Lesser Leaves WPP to Build New AT&T Analytics Unit

WPP division GroupM is losing its North American CEO Brian Lesser to AT&T, where he will build and lead an advertising and analytics business, tapping the telecoms giant's customer data and DirecTV programmatic assets.

Lesser will be CEO of the new and as yet unnamed business, and report to AT&T Chairman and Chief Exec Randall Stephenson, who said in a statement: 'Brian is a terrific executive and one of the best there is in harnessing technology and data to create targeted advertising. Once we complete our acquisition of Time Warner Inc., we believe there is an opportunity to build an automated advertising platform that can do for premium video and TV advertising what the search and social media companies have done for digital advertising'.

At WPP, Lesser headed up audience profile business Xaxis from its inception in 2011, then moved to lead GroupM North America in 2015. His role there will be temporarily assumed by Kelly Clark, GroupM's global CEO.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.