Independent media agency Crossmedia has hired Thomas Lee as its new chief financial officer to help lead expansion efforts of its services and international presence. Lee replaces Ramesh Rajan, who will remain connected to Crossmedia as a consultant.
Lee’s charge from Crossmedia U.S. CEO Kamran Asghar is to further develop and refine the agency’s framework to maximize growth through omnichannel solutions, media neutrality and advanced analytics.
“At Crossmedia our mantra is to ‘scale with soul,’ which requires an enlightened evolution of corporate governance and processes that doesn’t suck the spirit out of a place,” said Asghar in a statement. “Tom’s empathy informs his business approach, which sets him apart from his peers.”
Lee joins Crossmedia from WPP’s MediaCom Worldwide, where he served as chief financial officer for North America. Prior to MediaCom, he served in global client finance and operations roles at Ogilvy & Mather as well as at Publicis Groupe.
Lee has been a leader in corporate DEI and was a launch leader of Red Lotus, the Asian & Pacific Islander employee resource group at Ogilvy & Mather. He was the executive sponsor for API+, GroupM’s employee resource group for Asian and Pacific Islanders and their allies.
“Most agencies take a myopic view of the CFO’s role. Crossmedia is one of the few places that consider the CFO as a ‘business and commercial partner,’ not just an accountant,” said Lee in a statement.
Lee’s addition caps a year of tactical C-suite additions at Crossmedia, which is part of the Dawn network of independent agencies, to accelerate growth. Other pivotal additions were Dr. Ram Singh as the shop’s first-ever chief performance media officer, Christine Merrifield-Wehrle as the agency’s new head of investment, Kristen Metzger as the agency’s first chief people officer, and the elevation of long-tenured Crossmedia exec Ali Plonchak to the role of chief operating officer. The C-Suite is 43% female and 43% BIPOC, according to the agency.