growth rate has outperformed the industry average,” the company said in a statement.
“Michael’s leadership of IPG has been and continues to be outstanding. He has substantially transformed the company and ushered in a new era of modern marketing solutions,” David Thomas, presiding director of IPG’s board of directors, said in a statement. “He has taken bold strategic actions to reposition IPG for the future, focusing the company on the right business lines, growing digital and data capabilities organically and through acquisition, all while advancing diversity and employee engagement and setting the industry standard for growth and margin expansion.”
In 2019, two IPG companies took home Adweek’s top agency awards: UM was named Adweek’s U.S. Media Agency of the Year, while McCann was selected as Global Agency of the Year.
