Omnicom Media Group NA Taps Katie Klein as Chief Investment Officer

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is bringing on PHD executive Katie Klein as chief investment officer, she shared with ADWEEK.

Klein previously held the same role at the subsidiary PhD USA. In his three years, he has built an integrated investment arm serving clients including Burger King, Delta Airlines, Diageo, Priceline, Uber and Volkswagen Group.

Before the PHD, he spent more than 16 years at the Publicis Zenith agency, becoming senior vice president and head of business, national video investments.

At OMG, Klein will oversee the billing of $20 billion in media spend across traditional and digital channels.

“I have a practical, real-world context for how the group can better empower and accelerate public-led investment in our agencies,” he said in a statement. “Bringing that perspective to my new role, my priority will be to bring a relentless approach to driving innovation with our partners to deliver transformative results for our customers.”

Omnicom credited Klein with crafting some of the industry’s first cross-screen deals, creating partnerships that leverage cultural moments, developing a playbook for leveraging CTV as a performance vehicle and creating a program of cross-channel training and development.

Klein will be based in New York and report to Ralph Pardo, CEO of OMG North America. He succeeds Geoff Calabrese, who is leaving the company next year. Omnicom expects to reveal its replacement at PHD in early January.

His appointment comes weeks after Omnicom reached an agreement take over the Interpublic group and form the largest advertising group in the world. COMvergence estimates that combined, the two companies will oversee the north $71 million in average billing.

During a company town hall, Pardo called Klein a “practitioner leader” who can deliver on the most critical priorities of modern marketers – performance and transformation.

“He has a strong track record of creating value, working with media partners and platforms to unlock unique opportunities that create meaningful benefits for our clients across inventory, data, content, commerce and sponsorships,” he said. in a statement. “And he is an effective leader with a unique ability to identify emerging talent and expand opportunities at all levels for his team.”