Urania has been named CEO of EssenceMediacom, a new GroupM media agency that brings together Essence, its digital and data division, with its audience planning and strategic media division, MediaCom.
Agas, who was promoted to Mediacom Canada CEO in May, has been with the network for more than a decade. In her new role, she will continue to oversee the new entity’s strategic planning, with an eye to ensuring growth and operational excellence. She also assumes responsibility for merging the two networks into a single distinct offering.
EssenceMediacom will launch in January, with 10,000 employees across 125 offices. Announcing the new agency in April, MediaCom said the goal is to create a “tech-driven, scaled agency with a performance mindset,” from two agency networks that complement each other’s skillset. Shared global clients Google, Mars and NBCUniversal are already using its operational model, said MediaCom.
“I’m thrilled and honoured to be leading this new agency,” said Agas. “For me this is about bringing the best of each agency together in order to create a stronger, more diverse Canadian agency.”
She will work with the leaders of EssenceMediacom’s offices around the world to launch the new venture. “We’re certainly all focused on what this means as a global network, and then making it real for Canada, and thinking about it even regionally,” she said. EssenceMediacom will have offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
“Urania has played an integral role in building MediaCom into one of the largest media agencies in Canada,” said GroupM Canada CEO Kevin Johnson in a release. “Her extensive history with our organization and thorough understanding of the challenges that clients face today make her the perfect leader to empower EssenceMediacom’s transformation and growth. I am thrilled to see Urania’s vision come to life as she moves into this role and leads our newest agency brand.”
Built around digital strategy, data, analytics, and creative technology, Essence has been operating in Canada for about five years and has just under 50 employees. It works on the North American business for clients including NBCUniversal and Airbnb, as well as the Bell Media business in Canada. The new combined entity will employ between 250 and 300 people, said Agas.
MediaCom also announced that Carolyn Froude, who has spent the past five years as VP, client partner at Essence, managing the NBCUniversal and more recently, Bell Media business, now moves onto Agas’s leadership team.
