One of the “100 people who make advertising great,” according to the 4A’s, Christian is Global CEO of GroupM, where he leads 36,000 people ushering in the next era of media where advertising works better for people. This includes instilling a responsibility to help clients assign media dollars as a force for good. With more than $50 billion in media investment billings across 80 markets worldwide, GroupM uses its scale as the largest media investment group to bring about positive and meaningful change through its Responsible Investment Framework and its work with industry partners.
During Christian’s tenure, GroupM has evolved into a data-centric, technology-focused operating system for the group’s media agencies Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, and Essence as well as a range of businesses innovating in addressable media, AI-driven programmatic, commerce, and more. In addition, he leads the purposeful application of GroupM’s scale across partnerships, data, and technology, so the clients of WPP’s media agencies benefit from breakthrough intelligence and capabilities.
Prior, Christian served as global CEO of GroupM’s Essence, a data and measurement-driven global agency. There, he was instrumental in driving the agency’s meteoric growth that saw its billings increase more than five-fold. Christian joined Essence in 2013 to lead North America after spending 14 years at Razorfish.
Recognized by Ad Age as a “Media Maven,” Christian serves as Mediaweek’s Council Chair and as a media advisor on partner councils and boards for Amazon Advertising, Twitter, and Snap, where he helps ensure a healthy ecosystem for brands and where he shares his passion for making advertising work better for people.