IPG Mediabrands hired Hermon Ghermay as its first global chief culture officer. She will oversee the media agency network’s worldwide cultural efforts in the role, including its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, planning and execution.
The agency said Ghermay, who has been serving as a director at executive search firm Grace Blue since 2015, will be responsible for holding global, regional and local leadership accountable for the company’s diversity commitments and goals. She will lead the network’s global learning and development efforts and partner with the rest of the leadership team worldwide to drive its “culture forward,” according to IPG Mediabrands.
Ghermay will report directly to IPG Mediabrands Global CEO Daryl Lee.
“Culture is the operating system of an organization, and now more than ever we must look at what’s happening at the intersection of identity and corporate culture and ensure that we’re creating an environment where people feel seen, heard and supported,” Ghermay said in a statement.
Ghermay began her career as an account supervisor at Leo Burnett Chicago in 2000. She stayed with the Publicis Groupe creative agency for six years. She then held account director roles at IPG agency Deutsch and Omnicom Group’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners before joining Grace Blue in August 2015. At Grace Blue, Ghermay is credited with managing a diverse portfolio of senior leadership searches on the brand and agency sides.
She also sits on the directors council of the VCU Brandcenter.
“Curious, connected and high-achieving, Hermon reflects all the best attributes and values of our empowered global culture here at Mediabrands,” Lee said in a statement. “Culture is often a motivation for why people join our company, but a strong culture always has room to grow and be better. Hermon will help make Mediabrands a place where everyone can flourish and thrive, and a community which attracts and retains the best talent.”
IPG Mediabrands recently announced a five-point plan to achieve equity throughout its network, which includes agencies UM, Initiative, Reprise and Magna. As part of those plans, the agency set up the Mediabrands Heritage Network, which it said will “seek to inspire, educate and celebrate talent in our business from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and support a progressive company culture through events, thought leadership and internal activations.”
