NOVUS Expands Leadership Team with First Hire Under New CEO, Taps Heather Gaut as VP of Program Management

CHICAGO, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NOVUS, the independent media planning and buying agency, today announced the appointment of Heather Gaut as Vice President of Program Management, expanding its leadership team as the company continues to sharpen its focus and scale capabilities. This is a new position at NOVUS and the first hire under new CEO Libby Morgan.

In her new position, Gaut will oversee program management across the organization, including process design, resource planning, forecasting, and project governance. She will report directly to Morgan and serve on the agency's leadership team.

Gaut brings more than 15 years of experience building operational infrastructure inside complex marketing organizations. Most recently, through Cella, the managed service partner supporting Chevron's global in-house creative studio, she led Business Operations and helped architect the operating model for a 60-plus person team. By introducing data-driven resource planning, milestone tracking, and performance measurement systems, she delivered six-figures in cost savings within her first year while improving delivery timelines and operational visibility across marketing and production teams.

Prior to that, Gaut spent several years in senior operational leadership roles at Dentsu, overseeing global standards and cross-functional workstreams across Performance Creative and Media Operations. Across agency and corporate settings, she has partnered with brands including American Express, Burger King, T-Mobile, and Humana, consistently building governance models that support both creativity and accountability.

"Since NOVUS serves as an architect of growth, operational excellence and project governance are foundational," said Morgan. "Heather understands how to translate complexity into simplicity without slowing momentum. Her leadership will help ensure that as our offerings continue to scale, our execution remains seamless and consistent."

Gaut is known for establishing delivery standards that empower multidisciplinary teams while mitigating risk. She believes strong program management is not about control for its own sake, but about creating alignment, transparency, and confidence across clients and internal stakeholders.

"The NOVUS DNA is focused on hyper localized and personalized media strategy and execution," said Gaut. "As systems and offerings continue to rapidly expand, I'm excited to build on that foundation by strengthening the processes and tools that enable teams to deliver integrated, data-driven solutions at scale."

About NOVUS
Headquartered in Chicago, NOVUS Media LLC is an independent media agency that architects growth with purpose - where every media decision is intentional, measurable, and built for impact. They offer personalized experiences at scale including hyper-local, customized, multichannel strategic media planning and buying with specialized multimedia talent, proprietary tools and custom techniques, representing the evolution of a next-gen agency. Focusing on local media of all types – TV, OTT, addressable, radio, OOH, digital display, video, mobile and search – NOVUS is fueled by data, insights, and technology to drive superior business results. Founded in 1987, NOVUS has evolved from a hyper-local media buyer into a modern media partner delivering highly personalized, data-driven, and measurable campaigns across the full media ecosystem. For more information, go to www.novusmedia.com.

Media Contact:
Janika Dela Cruz
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SOURCE NOVUS