NEW YORK, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Essence, a global digital agency that is part of WPP, has promoted Nick Byrd to Global Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Byrd previously served as Global Financial Director, a position he was promoted to less than one year after being hired as North America CFO in November 2013.
Over the past two years, Byrd has successfully spearheaded the global reorganization of the Finance team, established key business principles and best practices, and--perhaps most notably--played an integral role in shepherding the deal that led to WPP buying a majority stake in the agency at the end of 2015. Prior to Essence, Byrd spent eight years at Razorfish, moving from Director of Finance, to North America Director of Client Finance, and finally Vice President of US Client Finance at the time of his departure. In his new role, Byrd will now oversee the Finance, Information Technology and Facilities teams globally.
"Essence's combination of values, culture and technology is unique to the advertising marketplace," said Byrd. "With GroupM's support and scale, we can push the industry norm to drive remarkable results for our clients and our people. I'm excited to be a part of this transformational time and to keep challenging the industry with our approach."
"Nick has been extremely instrumental in Essence's steadfast growth," said Christian Juhl, global CEO of Essence. "Now that we're under the GroupM umbrella, there is an even higher demand for our continued expansion. The leadership of someone like Nick is fundamental to the ultimate success of our agency and I'm pleased he's the one getting the job done."
Byrd's promotion is effective immediately. He will continue to work out of Essence's San Francisco office and report to Juhl.
About Essence
Essence is a global digital agency that blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers. Clients include Google, Viber, method, Tesco Mobile and the Financial Times. The agency is more than 500 people strong, manages over $850MM in media spend and deploys campaigns in 71 markets via offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore and Tokyo. Part of GroupM, Essence is majority owned by WPP, the world's leading communications services group.
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SOURCE Essence
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