13772: Black Leads Grey.

Adweek reported Michael Houston has been named Worldwide CEO of Grey—making him the only Black man leading a top 10, holding company-owned White advertising agency. Houston even offered a few thoughts on diversity: “In many regards, the industry uses diversity as a throwaway term. … If we are in the business of creativity, and we define that as putting two or more things together that have previously never been together, then from a business case, it calls for different perspectives. … This has traditionally been a business for White, privileged men. What changes do we have to make at the root to pave the way for people who may have come from more modest places?” The new leader also said he’ll strive to make Grey address racial, gender and age inclusion versus “glossing over them.” Finally, Houston declared, “Those people [who do not believe in diversity] will be left outside.” Well, let the evictions begin.

Grey Announces a New Generation of Leadership, Promoting Michael Houston to Worldwide CEO

Jim Heekin will be executive chairman

By Patrick Coffee

WPP’s Grey Group today announced its most significant leadership change in more than a decade, promoting Michael Houston to the global chief executive officer role.

Houston will oversee all of the network’s 430-plus offices and approximately 6,500 employees around the world. His predecessor Jim Heekin, who became CEO of Grey Group in 2005 and chairman the following year, will step into the executive chairman role, effective immediately.

The news comes on Grey’s centennial. Larry Valenstein and Arthur Fatt started the company as Grey Studios in August 1917.

Moving Grey into its second century

“One hundred years ago today, Grey opened its doors in New York,” wrote Heekin in a memo that went out to all staff this morning. “The Centennial has been a time to reflect on our extraordinary journey and look to the future. As we celebrate our anniversary, and a decade of record growth and creative performance, the time is right for the elevation of a new generation.”

Heekin went on to praise Houston’s “personal qualities and business achievements,” adding, “It has been a pleasure to watch him grow to become one of our most dynamic and talented leaders. He has an innate ability to bring out the best in people, both his colleagues and clients alike.”

“One of the things we will take forward [after 100 years] is that Grey has always been a highly strategic agency,” Houston told Adweek while reflecting on his decade-long tenure (he joined Grey as a global chief marketing officer in 2007). “This isn’t a knee-jerk response or appointment based on some necessity or weakness. This is part of a strategic plan that [Heekin], myself and the rest of our management have been working on for over a year.”

The plan followed last year’s launch of the Grey Brand Experience Group, which established four divisions to sort the network’s services by disciplines like shopper marketing, activations and mobile. Three months earlier, Houston became the group’s global president after serving as North American CEO.

Since then, Grey has made a number of promotions around the world, naming new executives to lead its African, European and Latin American networks while promoting Debby Reiner to CEO of its New York headquarters and hiring John Patroulis of BBH to replace departed chief creative officer Tor Myhren, who went to Apple in 2015.

“It’s been an invigorating, rewarding ride for the past 10 years,” Houston said, “and now we’re putting the team in place for the next [decade].”

Expanding definitions of creativity and success

When asked whether Grey would be the latest in a line of agencies to go through a large-scale restructuring, Houston said, “There will be no 17-page memo coming up anytime soon.” Still, he hinted at potentially “evolved structures” that would help Grey become more “indispensable to clients.”

“We need to offer more solutions that really speak to the way consumers are living their lives today: more experiential and immersive,” he added.

To Houston, that means “[opening] our aperture regarding creativity and our definition of it.”

“What you’ll notice from us in the future is that one size fits all no longer works,” he said, adding that Grey has been expanding its Brand Experience approach to every region it serves and that these groups will look and operate differently so as to cater more effectively to the populations in their respective areas. He also noted forthcoming partnerships with other WPP agencies around the world, stating that “Grey merges with agency X” announcements will be far less likely than news about the agency working with a sister shop to develop client-specific offerings.

“We have every intention of being here in 100 years … but we must give something to consumers rather than just communicating a message,” he said of the changing definition of success for contemporary ad agencies. “We didn’t hire [Patroulis] to tighten up our 30-second TV spots. … It’s really about looking at how the creativity manifests itself.”

Asked to identify Grey’s competitors, Houston said a shorter list would consist of organizations that don’t fit that description. “Everyone feels pressure to evolve, and in terms of direct competitors, I look at anyone who shows a great agility and speed in their evolution,” he said.

“There is no silver bullet or single way, but we’re all headed to the same place,” he added, describing a market filled with “frenemies” that can include everything from fellow legacy shops to “pure-play digital agencies,” media companies and tech platforms. Houston said he has confidence in the quality of Grey’s output relative to other holding company-owned networks. “A few days ago, while talking to a consultant,” he said, “I wondered at what point the creative product actually became the commodity.”

The right time for a change

“One cold December night I will never forget was 11 years ago when [former Grey chairman and CEO] Ed Meyer walked out,” Heekin told Adweek. “That was it—but that’s not the way I want to do it.”

The 30-plus-year industry veteran cited Grey’s recent global Revlon win, in which he played a pivotal role, when explaining that he plans to stay engaged with day-to-day operations and maintain his close working relationship with Houston while ceding ultimate authority to the new CEO.

“My 12 years have been a transformation period—a rebuild, if you will—at Grey,” he said, calling his tenure “the culmination of my career” and adding, “The rise in our creative reputation is the single thing I’m most proud of. No one gave Grey a shot.”

“I just feel damn good about it—I really do,” Heekins said.

At 45, Houston is one of the youngest chief executives in the ad industry. He is also the only African American currently leading a top 10, holding company-owned agency, and he believes that gathering a group informed by different experiences will be a key part of helping Grey retain its competitive edge.

“In many regards, the industry uses diversity as a throwaway term,” Houston said, and he hopes agencies like his can move away from quota-based hiring. “If we are in the business of creativity, and we define that as putting two or more things together that have previously never been together, then from a business case, it calls for different perspectives.”

He continued, “This has traditionally been a business for white, privileged men. What changes do we have to make at the root to pave the way for people who may have come from more modest places?”

Houston went on to say he plans to focus on ensuring that his organization addresses racial, gender and age disparities rather than “glossing over them.”

“Those people [who do not believe in diversity] will be left outside,” he said.

The next 5 years

As the newly promoted CEO tells it, the first half of Grey’s life to date was about turning Valenstein and Fatt’s project into a sustainable organization. For the following four decades, Meyer worked to make that network global before selling to WPP in 2005.

“The next 10 years were where Jim came in, and he very squarely had his eye on creativity,” Houston said. “The coming five years—not that I will only be around for five—are about redefining and opening the definition of what is creative. There’s a greater urgency around what we need to do today than we’ve ever had in our history. And the time line is shrinking.”

13080: Leading In The Black.

Adweek reported on two Black History Month moments:

1. Channing Dungey was named President of ABC, becoming the first Black woman to lead a broadcast network, according to Adweek. Although doesn’t BET Chairman and CEO Debra L. Lee qualify as a Black woman leading a broadcast network?

2. Michael Houston was named Global President of Grey, promoted from his role as CEO of Grey North America. No word if the agency will change its name from Grey to Black.

11267: Adweek On Michael Houston.

From Adweek…

Grey’s Michael Houston Takes Air Guitar to New Level

Reflects on bigger job, losing E-Trade and spoofing Hall & Oates

By Noreen O’Leary

Since joining Grey New York in 2007 as director of marketing, Michael Houston has been on a fast track, landing his latest promotion—to North American CEO. The 41-year-old has been a key player in a new-business winning streak which culminated in the recent addition of the much sought-after Gillette global creative assignment. He also has played an important role in the reinvention of the agency’s New York headquarters, which had just under 400 people when he joined and has grown to more than 1,000 staffers. Just back from a European break where he visited London, Paris and Berlin, Houston reflected on his new job, the loss of E-Trade and playing air guitar in a spoof of a Hall & Oates video.

What are you priorities in the new role?

First and foremost, business growth. There’s a lot of growth that can come across the country. So, expanding geographies comes hand in hand with that as does expanding our offerings. Everything is coming full circle again with clients and integration, whether it’s shopper or activation or more digital capabilities.

What advice did Grey Group CEO Jim Heekin give you in taking on the new job?

Don’t try to do it all in one day. Make sure that with growth, we do it in a calculated fashion and we don’t jeopardize the creative product we’ve built here in New York.

How did New York’s management team engineer change within such an established culture?

My creative partner, [N.Y. president, CCO] Tor [Myhren], started at Grey the same week as I did and we wanted to make sure we didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. There were a lot of things Grey was known for—things like client service—and we wanted to make sure we built upon that. But we knew we needed to infuse everything with a greater sense of creativity—not only in the work we provide for our clients but creativity in the way we do business across the board. We also needed a rallying cry: With ‘Famously Effective Since 1917’ we still wanted to be effective but we also brought in fame and pop culture because successful work needs both of those things. … We also wanted to create a much more open and collaborative culture, which was apparent in our new building but also in the way we work. We changed titles, flattened the organization and tried to instill the notion of empowerment with accountability.

How did you revamp your approach to business development?

We put together an internal presentation about how an agency makes money and created a new-business culture, making sure everyone understood the need and felt the excitement. It’s fun not to be tethered to client directives and take things out on the road and see how fast it can go and what direction it takes. That’s what we use new business for, an opportunity to show the industry and ourselves what we are made of. Once we started to have success it became infectious.

How difficult is it to split with E-Trade, one of the first clients to showcase New York’s creative abilities?

It’s extremely hard. It was our first big win as a new team and as an agency redefining itself. That brand allowed us to do some fun, interesting, unexpected work and it will always be a part of our transformation story.

How did you become a blond, air-guitar playing rock star in a Hall & Oates parody video?

We did it for an all-agency meeting just to get a laugh. This goes back to the new Grey culture in being able to laugh at ourselves from a management perspective. We played it internally and next thing you know it’s on Agency Spy and Tor’s getting an email from Darryl Hall who was wasn’t too pleased about potential copyright infringement. We were just making a commentary on how naval gazing, self-obsessed and ego driven our industry is. We put the video together very late at night after we had finished a lot of pitch work, where we were in a conference room fighting. Then we went into a studio, dressed up, had some beers and a great time.

Part of your job is to button things down but Tor prefers to be unbuttoned. How do you manage this?

We both want the same thing for the agency and are respectful of the roles we play. Tor is one of the more pragmatic creative people I’ve ever met and we also both share a real passion for new business. We meet every Tuesday morning for breakfast and while we don’t always agree about everything going on, 95 percent of the time we do. I don’t think I could pick a better creative partner.

What did you learn at your agency before Grey, Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners?

I learned from Richard [Kirshenbaum] and Jon [Bond] that it ain’t over till it’s over and you have to keep going at it, be tenacious and persistent to get the things that you want. I learned a conviction in one’s point of view about creativity is paramount. Another thing: Everything you do and say ultimately contributes to the brand. They knew that for themselves and their agency but applying it to clients’ business particularly in today’s world with social media is an important lesson.

11260: Black To Lead Grey.

From The New York Times…

Executive From the Agency Grey New York Takes On a Larger Role

By Stuart Elliott

A LEADING agency is promoting an executive to a new, senior-level post where his responsibilities will include considering expansion through adding offices in more American cities.

The executive is Michael Houston, who since last year has been chief operating officer of Grey New York, part of the Grey North America division of Grey. (Grey, in turn, is a unit of the Grey Group, which is owned by WPP.) Mr. Houston, who turned 41 on Wednesday, is being promoted to chief executive of Grey North America while continuing to share the leadership duties at Grey New York with Tor Myhren, who is president and chief creative officer there.

Mr. Houston’s promotion makes him one of four regional chief executives at Grey, all reporting to James R. Heekin, chairman and chief executive of the Grey Group. Mr. Heekin most recently handled the Grey North America duties with his other responsibilities.

Mr. Houston, in assuming his new post, becomes one of the few African-Americans in the executive suites of the large, mainstream Madison Avenue agencies — even, perhaps, the most senior. No black person has been chief executive of such an agency since 2006, when Ann Fudge, chairwoman and chief executive at the Young & Rubicam Brands division of WPP, retired. “By no means do I define myself only by that,” Mr. Houston said in a telephone interview. Still, “I do think it’s unfortunate that my appointment potentially makes me the highest-ranking African-American,” he added. “It sends a signal there aren’t a lot of African-American people in the industry in the highest ranks.”

That is problematic, Mr. Houston said, because “we’re meant to appeal to, tap into, popular culture” on behalf of marketer clients, “and it’s hard to do that without diversity.”

“I do applaud the industry for trying to diversify,” he added, but “in our industry ‘diversity’ ought to mean diversity of thought, diversity of background, different ages, different approaches, different sexual orientations. We need to ensure we’re taking the broadest definition of diversity, really being able to appreciate, respect and value others’ points of view.”

Mr. Houston joined Grey New York in 2007 as executive vice president and director for marketing after working at agencies that included Chiat/Day, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners and Y&R as well as at firms like And Partners, Elias Arts and Landor Associates. He was named global chief marketing officer of Grey in 2010 and managing director of Grey New York in 2011.

“I think a lot of Michael,” said Catherine Bension, chief executive at SelectResources International in Santa Monica, Calif., which helps marketers with agency searches.

“He’s a terrific person,” she added, “and one of the young new leaders of our industry.” (Last year, Mr. Houston was named one of the “40 Under 40” by Crain’s New York Business.)

“Michael has been at Grey New York since the start of its transformation or metamorphosis into a more future-facing, more contemporary agency,” Ms. Bension said, referring to Grey New York’s winning a skein of new accounts with billings estimated at more than $3 billion, among them DirecTV, E*Trade Financial, Gillette, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, RadioShack and Sargento Foods (although one, E*Trade, recently departed.) She praised Mr. Houston for being “a great partner to the creatives” at the agency.

Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world’s largest agency holding group in billings, also had nice words about Mr. Houston.

“I’m delighted for Michael,” Mr. Sorrell wrote in an e-mail, describing him as “a key member of the Grey management team.”

Mr. Houston has “done an outstanding job,” Mr. Sorrell said, “and thoroughly deserves this recognition for his success, which is based on an exceptional track record.”

Mr. Heekin, in a phone interview, said he would be turning to Mr. Houston for three primary tasks: prospecting for new business, expanding services like digital and working on “a smart, strategic approach to expanding our footprint in the U.S.”

Grey North America has, in addition to Grey New York, offices in San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. It has no presence in other prominent American markets after closing offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and other cities.

Among the markets Mr. Heekin listed as having potential were the Southwest and the Midwest, “whether it’s Chicago or Kansas City,” because “our footprint in the middle of the country is nonexistent.”

He said he would consider both starting offices and making acquisitions, and added that the latter was more likely, as he and Mr. Houston had already been talking to agencies that Grey might buy. In the meantime, Mr. Houston and Mr. Heekin are making changes in San Francisco, hiring Milan Martin as president of Grey San Francisco, succeeding Brad Fogel, who is leaving to pursue other interests, a spokesman said. Mr. Martin, 39, most recently was managing director and chief strategist at Anthem Worldwide in San Francisco, part of Schawk Inc.

“We’re getting things moving in San Francisco,” Mr. Houston said. “We’re excited about what we could do with the office if we can build on the history there and bring in some of the fervor we have in New York.” Clients of Grey San Francisco include Purolator, Reliant Energy and Symantec.

Mr. Houston’s new post includes other duties, among them overseeing Grey Activation and Public Relations. He will share the oversight of Wing, a multicultural agency with offices in New York and Miami, with Alain Groenendaal, who is president and chief executive of Wing and Grey Latin America.