Our People

Eileen Kiernan is the Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, and is responsible for the vision, strategy, and performance of the global IPG network and its 18,000 employees across 130 countries.

With more than 25 years of experience spanning brand stewardship, integrated marketing, creative strategy, business development and team leadership, Eileen brings a rich blend of purpose-driven creativity, innate curiosity, and diversity of thought to her role. Under her leadership, UM was named Campaign’s Global Media Agency of the Year in 2021 and Adweek’s U.S. Media Agency of the Year in 2020. Eileen sits on the Board of the AEF, the ANA’s Educational Foundation. Originally from Ireland, Eileen holds degrees from University College Dublin and Pace University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Denis, daughter, Grace, and their many four-legged friends.

Brendan Mullin is the Global Chief Communications Officer at IPG Mediabrands where he leads  global marketing communications for the media holding company and its agencies worldwide.

For nearly a decade, Brendan has served in Director and Chief Communications Officer roles for multi-billion dollar businesses, including Moody’s Corporation and Ernst & Young. He is a dynamic corporate communications leader who combines a unique combination of journalistic savvy, deep business intelligence, and strong leadership skills to drive demonstrable results from a brand and reputation standpoint.

Prior to joining IPG Mediabrands, Brendan served as interim Chief Communications Officer and Head of Reputation for Ernst & Young (EY) in the Americas. Reporting to EY’s US Chair and Americas Managing Partner and overseeing a 90+ person team, he was responsible for leading EY in the strategic development of effective audience-centric communication strategies that helped grow and protect the brand. Before joining EY, Brendan served as Vice President at Moody’s, where he was charged with reputation management in the Americas, working closely with the organization’s C-Suite, marketing, public policy and legal teams.

Prior to EY and Moody’s, Brendan spent over 15 years of his career in various leadership positions within PR agencies. At Edelman, he served as Senior Vice President in the Corporate & Public Affairs group where he led the client relationship with PwC, overseeing a team of 30 people across multiple workstreams focused on executive positioning, crisis management and promoting branded thought leadership. He also conceptualized and drove the market-by-market launch of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a newly launched real estate brand in the U.S. In 2012, Brendan participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos accompanying the CEO of Western Union to manage bilateral business engagements and media briefings with leading global influencers.

Brendan’s client service experience included direct oversight of blue-chip accounts including EY, Panasonic, Whirlpool, Ricoh, General Electric, General Motors, ITT Corporation, among others. He provided deep crisis counseling in scenarios that included criminal charges brought against a global CEO, the first ever case of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) violations, and fallout from implied culpability in the collapse of a major bank during the financial crisis.

He previously served as a board member for the Institute of Public Relations and on the communications council for the American Museum of Finance.

Ian Courts is the Global CFO of IPG Mediabrands, responsible for all areas of global finance, accounting, technology, legal & compliance, and M&A. He previously served as Global CFO of Kinesso and supported IPG’s broader data and marketing technology operations, including Acxiom and Matterkind.  In this capacity, Ian was charged with providing strategic counsel, financial leadership and the acceleration of growth opportunities.

Ian has two decades of experience at IPG, working across creative, media, data and technology. Some of his roles within Mediabrands include financial leadership of the EMEA, APAC, Latam and Canadian markets.

Prior to IPG, Ian began his career in the UK at PwC, and proceeded to take on management positions in PwC’s Australian operation, working for periods of time in both South Africa and China.

A non-Executive member of the Audit and Risk Governance Committee at Sport England, Ian is a graduate of Warwick University and an ICAEW qualified chartered accountant. An avid cricket fan and fitness enthusiast, Ian is married with three boys.

Hermon is Global Chief Culture Officer of IPG Mediabrands and is responsible for overseeing the agency network’s global cultural efforts, which includes overseeing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) strategy and leading the agency network’s Learning & Development efforts globally. Hermon began her career at renowned agency brands including Leo Burnett, Deutsch LA, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners. She was most recently a Director at executive search firm Grace Blue, where she managed a diverse portfolio of senior leadership searches on the brand and agency sides. An Eritrean immigrant and Harvard graduate, Hermon is an accomplished leader and industry advisor who has spent her career building strong team cultures that enrich team members and drive business results. She currently sits on the Directors Council of the VCU Brandcenter, the premier graduate school for advertising and communications, and is the lead Director on Education and Pedagogy for the Council.

Jim is Global COO of IPG Mediabrands, and is responsible for global operations, overseeing all regions outside of the US, and the development of global talent across the IPG Mediabrands network. Previous to this role, he was the CEO of G-14 markets (MB’s largest international markets) and President, Global clients, managing some of our biggest and most-prestigious global accounts. In another life, Jim started his career at Coca-Cola and was Chief Marketing Officer at BSkyB, ITV and Barclays. Jim graduated from Wharton Business School, was a long-standing trustee of Comic Relief in the UK and now strongly supports the Ruth Strauss foundation, a charity focused on lung cancer awareness and emotional support.

Dan Fox joined IPG Mediabrands in 2018. During his tenure, he has served in a variety of global leadership roles within the finance and investment crafts. Currently, Dan serves as Global Chief Investment Officer, looking across the media holding company’s $48 billion in annual marketing spend via award-winning agencies UM, Initiative and Mediahub.   

Previously, Dan held the role of U.S. Chief Financial Officer, with a focus on implementing strategic financial models that maximize resources and drive growth for IPG Mediabrands and its clients’ businesses.  Earlier, he spent five years at Orion – the value and innovation-driven media company that sits within IPG Mediabrands – as Global Chief Financial and Commercial Officer and Managing Director of its APAC operations. 

Prior to joining IPG Mediabrands, Dan served as Regional APAC CFO for WPP’s Kinetic Worldwide and as a Senior Forecast Analyst at Apple.  He started his career as an accountant based out of London, holding roles at Dewynters, MediaCom and Harvey Nash.  Dan has a certificate from The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. 

An expert at scaling best-in-class solutions across networks, Jen serves in the newly-created role of Mediabrands’ Global Chief Client Operations Officer, responsible for driving operational excellence for all global clients, as well as overseeing all business and media operations for Mediabrands globally. As a seasoned expert in Business Planning and Operations, Media Operations and efficiency-driving Products and Services, Jen is currently building a global Resource Management Practice and developing the new standard for our global client operating model, to be enforced through internal governance and accountability efforts. She is also globally scaling the processes, tools and systems she put in place in the US for all new business transitions, such as the recent onboarding of General Mills at UM, and Amgen and GEICO at IPG Mediabrands.  

 Since her appointment as to this role, Jen has worked directly with Mediabrands’ CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Leadership Team on all matters related to Business Planning and Operations, Transformation efforts, and New Products and Services to generate incremental revenue. This includes organizational development, resource management, increasing standardization and business efficiencies, new biz transitions and reimagining commercial and future deal structures with new and existing clients.  

 Over her 15+ years at UM, Jen has delivered outstanding results and partnership, working on multiple global and US clients and serving as a critical member of the new business team. Prior to her role as COO, she was EVP, Head of Global Operations & Client Business Partner on the American Express account. As the international business lead, she oversaw all media activity across 22 markets around the world, driving overall stewardship and excellence of the client business. Jen led cross-regional collaboration, ensuring consistency by applying operational excellence across product, reporting, planning, analytics and innovation. Before that, she served as SVP, Global Account Director on the Johnson & Johnson account, spearheading global network innovation, best practice sharing and the global rollout of all tools, technology and systems.   

  Jen also has extensive experience working on business development, having held various senior business development roles within the IPG Mediabrands organization, overseeing all business development and marketing efforts for the network. While at Mediabrands, she was responsible for generating and converting revenue opportunities across the agency’s range of services. Since 2010, she has helped Mediabrands agencies win many new clients including iconic brands like American Express, Sony, Johnson & Johnson, USPS and GEICO.  

 A resident of NJ, Jen enjoys spending time at the beach with her family and traveling whenever she can. She also enjoys giving back to her community as a member of She Runs It, NICU Family Advisory Council at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and board member of the Madison Soccer Club. 

Kate Weiss serves as the Global Chief Talent Officer at IPG Mediabrands, where she oversees Compensation, Global Mobility, Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, and U.S. Employee Relations and Operations. In this role, Kate is integral in shaping a people-first workplace culture serving over 18,000 employees worldwide. 

With over 25 years of experience leading Human Resources functions, Kate has built a successful career as a trusted advisor with a strong belief in the value of talent. She joined IPG Mediabrands in 2022 from Universal McCann, where she served as Executive Vice President and was instrumental in unifying and scaling the agency’s global HR function. Her impact spans across divisions within the network, including UM Global, and beyond, having held leadership positions at Time Inc., where she led talent integration efforts through small and large scaled reorganizations and multiple acquisitions. 

Kate graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and lives in Connecticut with her two sons, Brian and Matthew. She is an eternal optimist who once summited Mount Kilimanjaro and believes anything is possible with the right mindset. 

Justin serves as the U.S. CEO for IPG Mediabrands, the media holding company within Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG).  In this capacity, he oversees the execution of the company’s vision and strategy in the U.S. market, including core capabilities and new business efforts.  Notably, he led the team responsible for landing GEICO, the largest media review of 2023. Previously, Justin held the role of Chief Transformation Officer at the organization, responsible for driving operational excellence across the network.

Earlier, Justin spent nearly ten years at award-winning IPG Mediabrands agency UM, most recently as its Global Chief Operating Officer, where his focus was transforming the agency’s operational practice and driving business outcomes for some of UM’s largest clients. During his tenure at UM, Justin also served as the Global Managing Partner of the BMW account, and as a Managing Partner on The Hershey Company, Coca-Cola, Coach, AMEX, ABInBev, and Brown Forman accounts. Additionally, he helped create a new operating model that led to the formation of J3, UM’s bespoke unit for Johnson & Johnson

Over the course of his career, Justin has become a well-known and beloved global leader who has built a reputation for client innovation and team creativity through his work with global clients and his deep understanding of the everchanging media ecosystem.

Prior to joining UM and IPG Mediabrands, Justin spent time at MPG, where he worked on accounts including Children’s Hospital Boston and Citizen’s Bank. Justin began his career at Hill Holiday.

Justin attended Providence College and is based in New York City.