OMD has named Suhaila Hobba, most recently an executive at Amazon’s in-house ad agency, its chief media officer for the U.S. Hobba takes on the role last held by George Manas before he was appointed global CEO of OMD in 2021.

Hobba was global head of digital for Amazon’s shop, called MODE. During her time there, she helped build the retail giant's in-house media capabilities for digital planning and activation. Prior to her time at Amazon, Hobba oversaw agency partnerships at Yahoo.

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Her appointment at OMD, the Omnicom Media Group agency, is effective immediately.

The appointment comes as Amazon, the world's largest ad spender, undertakes a massive review for its media account now held by Initiative.

‘Transformation agent’

Hobba has prior ad agency experience, having held roles at Initiative, EssenceMediacom (then known as Mediacom) and, earlier in her career, OMD. She is the first outside hire made by Chrissie Hanson, OMD’s U.S. CEO, who took on the role over a year ago. 

“With her two-decade record as a transformation agent—most recently for a company that’s driving the performance revolution—Suhaila has the experience and expertise to bring together all OMD capabilities, products and services, and pull through the performance thread to deliver business growth for our clients and our agency, and opportunities for our talent,” Hanson said in a statement.

Omnicom’s media agencies have secured significant wins throughout the year, including global media duties for Under Armour, Vans, and recently Uber.

“As chief media officer, my priority will be ensuring that OMD is unlocking Omnicom Media Group’s 'Agency as a Platform' capabilities to connect media, content and commerce, and leveraging Omnicom’s Omni open operating system to orchestrate holistic media solutions,” Hobba said in a statement.