WPP-owned GroupM has announced Christian Juhl will take over the global CEO role from Kelly Clark on October 1.
Juhl will be responsible for the vision, strategy and operations of WPP’s media-focused companies, overseeing 35,000 people globally and $USD48 billion ($AUD68.5 billion) in annual client media billings.
“Christian has the right combination of leadership, people and technology skills to build the modern media company, something he has demonstrated extraordinarily well at Essence," WPP CEO Mark Read says.
"We have a great number of talented people across GroupM and its agencies, and I have every confidence in Christian’s ability to be an outstanding leader to them and an outstanding partner to our clients.”
Juhl is currently the global CEO of measurement-driven agency Essence, which he joined in 2013, and has since led the agency's acquisition by WPP in 2015.
Before Essence, Juhl held roles with Publicis, Razorfish and USWeb/CKS.
“I’m truly honored and grateful for this opportunity to help deliver on Mark’s vision for WPP as a creative transformation company,” Juhl says.
“Media frames the future for creativity, and GroupM's incredible agency brands, talent, client partnerships, and scale give us the unique opportunity to help reshape the industry and the way people think about advertising.”
Clark was appointed GroupM’s global CEO in 2016 with a three-year commitment to prepare the business for the future by designing and leading significant transformation initiatives.
These have included Essence’s expansion into a full-service agency, the creation of Wavemaker, the move to 3 World Trade Center in New York, and a number of people and technology investments.
He will support Juhl in the transition and continue as a senior advisor to WPP and GroupM.
“Today, we’re stronger and better-positioned to help our clients win in an intensely competitive business environment,” Clark says.
“I know Christian will work well with our leadership team to build further and faster on our ability to contribute to client growth. All of us in GroupM have an inspiring new leader.”
Read thanked Clark for his "dedication" and leadership at GroupM over the last few years.
"Kelly has had a very successful three years as CEO of GroupM, reflected in its recent strong run of new business wins," Read says.
"I am delighted that he will support Christian during the transition and continue as a trusted senior advisor to the company."
GroupM is made up of several agencies including Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence, and m/SIX, as well as the programmatic company Xaxis.
Mark Lollback is the CEO of GroupM Australia and New Zealand. Chris Riley was recently promoted to the GroupM CEO role in New Zealand, reporting back to Lollback.
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