Media giant GroupM’s North America CEO Kirk McDonald to exit

Kirk McDonald (Source: Group M)

Media giant and content investor GroupM is looking for a new CEO for its North American division following news that Kirk McDonald is to step down at the end of the year.

McDonald has been in the role for three years and overseen a turbulent time for the advertising industry, which was initially buffeted by the pandemic.

Since then, the market has been hit as advertisers pull back spending amid a broader consumer squeeze on spending.

GroupM’s Adam Gerhart will be in interim charge at the WPP-owned firm while a successor is sought for McDonald, who joined having had stints at Time Inc and AT&T.

The ad agency giant has long invested into content, recently supporting commissions for Channel 5 in the UK and Warner Bros. Discovery in Lat Am.