MINDSHARE APPOINTS INDUSTRY LEADER KATHY KLINE AS CHIEF STRATEGY & INNOVATION OFFICER IN NORTH AMERICA

Kline's Announcement Follows Surge of Agency Leadership Appointments and Elevations

CHICAGO, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindshare, the media services company that is part of WPP, announced today the appointment of Kathy Kline as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer in North America. In this role, Kline will lead and grow the agency's strategy and innovation practice. She will partner closely with Mindshare's North American and global leadership across data strategy, media planning, and investment, elevating the strategic solutions that Mindshare delivers to clients, and leading a strong push for innovation and ground-breaking ideas that drive forward the agency's vision of Good Growth. 

"I've had the privilege of working with Kathy before, and as a strategic leader, she is a force to be reckoned with," says Amanda Richman, North America CEO, Mindshare. "Not only does she have unparalleled media and strategy expertise, but she brings an unwavering commitment to creativity, actionable insights, and human understanding. Over the years, she's built numerous high performing teams and driven business results for clients in every category and around the world. I am so excited to work with her on driving Good Growth across our clients and the industry."

An industry veteran, Kline brings more than 30 years of experience to this role. Most recently, she served as the Global Chief Strategy Officer for Starcom Worldwide.

"Mindshare is committed to driving enduring, sustainable growth for brands," says Kathy Kline, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, North America, Mindshare. "The seismic changes our industry has seen over the last few years present a very real opportunity to reimagine the way marketers engage with people to meet modern consumers on their terms. I am thrilled to be joining Mindshare to do exactly that, and further the agency's Good Growth mission."

Kline's announcement follows a surge of other recent leadership appointments at Mindshare, including:

• Lesley Conway as CEO for Mindshare Canada. A seasoned agency, sales and consulting leader, Conway brings more than 25 years of experience driving integration across markets and channels, at companies like Bell and Astral.
• Jeff Malmad as Global Head of Commerce. Malmad has built and grown Mindshare's dedicated commerce practice in the US (launched in 2015), and now expands his role to more deeply integrate commerce with Mindshare's media expertise and technology solutions across all clients and markets.
• Kelly Garland as Managing Director, Invention+ Lead for the U.S. will work with Kline to drive innovation that delivers results. Garland had started her career at Mindshare, and then rejoined after working in product innovation roles at Molson Coors Beverage Company and Digitas.
• Brian DeCicco as Chief Data Strategy & Analytics Officer for North America. DeCicco previously served as Executive Director, Customer Strategy and was elevated to lead Mindshare's data and analytics practice overall, helping clients navigate the future of data and identity with transparent, interoperable solutions.

Recent Accolades and Industry Leadership
Kline's appointment comes on the heels of numerous wins and innovations for the agency. This week,  Mindshare launched Precisely Human Intelligence (PHI)—a new suite of machine learning products that help brands better understand the motivations, mindsets, and emotions that drive consumer decision-making and then buy those audiences at scale. And recently Mindshare and Neo, global performance solutions agency, announced the competition of their integration, providing clients with a broader range of transformative media services.

In just the past few months, the agency was ranked WARC 100's #1 Media Agency Network for the third consecutive year, and was recognized in R3's New-Business Review for agencies as #2 in global new-business billings for Q1 of 2022.

About Mindshare:
Mindshare is a media services company that accelerates Good Growth for its clients in the age of transformation. Good Growth is business growth that is enduring and sustainable while also helping to shape society and the world for the better. We accelerate it for our clients by using media as a multiplier to drive sales and maximize marketing investments. We use Precisely Human Intelligence that combines data science and behavioral science to understand consumers and their motivations better and we act on that intelligence by planning media with intention to connect brands with consumers around their shared values. We were the first purpose-built company created by WPP and today our 10,000 people operate in 116 offices in 86 countries, helping to drive Good Growth for our clients, our people, the industry and the world.

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SOURCE Mindshare