GroupM Promotions Underline Research and Data Focus

WPP media investment division GroupM has promoted researcher Lyle Schwartz to President of Investment, and moved former MediaCom NA CEO Phil Cowdell to head a new unit encompassing all the group's data-centric solutions.

The moves are part of a simplification of the group's US and Canadian management structure which it says will streamline the organization, ensuring continued product innovation and better 'unification of services' for its agencies.

Schwartz (pictured), a thirty-year veteran of WPP / Y&R who helped build the research department at GroupM with major contributions in the field of TV and video viewability, will now oversee all GroupM's investment resources, marketplace analytics and media implementation.

Cowdell, as President of Platform Services, runs a new organization helping clients to optimise their use of the group's expertise in programmatic media, search marketing, social media, digital operations and digital analytics. He has 29 years of industry experience, the last fifteen at WPP having joined Mindshare in 2001.

Both report in to Brian Lesser, CEO of GroupM North America, who says of Schwartz's promotion: 'This is the first time someone with a research and analytics background has been named trading chief for a major media investment group. This decision underscores our belief that data and insights are fundamental to the success of the entire business'. On Cowdell's appointment, he comments: 'Aligning our teams and resources under an experienced leader like Phil will expand the support GroupM provides to our agencies and their clients'.

Elsewhere in the reshuffle Rino Scanzoni, GroupM's long-standing Chief Investment Officer in North America, will move to Executive Chairman and CEO of WPP firms Midas Exchange and Modi Media.

GroupM and Kantar between them account for more than half of WPP's group revenues of more than $20 billion.

Web site: www.groupm.com .