Kinetic North America announced that it has promoted two of its proven leaders, Michael Lieberman and Cedric Bernard to Co-CEO. They replace David Krupp who is leaving the agency at the end of March.
Before the announcement, Lieberman had served as Chief Strategy Officer of Kinetic North America, where he leveraged his background in mobile and integrated strategy to better align Kinetic’s core offering with today’s digitally-focused and cross-media environment. Formerly, he was US Chief Operating Officer of Kinetic’s parent company, tenthavenue and US CEO of Joule, tenthavenue’s mobile strategy firm.
Lieberman said: “OOH is a proven and exciting channel that is highly underutilized. I am thrilled to play a leadership role alongside Cedric in proving OOH’s significant value to brand marketers, both as a direct driver of brand value and ROI and as an accelerator of brand growth alongside video and mobile channels.”
Bernard has been with Kinetic North America since July 2013. As Chief Operating Officer, he used his financial and consulting background to develop new revenue opportunities and implement more effective and efficient organizational approaches. Prior to joining Kinetic North America as Chief Financial Officer, he was EVP, Operations and Finance at Dentsu. Earlier, Bernard was at Publicis Groupe for eight years, where he held various positions. Bernard started his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers.
“It is an honor to step into this new role and continue to work with Michael and the strong executive team in place,” said Bernard. “We are set up for enormous success not only with our existing clients and services, but with some new and exciting product offerings on the horizon that will allow us to deliver even more value for our partners.
Marc-Antoine de Roys, Kinetic’s Global CEO said: “I want to thank David for his 12 years of service at our company. It is because of his leadership and succession planning that we are in a position to have consistency as he transitions out of the organization. Michael and Cedric are proven leaders at our company who have earned the trust and respect of our employees and clients. Their service, history, and accomplishments made this an easy decision.”
“I can’t thank Kinetic enough for providing me the opportunity to learn and accomplish so much over the past 12 years,” said Krupp. “I know the organization under Michael and Cedric’s leadership will thrive and I look forward to watching their continued success.”
De Roys added: “Cedric has worked in global markets, with a unique background from the consulting world that will provide our organization with the cutting edge we need to compete. Combined with Michael’s digital prowess, his keen ability to work alongside clients, and a drive to win business, our North American organization is not only in good hands but is poised to grow.”
The management team will remain in place, working closely with these leaders as they have for the last several years. This includes Maureen McCloskey, Jaime Byrdak, Susan Page, and Karin Baatsch-Deboulet.
Krupp, who served as CEO for nearly five years and has been part of the team for 12 years, will be announcing his new role in April.