Michael Mills Joins Horizon Media Canada as Brand Strategy Director

NEW YORK and TORONTO, June 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Horizon Media, a global leader in data-driven media and marketing, announced today that is has appointed Michael Mills as Brand Strategy Director, Horizon Media Canada. Michael will report to Kevin Kivi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Horizon Media Canada, who leads the agency's new Canadian operation.

Michael comes to Horizon Media Canada from MediaCom Canada where he was an Account Director and led the company's Mars Chocolate (Snickers, Maltesers, M&M's and Twix) and Wrigley Canada (Excel, Skittles, 5Gum, Juicy Fruit, Starburst) businesses. With 8 years in the industry, Mills has demonstrated strong leadership in planning and insight generation, as well as an ability to collaborate at the highest standard. During his time at MediaCom, Mills led the formation of an overarching sports strategy for the Snickers and Juicy Fruit brands, which resulted in multi-year partnership deals for both brands. Prior to MediaCom, Michael began his career working on the Procter & Gamble business at Carat where he worked on the Gillette, Pampers, Charmin, Bounty and Puffs brands. 

Michael's work has been recognized on the global and local stage, and he was a part of the award-winning team responsible for the Skittles Holiday Pawn Shop campaign for Wrigley Canada that won a Media Lion at Cannes.

In his role, Michael will partner with Kevin Kivi to lead several key account wins for the agency, most recently Pier1 Imports, amongst others. Additionally, he will implement Horizon's planning framework in Canada, partner on New Business development for the agency and develop culture-building programs for the Canadian office to emulate the renowned, award-winning culture that Horizon is known for in the U.S. 

"Michael is a highly regarded, trusted and respected by clients, his team and his media partners," said Kevin Kivi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Horizon Media Canada. "He is extremely passionate about understanding clients' challenges and helping to drive and enact change to elevate business performance. He is a collaborator in every sense of the word and epitomizes the Horizon Media 'Business is Personal' premise. I look forward to partnering with him as Horizon Media Canada continues to grow."

"Horizon Media is renowned for its fantastic workplace culture, full transparency that generates trust, and its powerful data capabilities to drive business results," said Michael Mills, Brand Strategy Director, Horizon Media Canada. "These key pillars that help make up Horizon's successful operating model is what really excited me and why I had to be a part of the organization's expansion into Canada. Our promise, ?Business is Personal', is also something I'm very passionate about as I believe building relationships and collaborating are crucial to delivering best in class work."

Horizon Media Canada brings to Canada the scale of Horizon Media's North American footprint along with the agency's data-driven marketing expertise, resources and strength in the market. Horizon's expansion further into North America also allows the agency's existing clients to make the easy decision to extend their relationship with the agency into the Canadian market.

Additional new hires for Horizon Media Canada will be named in coming months. The agency is actively hiring analytics, consumer insights, brand planning, brand strategy and sports marketing experts. Interested applicants can submit their resumes to [email protected].

About Horizon Media
Horizon Media, Inc. is a global leader in data, media and marketing insights. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. Recognized as one of the world's ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company, Horizon Media has been recognized as U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek and AdAge, and Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost. Renowned for its incredible culture, Horizon is also consistently named to all the prestigious annual Best Places to Work lists published by Fortune, AdAge, Crain's New York Business and Los Angeles Business Journal. Bill Koenigsberg served as the Chairman of the 4A's Board of Directors from 2014 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice Chair of the 4A's Board of Directors. Bill was the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100-year history of the 4As, the marketing industry's leading trade association. Horizon Media is the second largest US media agency (COMvergence Agency Report 2017), with estimated billings of $8 billion and over 2,000 employees.

Contact
Horizon Media
Kaya Lobaczewski
(212) 220-2102
[email protected]

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