Nick Brien, Worldwide CEO, Universal McCann
Nick Brien serves as Worldwide Chief Executive Officer of Universal McCann, based in New York. Under Nick's leadership, Universal McCann continues to transform itself as an agency poised to take advantage of the converging communications landscape, where the distinction between traditional and digital no longer exists. The focus remains on empowering clients to navigate the complexities of what are the new communications realities.
With more than two decades of experience in the industry, Nick, 43, joined Universal McCann in October 2005 after a long career at Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett and Starcom, where he played key roles in shaping and leading those companies' media, advertising and integrated marketing offerings.
Before Universal McCann, he served as CEO of Arc Worldwide, the main umbrella marketing services brand of Publicis Groupe. Arc Worldwide is the global combination of four entities: Arc Marketing, Frankel, iLeo and Semaphore Partners. Under Nick's leadership, Arc Worldwide won significant new business, as well as top creative recognition in major industry competitions.
Prior to his role at Arc, Nick was President of Corporate Business Development for Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG). At Starcom, he pioneered innovative ways to engage consumers and create relevant brand experiences. On his watch, Starcom launched a full portfolio of specialized marketing communications companies. He also established SMG Diversified Services which was comprised of various specialized communications companies, supplemented by a number of key strategic alliances. He was the catalyst in positioning SMG as the leader in marketing communications strategy and was responsible for ensuring that SMG's diversified capabilities maximized its clients' marketing effectiveness.
Before joining SMG, Nick was CEO of Leo Burnett London, where he expanded the agency's integrated marketing offerings and significantly raised creative standards. Under his leadership, the London office of Leo Burnett was named the world's most creative agency by The Gunn Report and was the most awarded agency in the film category at Cannes. He first joined Leo Burnett London in 1992 as Media Director. He began his career at Grey London and then worked at WCRS.
Nick is a highly-regarded industry expert, presenting this year's Keynote speech at Ad:Tech NY; the #1 event for interactive marketing. Nick presented at the 2007 IAB Leadership Forum. Nick served on the Board for Advertising Week 2007 and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the International Advertising Association (IAA) New York Chapter.
