Doug Checkeris should just keep the movers on speed dial. A scant few weeks after settling into the chief executive’s office at MediaCom’s swanky new digs overlooking Toronto’s Dundas Square, Checkeris (pictured) will depart Oct. 1 for a new role as CEO of MediaCom’s U.S. office in New York. It’s part of a series of senior management changes at the country’s largest media agency.
Just two days before revealing the new job for Checkeris, MediaCom parent GroupM announced that David Campbell, Checkeris’ co-president in MediaCom, would take over the newly created role of president and CEO of GroupM Canada-marking the formal introduction of WPP Group’s media network arm in the Canadian marketplace.
Succeeding the two men as MediaCom CEO is Amanda Ploughman, the former Initiative Canada president (2002-2005) who arrived at MediaCom in the spring from Initiative’s New York office, where she worked for two years as executive vice-president of business development for North America. Rounding out the changes to its management team in Canada, MediaCom also announced that Sylvia Criger, Gloria Di Ioia, Maura Hanley, Karin Macpherson, Jeanne Northcote and Michele Pauchuk have been appointed to managing director positions.
Campbell says the other Canadian heads within GroupM-MindShare Canada managing director Karen Nayler and Mediaedge:cia president Bruce Grondin-will continue to report into their respective parent agency, with a “dotted line” reporting structure into GroupM Canada. “The client facing agencies will continue to have their own culture,” Campbell stresses. “It’s not like GroupM will be a brand in and of itself.”
GroupM is by far the largest agency group in the country, with its constituent companies combining for US$1.6 billion in billings in 2006-an 11% increase over the previous year-according to the latest data from French research firm RECMA. It controlled 38% of the estimated US$4.2 billion in media billings that flowed through the nation’s major media agencies.
Its 2006 billings were $676 million more than the second ranked Omnicom Media Group, which amassed $924 million in billings between its OMD Canada and PHD Canada networks.
According to Campbell, the GroupM companies have been informally collaborating on TV upfronts for a couple of years, but plan to deepen that collaboration and extend it into other media.
The departure of Checkeris, and Campbell’s promotion, marks the end of an enduring partnership that has transformed MediaCom into the country’s largest agency, with 2006 billings of US$787 million.
Checkeris, meanwhile, will take over an agency that is ranked 7th in the U.S. market with US$5.3 billion in billings in 2006 (market leader OMD had US$9.7 billion in billings). “I’ve been the small guy on the way up, so I know that trail,” says Checkeris. “The big thing will be to give it a sharper image and decide who we want to be when we grow up.”
