John Clinton, president and CEO of Grey Canada, is heading to the magazine industry.
He was named senior vice-president and general manager of consumer publications at Transcontinental Media yesterday.
Clinton will remain in Toronto and oversee a division that reported more than $200 million in revenues last year. The consumer magazine group has more than 40 French and English titles including Elle Québec, Elle Canada, Canadian Living and The Hockey News.
“I’ve been in the business for 30 years and running agencies for 19 years,” Clinton said. “I thought it sounded like a really neat change.” He sees his responsibilities at Transcontinental being similar to those he’s had at Grey, where he’s been president for the last nine years.
“I have a ton of experience in building new business and new brands,” he said. “Realistically, magazines are brands now… you end up with a skill set that’s pretty transportable. The approach that Transcontinental takes is the same one an ad agency takes: it’s about how to connect with consumers.”
In a statement, Natalie Lariviere, president of Montreal-based Transcontinental Media, said Clinton has “a deep knowledge of the industry in both Canada and the U.S. His experience with many of Transcontinental’s largest clients, with building national and global brands, and with the media industry as a whole will help bring a fresh perspective as he leads the growth of consumer publications in our magazine group.”
Prior to Grey, Clinton worked at JWT, serving as both president and chairman of JWT Canada and executive VP and general manager of JWT Chicago. Both Grey and JWT are owned by London’s WPP network.
Grey has not yet named Clinton’s replacement. The decision lies with Jim Heekin, chairman of Grey Worldwide in New York, who is expected to make an announcement before Clinton leaves at the end of March.
