Interpublic Group announces management succession at Mediabrands

Matt Seiler will step down as global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, effective May 1, and will remain chairman of the group through 2015 to ensure smooth transition to Henry Tajer’s leadership.

Tajer, who was named Mediabrands’ global COO in January 2014, will be re-locating full-time to New York from Sydney, where he currently spends a portion of his time in his role as CEO of the group’s highly successful Australian operations.

“IPG Mediabrands has consistently shown itself to be on the vanguard of the industry in terms of thought leadership, digital capabilities and new operating models, as well as bringing a high degree of accountability to its client engagements,” said Michael Roth, chairman and CEO of Interpublic. “Today’s announcement is part of a long-term game plan and a natural evolution for the management team. It acknowledges Matt and Henry’s contributions to the agency’s achievements and positions them to focus on specific areas in which they can both continue to make key contributions to Mediabrands and IPG going forward.”

“In his role as chairman for the balance of this year, we’ll look to Matt to continue providing a broad strategic vision for the group, which is something that’s made us a leader in digital and data-enabled marketing,” commented Roth. “Henry is a great media executive, who is valued by our people, clients and media partners. He’s made Australia one of the growth engines for our network, with a vibrant and collaborative work environment in which new capabilities continue to come to the fore.”

“In executing on a strategic vision that’s led us to embrace automation, pay-for- performance and a truly innovative mindset, our leadership team has laid a solid foundation for long-term success,” said Seiler. “The fact that we’ve delivered such outstanding results for our clients and for IPG is a testament to our entire senior management team and I look forward to guiding them further during this transitional period. Our people and our clients are in terrific hands with them and with Henry at the helm.”

“Matt’s leadership has challenged us to stretch the definition of what a media agency can be and we are thankful to him, as well as to Interpublic for their support in that endeavor,” said Tajer. “Our clients are among the world’s most progressive marketers and I look forward to engaging with them and our teams around the world, as we lead Mediabrands into its next phase of growth and development.”