In New York, marcoms network MDC Partners has appointed Seth Gardner as its first Chief Operating Officer, tasked with overseeing the network's operations, real estate portfolio, IT, HR and benefits, as well as centralized resources.

MDC Partners comprises more than 50 partner-companies including a number of market research, shopper marketing and data and analytics specialists. Gardner (pictured) joins from investment firm The Carlyle Group, where he served as MD, COO and Chief Legal Officer of its credit division. Before this, he was an MD of Cerberus Capital Management, responsible for sourcing, structuring and managing private equity investments. Gardner also previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Financial Excellence at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, having started his career as an attorney.

In his new role, Gardner joins the company's newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Frank Lanuto and General Counsel Jonathan Mirsky, announced earlier this month. CEO Mark Penn comments: 'As we work to successfully operationalize MDC's central resources and build out best-in-class shared services, Seth's cross-functional skills and expertise will be invaluable. At the same time, he brings a unique background in education, professional experience and leadership development, offering tremendous insights into the single most valuable asset in our network: our talent.'

Web site: www.mdc-partners.com .

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