GroupM CEO Brian Lesser Lays Out His Plan for the Agency Giant’s Future

GroupM chief executive officer Brian Lesser is in a “massive hurry” to advance the agency’s business.

He returned to lead the global media buying giant in September, where he’d previously served as its North America CEO from 2015-2017. In his first public interview since joining last year, Lesser discussed his new role and priorities for GroupM with ADWEEK executive editor Alison Weissbrot at ADWEEK House during CES.

After his first tenure at GroupM, Lesser pivoted to lead an ambitious new ad business at AT&T, then became CEO at the data firm InfoSum. 

Given his recent adtech background, Lesser is looking to invest in technology. He also wants to invest in staff while simplifying the agency’s processes and facilitating more collaboration between agencies.

“The vision for GroupM and the broader WPP is we want to help our advertisers navigate change,” he said. “The only constant in the media business is change, and we are going to experience more change in the next five years than we have in the last 25 years.”

What Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG means for GroupM

With Omnicom’s impending acquisition of IPG, Lesser said it presents an advantage for GroupM, however its scale implications “remain to be seen.”

“When I look at the reasons for doing that deal, I hear a lot about data, but the data solution is a 20-year-old database that is CRM and traditional ID-driven,” he said. “I [also] hear a lot about scale but not scale that matters to those clients,” he said.

Lesser said he isn’t too concerned with being dethroned as the top media buyer either, saying that it may alleviate pressure and allow the agency to do more.

“We’ll see if we’re number two, and how long we’re number two,” Lesser added.

Investing in its platform and people

One of Lesser’s main priorities is to invest in GroupM’s tech platform.