Former Nielsen CEO Mitch Barns to Lead Opus Agency

Mitch Barns, the former CEO of Nielsen, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of brand and experience marketing specialist Opus Agency. Barns takes over from Monte Wood, who ran the agency for more than fifteen years and now sits on its Board.

US-based Opus creates and manages hundreds of events and campaigns every year, including executive-level summits, immersive brand experiences, and conferences with more than 40,000 attendees. Barns (pictured) joins after a twenty-year career at Nielsen, the last five of which were spent as CEO, during which time the company acquired 26 businesses. Earlier he held leadership roles across all major parts of the group, including President, Global Client Service; President of the US Media arm; President of Greater China; and President of the BASES analytic consulting division. Earlier, he spent twelve years at Procter & Gamble, in marketing research and brand management positions.

Barns also serves on the Board of automated ad and innovation testing platform Zappi; holds seats on the Boards of consumer brand agency The Stable and the Global Leadership Network; and serves on the Advisory Board of private equity firm Catalyst Partners. In addition, he operates Second Half Advisors, a firm he founded in 2019 to advise and support businesses and non-profits; and he has invested in behavioural insights platform Veylinx.

Commenting on his appointment, Barns said: 'The common theme throughout my career has been helping clients build their brands and improve their ROI. That's what Opus does, by being strategically driven, creatively led, and operationally excellent. The company has outstanding people and a strong, positive culture, and I'm excited to work with Opus' president, Kim Kopetz, and everyone on the Opus, Tencue, and MAS teams as we perfect the blend of in-person and virtual experiences and events to deliver outstanding results for our clients and their brands.'

Web site: www.opusagency.com .