GroupM, the parent company for WPP’s media buying and planning agencies, appointed Kelly Clark as its global CEO, the first time it has named a global CEO since Irwin Gotlieb moved to a global chairman role in 2012.
“Kelly has demonstrated inspiring leadership at every turn in his career, and he has earned the respect of our clients and our people,” Gotlieb said in a statement. “He has broad experience in North America, Asia and Europe and is focused intensely on delivering advantage to our clients. I am looking forward to working with him to build on our momentum.”
Clark has served as executive director for GroupM since January, following nearly three and a half years as GroupM’s CEO for North America. Before that he spent four years as worldwide CEO for Maxus, following three as GroupM’s CEO for Europe. Prior to that he spent over six and a half years as Mindshare’s CEO for the Asia Pacific region and three years as U.K. CEO for Mindshare.
“GroupM is in a great position to help our clients win in an incredibly competitive marketplace,” Clark said. “Our investments in data, technology and most importantly, our talented people will help us achieve that ambition. It will require a lot of change and a united focus, so I can’t wait to get started with Irwin and our leadership team.”
Additionally, GroupM announced that Dominic Proctor is stepping down from his role as global president, but will work with WPP on strategic projects in the future.
“Dominic helped make Mindshare and GroupM the successful global businesses they are today,” said Gotlieb. “It has been a great pleasure to work side by side with Dominic over many years and we all wish him the very best.”