Less than a month after absorbing its fellow IPG Mediabrands unit M2, Initiative Media Canada has appointed industry veteran Helen Galanis as its new president.
Galanis has spent 16 years in progressively senior positions within the Canadian media industry, most recently as director of brand media planning at Rogers Communications. In that role, she was responsible for one of Canada’s largest media budgets, and developed internal media planning capabilities by creating an in-house agency team.
She replaces Adam Luck, who has moved into a new role as head of digital growth and innovation with IPG Media brands, responsible for the Reprise Media network as well as a planned new service offering in the digital space.
IPG Mediabrands Canada CEO Harvey Carroll called Galanis a “media-savvy leader” who will bring new insights and a relevant client perspective into the organization.
“Initiative is poised for immediate growth with our recent changes [and] we’re confident Helen will help accelerate the growth we’re projecting,” said Carroll, in a release.
Galanis previously led integrated marketing planning for brands including Listerine, Tylenol, Aveeno, Nicorette and Johnson’s Baby while at IPG’s UM unit. The company also called her a “key contributor” to several new business wins, including Coca-Cola.
After being promoted to vice-president, she became the lead of Johnson & Johnson’s dedicated agency division, J3 Canada, where she grew her portfolio to include Hershey and McCain. Prior to joining UM, she spent six years as manager of strategy and advertising for Canadian Tire.
Initiative won the Tourism Niagara Partnership, Henkell Trocken and Keyspire accounts last year, as well as a project for Air New Zealand. Based on the most recent RECMA numbers, the combined entity has combined billings of $535 million, making it the country’s seventh largest agency network.
