Thursday, 26/01/12

MediaCom names Fernando Emilio Silva to lead LatAm growth

Former Vivaki Chairman joins WPP media network

Fernando Emilio Silva

MediaCom has named Fernando Emilio Silva as its new Chief Executive for Latin America. Fernando, who was previously Chairman of Vivaki for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, will join the company March 1st 2012.

Fernando joins MediaCom with a strong track record of leading and growing international agencies across Latin America. Before Vivaki, he was Managing Director for OMD International LatAm.

The Argentine national will lead a team across five offices in LatAm - a region in which MediaCom has enjoyed significant growth over the past five years. In recent years, the agency has tripled its billings according to RECMA and added numerous high-profile advertisers such as P&G, Time Warner and VW to its client list.

Fernando's brief will primarily be to continue that progress. He will be tasked with ensuring that Latin American brands deliver on their potential to succeed both locally and globally; he will also help global brands grow across Latin American markets.

Under Fernando's leadership, every MediaCom client will continue to enjoy best-in-class service and access to opportunities in Latin America - a region which includes some of the world's fastest growing countries, and will soon stage significant events such as the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Additionally, he will continue to build on MediaCom's strong 'People first, better results' philosophy and strive to make the agency one of the top companies to work for in every country.

Fernando will work closely with Annetta Cembrano, COO for MediaCom LatAm and CEO for MediaCom Chile, who has been leading the region alongside GroupM's LatAm CEO David Byles since previous MediaCom LatAm CEO Mariano Roman left the company in July 2011.

"Fernando has an exceptional track record of delivering fantastic client service and growing agencies across the region.  I am delighted that he is joining our team and know that he is the ideal fit for MediaCom LatAm. Fernando alongside Annetta form a dream team that no doubt will take our Latin American operations to even greater heights. I look forward to working very closely with them both" said Stephen Allan, CEO and Chairman of MediaCom Worldwide.

David Byles, CEO GroupM LatAm, adds "Sir Martin Sorrell is famous for having said that 'This is the decade of Latin America'. As we build on a fantastic growth record for GroupM LatAm, and lead the Group through this exciting future, we are delighted to attract Fernando to lead MediaCom in the region. We have very high expectations for the synergies we can achieve through teamwork across the Group. MediaCom clients and staff will benefit from Fernando's experience of leading agencies across the region. Everybody involved with MediaCom Latin America can look forward to very exciting times ahead."

Fernando Emilio Silva says of his appointment "I am extremely excited to join the MediaCom team and work alongside Annetta to build on the region's already incredible successes. I truly believe that MediaCom is a forward-thinking and dynamic operation which has a fantastic team of people, first class client service and a portfolio of skills and tools that is second to none. I cannot wait to start!"