Davis Returns to Kaplan Thaler Group

NEW YORK Greg Davis, who led new business for then fledgling agency The Kaplan Thaler Group from 2000 to 2004, is returning to the shop this month as managing director of business development.

Davis, 45, has been evp, corporate development at independent Nitro here, and spent nearly 18 months helping to establish its North America operations.

He starts at 10-year-old Kaplan Thaler, now owned by Publicis Groupe, on May 21.

“It’s not often that you build a strong relationship like the one I have with this organization,” Davis said of Kaplan Thaler. “Nitro is doing quite well, and I’m exceptionally proud of having helped set up their North America operation.”

He continued, “Kaplan Thaler is poised to get to an even more exciting level. There are so many capabilities they’re beginning to unlock. I’m really looking forward to leveraging that.”

Davis was referring to the agency’s expanded capabilities in branded entertainment and buzz marketing through its two-year-old unit KTG Buzz.

Before joining Nitro in 2006, Davis had worked in business development for Interpublic Group’s Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in New York and Boston for two years.

The opportunity for Davis to return to Kaplan Thaler opened up in late March when Mitch Caplan said he would leave the shop to become North America CMO of WPP Group’s Young & Rubicam, based in New York. Caplan, 46, started his new post this month.

The Kaplan Thaler Group opened in New York in 1997. Its clients include Aflac, Pfizer, Continental Airlines, Procter & Gamble, and Outback Steakhouse.