OMD Canada has named media veteran Cathy Collier as its new CEO, effective Aug. 16.
Collier replaces Lorraine Hughes who retired earlier this month after 35 years in the industry.
Page Thompson, CEO of Omnicom Media Group, North America, said it was difficult to find Hughes’ successor, but called hiring Collier one of the best business decisions he’s ever made.
“Nobody is going to replace Lorraine and that’s not what Cathy is here to do, but bringing in Cathy is the next step, the evolution of what Lorraine has built – the analytics, the insight,” said Thompson, who saw over a dozen candidates, all from Canada.
“We were not going to bring an American in and make this a post where they get their training [in Canada] and move them back [to the U.S.],” said Thompson.
“I was very dedicated to bringing someone who knew the market, who was from the market, and who was really embedded in this market.
“When you look at [Collier’s] background and everything she did, she is a perfect fit to take OMD to the next level,” he said.
Collier told Marketing her goal is to continue to evolve OMD to “the strengths that Page is talking about – digital and analytics, which are a perfect complement to moving us forward into more of the ROI world that necessitates communications planning, which I have a fairly good background in.”
Collier was most recently managing director of communication planning at Crispin Porter + Bogusky Canada, a set of responsibilities that will likely be broken up among several staff members in the coming weeks, said CP+B president Shelley Brown.
“Cathy has made a tremendous contribution to the agency,” Brown told Marketing. “She’s one of those really wonderful people who simply made us smarter. My position on this is really biased because I’d love to have her stay, but even I had to say ‘You should go for this one’ because it’s a tremendous opportunity. It’s a great move for her career.”
Collier joined CP+B Canada in 2009 (when it was called Zig) when she created a jointly owned planning division called X Connections. That operation was folded into the central agency when Zig became part of MDC Partners’ CP+B network.
Previously, Collier had worked for 18 years at Cossette Media in Toronto.
OMD counts McDonald’s, Campbell Company of Canada, Nissan, Visa, PepsiCo Foods Canada and Rogers Communications among its clients.
Marketing named OMD Agency of the Year in 2006, and in 2007 the agency was the most awarded media agency for creativity at the Media Innovation Awards.
“It’s unquestionably a tremendous opportunity,” said Collier. “It is a huge role in leading media in Canada, it’s a fantastic company with amazing iconic brands as clients.”
