Initiative has elevated US CEO Amy Armstrong to a global remit, as the agency’s current leader Mat Baxter is set to take on a new leadership role at parent IPG.
Baxter, who has been global CEO of the media agency for four-and-a-half years, has been handed a global chairman role at Initiative, which he will serve for the remainder of 2021. He will take up an additional leadership position at IPG “in the coming months”.
Australia-born Baxter has been with IPG for more than 10 years, first joining in 2010 as CEO of UM Worldwide. He relocated to New York in August 2015 to become global chief strategy and creative officer at IPG Mediabrands. He took up the Initiative mantle one year later.
IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky said Baxter has “led a transformation” at Initiative, which he noted was one of the network’s fastest-growing businesses and the top media agency network in terms of global new business momentum.
“We’re excited to have him look at other areas of our portfolio that he can help transform and elevate,” Krakowsky said.
Armstrong has been leading Initiative’s US business for four years and is noted with transforming the agency’s operations, driving its business success and championing diversity and inclusion.
Daryl Lee, chairman and CEO of IPG Mediabrands, called Armstrong a “fearless competitor and a true client partner who has built an agency to be reckoned with in the US”.
“Her commitment to her clients, to her people, and to building a strong, inclusive culture where everyone feels valued is unrivaled,” he said. She has held leadership roles at various IPG agencies for over 20 years.
