Kent named chairman and CEO of Universal McCann Worldwide

by Staff,, Brand Republic 29-Apr-02, 14:20

NEW YORK - Robin Kent, the president of Universal McCann Worldwide, has been promoted to chairman and CEO replacing Ira Carlin, who is to depart the agency.

Kent, who has been with Universal for six-and-a-half years, is cited as a key architect of Universal McCann's expanded strategic media-planning initiatives and media-buying operations.

Prior to taking up the role of worldwide president, he was regional director of Universal McCann, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Carlin leaves Universal but stays within the Interpublic Group of Companies, moving to a new post at Magna Global Worldwide, the Interpublic media negotiations unit founded in 2001.

Jim Heekin, chairman and CEO of McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, said: "Robin is part of the new breed of media professionals, who are bringing new precision, vision and excitement to media services. He has been a driving force in the creation and rollout of a range of proprietary research, strategic planning and buying accountability tools that are being recognised as among the best in the industry and that played a significant role in Universal McCann's wins of over $1bn in new agency-of-record assignments in the first few months of this year."

Kent, 47, has more than 25 years' experience in domestic and international media and joined Universal McCann Europe from Carat in April 1996, becoming regional director in January 1997.

Universal McCann, which was formally launched in October 1999, operates in more than 130 countries and has worldwide billings of $17.9bn (£12.3bn). In the first four months of 2002, Universal McCann has won over $1.3bn in additional agency-of-record business, including the Sony Corporation, Nestle Purina PetCare, American Airlines and Deutsche Telecom.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.