Omnicom Media Group has hired ABC News sales veteran Catherine Sullivan as president of U.S. investment, a newly created role that oversees the investment teams across OMD, PHD and Hearts & Sciences.
Ms. Sullivan, who most recently served as ABC's senior-VP of news sales, joined the media services division of Omnicom Group at the beginning of the month. She is reporting directly to
Mr. Swift said the group expanded from two agencies to three with the launch of Hearts & Science earlier this year, and the growth is putting focus on having "more senior-level leadership touching all of our business in a more integrated way."
"We're talking about an integrated and digitally informed investment future for us," he added. "Digital is going to be part of everything we do."
Over the last three years, Omnicom Media Group has shifted from channel silos to integrated channels. For example, Mr. Swift said the group now has a completely holistic video group, rather than one for just TV or digital.
"One of the things we're focused on is building a bridge from the present to the future," which is about pushing media owners to do the most interesting things for clients, said Mr. Swift. People, he added, are consuming media in all different places now, so media has to evolve with content, data-driven strategies, programmatic and even customized experiences.
Ms. Sullivan was the "obvious choice" for the role due to her extensive media experience, including 15 years at ABC and 14 at NBC, said Mr. Swift, adding that she'll bring different perspectives that will complement those of the other Omnicom Media Group leaders.
In addition to overseeing the buying teams across OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science, Ms. Sullivan said her main responsibility is for the client, specifically "making sure we're doing the best job with their money."
She added that she's excited to bring her learning of the business to the other side. Over the last four years in her most recent role at ABC, Ms. Sullivan helped the digital platform revenue increase by more than 50%.