Omnicom media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD has promoted managing director Natalie Bell to chief executive.
Bell has been at the agency since joining from Time Inc UK in 2008. She became executive director, head of digital in 2013, and MD two years later.
She has led client growth, including retaining the Estée Lauder Companies account earlier this year, and helped the agency win awards, including Campaign‘s UK Media Agency of the Year twice in a row and, in 2020, Campaign Global Media Agency of the Year.
Bell has been promoted alongside Laura Fenton, her counterpart at OMD Group’s other UK shop, OMD UK. The changes come after their respective predecessors both moved up to cross-agency roles in 2019.
Former OMD UK boss Dan Clays became the UK chief executive of Omnicom Media Group, giving him oversight of both OMD agencies as well as PHD and Hearts & Science. At the same time, his counterpart at MG OMD, Tim Pearson, took on the role of CEO of OMD Group UK.
Since then, Bell and Fenton have been the leaders of their respective agencies with both reporting immediately to Pearson.
Clays said: “Natalie is immensely trusted by clients, unwaveringly committed to the agency’s talent and inclusive culture, brings deep digital experience and has a progressive vision for how agencies need to evolve. Natalie’s promotion reinforces the leadership continuity MG is recognised for, but it will bring even greater future focus for clients.”
Bell will also work closely with Paul Knight, chief executive of OmniGOV, the dedicated account that serves the government’s media buying.
Bell added: “MG OMD is a very special agency and it’s an honour to lead it, especially at such a pivotal time for the whole industry. I’m very proud of our agency’s ability to adapt and deliver outstanding results for our clients, coupled with such commitment to our values and culture.”
This article was originally published by Campaign.