There’s a whole lot of shake-up goin’ on at the senior level at Mediabrands in Canada. The network of media agencies announced three key executive appointments on Thursday.
Following Sara Hill‘s departure from the post of M2 Universal president earlier this summer, Leeanne Comish is stepping into the role on Sept. 10. Most recently she ran C2Marketing, her own integrated marketing and media company. She has more than two decades of marketing and leadership experience, having worked with Coca-Cola for 12 years in roles from marketing to sales and operations. While vice-president of integrated marketing with that company, she led groups from media to sponsorships.
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• Hill stepping down as M2 Universal president
In her new role at M2 Universal (which is the integrated media group of MacLaren McCann), Comish will concentrate on propelling bottom-line results and innovation, which she said are important to help the agency “establish long-standing connections with clients and consumers” in a release.
In another major Mediabrands announcement, Shelley Smit, most recently executive vice-president and managing director of UM, has been promoted to its president. Having been with the company since 2008, Smit will oversee every aspect of Canadian operations. She has helped lead operations at UM and develop new business, and also previously oversaw the agency’s J3—a team devoted media services group for Johnson & Johnson.
Both executives will report to Peter Mears, who has been appointed CEO of Mediabrands Canada after serving as its president—as well as president of UM—since Feb. 2010. In his new role, Mears is controlling all elements of business leadership and operations for the agencies within Mediabrands, which also include Initiative, Orion, Reprise, Cadreon and Mediabrands Multicultural in Canada.
