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Mark PennMark Penn has assumed the helm of MDC Partners as his Stagwell Group agrees to pump a $100M equity infusion into the financially strapped ad/PR company.
With the investment, MDC has called off its strategic review and search for a CEO.
Irwin Simon, MDC's presiding director, called Penn "a strategic operator" who "as a marketer, agency founder, global thought leader and investor will be critical to bolstering our structure, solutions and services."
Before launching Stagwell, Penn was executive VP/chief strategy officer at Microsoft, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, co-founder of Penn Schoen Berland, and pollster/advisor for Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, Bill Ford and Bill Gates.
He called MDC a place brimming with "some of the world’s best creative and strategic talent; strategists with a deep understanding of the way technology and media solutions address the needs of today’s modern marketer."
MDC's PR firms include Hunter, Allison+Partners, KWT Global and Sloane & Co.
Stagwell's investment roster include Finn Partners and SKDKnickerbocker.
WPP reported a 5.5 percent decline in Q1 PR revenues to $292M as its BCW and Hill & Knowlton units suffered the loss of Pfizer assignments, and cutbacks in client spending due to the economic uncertainty.
Interpublic CEO Philippe Krakowsky said the firm is off to a “solid start to the year” as its flat $2.2B net revenues are in line with 2024 financial targets.
Why financial planning always plays a crucial role in every PR firm’s success.
Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues jumped 5.4 percent to $3.6M, powered by a solid 7.0 percent rise in its advertising & media segment.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 24.1 percent growth to a record $135M during the past year, which included the results of the March 1 acquisition of Multistate Assocs.
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