Ex-Leap Exec Smith to Publicis

Fred Smith, one of the former Leap Partnership’s founders, will now be chasing new business and acquisitions as chief development officer at Publicis in Mid-America.

“My first line of business will be to introduce Publicis to some of my former clients,” Smith said. Those clients could include Anheuser-Busch, BroadVision and Microsoft, Smith said.

Smith, 48, joined the Chicago agency last week in the newly created position. He and Barry Krause, the shop’s chairman and CEO, have been in talks about a role for Smith at the agency for several months.

“I knew I wanted him on board based on his prior experience,” Krause said.