GMR Marketing today announced the elevation of several senior leaders across the agency, part of a larger expansion of offerings and capabilities to benefit our roster of clients and the global marketplace.
"Focal points like experience technology, experience design, brand consulting, digital products, and data science are a significant focus of our work, so we're prioritizing and investing in the people behind those skills," said Tyson Webber, president of GMR Marketing.
In an expanded role as Chief Product Officer, Mat Johnson will lead GMR's experience-based products and technologies capability, including the award-winning Fifty/50 FabShop™. This includes an expansion into intellectual property, development of proprietary products and services, and the innovation of advanced methods of connection through emerging technologies, programming, and fabrication.
GMR's creative team under Chief Creative Officer Ken Black will expand to include three group executive creative director positions, filled by GMR veterans Krista Hansen and Brian Patrick Pettit, plus a third leader that will be selected following a worldwide talent search. With more the 27 years of combined experience at GMR, working on experiences ranging from the Super Bowl to the X-Games, Hansen and Pettit will elevate the agency's expertise in key creative areas, including inclusive design standards and connecting bridges across the digital and physical divide.
"We live in a world where we seamlessly travel between real and virtual and digital and sensorial moments. As a creative team built to imagine and incite these ingenious possibilities to stir wonder, we must be prolific in all these areas, combined," Black said. "This new position and the elevation of these talented leaders shows our commitment to do that, in order to continue to lead this industry."
The agency is also elevating a leader in our Data Science discipline, building on years of pioneering behavior intelligence work across research, strategy, science, and measurement. As head of data science, Dr. Joseph Cera will lead the team developing predictive modeling and analytics that guide the strategy behind our experiences, ensuring unforgettable moments for brand audiences.
Tasked with delivering all these capabilities to brands is GMR's client consulting and services group, which has elevated three leaders - Walt Arnold, Todd Fischer, and Jessica Giordano – to Executive Vice Presidents. In their respective roles, Arnold, Fischer, and Giordano will expand their client portfolios across global and domestic sports and entertainment; physical and virtual experiences; and the evolution of experience commerce.
"In addition to the investment in our future that these promotions showcase, I hope they are an opportunity for StoryMakers across GMR – and the experience marketing industry – to see what is possible at our agency in terms of career growth and personal and professional development," said Cameron Parsons, CEO of GMR Marketing. "This is the next step in our commitment to aligning our creative, consulting, strategy, and technology work with an eye toward delivering multidimensional stories that attach brands to humans forever."
We are the experience agency, built to make stories that become lasting memories. GMR pioneered experience marketing back in 1979, and we're still leading the way. We embed brands into experiences leveraging shared passions. We create experiences that are founded on data, rooted in science, grounded in strategy, designed meticulously, and executed flawlessly. Our passionate global team creates, consults, and activates in more than 70 countries. We're headquartered in the United States and are part of Omnicom Group Inc.
This list is just a snapshot of recent programming developed for GMR employees—and it is just part of the work to be done. We must continue to hold ourselves, and each other, accountable to build understanding, empathy and equity at all levels and in all aspects of agency life. Learn more about GMR’s ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work.