Rob Norman was named CEO of GroupM North America as part of an executive restructuring in which he will share management responsibilities for the company in partnership with Rino Scanzoni, GroupM’s Chief Investment Officer.
The announcement was made by GroupM Global CEO Irwin Gotlieb, who said Norman succeeds Marc Goldstein, who will leave his role as GroupM NA CEO effective March 31. Goldstein assumed his current role in February 2007 and will continue his relationship with GroupM as a senior advisor to the management group, Gotlieb said.
Goldstein sent this letter out, just before the announcement:
“Dear Friend and Colleague,
First, I want to wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2010.
Next, you will shortly hear that I am stepping down as CEO of GroupM N.A. at the end of March. I will continue as Special Advisor to GroupM management for a period beyond that, during which time I will establish my own consultancy.
I want to thank all of you for your partnership and friendship and look forward to continuing our relationship for the next three months and beyond as I begin a new phase of my professional career.
Warm regards,
Marc”
Norman, currently CEO of GroupM Interaction, will retain his current role while adding the North American CEO title. He will report to GroupM Global Chief Operating Officer Rupert Day while Scanzoni will continue to report to Gotlieb.
GroupM serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and Mindshare. Under the new restructuring, Norman and Scanzoni, who was named GroupM Chief Investment Officer in 2007, will work closely with the current management teams at each agency.
“Rob’s background, combined with the direction the media marketplace is headed, makes him the perfect choice to lead GroupM in this region in the coming decade,” said Gotlieb. “His digital expertise is unsurpassed and his superior management skills have been well demonstrated over the past several years.”
Norman joined GroupM as part of WPP’s acquisition of Tempus Group in 2001 and was a founding board member of the then newly merged Mediaedge:cia, where he led the agency’s digital practice from its inception. He was chairman of Mediaedge:cia in the U.K. from 2002-2004 before moving to New York to lead the creation of MEC Interaction in 2005 prior to becoming CEO of GroupM Interaction in 2006.
Regarding Goldstein, Gotlieb said: “Marc has been a vital part of both the establishment of Mindshare and the development of GroupM North America. His contributions have been central to our company’s growth and to the establishment of the practices and systems that enable us to service our clients in a period of unprecedented change.”
Goldstein joined Mindshare North America as President, National Broadcasting and Programming in November 2000 and added the title of President-CEO in April 2002 with responsibility for all Mindshare activities in the 10 U.S. cities and Canada. Prior to joining Mindshare, Marc was Executive Vice President, Managing Director at GM Mediaworks, where he managed the global car company’s $1 billion national broadcast media account.
