Dynamic, People-First Leader Joins as Grey
Celebrates its 105th Anniversary
NEW
YORK, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grey today
announces the appointment of Laura
Maness as Global Chief Executive Officer, joining the agency
on September 1. Laura will build on
Grey's international capabilities and AKQA Group expertise while
bringing people together from across the network to
prioritize employee experience and breakthrough,
high-performance work for clients. Laura will shape Grey's global
strategy, playing a pivotal role in talent attraction and retention
through a values-led culture, emphasizing diversity, equity and
inclusion while driving sustainable, responsible growth and impact
worldwide.
Laura Maness comments: "As only
the sixth CEO in 105 years, the opportunity to renew, galvanize and
grow a legendary and celebrated agency like Grey — combined with
the unmatched calibre of talent from across the globe — is
incredibly meaningful. I look forward to building on the strong
foundation of Grey's storytelling prowess and famously effective
work by fuelling a culture of creativity, innovation, and
continuous impact."
Ajaz Ahmed, AKQA Group CEO
comments: "Laura is entrepreneurial, dynamic and energetic. She
unites by building community — not hierarchy — inspiring with an
enlightened leadership approach and a proven track record. With a
focus on innovation and as a champion of multidisciplinary
solutions for clients, Laura is the ideal CEO to help shape Grey's
strategic vision and path ahead. I am looking forward to working in
partnership with Laura and the team at Grey."
He added: "Grey has an unrivalled global client list and a
precious wealth of exceptional talent. The agency is open to
reimagining the possibilities. Our goal must be to celebrate Grey's
inventive vigour with pioneering work that sets it apart. We must
forge strong bonds with our clients where we can make the strongest
contribution by embracing the new drivers of economic growth."
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said:
"Laura believes in the power of what we do to make a difference in
the world, and has an impressive track record of delivering growth
for agencies, their people and their clients. I'm delighted she's
joining AKQA Group as Global CEO of Grey. Grey is known for
outstanding creativity that produces outstanding results, and I'm
sure that reputation will only grow under Laura's leadership."
With a powerhouse career in advertising, integrated
communications and digital, spanning over 25 years, Laura is
recognized as one of the industry's most accomplished executives.
Before being appointed Global CEO of Grey, Laura served as CEO of
Havas Group's North American flagship agency, Havas New York,
driving a culture of purposeful growth for some of the world's most
recognized companies. Laura also oversaw several specialist
practices, including a culture-first creator studio (Annex88) and a
data-driven customer engagement agency (Havas CX) in the US. Before
these responsibilities, Laura served as US Chief Growth Officer for
Havas Worldwide North America and Managing Director of Havas
Chicago. Before joining Havas, Laura was head of growth for FCB in
San Francisco.
Laura's numerous accolades include: named a Working Mother of
the Year and Changing the Game Quantum Leap winner by She Runs It;
Campaign magazine Female Frontier honoree for Championing Change;
Creativepool's Top Influencer of the Year, Top 25 CEO, Top 100
Creative Leader; Digiday's Top Boss for Worklife; a finalist for
The Drum magazine's CEO of the Year; and, most recently, was
celebrated as Act Responsible's Ad Industry Champion of Good at the
2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
About Grey
Grey, the global communications
network, is part of AKQA Group. Its parent company is WPP
(NYSE: WPP). Under the banner of "Grey Famously Effective
Since 1917" the agency serves a blue-chip roster of many of the
world's best-known companies: Procter & Gamble,
GlaxoSmithKline, Kellogg's, Pfizer, Canon, MassMutual, Nestlé,
Google, Volvo, and Applebee's. In recent years, Grey has been named
ADWEEK'S "Global Agency of the Year" twice; ADVERTISING AGE's
"Agency of the Year" and CAMPAIGN magazine's "Global Network of the
Year" in recognition of its creative and business performance
(www.grey.com).
Contact: Owen J. Dougherty
Owen.dougherty@grey.com
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SOURCE Grey Global Group