Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency according to the AdAge Datacenter, has named Latraviette D. Smith-Wilson to the newly created role of chief marketing and equity officer, a position the agency claims is an industry first. Smith-Wilson will report directly to Bill Koenigsberg, the agency's CEO and founder.
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Smith-Wilson will lead Horizon's marketing along with its diversity, equity and inclusion and impact efforts, a blended role that would have traditionally been the domain of two executives: the chief marketing officer and the chief diversity officer. A key goal of fusing the two positions is to facilitate Horizon’s growth strategy via its people and culture, client value propositions and agency identity, according to Smith-Wilson. The CMO role was previously held by Steven Hall, who left the agency.
Fuel for business
On the marketing side, Smith-Wilson will help architect the future strategy of Horizon Media, from product development to expansion. From a DE&I perspective, she will lead the internal inclusion effort. "DE&I is still far too often seen as a complement to business rather than as fuel for business,” she said. “I want Horizon to be a model for transforming how DE&I is viewed at-large from a marketing lens, its value in the business and its role in driving growth.”
Koenigsberg says that diversity, culture, equity, fairness and behaviors are closely connected with marketing and believes that DE&I is a part of the agency’s DNA, so it “just made all the sense in the world to combine them.”
