VMLY&R has promoted Myron King to chief integration officer.
In the new role, King will be responsible for leading the organizational design and cultural integration strategy for North American clients, which encompasses overseeing the integration of core agency capabilities for new and existing clients across the region for the agency, which resulted from WPP’s merger of VML and Y&R in 2018. As chief integration officer, he will also serve as a strategic partner for VMLY&R’s new cross-departmental Transformation Initiative, which aims to implement integration efforts combatting systemic racism across all areas of client-facing and internal agency business. King will become a member of VMLY&R’s executive leadership team and report to global chief experience officer Jeff Geheb.
The establishment of the Transformation Initiative comes amid an industrywide reckoning with issues of systemic racism in advertising, including an open letter from over 600 Black advertising professionals demanding action and the subsequent formation of nonprofit advocacy group 600 & Rising. In July, WPP CEO Mark Read acknowledged that the holding company had plenty of work to do to address the issue when WPP released its EEOC diversity data, committing $30 million to inclusion programs and antiracism organizations.
“Our agency is dedicated to improving what it means to be a diverse, inclusive, and valuable partner today, and 100 years from now. To that end, we need leaders who bring expertise and perspective in how we harness creativity, technology, and culture,” Geheb said in a statement. “Myron is the very embodiment of forward-thinking leadership, and his broad experience will be a winning combination to better serve our clients and our agency’s ambitions.”
An agency veteran of nearly 15 years, King most recently led digital transformation efforts as managing director of VMLY&R’s advisory practice. Since joining VML as a business systems analyst in 2006, he has worked on brand customer experience efforts for clients including Bayer, Coca-Cola, Dell, Electrolux, Ford Motor Company, Kellogg, SAP, Sherwin-Williams and Sprint. During his tenure at the agency, he has also played an instrumental role in shaping VMLY&R’s employee culture. He was a founding member of the VMLY&R Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, and serves as a mentor captain and an executive sponsor for BIPOC employee resource groups. Outside of VMLY&R, King is a member of 100 Roses and AAF-KC and volunteers for various nonprofits.
“VMLY&R is like family to me. Over the years I’ve watched us grow from 400 employees to over 7,000. We’ve consistently adapted and evolved to deliver some of the top creative, digital, and consumer-centric marketing solutions in the world,” King said in a statement. “In the process, we’ve sustained a culture of togetherness and excellence. I’m excited to amplify our organizational design and cultural integration efforts with clients to help make VMLY&R the most diverse, inclusive, and creative agency in the world.”
https://www.adweek.com/agencies/vmlyr-names-chief-integration-officer-establishes-transformation-initiative/